Indigo Tongues Special:
Featuring Professor Uche Azikiwe and Chief Opral Benson
Indigo Tongues catches up with Professor Uche Azikiwe, wife of the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first President of Nigeria, and Chief Opral Benson, 1st lady of Fashion of Lagos and wife of the late T.O.S Benson, Minister of Information, Broadcasting and Culture in the first post-independence government of Nigeria.
Chief Opral Benson is an entrepreneur and socialite. A Liberian by birth, she was married to Chief T.O.S. Benson, a flamboyant politician in the first post-independence government of Nigeria who was the then Minister of Information, Broadcasting and Culture. Chief Benson attended Morris Brown College in Atlanta and her paternal great-grandfather and grandfather were immigrants from South Carolina who arrived in Liberia in 1869.
Chief Benson has held many prominent positions in the government of both Liberia and Nigeria. She holds the chieftaincy title of Iya Oge (Mother of Fashion) of Lagos and as a beauty icon has set trends for women of her generation and younger. Still at it in her 80’s, Chief Benson still runs the Opral Benson Beauty Institute in Lagos, which has been in business for over 30 years.
Professor Uche Azikiwe is a retired professor of Education from University of Nigeria, Nsukka where she worked for over 30 years. She is the widow of the First President of Nigeria, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe.
In 2000, she was awarded the MFR, (Member of the Order of the Federal Republic), which is one of the highest honours awarded to a citizen of Nigeria who has rendered service for the benefit of the nation. Her alumni, University of Nigeria, also honoured her with Emeritus status in recognition of her exemplary service to the university.
About the interview
This episode really should be called when chance meets opportunity. I had met a South African woman at a media reception at the mayors office in 2017. She told me the President of Nigeria was going to be at an African event the next day and that I was welcome to come and interview him.
When I got to the event the next day, it actually turned out not be be the President of Nigeria but the wife of an ex-president of Nigeria. How she got the two mixed up is beyond me..LOL and this is how I met Professor Uche Azikiwe, wife of the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first President of Nigeria.
Fortunately for me Chief Opral Benson was also in attendance.They were attending an event at the Center for Human & Civil Rights in Atlanta.I found out that they were in town for the African Women in Leadership Organisation (AWLO) 2017 Induction/Awards Dinner where they were both being honored. I asked them if I could interview them at the AWLO event the next day and they agreed.
We ended up conducting the interview about midnight in their hotel room after an evening of partying for them. We didn’t have enough light in the room to film but went ahead anyway, so the footage didn’t come out as good as we wanted, but it was an opportunity I would definitely have not wanted to miss! It was a great pleasure and an evening of fun hanging out with this wondeful women!
Interview Date: Aug 25th 2017
Location: Atlanta, GA
Credits:
Creator & Executive Producer: Mojisola Sonoiki
Editor: Seun Sonoiki
DP: Gladys Edeh
Music Credit: African Celebration, Thematic Studio