In March of 2011, media mogul Tajuddeen Adepetu, took to his Facebook page to announce the Soundcity TV Presenter auditions, which were to take place at his company’s offices in Lekki, Lagos. For many aspiring media personalities, auditions such as this one by Soundcity provided the opportunity for their talents to be discovered and leveraged by a media platform. If all went according to plan, they would go on to become uber-famous and perhaps rich as well. But all-in-all, their lives would go on to change forever.
This has been the case for Moet Abebe, who found the launchpad to becoming the big media personality she is today, at an audition for Soundcity TV. This was three months after Abebe returned to Nigeria from the UK to pursue a career as a TV Presenter.
She passed the auditions and thus began her long relationship with Soundcity, a career that has traversed the small screen and radio. Since she has been with Soundcity, Moet has also made a foray into the movie industry, with productions such as Red Card, Oasis and Living Arrangement.
For Adepetu, his presenters have been more than work colleagues. This is probably why he has been one of the most successful at refining raw talent and positioning them for enviable success and remarkable professional journeys. Several media celebrities across TV, Radio and live fan experiences have enjoyed mentorship and tutelage that Adepetu continues to freely extend.
Take Denrele Edun, for example. Despite getting introduced to TV early on as a lead character on Kiddie Vision 101, an NTA Kids Show back in early 90s, he would eventually caught his big break while working as on air personality at Soundcity in 2005. Denrele would go on, under Adepetu’s
mentorship, to become at one point the “most popular TV presenter in Nigeria”, according to City People Awards. As Denrele recalled in a 2017 interview with Guardian Life magazine, Soundcity “defined everything I wanted to do.”
Building on the success and exposure earned on Soundcity programmes, Denrele would go on to host the biggest red-carpet events in Nigeria and beyond. He would also go on to interview international superstars, including Beyonce, Snoop Dogg, Akon and many more. Denrele skyrocketed from his days as a model and dancer to become one of the most recognisable faces in Nigerian entertainment.
Even though his ride with Soundcity came to an end in 2011, Denrele expresses appreciation for the phenomenal journey he had while working with Adepetu. “Soundcity was no doubt an amazing mileage for me,” he said to Encomium magazine in 2016.
From on-air personalities to musicians and actors, Adepetu has played an influential role to many individuals in the industry. Nigerian actress, Judith Audu’s first role on the small screen was on a Tajuddeen Adepetu TV Series titled One Love. This was after she had been invited by no other than Denrele Edun to audition for the role. That same year, Audu registered as an Actor with the Actors Guild of Nigeria, and has progressed to a productive career from there.
Nurturing talent, says Adepetu, is a path to personal fulfilment. “It is not enough that you succeed at a thing. When your success is such that people can associate their own success with yours,” he says, “then you know that you have built something truly outstanding,” he says.
It appears his strategy of building stars is also evident in the massive growth of his own business.
His companies, Consolidated Media Associates and Alphavision Productions, which have now collectively metamorphosed into Group8 Limited, considered to be the largest independent media organisation in West Africa.
Consolidated Media Associates once reported that its contents reached an audience of about 100 million in 70 countries. Today, Group8 does cover the entire continent with its pan-African approach to entertainment, either through its free to air TV and radio channels in Nigeria, its countrywide radio network in Kenya, or the direct to home transmission via DSTV, the Africawide satellite broadcasting provider.
The vast reach and impact of Adepetu’s current endeavours could make a star out of almost anyone. But it goes beyond the platform, really. A lot of the magic happens in the interactions and interpersonal relationship he shares with these young talents.
As a Group8 production staff member describes it, “Adepetu works closely with every one of his people, including those behind the cameras and I think the honest collaboration is what has allowed them to shine, and made the business successful.”
Adepetu aligns with the philosophy that says “Stars are made, not born,” and while his command of TV and radio has earned him a distinguished place in the industry, it does appear that his knack for nurturing distinguished talents is a brilliant approach to business that is helping to establish his legacy.
This was originally written by Moses Nosike of The punch News Paper.
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