Obagbemi: My Acting Skills Have Helped My Communication Career

The Communication Manager of Meta for Anglophone West Africa, Mrs. Oluwasola Obagbemi, in this interview tells the story of her career journey and experience. Dike Onwuamaeze brings the excerpts

Can you tell us about your journey as a communications professional and how you developed your expertise in the field? 

I always say that it’s such an amazing journey here. I have always wanted to be a communications professional from university. I studied Dramatic Arts at Obafemi Awolowo University, but since I got that admission my dad did not want me to do acting for reasons best known to him. I liked acting but because I wanted to please my father I had to start researching for another profession. Before the end of my first year at the university, I heard about the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations and I immediately registered for the certification. I loved the profession so much that I wrote all the exams and later earned a diploma before I finished my university degree; that meant I was certified public relations professional in my third year. While in school, I was also busy with doing internships at PR and advertising companies because I wanted to properly understand and immerse myself in the profession. By the time I graduated, I had interned in three organisations so I clearly knew I wasn’t going to be an actress even if I majored in “acting” and was one of the best in my set. It had to be communication, so after NYSC, I applied for my masters in Communication to major in Public Relations and Advertising at the University of Ghana. I luckily got a scholarship with 50 per cent of my tuition fees paid by ECOWAS so I didn’t want to delay or miss the opportunity. Before leaving Ghana, I interned with a leading agency for about four months then I moved back to Nigeria to start my career with a communications agency where I grew from being a communications assistant to the deputy chief operating officer in six years. I then moved to Andela as communication manager for Nigeria, after which I was promoted to build out the team in Africa as the senior communication manager for about three years. I am currently with Meta, I joined three years ago as the communications manager for Anglophone West Africa and it’s been an amazing journey on a global scale.

What are the things that aided your career growth?

I think the first thing for me is passion. I was, and I am still, very passionate about communication. I love the fact that somebody can tell you the value of a product and as a communication professional you can sit to think about how the right audience will see and hear about that value to help them make a buying decision or at least a perception. I am also very passionate about “storytelling” looking for and telling the stories of what Africans are doing to put us on the map. The next thing that shaped my career growth is the people that I have worked with. I will say that God has blessed me with amazing managers that have helped me grow. From my agency days when I worked with Adebola Williams and Chude Jideonwo who literally helped me to harness my love and passion for communication and trusted me to handle tasks that I would never have imagined doing or delivering. At Andela, I worked with an amazing director of communication who was based in New York. She held my hand and helped me grow faster than I could even imagine. Trusting me to lead the communication team in Africa just six months after I joined the company was a huge task but I worked with an amazing group and we built campaigns that I am forever proud of. I also have an amazing manager at Meta so the people that I have worked with over the years and the passion I have for communication stand out for me when I think about my career growth.

As the corporate communications manager for Anglophone West Africa at Meta, what are your main responsibilities and objectives in overseeing the brand’s communication across the region?

The objectives of Meta are pretty clear, we want to give people the power to build communities and bring the world closer together. My role is to ensure that we are able to communicate this to our users and stakeholders in Anglophone West Africa. Doing this in collaboration with my colleagues for three years has been fulfilling for me because of the impactful campaigns that we have executed; the amazing stories we’ve told; the people we’ve spotlighted, and the brand result we’ve seen.

What are your challenges?

I work with a brand that is always in the news, reporters want to hear from you and they always want to write about Meta. As the contact person who is often required to share a statement, that has its unique challenge and ultimately a ground to learn. I am grateful for that.

 Could you share some specific examples of successful PR campaigns that you led during your time at Andela and how they impacted the brand’s visibility and awareness?

Looking back now and just reflecting on the amazing things we did at Andela. I worked with some of the most brilliant marketing and communication professionals in the world so I won’t say that there was any campaign I ran alone but leading the communication team across Africa was a huge task and a very fulfilling one. The country director and my director of communication gave me a clear task when I joined and the goal was clear: we needed to be well known not only by our primary audience, but by a wider audience and the major stakeholders as a respected software engineering company and we did just that across Africa.

 In your role as Deputy Chief Operating Officer at Red Media Africa, what were some of the key accomplishments you achieved for international and local clients?

Red was a place of growth for me because I grew from being a communication assistant all the way to being the deputy chief operating officer within six years. The major milestones I can recount will be just sitting down with the founders to identify the accounts we need to work on and just going out to pitch for those accounts and getting the job. They are very well known and respected people in the industry so there was even more pressure to deliver stellar work because in their own personal capacities, they are known to be PR icons. The good thing about the work at the Red was also the fact that it was backed with a number of awards across local and international platforms. I am extremely proud of the work we did and how my team was able to deliver across different client campaigns and projects.

How has your educational background in dramatic arts and communication studies contributed to your career in public relations and communication?

I am thankful that I actually have a degree in Dramatic Arts. I say this now because all my job roles since I left school have either been as a spokesperson for brands or pitching ideas and strategies to clients. Acting helped me with confidence; it helped me find my voice even when I don’t see any other person that looks like me in the room. It has helped with all my speaking engagements with any kind of audience and also helped me to cut the clutter of stage fright. I am now a lecturer, so being able to articulate what I know in a way that people will understand clearly is also thanks to my acting background. Indeed, my acting skills have helped me express myself before thousands of people and has helped my communication career.

Your passion for promoting equality and inclusion for women is admirable. Could you tell us about some of the causes or initiatives you’ve championed in this area?

