Several years after the news and off the scene,
Kehinde Young-Harry settles in as a proud
grandmother who takes delight in watching her
grand children evolve.
You have been out of broadcasting for a long time
now. Do you miss broadcasting? What do you miss
most?
It was a conscious effort by me to retire. I went
into voluntary retirement. I chose to go because
there were more things happening in my life
which I wanted to devote more of my time to.
How do you spend your days now? What do you do?
I take care of my grand children. I do the school
runs, take them to parties, have their friends’
over and they also go over to their friends’. It’s
just generally seeing them evolve. It keeps me
young and energetic. It also gives my daughter
and her husband time for themselves because
we live in a society where marriages are like two
a penny; people don’t really care about their
family. The wife is doing her thing, the husband
is doing his thing and they meet when they have
to. There is no family time; children are left with
the nannies to look after. Nannies and drivers
are the
only adult presence in their lives.
I didn’t do that to my two daughters. I am rather
opinionated; I want my children to know what
their values should be. And I think that I know
that after being on this earth for this long, I
should know what a child should be like at
different stages of his or her life and I want to
be a part of that. It is exciting.
What was it like, in your time, coping with
motherhood and balancing family life and career?
It was not easy but I had a wonderful mother, so
I wasn’t plagued with the feeling that I was
ignoring my children while they were growing up.
My mother was a gem, a real diamond. I couldn’t
have asked for a better support. She made it
easy; I could do my job, concentrate on my job
and still be with my kids. No matter how much
you pay nannies, no matter how good you are to
them, the gap is still there; because, they are
not a part of your family. What they do is what
you asked them to do. A lot of them don’t put
that extra effort into it.
Your girls have somehow followed in your
footsteps. Did you in anyway influence them?
I don’t think I asked anyone to; neither of them
studied Journalism. They studied Law and the
older one studied Law up till Masters level. I
think that they just saw me over the years and
took an interest. There was never anytime I said
they should go into broadcasting.
Having said that, I am very proud of what they
are doing. They are two very young, savvy ladies.
I am proud of them; not just because of the work
they are doing now but, how they turned out –
the values and all that they imbibed over the
years.
If you compare your days in broadcasting and
now,would you say there was more professionalism
and appeal of the news and newscaster then than
now?
Definitely! It has become an all-comers affair
now. People are not specifically trained in what
they are doing. Everybody thinks they have an
idea of what they want to do or they think they
have a flair for it. But even when you have an
idea and you have flair, you still need the basic
things like how to sit in front of a camera and
how to speak. You are not supposed to sound
like an Englishman. You have to sound Nigerian
so that your audiences that are Nigerians can
understand and relate to you. You don’t have to
put up an accent before you are seen as a
professional. In our days, that wasn’t the case.
You are proud to be who you are. Now, you hear
all kinds of accents and because it is not their
real accents, the underlining accent is still there;
because, the person cannot pronounce the word
correctly. There is a lot of that. I call them the
DSTV generation. Everything that they watch on
DSTV is right and good; nobody cares about
anything.
Again, TV stations have to talk to presenters to
play it down. I think people just make fools of
themselves faking an accent that is not real and
once in a while, they flip and the viewers notice.
You can do a very good job, an exemplary job,
being who you are; you don’t have to try to be
someone else. Why is it that the British man is
not trying to be a Nigerian and the American is
not trying to be a Nigerian?
What do you think about the ‘Walk the Talk’ show
hosted by your daughters?
I think it is lovely, never mind me; it is not
because I know them or I am involved with them.
Far from it. The programme is educative,
entertaining and informative. In one of the
episodes, a fitness expert instructed people how
to do some martial arts. I watched that particular
episode with my son in-law and I noticed he tried
to do the same thing the guest was doing
because, he was so engrossed in it. When people
talk about the programme, they say it touches
something in the lives of people. They can relate
with it. This first season has been self-sponsored
by both of them. They are looking for sponsors. I
believe with the way they are going, people are
going to come in soon. I see a lot of shows on
television; I am not trying to belittle anybody’s
effort, but you will have to work extra hard to get
to standard or be on the same level. Technically,
the editorial content and the substance,
generally, can pass anywhere in the world. That
is one of the feedbacks. While it is on Channels
TV, people abroad can also watch because it is
actually streamed on Facebook and YouTube
live. The feedback has been great. Nigeria is
joining the rest of the world; our children are
coming up. Unfortunately in Nigeria, people don’t
give young people a chance. But outside the
country, they go to the universities to pick up
best brains which they nurture.
