Yemi Adenuga

Yemi Adenuga
Yemi in 2011
Born	(1971-09-23) 23 September 1971
Residence	Navan, Ireland
Education	Government Secondary School
Occupation	Broadcaster, screenwriter, presenter, producer, director, media personality, entrepreneur, public speaker
Spouse(s)	Deji Adenuga
Website	www.yemiadenuga.com

Oluwayemi "Yemi" Adenuga is a Nigerian Irish broadcaster, screenwriter, presenter, producer, director, media personality, entrepreneur, and public speaker.^[1] She hosted a talk show, Sharing with Yemi, from 1996–2003 on Nigeria's first private television station, Africa Independent Television (AIT).

Education

Born to Late Pa Isaac Olujimi Solaru and Deaconess Christian Solaru on 23 September 1971, Adenuga grew up in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, where her father worked for Shell Nigeria. She attended Army Children's School, GRA, and Government Secondary School Eneka, both in Port Harcourt, completing her secondary school education in Christ Apostolic Grammar School, Iperu-Remo, Ogun State. She studied Accountacy and Mass Communication at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria and holds a bachelor's degree in Business Studies (Human Resource Management Stream) from University College Dublin and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree (Project Management stream) from Liverpool John Moores University.

A qualified and highly experienced training consultant, Adenuga has FETAC level 6 certificates in Training and development, Computerised Accounts, Computerised Payroll, as well as a certificate in First Line Management from the Institute of Leadership and Management, Ireland. She also holds a Diploma in Television Directing from the CEFAP institute of Television Production and Directing in Paris. Adenuga is a member of several professional bodies including the Institute of leadership and Management, Ireland, the MBA Association of Ireland and Project Management Association, Ireland. She is also an associate of the Irish Institute of training and development.

Broadcasting career

Early career

Adenuga started her career as an accounts and administrative officer with WASCO advertising, Kaduna, Nigeria in 1989.

Radio

Her broadcast career took off in 1990 when she passed an audition to become a pioneering staff of the Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation's new FM Radio station, OGBC2 where she worked with ace broadcasters like Olusesan Ekisola.^[2] Yemi worked there as a Newscaster, scriptwriter, presenter and Radio producer and in 1991, became known on radio as The fox that Rocks the box. She presented and produced several programmes including; On a personal note, FM mail bag, weekend special and Early bird. In 1994, she joined DAAR Communications PLC, Nigeria to become a Pioneering member of Nigeria's first private radio station, Ray Power 100Fm and subsequently became Manager of Programmes. There she presented and produced programmes which included; Straight from the heart, bone of my bones, thank God its Friday, Sunny side up, The Ultimate morning show and Ray power express. She also produced several radio documentaries on developmental issues most of which were done in collaboration with UNICEF.

Television

On the set of Sharing with Yemi (1998) with the Amatas & the Obes

Yemi made her move into Television in 1996 to work for Africa Independent Television (AIT), Nigeria's first private Television station. Yemi is the first female presenter to present a programme on the first private Radio station in Nigeria, Ray Power 100fm, and also the director/producer of the first programme to be aired on the first private television station in Nigeria, AIT.

She hosted and produced a TV talk show, 'Sharing with Yemi'.^[3] which was Nigeria's leading talk show from 1996 – 2003. Aside from producing and directing numerous TV programmes, Yemi researched, produced and directed several documentaries among which were; Africa, what hope for tomorrow (very first programme broadcast on AIT, Nigeria' first private TV station), Life after these (on girls in difficult situations in Nigeria), the Italian connection (on situations of Nigerian girls prostituting in Italy), If only i was a boy (on sexual and reproductive health of adolescent girls in Nigeria), we can speak for ourselves (for 1996 day of the African child on the state of the African child), the Legend lives on (on King Sunny Ade at 50), Healing with a smile (on the power of helping others), love for sale (on young undergraduates prostituting in schools) and She had no choice (on girls with VVF resulting from early marriage).^[4]

With a desire to develop and pursue her business development career, Yemi relocated to Ireland in 2000 and worked with IBM international holdings, Ireland from 2003 to 2010, exiting the company as a cost accountant.^[5]

Entrepreneur

D-dymensions Communications

In 2007, Yemi and her husdand, Deji Adenuga.^[6] an A-list Nigerian actor, established D-Dymensions Communications, an international Business management, training/development, project/event management and media consulting company based in Republic of Ireland with Branches in Africa, offering a wide range of strategically developed, high-quality and effective consultancy services with a goal to know the needs of clients and develop strategic interventions to meet them.

