Mosunmola Abudu, Woman of Many Talents

Whoever said mo' money, mo' problems, clearly had not met ‘Mo’ Abudu. She is a woman who has defied the odds, conquered obstacles and ventured beyond boundaries that only a few dare dream of.

Meet Mosunmola ‘Mo’ Abudu: Talk show hostess, TV Producer, Media entrepreneur, Human Resource Management Consultant, Venture Capitalist, Mother… clearly a woman of many talents. Although born in the UK in 1964, she spent her early years in Ondo, Nigeria where she imbibed traditional culture and values. At the age of 12, she returned to the UK to further her education and later attained a Masters’ Degree in "Human Resource Management" from the University of Westminster, London.

Mo began her career as a Recruitment Consultant in 1987. 3 years later, she became Branch Manager before moving on to work for Starform Group in 1990, where her role included managing the Corporate Credit Management Exhibition from 1990 to 1992. In 1993, Mo became Head of ExxonMobil’s Human Resources and Training unit and tread this path, till she took a leap of faith in 2000 and founded her own specialist Human Resource company, Vic Lawrence & Associates Limited (VLA).

Where most men and women would have considered this the pinnacle of their success, for Mo, this was just the beginning. The ultimate accomplishment lay further ahead. She went on to develop an executive training centre at the Protea Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria and in 2006, characteristically took another leap of faith and delved into hosting her own talk show 'Moments with Mo', the first syndicated daily talk show on Africa regional television. With over 300 episodes and counting, ‘Moments with Mo’ focuses on numerous topics ranging from issues of lifestyle, health to culture, politics and inter-racial marriages. Guests on the show have included dignitaries, Presidents, Noble Laureates and most notably, US Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton. In addition, Mo is also the creator and executive producer of 'The Debaters', a TV reality show which focuses on ‘giving Africa a voice.’

Recently, Mo launched her own continent-wide TV network Ebony Life, cementing her status as 'Africa’s Oprah,' which she says is flattering, as the billionaire media icon is one of her 'heroes'. She also serves on a board with fellow board members, including the Managing Directors of Chevron, Texaco, Coca-cola International, ExxonMobil, the Dangote group and others.

Known for quotes such as "inspiration propels vision" and "great vision propels action", Mo is undoubtedly a visionary, and an unstoppable force. Her next goal is to break into Hollywood and shoot "large-budget movies about Africa". She is also looking forward to interviewing US President Barack Obama and receiving an invitation to the White House.

"Not every African woman has a pile of wood on her head and a baby strapped to her back!", she once famously said. If any African woman knows this well, it is Mosunmola Abudu. She is a strong, articulate woman, whose vision and legendary aims have inspired millions of others around the world. Few words can be used to accurately describe Mo Abudu, but we will sum it up in one: she is Yaaya!

Image Source | Wikipedia : 'Mosunmola Abudu'