Women would always be at the core of everything I do because we are simply special. This is not to say I do not have male mentees but I find myself creating more time to support women because I am closer to our struggles and I see it especially at the workplace so any opportunity to lift another up is always a delight. Earlier this year in March, I made an open call to have a closed-door conversation with women who are working from 9a.m. to 5p.m. but are struggling to manage the home front and work. I only wanted to host 30 people so this won’t be another conference or summit but just a safe space where people can share vulnerably without anyone recording or feeling unsafe. I got close to 96 applications for a seat in 48 hours, I had to close the form but reading through those personal stories of why these women want to be in the room just tells me there is still a lot of work for women who have figured it out to help others too. Today, I look back at the testimonies and I am thankful to God that I listened to Him and hosted that session. Also on the girl-child, count me in on any cause that will help promote this cause, I have volunteered my time and resources to some projects that will help educate young girls and also make the world a better place.

Balancing a successful career with personal life can be a challenge. As an advocate for work-life balance, what strategies or advice do you have for women aspiring to reach the peak of their careers while maintaining a healthy personal life?

The first thing I always say when people ask me this question is to look around and get a support system that can help you. I am a firm believer that some things need you in the house and some things do not need you if you can outsource them. A good support system make you look good and helps you be the best version of you. This can be either your mother, mother-in-law, getting a nanny, cook, driver or cleaner. As long as you are aligned with your partner on what works best for you, you can then focus your energy on being a present mom to your kids and being the best partner to your husband. I am blessed to have an amazing husband because finding the right person also helps you maintain that healthy balance; someone that has got your back any day amidst what the world is saying, and someone that genuinely supports you in all that you have chosen to do in life. Those two things are the keys and once you get them right the sky is actually the beginning for you.

You’ve also been recognised by various institutions and organisations as part of the women leading in your profession. How does that feel?

Late last year when I got the notification that I was recognised as part of the 35 under 35 marketing and communication professionals in Nigeria by BrandComm, I was like ‘this is inspiring’ because you do the work and don’t even know people are watching. The past few months have actually been filled with recognition and accolades. I was also short of words when I got the email that I am one of the top 100 Career Women in Africa recognised by 9to5chick. I had to step back a bit to think, who is the person mentioning my name in these rooms? My husband then reminded me that I’ve paid my dues and are still paying those dues so this is just a season of recognition and I am sincerely embracing all as it comes – including this interview with THISDAY. I am thankful that all of the work is paying off, I am grateful to those who are watching, thankful to anybody that has been part of this my career journey, especially those who have helped me and trusted me with things I haven’t even handled before but just because they believe in me, they know Sola will always deliver excellently. There is more work to be done and I am super excited about the journey ahead.

Also saw that you were one of the women recognised by the Lagos State Government as part of the Eko 150 changing the narrative in Nigeria?

Imagine getting a call one day from the office of the Governor of Lagos State to say I am one of the Eko Aspire Women challenging the status quo, breaking glass ceilings and making my voice heard for the next generation of women. I didn’t believe it until the package was actually delivered. I was shocked. I know the governor has been doing this for years and each time that list is published or the women begin to share their award, we all celebrate them and share how proud we are of them. However, being on that list meant a lot to me. I was so shocked that I had to call my father on video call when it was delivered – you can’t imagine how proud he was. I am grateful to him for constantly pushing us to continue striving for excellence in all that we do.

You recently joined the Rome Business School faculty as a lecturer for masters’ students in Corporate Communications; how is that going?

Since I was in the university I had always wanted to lecture but didn’t know how it will play out because I was focused on building my career in public relations and communication, so earlier this year when Rome Business School approached me to be a part of their esteemed faculty member and a lecturer teaching Masters students in Corporate Communication, I could not but jump at the offer especially because it’s a weekend engagement so it doesn’t affect my day-job. This just feels like the right time to take this opportunity because of the privilege to share my experience and expertise to the next generation of communication superstars. A childhood dream came to pass this year, and I do not take this for granted. What really melts my heart is the fact that I get to create my own case studies and slide myself right from scratch.

What advice do you have for people, especially university students who are looking to be a communication professional?

I have just two; the first is that your university days are very important so please do not waste it. Go for internships, volunteer your semester breaks with PR or advertising agencies so you can learn directly from the people who are living and breathing the job. Just watching them get things done in person can ignite your passion and give you more clarity on why you chose the profession. I interned with three PR and advertising agencies before I left school and that helped to shape my understanding and love for the profession because my undergraduate program was Dramatic Arts, before I went to University of Ghana for my Masters in Communications Studies. Internships would also help you build your network. I knew I had a job offer waiting for me after my NYSC so I didn’t even waste time applying to other places, I just went back to one of the places where I interned because the founder promised to have me back in the company as soon as I finish school. No experience beats knowing it on the job. So, I will emphasise again, do not waste your university days, it can help you build the best foundation for your communication career. My second advice; do not be too comfortable with what you have learnt in school or even during those internships, look for certifications, conferences, and PR Summits to attend, that’s where you will see other professionals. I also completed my NIPR exams before I finished my undergraduate studies so ensure that you are constantly building yourself and God will bless the work of your hands.

What challenges do women face in building their careers?

It is trying to manage family and work. It is a challenge but it is something that we can overcome. Some people feel that I have to leave one for the other but my principle on this is that – we will figure it out with the right support system and the right partner.