How I Have Covered 3 Different Lagos Governors

•TVC Big Gal, ADEDOJA SALAM ADENIYI

Adedoja Salam Adeniyi is one hugely popular face on television. She is the very beautiful, brilliant and efficient senior correspondent with TVC that proudly tells everyone she lives in Lagos. No doubt about it, anyone who knows this highly resourceful lady closely will tell you she is one of the brightest journalists to emerge from this side of the globe. Adedoja is a brave, fearless journalist whose unending passion for her job is undeniable. She proved this in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic when she risked her life to go into the isolation center to report the ravaging Covid-19 and bring to the screens faces of Covid-19 infected Nigerians and victims who have lost their lives. She did a damn good job and got tremendous accolades for her bravery and effort.

Weeks ago, at the City People Female Achievers Award ceremony held in Lagos, Adedoja was one of the award recipients of the night. She spoke with City People Senior Editor WALE LAWAL (08037209290) about her experience during her coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges of covering the Lagos state governor as a State House Correspondent and so far, she has covered three Lagos state governrs, namely Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode and Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Enjoy excerpts of the interview.

Let me get you to share with us this very important part of your career. One of the most enduring memories of your career that people will always remember you by would be the Covid-19 era. A lot of people felt that was a heroic thing that you did, putting your life on the line just so you could give the public the vital information they so needed to have at that time. What were the thoughts going in your mind while you were right in the middle of Covid infected patients and in an isolation center where anything you touched could have been infected?

The Covid-19 era was a time anyone shouldn’t be a journalist. And it was also a time for a good journalist to rise up and prove he’s a good journalist. I say this because somebody has to tell the story, most especially because in this part of the country, people don’t believe these things exist. It took us time to get into the isolation centre because they never wanted us to go in. They were afraid that we could be infected and they didn’t want that to happen. And I am the sort of person that if I want to go to the field I seldom tell my husband. But during Covid-19, my boss said this is a matter of life and death and you have to tell him. If he says no, then it’s a no. I tried to argue but my boss wouldn’t listen. He insisted I must get my husband’s consent. I said, okay, fine. My hubby wasn’t around at the time so I sent him a message that I needed to go into the isolation centre because we needed to tell this story. He first hesitated for a while and then finally said, okay, yes, we can. The camera man too had an option to say no, he wouldn’t go with me, but when I spoke with him, he said, yes, he was ready. So this encouraged me too to go ahead. I had been on that story a month before I did it because they never wanted us to go in but with perseverance, consistency, focus, we eventually had our way. They even said I should sign a document that if anything happens to me, they shouldn’t be held responsible, because where we were going was ground zero, a place where you don’t even get to see the enemy you’re fighting against. And most of our people didn’t even believe Covid existed despite the fact that it was spreading and I just felt somebody had to tell the story. And because we were right inside there, they saw live images of those that have died and those that were dying and that actually changed the narrative in Nigeria and people started believing that it is true. And from that moment, people began to take the precautions very seriously. They started to wear their nose masks, wash their hands properly, etc. That was the story that changed everything and I was glad about that.
But I soon began to notice afterwards that when people see you, they believed you’re carrying Covid around. It was a time I had to keep to myself because I found that people don’t really want you in their midst, so it was a difficult period for me. Even after 14 days had passed, and even a month and people were still scared to have me around them, I didn’t like that. So, I would just keep to myself, stay in my car to do stuffs and keep to myself. I felt so unhapy because I couldn’t imagine experiencing that kind of discrimination from people. It was like a big stigma on my personality. It even affected my husband’s job. He was supposed to get a job somewhere, they were supposed to have a business meeting with him, but they had to cancel that meeting because they saw me on air and this was after 14 days had passed. So, he didn’t get that job opportunity and he came back home and said, oh, it was that story that you did. They didn’t even want to see me there, they said I’m carrying Covid around. So, I now asked him that, you mean they didn’t reschedule the meeting or something? He said, no, they didn’t, don’t worry, another opportunity will come. So, this is how our people can take things to the extreme. It can be depressing at times when you do these stories and then get negative feed backs like this one. But what gives you strength is that you’ve been able to change something. It gives you joy when you know you have been able to change the narrative, you have been able to save lives. So, for me, focus does it, consistency does it.

But there must also be a flip side to it, what positive impact did this brave coverage of Covid-19 have on your career at the time?

