A-10 -year-old Nigerian girl, Zuriel Elise Oduwole, who enjoys interviewing presidents and world business leaders, was recently celebrated as the youngest person to be interviewed by Forbes Magazine. Victoria Ipe, in this piece, captures Zuriel’s achievements, background and what qualifies her to be featured in the August, 2013 edition of Forbes Africa.
IN today’s world, when many youths and adults roam about the streets looking for jobs, here is a 10-year-old Zuriel Elise Oduwole, who seems to have discovered her purpose for living at the age of 10.
At a very tender age, she has met with African presidents and top African leaders because of her passion to relate with great men and women.
Currently, she is being globally celebrated as the youngest person ever to be interviewed by Forbes Magazine in the current edition of Forbes Africa.
Oduwole has already made a name for herself right from her childhood, and another which stands as a plus for her is that she is already a hot cake in the business world.
Zuriel, who is often referred to as the next Oprah Winfrey, said she is committed and determined to rebrand Africa by bringing out positive things in the continent and most importantly, convince Africans on the importance of educating the female gender.
She believes that when girls see her work and progress made, they would follow her footsteps.
In demonstrating absolute depth in her coverage ability, she became the youngest global international media representative ever on record last November, 2012, competing with seasoned correspondents from Cable Network News (CNN), Reuters, Super Sports, Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) and The Guardian, likewise in South Africa and Nigeria.
She has severally received loud ovation from her peers for provoking their thoughts and asking intelligent questions.
One will wonder how a 10-year-old girl would have such high dream, confidence and determination to interview African presidents, leading business, political and sport personalities.
She has successfully interviewed tennis super stars Venus and Serena Williams, Africa’s richest person, Aliko Dangote and eight African presidents, some of which include current president of Tanzania, Mauritius, ex-Presidents Jerry John Rawlings and John Kufuor of Ghana and President Joyce Banda of Malawi, who is one of Africa’s only two female national leaders, and most recently, she interviewed President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria.
Zuriel, highlighting her goals during her recent visit to Nigeria, said she wants to encourage young Nigerians, especially girls, to “dream up, speak up and stand up” for the positive values they believe in.
During her visit, she spoke to an audience of post-graduate students of the Pan-African University School of Media and Communication, and some secondary school students in Lagos, where she drew world attention to Nigeria’s abundant untapped world class human resources.
In recognition of her excellence, Zuriel was recently specially invited to join other African leaders to celebrate African Union (AU) 50th anniversary in Ethiopia.
Courtesy – Tribune.com.ng
