Urban music channel
MTV Base has partnered with MTN, the African telecommunication giant,
to produce a new series of the youth-inspiring television show, ‘MTV
Base Meets…with MTN’. Speaking at a press briefing held at Planet 1
in Maryland, Lagos, a team lead by MTV Network Africa’s senior vice
president managing director, Alex Okosi, reveals that the
pan-African programme is focused on connecting young Africans with some
of the world’s most influential people in a no-holds-barred interview
for the purpose of inspiring these young Africans.
“The programme
provides young people with the opportunity to interact directly with
decision makers and world leaders in order to address some of the key
issues that are that are important to them,” Okosi explained.
He further
revealed that “the initiative demonstrates belief in the positive
impact that the youth can have in shaping the future of the continent.
“We hope ‘MTV Base
Meets… with MTN’ will inspire young people across Africa to know that
their voice matters and to help prepare them to take their own roles
among the leaders of tomorrow,” Okosi added.
He also promised
that in order to reach a greater audience, ‘‘MTV Base Meets…with MTN’
will not be restricted to just the mother station which is only
accessed via a paid television bouquet, but will also be streamed on
the different segments it runs on terrestrial television channels
across Africa.
Popular appearances
The briefing,
which was anchored by MTV VJ, Cynthia Okpala, also featured comments
from MTN’s senior manager for global branding, Nicola Suter; MTN’s
general manager for consumer marketing, Kola Oyeyemi, and the youth
representative’s PR executive, Bobo Omotayo and legal practitioner,
Tosin Adefope, who all named different world leaders they’d love to
meet.
Among the leaders
mentioned are past United Nations’ Secretary General, Kofi Anan;
present American president, Barack Obama; former South-African
president and living hero, Nelson Mandela and television talk show
celebrity, Oprah Winfrey.
Already on the
roll call of personalities who have appeared on ‘MTV Base Meets…with
MTN’ are current Liberian president and the first and yet only elected
female president in Africa, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf; Paul Kagame,
president of Rwanda; and South African politician Julius Malema.
‘MTV Base Meets…with MTN’ is an African localized version of the
established ‘MTV Meets…’ franchise and has previously interviewed
influential individuals including Nelson Mandela, Tony Blair, Morgan
Tsvangirai and Wyclef Jean. The series will air across Africa from July
18.
