Doing Life With...
is a BellaNaija Features series that showcases how people live, work, travel, care for their families and...
everything in between. We are documenting the lives of all people and ensuring everyone is well-represented at BN. Did you miss our conversation with Dejoke Ogunbiyi ? You can catch up here .
This week, we’re doing life with Temitayo Akinyemi , a journalist, creative writer and editor. He explores storytelling using innovative tools like satellite imagery, interactive data, and multimedia to tell stories that are accessible to all people. He is a 2019 African Liberty Writing Fellow, and an APLP graduate from NTA, Egypt, and has worked as HumAngle’s Interactive Editor and Zikoko Citizen’s Editor-in-Chief.
Enjoy the conversation. Hey Temitayo, how do you do? Hey, it’s a pleasure to be here. Like most Nigerians, I am trying to navigate these Tinubu times.
We all are. Give me a peep into your background and what part of your childhood influenced who you are today I read a lot of old newspapers. I did not grow up in the 80s (I am glad I only had to face Buhari once), but my father kept a lot of newspapers and magazines from that period, which I consumed with intent.
I fell in love with Nigerian history reading those papers and the role of journalists in documenting history. You graduated as a law student but decided not to practise Law. What informed this decision? Temitayo Akinyemi That’s impressively daring, Akinyemi Thank you.
You’ve worked at different places and worn many hats in these positions. How have your roles in these different organisations influenced each other? I have always loved stories and how they are told. There were days that I loved TV, days that radio helped me through, and periods of stopping by roadside stalls to read newspapers.
More than stories, the thing I have found myself most amused by is the form storytelling takes. For me, whether it is covering the space industry, politics, insecurity and development, or youth culture, as long as good storytelling is happening in great forms that enhance the journalist’s duty to society, I am just happy to be in the room and to contribute. Everything comes together at some point.
When I learned how to extract satellite data, or how to use them for enhancing storytelling, I didn’t have the opportunity to utilise it until I moved to another newsroom. Along the line, I have gained a lot of transferrable skills from the incredible people who have held my hands, and it just helps. I have been a reporter, an editor, a newsroom product manager, a newsroom manager and others.
Everything comes together. They are muscles, they get exercised, they become toned, and I use them appropriately. Temitayo Akinyemi You have made huge strides, won awards and your works have been read by many people.
Like you said, that’s a dream come true. But if you’re asked, what success means to you, how would you respond? Temitayo Akinyemi Do you have an unconventional thought about the world that people might not agree with? Tell me about a moment in your life you felt utterly proud of yourself and nothing else mattered Temitayo Akinyemi What’s a typical day in your life? Is there a skill or hobby you picked in recent times and enjoy See. I woke up one Sunday afternoon in 2022 and hated that I had always wanted to cycle but didn’t know how to.
So I went to buy a bicycle and taught myself with help from YouTube and passers-by. For skill, I would say AI prompting. One crazy thing you’d do if the world wasn’t watching you One thing you incredibly look forward to in the future? __ Many thanks to Temitayo Akinyemi for having this conversation with us and answering all our questions – and swiftly too, we must add.
Do you love this content, have any feedback for us or want to be a BellaNaija Features contributor? We’d love to read from you. Shoot us an email: [email protected] . Join us next time for the next episode!.
