By Faith Obinna –
In an African workspace still largely dominated by the masculine gender, Aishat Ayijimoh Onusi, bestrides the Nigerian traditional and new media firmament with admirable ease. Her level of innovativeness and ability to make sense out of complexity is legendary. She does not suffer fools gladly. One would not be wrong to say that her motto is: ‘Get it right the first time’, considering her painstaking attention to detail. Hardwork and effectiveness leap at you when your observe her dynamic work ethic. Her highly impactful professional services belie her time consuming matrimonial duties.
As a mother of four, one wonders where she gets the energy and inspiration to fashion her many cutting-edge solutions to often intractable media puzzles – both as a hands-on professional and brand manager. She is simply an enigma and rare bred who continues to break new grounds, leads from the front and beckons on fellow female folks and men alike to step up, through force of personal example. Meeting her for a few minutes will reveal a woman that is intelligent, simplistically humble, and charitable, coupled with a dazzling beauty decreed by the gods. She believes that every professional woman can make a lot of difference by loving what they do.
Often shy to speak about her persona with any hint of adulation, she revealed to me, during a chance conversation that: “When you love your job, it is easy to give it your all. Passion has been my driving force. The Mass Media space is very dynamic especially the social media genre with its dizzying developments per second. With many competing brands and information, staying relevant requires consistency and hard work. The pressure can sometime be so intense that it becomes really easy to get lost in the crowd. My advice: Do not follow the crowd, be different and stay professional even if you are not popular. Excellence in media practice is not a popularity contest; it is about making a difference, real impact.”
One only needs to skim her rich and intimidating resume to understand the secret of her exceptional lifestyle as a woman of achievement. Aishat holds a Masters Degree in Media Arts and Communications and a Post Graduate Diploma (PGD), in Theatre Arts & Mass Communication from the University of Benin; a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Mass Communication (Broadcasting) from Auchi Polytechnic and many professional certificates in Broadcasting, Broadcast Regulation and New Media. With extensive media network and experience, covering print journalism, broadcasting, broadcast regulation, public relations and new media, she is also an International School of Communication – ISOC – Certified Social Media Reputation Manager and Crisis Communication Strategist as well as an Associate Member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.
Her academic pedigree dates back to her early education days where she often stood out as an excellent performer. She graduated as the Best Student in Mass Communication at both Ordinary National Diploma (OND) and HND levels at Auchi Polytechnic and as an undergraduate, set new record as the first female Editor-in-Chief of the Campus newspaper and Magazine publications, a position reserved for the overall best student in Mass Communication, setting new standards of excellence in campus journalism for successive student editors till date.
She equally won the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Most Hardworking Corps Member Award with a letter of commendation for creating greater awareness about NYSC/Corps members’ activities as Editor-In-Chief of ‘Anambra Kopa’ Magazine and for pioneering an NYSC Programme on Television, thereby inspiring other Corps members to maximize their potential in community development. Her list of achievements stretches farther.
Likewise, as a broadcast journalist with the Nigerian Television Authority – NTA – she excelled in news casting and news reportage. She also emerged the National Broadcasting Commission’s Best Staff Awardee in 2010 for exceptional dedication to duty and outstanding performance as a Broadcast Content Monitoring Officer. She passionately promoted the National Broadcasting Commission’s social media image and online presence and was a significant part of the team effort that led to the emergence of the Commission as winner of three Phillips Consult Web-Jurists’ Awards in 2015; among which was the Best overall Federal Government agency website. Since assuming duties as Technical Adviser on New Media to the Hon. Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, she has driven the Ministry’s online reputation from obscurity to a robust social media presence, placing the Federal Ministry of Agriculture among the most active Ministries online. She approaches all her assignments with a Midas Touch.
Her excellence in public life mirrors her excellence at the home front. Aishat is married to Abdullateef Onusi, and blessed with four beautiful and lovely children. In her own words, Aishat says: “I have been lucky. I have the most understanding and supportive husband. It is not always easy but I have been so blessed to have the kind of family I have. Without their support, I wouldn’t be here. God has been so kind and merciful.”
With a history of numerous firsts in her academic and professional pursuit, Aishat continues to expand her frontiers of excellence into uncharted territories in the media and communications space.
*Culled from The News Journal
