Titi Aboyade-Cole is a United Kingdom-based TV presenter and Chief Executive Officer of Podium. She speaks to Ademola Olonilua about her career, family and love life
As a granddaughter to the late legendary Bishop Aboyade Cole, has the name worked to your advantage?
When you have people who have left legacies for you, it would always open doors for you. They always say that a good name is worth more than gold or silver, so I would say that my family name has been opening doors for me.
But doesn’t it make you feel pressured to always be on top of your game?
To be honest, it motivates me to be the best in everything I do. When you realise that the shoe your forebears left behind for you to fit in is so large, it would inspire you to always want to do more because it is so difficult to match or even surpass what they achieved.
You bagged a degree at the Institute of Legal Executive, London but you never practised law for one day. Why?
It is because I was a legal executive, I did not obtain LLB, I only obtain LLM, which makes me a legal executive and not a lawyer. Right now, I am actually at the University of Law in England to get my LLB after so many years because law is my first love. I just have a year to go at the university and I am through.
Why did it take you this long to return to school if you love law that much?
I have always been a scholar even though I did not go back to school on time. I have attended some legal related institutes; I have been busy being a mother and I have also delved into so many business ventures. It was when I realised that my children are grown and I have more time on my hands that I decided to go back to my first love.
Why law?
Back in those days, when you were born and bred in Nigeria, your parents either wanted you to become a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer. When I was young, I always loved the way lawyers looked in their wigs and gowns and this attracted me to the legal profession. I also chose law because it would help me to defend people and uphold justice.
If that is the case, why did you go into television presentation at the detriment of your aspiration to become a lawyer?
I do not like when things are always portrayed in a negative way. I was watching BBC one day and in the news, it was reported that three Nigerians had been arrested for a crime. When I left in the morning, the news was being aired. By the time I came back, the station was still airing the news and the case remained the same till the next day and this angered me. I was furious because if a Nigerian does something great abroad, they may not report it in the news or they say it in passing but once it is negative news, that is what they would air all day.
My friend was with me that day and advised me to fish out Nigerians doing great things abroad and showcase them to the world. That was the genesis of it. I later came to Nigeria, did some documentaries and that was how I found myself in the media. I realised that I began to fall in love with the dissemination of information.
How did you become a presenter at Ben TV, in the UK?
I called a friend of mine that was working for BenTV at the time informing him that I would like to have a show on that platform and he laughed. My friend told me that it was not that easy to get a slot at the television station and when he was proving too difficult, I decided to buy airtime from them to air my programme. I paid for my airtime and that my friend was shocked to see me on air the following morning. Although he worked for them, I was an independent producer.
You had gained popularity in the UK especially among Nigerians, why did you come back home?
I have always loved my country and Nigeria is my final destination. No matter where I go, there is no place like home. I came back home after I believed that I was done with my education, I did not know that I would go back to school to study law. Also, I thought that my children were old enough and ready to settle down in Nigeria but I was wrong about that. When they came to Nigeria, my children did not like living here; they did not find it funny at all so I had to send them back to the UK. I decided to stay in Nigeria because there is no better place to live than in Nigeria.
How do you cope with your children so far away from you?
I am currently studying in the UK, so I get to see them often. Besides, travelling is something I love doing. I have a very solid base in Nigeria and that is what encouraged me to build a school in Nigeria. My daughter is a grown lady, she graduated from Babcock University, but she is back in England so she can always hold forte for me while I travel. She would look after her brothers.
We learnt you lost your father when you were barely four years old. How was life without him?
I lost my father when I was about four years old and to make things worse, my mother never remarried. His demise left me to always search for a father figure. It actually affected my relationships as well because even if I was dating my age mates, I would expect them to pamper me. It affected me all the way because I remember back in school when we had a parent-teacher association meeting and my friend’s father came with her. They were so close and free with each other that it hit me so much; I went to a corner to cry my eyes out because I just wanted my father. I begged my mother to remarry but she refused and her reason was that the kind of love my father gave to her, no one else could fill that vacuum in her life. She said that she would rather live with the memory of my father than get hurt by someone else. There was no father figure for me except for my elder brother who filled that gap the best way he could but it was never the same. I turned to looking for a father figure in a partner but it never really worked out because if you date someone who is about four years older than you, they expect you to be like a mother to them and also pamper them. They are not going to pamper you all the time. It took a while for it to sink in but it eventually did.
You seem to have a lot on your plate at the moment, do you ever create time for fun?
I love to have fun and I am a happy-go-lucky person but I don’t have the luxury of time to do a lot of things that I would love to do. I am a single mother of three, so it means that I am a mother and father at the same time. I always have to be there for my children. Because of the fact that my mother was also a single mother, I am trying my best to ensure that my children do not notice the fact that their father is absent.
If you had the time to catch some fun, what would you treat yourself to?
I love jazz music a lot and afro beat. However, the kind of afro beat I love is what Fela Anikulapo-Kuti originated. I would love to have more time to go to jazz parties or go somewhere I could listen to good music and eat good food. I also love going to the movies. That is my kind of fun.
How have you been coping as a single mother of three?
The Lord has been my strength but I have come to realise that your happiness is dependent on you alone. What has happened in life has already occurred and all you can do is to adjust and make the best out of the situation. I try to be the best mother for my children.
One would have thought that by the virtue of your job, you would have met someone else and probably remarried…
Who says that I don’t have a love interest in my life? But to remarry is not entirely up to me. I would not propose to myself, it depends on when God says it is time and when he chooses the right person for me. I am not in a rush to get married again and I am not bothered. I have children, a good career and other businesses, so I am not really in a rush or desperate to get married till when the time comes. Love would always find you at the appropriate time. I meet a lot of people but you cannot date someone you don’t know or just met at a party. Trust me, when it is the right time, love would find you.
When was the last time you went on a vacation?
It has been a long while but I would say that I go on working holidays. I travel a lot but they are always working holidays. As I speak with you, my children are in Canada on holidays but I cannot afford to be with them because I have to be in Nigeria because I am opening my school in September and I have to make sure everything is running smoothly. Holiday is not even in view for me in a long while at the moment.
So, how do you relax?
I run a social media programme once a week and it makes me happy; that is relaxation for me. I do a talk show and as I do that, I have noticed that it is therapeutic for me. – Culled from Punch.
