3 things to learn from that Tiwa interview

temitope a

May 5, 2016 11:16 AM

This is a blogpost by Chioma Nnani...Okay, so social media, blogs and some parts of offline communities are astir with the thing going between Tiwa Savage and her estranged husband, Tunji Balogun.

ThisDay writer, Azuka Oguijugba interviews Tiwa Savage in her home

Sorry I am sticking with Tunji Balogun (or TB), because I involuntarily roll my eyes at the other moniker he goes by.

If you're not familiar with the story, please Google – I haven't got enough space to elucidate.

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But Tiwa did a my-own-side-of-the-story video … and there are three things some of us came away with:

1. You need to come to equity with clean hands:

In Nigerian parlance, this is known as “No be the first one to reach police wey dey always win case”.

TB was the first person to run to social media with his issues. How can you go telling such damaging lies about a person, when the truth about you is even more destructive?

2. You cannot underestimate a person's ability to defend themselves:

There's also the fact that you need to realise that people can surprise you with their reactions. Fact is, many people are p*ssed because Tiwa didn't play dead; that's what they are doing in their own lives – growing white whiskers, as they wait for 'god' to vindicate them.

Which is why they keep being treated like discarded faeces. A lot of men have the mindset of ‘When she cry finish, eh eh? Shebi, I don do wetin I wan do.’ The idea (never mind, the reality) of a woman hitting back and sending you to hell, as she defends herself … is very new to some.

It's something that Nigerian men need to bear in mind, before anyone else gets inspired to fake depression on social media.

3. That interviewer … and the state of Nigerian education:

Before this video surfaced, I'd never heard of the interviewer. Even now, her surname still won't register with me; she's that irrelevant to me.

What I found, just as relevant as Tiwa speaking up, was Azuka's beyond-awful interrogation. The side-eye, the eye rolling, the inane questioning, the I-do-not-want-to-be-here vibe she was oozing? And she's come out to whinge about how that she's not a TV journalist.

I'm thinking, “But even in your print journalism, you interact with human beings! Even if I don't see a camera, I wouldn’t talk to you if you came at me like that! And are TV journalists, allowed to get away with bad written grammar because they're not print journalism?”

Some say she's had the job with ThisDay since forever. So, I'm thinking, “Really? That's why you're complacent? That's why you failed to grow?!”

You see the danger of being too comfortable? You see no need to improve yourself or your skills. This is why almost every fair-complexioned chic in Lagos, buys into the delusion that she is a model; many think they need no training.

Which brings me to “What skills are being passed on, in Nigerian schools?” I find it very difficult to understand how a trained journalist can offer a defence of being camera-shy. You must have done a bit of that in school!

Acting classes can remedy a lot of issues; the looks I saw were not those of a shy person, but of one who couldn't conceal their disdain for their subject. Then, there's the bit about the danger she faced; I'm thinking, “Some of these people take themselves too seriously! When the Amanpours, Ishay Sesays and Mit Toboures of this world are talking about dangers in journalism, this one too …”

And that thing about leaving her child alone at night? It's not a defence; it's just a tempting door to a very nasty place (regarding her own personal life and choices) that I am trying to restrain myself from going further …

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