Solomon Obi
Things happen to people for a reason, Miriam Cole discovered. The 24-year-old Imo State-born On-Air Personality had from an early age always wanted to be part of the entertainment industry. Soon what she had wished for came knocking on her doorstep.
According to her, a state-owned television station Lagos Televison had, in partnership with CNN, visited her secondary school to do a documentary. Fortunately for her, she was the best student in her English class and so her English teacher nominated her to show the media crew around the school as so to show the media crew the new facilities in the school and other places of interest in the school, which she gladly did. “I was excited about it,” she recalls. “I was on TV. I was [the] in SS [Senior Secondary] 2 or thereabout and I did pretty well according to people though I never got to see that video even to this day.”
This particular encounter heightened her interested in the entertainment industry and pushed her to pursue broadcasting as a career path. Before her bliss with the television station she was already part of her school’s press club and she did not stop there as she continued on her career when she gained admission into Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka to study English language and literature.
She joined her campus radio station UNIZIK 94. 1 FM to hone her skills in pursuit of her dream. “When I got into the university, I did get into campus radio. Though I did not have much time it was where I had my first real experience with radio broadcasting.”
Since after her National Youth Corps Service year, she has been a professional broadcaster and it does not seem like she is quitting any time soon. This even despite the fact that the terrain seems to be getting tougher with new challenges. These take the form of fierce competition in the industry and the struggle to stay relevant in these changing times.
She considers affecting people positively with her craft as her greatest achievement. Remarkably for an industry newbie, she has bagged a slew of awards and nominations for the Best Female OAP. The nominations include Wafrica Awards, Nigeria Hype Awards, Eminence Awards, and Abuja Entertainment and Meritorious Awards. Recently, she clinched the Maya Awards on November 17.
Her advice to the upcoming broadcasters? “Know exactly what you want to do. Know what you have passion for and follow your passion.”
She added that the prize for greatness comes at a price and those seeking such acclaim should be willing to pay the price for it if they truly desired it.
Among her hobbies, Cole mentions reading, dancing and physical exercises.
–––Obi writes from Abuja
