Adesewa Josh

Adesewa Josh
Born	Adesewa Hannah Ogunleyimu October 11, 1985 (1985-10-11) (age 31) Ipetu Ijesha, Osun State, Nigeria
Education	Columbia Journalism School, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Broadcast Journalist
Title	International Affairs Correspondent

Adesewa Hannah Ogunleyimu professionally known as Adesewa Josh is a Nigerian broadcast journalist who covers both national and international news. She is most notable for her work with Nigerian cable news network, Channels TV.^[1] As a UN correspondent for Channels Television, she has reported on numerous resolutions of the UN Security Council on Africa. She is the Africa Host of UNTV’s documentary program, 21st century.^[2][3] Past hosts of the show include Grammy award winning singer Angélique Kidjo, and Aljazeera veteran reporter James Bade. The program is aired across 45 countries in Africa and the United Kingdom; it is streamed online with millions of monthly viewers.^[4]

Early Life

Adesewa was born in Ipetu Ijesha, Osun State Nigeria, to Abimbola and Josiah Ogunleyimu. Her late father is from Osun State Nigeria and her mother from Epe, Lagos.

Adesewa's foray into television began in the early 1990's when she became the child star of a popular kids show in Nigeria, ABC Wonderland, a TV production of Galaxy Television. She made her debut on stage at the University of Ibadan Theater Art Hall where she played lead characters in the Wedlock of the Gods, The Gods are not to blame and Under the Moon.

At age 20, Adesewa had her first degree from the University of Ado Ekiti. She majored in Biochemistry at the department of science laboratory technology. She graduated top 5 in her class with a professional certification from the Nigerian Institute of Science Laboratory Technology.

Adesewa holds a Post graduate diploma in International relations and strategic studies from the Lagos State University.^[5][3]

Early Career

In 2007, Adesewa participated in a Nigerian Reality TV show for film actors, tagged The Next Movie Star,^[6] where she finished as a semifinalist,^[7] after which in 2009, she trained as a producer with the BBC.^[3] In 2010 Adesewa bagged a Certificate in Governance from Alder Consulting and a certificate in TV Presenting from UK's Aspire Presenting Institute in 2012.^[3]

Adesewa featured in the popular DSTV drama series Tinsel and also co-hosted a TV talent hunt show Lucozade Boost Freestyle in 2012 along side Nigerian comedian Julius Agwu.^[8] She also was a judge on the pre-selection audition of the hit music talent hunt show Nigerian Idol.

Adesewa joined Channels Television in 2012 as a News presenter and general assignment reporter. She got her break at the station when she co-hosted the station's flagship Breakfast program Sunrise Daily. She later went on to become a Prime time news anchor and an international affairs reporters.

Prior to joining Channels television, Adesewa was the Executive Director of FariedahFariedah Productions.

Adesewa (left) and Ambassador Van oostrum, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the UN

Career

In 2013, Adesewa was invited by the George W Bush Institute to cover the African First Ladies Summit in Tanzania. In 2014, she was selected to the White House and Pentagon to cover the US-Africa Summit; she was selected among a pool of remarkable journalists from Africa to exclusively profile and report on the first ever African first ladies conference hosted by former US first lady Michelle Obama in Washington DC,^[9][10]reporting alongside white house reporters like American Urban Radio Network’s April Ryan, CNN’s Jim Acosta, and Associated Press’s Darlene Superville.

Adesewa is the host and producer of Network Africa on Channels TV; the daily live program delves into social, political and developmental issues across Africa. She has featured African leaders, African first ladies, and African statesmen.

Adesewa joined the mentoring board of Junior Achievement Nigeria in 2016 where she mentors young girls seeking to have a career in broadcast journalism. She teaches self confidence, self awareness, articulation and how to make career choices. She was nominated to be a fellow at the Nigeria Leadership Initiative, the nation’s most prestigious institute for ultra successful young Nigerians. She is a 2016 fellow of the institute. In 2013, Adesewa began civic engagement through her NGO, Project Smile Africa, where she provides mentoring and leadership training to young girls.^[9]

In 2016, Adesewa received a scholarship to study politics and global affairs from the Columbia Journalism School in the city of New York, attesting to her abilities as an extraordinary reporter and journalist.^[9]

Adesewa has used her platform to push for policy review on issues bordering on child education, women empowerment, among others. As the convener of Project Smile Africa, Adesewa led a team of professional volunteers to a rural community in Lagos in 2013 to reach out to over 1,000 children between ages 4-17yrs who live in abject poverty.^[9]

Adesewa (right) and Samantha Power, Former US ambassador to the UN

Awards and Recognition

She recently received the prestigious Women Making A Difference Award for her distinguished strides in the media and her community service. She is a member of the young African Leader initiative Network (YALIN), Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN), an Associate fellow of the Nigerian Leadership Initiative and a knight fellow in the making.

References