Ebuka Obi-Uchendu: Elegance meets eloquence, energy

BY TOSIN ADAMS

Ebuka Obi-Uchendu is a young lawyer and an energetic media personality with great promise. But he is also an amazing show host, an influencer and a brand ambassador who is living life to the fullest. He read law but found fulfilment, adventure, freedom and fame in the media.

A broadcasting experiment that started like a joke many years ago after a successful outing as one of the housemates at the Big Brother Nigeria reality show, is now a full-blown career. But this broadcaster from Okija, Anambra State, is just one among many forward-looking and confident young Nigerians who are igniting their passions, challenging established norms and bypassing their realities to succeed in a country where survival is a daily struggle.

It is important to note however, that this media personality has so far, handled with dexterity and near perfection, great and attention-grabbing television shows like Big Brother Naija, Rubbin Minds, a popular talk show on Channels Television and acted as a co-host of The Spot and Men’s Corner on Ebonylife Television.

He was also in front of the camera for shows like Friend or Foe and the GLO Show, two shows on the Nigerian Television Authority; this is in addition to Guiness Greatness TV and a weekly column he wrote in This Day called Contrast.

And, there are no signs yet of a slowdown. As could be expected, Obi-Uchendu has become a powerful endorsement tool in the mass media for top-ranking products and services like Budweiser Nigeria, Samsung Nigeria, PorkMoney and 2Sure Nigeria, among others. He was also at different times, represented a major telecommunications company and a major brewery company.

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For those who still remember, Obi-Uchendu was thrust into the limelight in 2006 when he joined 13 other housemates on the first season of Big Brother Nigeria, a reality show that gave him the perfect exposure and a stepping stone to an interesting career and a life that still excites.

This public attention also came with many other gains and achievements. Aside from being considered in many quarters, as the most visible and successful housemate of Big Brother Nigeria Class 2006, he went ahead in January, 2017 to validate that perception when he was announced as the anchor of the second and third seasons of Big Brother Nigeria.

In 2011, Obi-Uchendu presented what many people now refer to as the first ever presidential debate on youth development and related issues, a programme that was beamed live across Nigeria.

It was indeed a turning point in the career of a young presenter who, until the presidential debate, had remained largely apolitical and nondescript as far as politics was concerned. But he braced up against all odds and spoke out for his generation that is sometimes considered lazy by elders in government.

To his fans and many young people like him, it is still morning for the famous TV show host who continues to go places. Only last month, he met and took pictures with Bill Gates, the American billionaire and renowned co-founder of Microsoft during the annual Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards that took place in far away New York.

The awards which he anchored have taken him a step further as he successfully climbs another ladder of success in his life. This Goalkeepers Awards which is closely associated with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, recognizes outstanding individuals who are conscious and focused on the need to help achieve Global Goals by 2030.

The global agenda to achieve gender equality, realize the human rights of everyone, end poverty and hunger, ensure lasting protection of the planet and bring about empowerment for women and girls, is a noble cause. There will surely be payback time for Obi-Uchendu in this moral commitment to make the world better.

In spite of his achievements so far in the media and the world of entertainment, he still feels that the journey is far. To give the impression that he is not even at the peak of his career is also exemplary, coupled with the fact that he has no sense of entitlement.

This kind of self-discipline is one of the keys that unlocks business success, and this is an important lesson for up-and-coming artistes who still lack the full understanding of fame. He was quoted as saying some time ago that he would continue to hone his skill in preparation for any opportunity that comes his way, and this many think, is the way to go.

“I think every TV host in Nigeria, if not the continent, always has an eye on hosting Big Brother. As humans, we continuously aspire to reach the top, so from the day I started hosting my first TV show in 2006, I started picturing it. I also figured it would make for a great story, seeing a former housemate host the show, but I didn’t sit around feeling entitled to it. I got on with my work, believing the opportunity would come one day. So, when it came, I was fully prepared”.

Born on July 14, 1982, in Benin City, Obi-Uchendu attended Christ the King College, Abuja, University of Abuja, the Nigerian Law School, Bwari, Abuja and the Washington College of Law of the American University, Washington DC. He is married to Cynthia Obianodo and blessed with two children.

QUOTE:

I think every TV host in Nigeria, if not the continent, always has an eye on hosting Big Brother. As humans, we continuously aspire to reach the top, so from the day I started hosting my first TV show in 2006, I started picturing it. I also figured it would make for a great story.