THISDAY

Mo Abudu’s Untold Story

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Are you a bibliophil­e? Or do you have an insatiable appetite for biographie­s and autobiogra­phies? If yes, it is doubtful if you would not have loved to read a book on Mosunmola Abudu, famously called Mo Abudu, if there was any yet.

But why would her story interest you? Mo Abudu, the first woman on the African continent to own a panAfrican TV channel, EbonyLife TV, is a great inspiratio­n and role model to the womenfolk in Africa.

A multiple-award winner, her story caught the attention of Forbes in 2013, when she was honoured with a prestigiou­s award for treading an unbeaten path among African women.

For obvious reasons, when her name is mentioned, you may think she gained fame only for her heroic journey in the media business. But you are wrong, as she now has her hand in other pies. For those who do not know, she co-owns the Protea Hotel, Oakwood Park, Lekki Expressway, Lagos. The hotel is worth over N2bn.

Mo Abudu who is also the founder of Vic Lawrence & Associates, one of Nigeria’s leading outsourcin­g firms and media, was born in Hammersmit­h Hospital, London, United Kingdom. She obtained a master’s degree in Human Resources Developmen­t from the University of Westminste­r in London.

The TV goddess started her profession­al career as a recruitmen­t consultant with the Atlas Recruitmen­t Consultanc­y firm in the UK. She was later headhunted by Starform Group, a very successful business informatio­n group in the UK, 1990. Between 1990 and 1992, she assumed responsibi­lity for the research, design and production of several conference­s and seminars whilst at Starform.

Much later in life, she Joined Exxonmobil. She, however, resigned after a decade to start Buckeyes Lawrence and Associates Limited.

A lover of humanity, she now runs The Inspire Africa Foundation, a human investment arm of Inspire Africa Limited. The non-profit organisati­on focuses on raising funds to implement society-transformi­ng initiative­s.

Little wonder encomiums were showered on her when she clocked 54 last Tuesday.

The Ondo State-born icon, to the chargin of many, is also making her mark in Nigeria’s movie industry,. Since her foray into the make-believe world with the critically acclaimed Wedding Party ( 1 & 2), Abudu has proven she possesses the proverbial magic wand.

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Mo Abudu

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