What was growing up like for you. Can you relive
some of your childhood memories?
I was born and raised in Lagos. I went to Holy
Child College at Obalande. Usually, on Saturdays,
we used to go to either the Military Hospital on
Awolowo Road or the General Hospital on Broad
Street to perform what we call civic duty’; to
generally keep the patients company. It was a
norm, because it was a Catholic girls’ school and
they taught us how to care for other people, how
to show interest in your neighbours. They taught
us all of those values that people need while
growing up; like volunteering and I wish they
could bring that back into our system. This
generation of I, I and me alone is worrisome.
Look at the religious groups in the country now. I
don’t remember anything like this growing up.
We were Christians growing up; nobody made a
song and dance out of it. Nobody cared whether
you went to church or not; the most important
thing was your heart. There was a lot of
contentment; people were happy – all the envy
and the ‘bad belly’ you see around was not as
pronounced as it is now.
Talking about religious issues, nowadays, I hear
friends that I grew up with come up with such
things like during Sallah, they can’t eat Sallah
meat; it is unclean meat. In those days, it didn’t
matter because in the same family in Lagos, you
had both Christians and Muslims. You celebrate
Christmas just as you celebrate Sallah. Suddenly,
everything changed. When you go abroad, they
treat you in some way because you are Black,
they are White. And here, you treat your fellow
man wrongly just because he is not from the
same religion or tribe. What is going on? We
were never like that. I don’t know about other
parts of Nigeria. I was born and raised in Lagos
and there really wasn’t any discrimination like
that; it was a very happy childhood. My father
was a broadcaster as well, Sunday Young-Harry.
He worked with Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation
which is now FRCN. And that influenced your
choice of career?
Yes, it did. Because after school, they dropped
us at Broadcasting House and I watched him and
his colleagues do their thing. For me, that was
where it all started and I couldn’t think of doing
anything else.
You must have a sister/friend relationship with
your children. Have there been times when you
needed to put your foot down and be Mom rather
than sister/friend?
We are friends now. We are very good friends;
people say unusually so. We are friends first and
foremost and the mother thing comes in if I have
to.
What is your style now? How much has changed
since you became a grandma?
More than anything else, comfort is key. For my
fashion, I love kaftans a lot. If I am going to
weddings, I tie my gele and I really enjoy that, I
have to say. Casually, I still wear my jeans,
especially when I am with my grandchildren. For
me, first and foremost, comfort is important. I try
and go with the flow. I try to keep young at heart
which is very important.
How do you spend your ‘me time’?
I read a lot. My mother instilled that in me and
my late twin brother; she ensured that we read
our books. Books expand your English and take
you to places you have never been. They expose
your mind to possibilities and, good enough, I did
the same thing with my girls. I like to read a lot.
Sometimes, I watch television. Most times, we
hang out, go to functions, go to parties a lot. All
my friends have daughters that are getting
married or doing something and we have to show
support. I thank God who has been faithful. I
couldn’t have asked for anything more.
What is your advice to young women who look up to
you as a role model?
That word has been abused. My advice to them
is to be themselves; don’t pretend to be who you
are not. Live the kind of life you will be proud of
in your quiet moment. Do not because your
colleagues are doing this, wearing that, you want
to do the same. All fingers are not equal. First
impression counts. Let who you are speak for
you. Know what you are after, what you want in
life and you go for it. Be the best you can be and
nobody else.
You used to wear your hair in braids. Why did you
choose dreads now?
I have always done my hair natural, even with
the braids; this is twist as opposed to braids. I
wanted something that is ready to wear and
ready to go without any fuss. Once I wash, I lock
it back myself. I am a no-fuss kind of person; I
believe in the natural look. I have always done
that.