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Funmi Iyanda

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Funmi Iyanda
Born
Olufunmilola Aduke Iyanda

(1971-07-27) 27 July 1971 (age 53)
Lagos, Nigeria
EducationUniversity of Ibadan
Parents
  • Gabriel (father)
  • Yetunde (mother)

Olufunmilola Aduke Iyanda (born 27 July 1971), better known as Funmi Iyanda[1], is a talk show host, broadcaster, Film and TV producer, media executive, philanthropist, journalist, and blogger.[2][3] She produced and hosted a talk show, New Dawn with Funmi,[4] which aired on the national network for over eight years. Iyanda rose to become one of Nigeria’s most watched TV personalities.[5] Funmi is the CEO of Ignite Media now OYA Media. In 2011, Iyanda was honored for her web series[6] by the World Economic Forum[7] and was named one of Forbes "20 Youngest Powerful Women in Africa".[8]

Early life

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Funmi Iyanda was born in Lagos to the family of Gabriel and Yetunde Iyanda. Her father was from Ogbomoso and her mother from Ijebu-Ode. She grew up in the Lagos Mainland area; however, her mother died when she was seven years old. She attended the African Church Princess Primary School, Akoka; and the Herbert Macaulay School in Lagos, Nigeria, for her primary education and the International School Ibadan for her secondary education. She then went on to the University of Ibadan where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography.[9]

Good Morning Nigeria and Sports Journalism

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Funmi's foray into television began when she started producing and presenting Good Morning Nigeria, a breakfast magazine television show. The "Heroes" segment, which exalted the achievement of deserving members of society, and "Street Life", which unlike many shows at the time, went out on the streets in search of compelling Nigerian human-interest stories.[10]

The show focused on the injustices suffered by Nigerians, particularly the vulnerable members such as women and children. The show was syndicated on national television.[11]

The first show she anchored was called MITV Live, produced by Segun Odegbami and Tunde Kelani.[12] She also explored her deep passion for sports by entering the world of sports journalism. She worked on a documentary for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations and she covered the 1999 female Football World Cup, the All Africa Games in Zimbabwe, as well as the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games in Sydney and Athens.[13][14]

New Dawn with Funmi

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New Dawn with Funmi started in 2000 and ran daily on NTA 10 Lagos. The success of the show made it the longest-running independently produced show on NTA.[15][16][17]

Funmi Iyanda has also written regular columns in Tempo Magazine. On occasion, she still serves as a guest columnist for Farafina Magazine. She has also written for PM NEWS, The Punch, Daily Trust, and Vanguard Newspapers.[10]

Talk With Funmi

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In 2010, after a two-year break, Funmi returned to the screen with Talk with Funmi (TWF), a television show directed by Chris Dada. Talk With Funmi travels throughout Nigeria, from state to state, capturing people and conversations around the country.[18][19][10]

My Country: Nigeria

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In 2010, Funmi Iyanda completed production on My Country: Nigeria, a three-part documentary celebrating the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence, which was aired on the BBC World Service. Lagos Stories, one of the episodes of the documentary was subsequently nominated in the category for “Best News Documentary” at the 2011 Monte Carlo Television Festival in Monaco.[20][21][22]

Chopcassava

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In 2012, Funmi Iyanda and her creative partner Chris Dada released Chopcassava.com,[23][24] a web series documenting the January 2012 fuel subsidy protests that took place in Lagos,[25] Nigeria. It could not be aired on Nigerian TV, the web series presents an insider view of the Lagos protests, in which people of all classes took to the streets demanding a reversal of the 117% hike in petrol prices. It was nominated in the non-fiction web series category at the 2012 BANFF World Media Festival, in Alberta, Canada.[26][27]

Personal life

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Funmi Iyanda is a member of the African Leadership Institute, Tutu Fellow, and a participant of the ASPEN Institute's Forum for Communications and Society.[28]

In 2012, she was honoured by the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, for her commitment to gender advocacy as she returned from a five-day UN advocacy trek up Mount Kilimanjaro. The climb was organised by the UN to raise global awareness on its campaign to End Violence against Women and Girls and brought together climbers from more than 32 African countries in a historic advocacy journey up Mount Kilimanjaro.[29][30][31][32]

Funmi Iyanda served on the Board of Farafina Trust and Positive Impact Youth Network. She participated at the Occupy Nigeria series of protests in January 2012. The protests were to resist the implementation of the government's fuel subsidy removal policy.[33][34][35]

Funmi Iyanda was honored by the former governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, for partnering with the United Nations(UN) together with other African women by climbing up the mount Kilimanjaro as a way of creating awareness for the campaign to end violence against women and the girl child in Africa.[36]