AWDI

In 2004, Yemi founded African Women Development Initiative (AWDI).^[7] a development oriented, non-profit, non-governmental organisation, set up to serve as a support network body for migrant African women in Ireland and relief for women in deplorable situations. Through the AWDI project, Yemi has worked with women who share the vision to build and strengthen relationships and entrenching family values. She also uses AWDI as a forum where women can express and improve themselves in areas where they need help with a mission to also empower, support and strengthen the African Woman for a confident and sufficient living. Yemi's work with AWDI supports Women refuges in Ireland including Drogheda Women Refuge and Meath Women's refuge through fundraising programmes to help female victims of domestic violence and their children, and building on its current leadership project, to educate, give Moral support to, and develop women for leadership positions.

Nigerian Carnival Ireland

Yemi and Deji Adenuga started NIGERIAN CARNIVAL IRELAND (NCI).^[8] in 2008, an annual cultural carnival held in the historic Phoenix Park, Dublin, and its aim is to promote Social integration, celebrate cultural diversity and Cultural heritage, promote tourism in Ireland, inform and educate people about the different, diverse cultures of the ethnic communities in the now Multicultural Ireland while re-orientating peoples' perception of Nigeria to defeat negative stereotypes. Yemi is the Carnival Director of Nigerian Carnival Ireland.^[9]

Acting and media production

Yemi has worked on several media and stage acting projects in Ireland including;

• Memory Box (Yemi is the voice of Lilian, in this three-part animation series 'Abbi's Circle', produced by FOMAC, which focuses on immigrant family reunification' in Ireland).^[10]
• Team Spirit (Animated Sequel to Memory box).^[11]
• New Town Centre Project (A Ronan McCrea production where Yemi narrates under Projected photographic images telling of an unspecified protagonist's tangential thoughts, reports, anecdotes and quotes).^[12]
• No handouts in Europe (Yemi writes the script and narrates this one hour Radio Drama for RTÉ, Ireland's national Radio station).^[13]
• A street car named desire (Yemi plays Isabel in this stage adaptation by the Navan theatre group).^[14]
• The Dilemma of a Ghost (Yemi Plays Ato's mother in this Ghanaian play).^[15][16]
• Spectrum (Yemi was presenter on this programme on mainstream Irish radio dealing specifically with immigrant issues).^[17]
• Once upon a time (yemi plays narrator in this stage play).
• Not too long ago (Yemi Narrates the stories of Migrants in a now multicultural Ireland).

Personal life

Yemi is the Project Manager for Cultúr, an Irish government funded community organisation in Ireland, working with migrants to promote equal rights and opportunities and develop an intercultural County Meath. She serves as the Chairperson of the steering committee of the M.I.M.E project (Migrants Integrating in Meath Equally), Ireland, the Vice-President of the Meath Intercultural Network (MIN), Ireland and the Chairperson of the Migrant Women Leaders Council, Ireland. Yemi has a vision to empower women and through her AWDI project has motivated many African women in Ireland to continually develop and educate themselves. She is married to Deji Adenuga,^[18] one of Nigeria's A-List Nollywood actors and they live in Navan with their children.^[19]

Awards

• Best Radio Presenter of the Year – University of Ife, Nigeria – 1992
• Radio Presenter of the year – Ogun State University, Nigeria – 1992
• Best Female radio Presenter – University of Ilorin, Nigeria – 1993
• Radio's Most Outstanding presenter of the year – Ogun State University – 1994
• Radio Presenter of the year – Ray Power 100fm – 1995
• Chairman's Outstanding Broadcaster Award – DAAR communications Plc – 1995
• Outstanding female Radio Presenter – Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Nigeria – 1996
• Best documentary Production for 'Africa-what hope for tomorrow' – Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Nigeria – 1996
• Programme of the year 'sharing with Yemi' – Ogun State University, Nigeria – 1996
• Best Nigerian Talk show 'Sharing with Yemi' – Women in Leadership Organisation, Nigeria – 1997
• Best TV presenter of the year (Sharing with Yemi) – Women in Leadership Organisation, Nigeria – 1998
• Programme of the year (Sharing with Yemi) – Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria – 1999
• Best TV Talk show – Ogun State University, Nigeria – 2000
• one of the 100 Most Influential African people in Ireland

References

External links

• http://www.dyrelationshipclinic.com
• http://www.africanwomendev.com
• http://www.ddymensions.net
• http://www.nigeriancarnivalireland.net
• http://www.thenigeriancarnival.com
• http://www.nigeriancelebritynetwork.com
• http://www.cultur.ie/staff.html