by Francesca Uriri

As the Director Arts, of British Council Nigeria, Ojoma is charged with the responsibility of expanding the reach and growth of the creative industries in Nigeria.  She talks about the evident gains from the creative sector, her passion for the arts, and why mastery of self and hard work are important elements for success. She is the Leading Lady Africa for the week; be inspired!

Please give us a brief introduction to who Ojoma Ochai is?

 

Ojoma Ochai – Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Various things in the Nigerian arts and creative economy space depending on who you talk to (laughs)

 You studied Chemistry at the university, why did you make the switch to the arts?

 

Aha. I don’t think I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up until a few years ago. Ha-ha. Its funny my dad (who has a PhD in Theatre Arts) wanted me to study something in the arts like English etc. My mum wanted me to do law.  But as a teenager, you are certain you know better than your parents and so I opted to study medicine instead. Ended up in chemistry but never really got into it. After a few twists and turns, ended back up in the arts. Moral of the story and especially now that I have children) of course is that parents always do know best. (laughs)

 How did you feel being nominated as The Future Awards Young Person of the Year in 2011?

 

That was quite a defining moment for me I think.  The award and I suppose the timing of it  – I suddenly realised I was no longer just Ojoma the random girl working in the arts, I was now this person who was considered (at least by some!) a role model for younger people and perhaps even some of my peers. That brought I think a new level of self-awareness I had never really had. Which is good because I am now more deliberate in my actions and decision making and bad because well… the pressure, the pressure! (laughs)

 

You are the Assistant Director at the British Council Nigeria, what does your role involve?

 

In my role, which is actually now renamed Director, Arts Nigeria, I am responsible for our arts and creative economy work in Nigeria interfacing with the region and our corporate office in the UK and external stakeholders. Our programme aims to link artists and organisations in Nigeria and the UK and support Nigeria’s arts and creative sector development ambitions.

 Do you have fun doing what you do, and is that an important element of your job?

 

My job is interesting. I get to meet lots of interesting people (present company included – laughs), do many different things – one day I might be struggling at my desk to make the programme finances balance, another day I’ll be sipping palm wine at Wole Soyinka’s home in Abeokuta at 10.a.m in the morning. I don’t think any other job could give me that range of experiences.

 The British Council is seen to support the local creative industries in Nigeria, what does it hope to achieve with this?

 

The creative industries are one of the UK’s biggest success stories. According to the most recent government estimates published, the sector recorded growth of almost 10% in 2012, outperforming all other sectors of UK industry, accounted for 1.68 million jobs in 2012, 5.6 per cent of UK jobs, worth £71.4 billion per year to the UK economy – generating just over a staggering £8 million pounds an hour. Parallel to that are Nigeria’s own creative industries where our film and music industries along with fashion and other creative sectors are emerging as serious contenders in the contribution to national non-oil revenue and in job creation for young people.

 

So to answer your question – with two creative industries that are important in both countries, in building relationships between Nigeria and the UK (which is our main mandate) it is only logical that the creative industries should be one way to do this.

 

For the Nigerian creative industries in Nigeria to network in a mutually beneficial way with the UK, it only stands to reason that the British Council supports Nigeria’s creative industries because only then can we facilitate meaningful relationships across the sectors in the two countries.

 

Sorry for the long winded answer. Hope it answered your question. (laughs!)

 Yes it did! If you weren’t at the British Council now, what would you be doing?

 

I’d be chilling on a beach somewhere in the Bahamas. (Laughs). Seriously. Of course this is all conjecture because I really don’t know. I suppose I could have been working in Project Management in the IT sector because that’s something else I did while I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Or I might have been a movie star (laughs) who knows.

 

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in advancing yourself professionally?

 

What is a challenge? (laughs)  I suppose one main thing is in mastery of self. It is hard work (albeit with a lot of divine abracadabra (laughs)) to maintain the clarity of purpose and consistency of delivery that is required to advance in anything in life. So that has been one thing I have had to develop and still working on – sometimes I am travelling so much or working so hard I hardly see my family so yes it is a very hard, sometimes very lonely walk to the top.

 

No I won’t talk about being a woman and having to raise a family while building a career (laughs!)

 What advice would you give young women hoping to build successful corporate careers such as yours?

 

Work hard. O tan! (That’s all in Yoruba). (laughs)

 

Seriously, don’t expect to get handed anything on a platter. Work hard, deliver exceptional results, pray hard.

 Do you think that the Arts and Creative industries in Nigeria are sustainable and capable of generating real revenue?

 

Of course yes!! Just look at the stats from developed and developing countries around the world. Look at our own creative industries and what they have managed to achieve even in the face of serious macro level dysfunction. There is work to be done for the sector to begin to achieve the potential it is capable of which we have started and (barring any unforeseen circumstances) I am confident that in the next 5 – 10 years, we will start to see the significant gains from the sector that we all want in terms of GDP contribution, job creation and even nation building and national image making. 

 The work-life balance question always comes up, especially for women. How do you juggle the demands of your career with your obligations as a wife and mother?

 

I already said I wouldn’t talk about this. (Laughs) I juggle them. Period! You do what you have to do. Seriously, it’s about choices – my personal and professional life are both important to me so I pay them both attention and do the best I can with the resources and support systems at my disposal.

 Who are your mentors/role models?

 

Ngozi Okonjo Iweala – love her or hate her. I really admire her ability to cut through the jargon and simplify complex issues and deliver results.

 

Marissa Mayer, the Yahoo CEO – that woman is 39 years old! Have you seen her list of achievements?

 Name three women you admire?

 

I already named two (laughs) I am also inspired by Sheryl Sandberg (the Facebook CEO) – her book Lean In made so much sense. I’d recommend it to any woman wanting to build a professional profile in any area.

 

Closer to home, my mother inspires me – she’s our rock that woman.

 Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?

 

Still working in the creative industries in Nigeria; in a much enlarged capacity

 Recommend 3 books that you’d like for us to read?

 

I already told you one (ha ha!)

 

I find Biographies really interesting – Steve Jobs, Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom, Tina Fey’s Bossy Pants

 

And the bible. Yes please people. Read the bible. 

 If you could change one thing about the world, what would that be?

 

All fattening things would become healthy foods – chocolate would become as healthy as …I don’t know … green tea. And fruits and veggies will swap ‘healthiness levels’ with ice cream and crisps now. (Haha!)

 

Seriously, if could change one thing…. I’d end all war and conflict. Yes. That’s what I’d do.

 

Career-wise, did you make deliberate plans to be where you are now, or you just went with the flow?

 

At the beginning, I didn’t make deliberate choices regarding for example what area to work in but I did make choices about the quality of my work and the effort I put into getting ahead.  I did however get to a point a few years ago where there were diverging paths and I did at that point have to deliberately let go of some things to focus on what to pursue from then on. 

 Words of wisdom for young women trying to decide their career paths in life?

 

• Pray for wisdom
• Work hard, be committed to delivering at extremely high standards
• Never try to be the best woman for the job; always aim to be the best person for the job

Follow Ojoma on twitter: @ojomaochai

The Leading Ladies Africa Series is a weekly interview series that focuses on women of African descent, showcases their experiences across all socio-economic sectors, highlights their personal and professional achievements and offers useful advice on how to make life more satisfying for women.

It is an off-shoot of Leading Ladies Africa; an initiative that seeks to effectively mentor and inspire women, with particular emphasis on the African continent.

Do you know any woman of African descent doing phenomenal things? Send an email to [email protected] and we just might feature her.