Recognition

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She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2014.[37]

References

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  1. ^ "Funmi Iyanda discusses beauty with John Maclean". Pulse Nigeria. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  2. ^ Nsehe, Nfonobong (1 August 2011). "The 20 Youngest Power Women In Africa". Forbes. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Sharing a dawn with Funmi", The Guardian Life, 26 October 2009.
  4. ^ Oyeleye, Albert (2012). "Interaction Management in Nigerian Television Talk Shows". International Journal of English Linguistics. 2: 151. doi:10.5539/ijel.v2n1p149.
  5. ^ Group Patron Funmi Iyanda' Archived 26 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "ASK, FUNMI". Ask Funmi. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  7. ^ "World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader (YGL), Funmi Iyanda Chief Executive Officer". TUBE FOLLOW. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  8. ^ Ayeni Adekunle (21 February 2010). "Funmi Iyanda: 'I'm Not Competing With Mo' Abudu'". Nigerian Entertainment Today. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
  9. ^ "Group Patron | Africa Research Group | University of Leicester". le.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  10. ^ a b c "Funmi Iyanda Comes Out 'Walking with Shadows'". THISDAYLIVE. 21 September 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  11. ^ Nkem-Eneanya, Jennifer (19 May 2014). "Funmi Iyanda; The Multi-Talented Media Personality and TV Icon". Konnect Africa. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  12. ^ Jumoke Giwa, "Conversations: Meet Funmi Iyanda 'Nigeria's queen of talk'", Nigeria Village Square, 26 August 2006.
  13. ^ Edition, Next (16 November 2019). "Funmi Iyanda, Olumide Makanjuola, Kunle Afolayan, Others, Witness 'Walking With Shadows' Premiere (See photos)". The Next Edition. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Funmi Iyanda: The Legend Of A Woman". guardian.ng. 10 March 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  15. ^ "'Walking with Shadows' is proof that Funmi Iyanda is still invested in telling human interest stories". guardian.ng. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  16. ^ Oyeniyi, Sola (15 September 2015). "THE SHEET Woman Of The Week: Funmi Iyanda - Why Is She Referred To As The Chief Witch Of Nigerian Broadcasting? » Thesheet.ng". Thesheet.ng. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  17. ^ Woman.NG (7 June 2017). "Funmi Iyanda Answers The Question". Woman.NG. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Oya Media UK Announces Season 2 Of ASK Funmi Series | CR". Paradise News. Retrieved 2 May 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  19. ^ Walking with Shadows (2019) - IMDb, retrieved 2 May 2020
  20. ^ "Funmi Iyanda Dazzles At Monte Carlo Television Festival". Nigerian Entertainment Today. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  21. ^ "Occupy Nigeria". africasacountry.com. 20 January 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  22. ^ "Funmi Iyanda: Blazing a Trail as a Debutante Movie Producer". THISDAYLIVE. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  23. ^ "Funmi-iyanda Chop Cassava - FabWoman | News, Style, Living Content For The Nigerian Woman". Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  24. ^ "Chopcassava - Documenting Nigeria's Fuel Subsidy Struggle - Video Blog". www.chopcassava.com. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  25. ^ "Funmi Iyanda has a bold new movie out. But don't call it a comeback". African Arguments. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  26. ^ "World Economic Forum names Funmi Iyanda Young Global Leader". Vanguard News. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  27. ^ "What's Not To Love About Media Activist- Funmi Iyanda". Women Africa. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  28. ^ "Nigeria's Funmi Iyanda, Appointed UN Women Gender Equality Champion [@Funmilola]". NewsWireNGR. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  29. ^ "'I Was the First Person to Come Out as Gay on Live TV in Nigeria'". Global Citizen. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  30. ^ "Voices and profiles .:. Gender equality champions". UN Women | The Beijing Platform for ActionTurns 20. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  31. ^ "Fashola Receives Funmi Iyanda On Return From Mt. Kilimanjaro In Aid Of Women's Cause". www.tundefashola.com. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  32. ^ "Funmi Iyanda To Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro". Nigerian Entertainment Today. 28 February 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  33. ^ "NIGERIAN WOMEN SAY ABSOLUTE NO TO FUEL SUBSIDY REMOVAL". World Pulse. 10 January 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  34. ^ "About". Funmi Iyanda. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  35. ^ "Is Funmi Iyanda staging a comeback? » Tribune Online". Tribune Online. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  36. ^ "Funmi Iyanda's new passion". Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  37. ^ "Who are the 100 Women 2014?". BBC News. 26 October 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2022.

Further reading

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