Oh, yes, after the Covid-19 story, I got my promotion. I was promoted and celebrated by my colleagues. After then, I became even more well known internationally because we are talking about a place where people are running away from and this is a woman going there to do the job. After that story, I got offers from abroad. Foreign organisations reached me, you know the world is a global village now and they obviously saw the coverage too, they asked me to come work for them. I got offers from organisations here in Nigeria. Several local stations reached me and said, don’t worry, just name your price, but I said to them, no thanks. Because, you know, sometimes, you just need to calm down, put a lot of things into consideration before taking some steps. And people prayed for me a lot. Do you know that people I didn’t even know, when they see me, they will tell me, “omo yi, agbo to lagbara wa o.” They will tell me they have all kinds of agbo (local herbs) believing I may have been infected with the Covid-19. Some would ask me, ‘come, my child, are you not the one going inside the isolation center? Come, let me give you powerful herbs that you take each time you go there.” So, many people showed concern for my well being.
So, at a time during that period, the commissioner for health and commissioner for Information kept on calling me to check up on me, asking to know my temperature, checking to know the state of my health generally. So, I was a bit isolated for sometime myself in my house. The only person that came around me was my husband because we were home together. And I was so scared he could be infected because I didn’t know if I was a carrier, but he said he didn’t mind, so he stayed with me. As for the children, I had to give them space. So, the whole idea was that they were checking on me so that once there were signs I had been infected they could send an ambulance to come pick me. But I was just praying that, God, please, don’t let them come and take me to the same place I did a story from as a victim. It was a serious situation. They were monitoring me and my camera man. Everytime my camera man and I entered the isolation center, especially the ground zero, there was an ambulance standing by for us in case anything happened.
I must not forget to mention that this is a team work. My office stood by me. People like Asuquo James, every one of them, they were fantastic people. They were there for me. They were the people behind us, behind the scene, they kept telling me, don’t worry, we are in this together. So, that also encouraged me to keep going.
So, I’m grateful that I did the story. Though I have done several other big stories before that but the Covid story was a national story, even an international one and I’m thankful to God for everything.

Looking back now, how proud do you feel about what you were able to accomplish and the risks you took which also could’ve cost you very greatly? And is it something you would do again if the situation presents itself?

The truth is, I will do it again and again if the situation presents itself. I am more experienced now, I now know a lot of things that I probaly didn’t know then. Even back then, I did a lot of research and was asking lots of questions so much so that you would think I was a medical personel. And most importantly, I would do it again because it’s about saving lives. Its because we were able to do the story, I say we because it was a team work, and its because we were able to do it that we were able to keep Nigerians safe from the virus. So, we will always do it again and again.

You are one of the few journalists who have had the privilege to work with about three governors in Lagos state, share with us how that experience has been for you?

Okay, so as a state house correspondent, it’s a whole lot of work. When you cover the governor, you won’t have time to do other things because they can have five assignments in a day. No Saturday, no Sunday, no weekend, nothing. But in all of these, I would still find time to do my special report, that one is a passion. Working with the governor, you meet different people everyday. You work closely with the governor, it exposes one to different people, different facets of life and all of that. I have been able to travel to various places through the Lagos state government to do various reports in Canada, in France and other parts of the world. I have been able to interview people like President Macron of France when he came to Lagos during Governor Ambode’s administration. I spoke with him at the shrine and despite the crowd present, he answered me. These are the things you achieve as a journalist, you get to see these great people and not just see them but also interact with them. So, it’s been a great honour working with three different governors, Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode and now His Excellency, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

What are you looking to achieve in the next couple of years in terms of taking your career to the next level?

Well, I am a documentarist. I do documentaries and I am improving on it. Our job is such that you learn everyday, you can’t know it all. We deal with different stories at different times. So, I am working on my documentaries and that’s what I want people to really know me for as a documentarist. I hope to have my own studio that people can come to do a lot of things.

On a lighter note, you are clearly an absolutely gorgeous woman and your job brings you to meet differents kinds of people and also men who would love to be your friend and have relationship other than a working relationship with you, how do you deal with that sort of pressure?

Oh, well, I really thank God, because like I tell some of my colleagues when they tell me, this one has asked me out, that one has asked me out, I tell them, I say me, they don’t ask me out o! I’m saying the truth and I guess its maybe because, me, I just do my job and go. I just don’t know, but they don’t ask me out. Maybe its because I’m too serious with my job and I like it like that. Because I won’t come to your office and say sir, I have come to greet you when you’re not sick. I don’t do such, I don’t go greeting people. And its same way that I won’t just pick up the phone to call you if I do not have anything important to discuss with you. They don’t come to me for such things. If I come to your office, that means there is a camera beside me, meaning there is work to be done. I will never put myself in a position where I will make it easy for you to even ask me out.