Maryann-Duke Okon, Broadcast Journalist, Producer and Rotary Peace Fellow, Plus Tv Africa
Mary-Ann Okon is a Nigerian Broadcast Journalist, News anchor Producer and women's rights advocate. Born to a Nigerian father and a Sierra Leonean mother, she currently is a staff of Plus Tv Africa as a political show host and News anchor. Early life and Education Mary-Ann was born in October 1983 in Calabar, Cross River state.
She attended Rao International School, Calabar Preparatory school, and Holy Child girls secondary school, Marian Hill, Calabar. She has a Diploma in English and Literary Studies from the University of Calabar in 2004. And graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics and Communication Arts at the University of Calabar in 2012.
In 2012 she trained at the FRCN training school Shogunle, Lagos, where she got a certificate in Basic presentation. After 15+ years of actively working in the media space, she returned to the classroom.
She got a certificate in Broadcast Journalism at the Prestigious New York film Academy, sponsored by Ford Foundation, and graduated with a 4.0 aggregate. Maryann's career started in 2004 when she joined cross River Broadcasting Corporation as an intern/contract staff, covering traffic and other newsroom duties.
In 2007 Maryann rose through the ranks and became the morning show host on the state television A.M EXPERIENCE, a magazine shows that examined issues ranging from economics, health, business, security and education. That same year she was invited to be the governor's comperé hosting all government house functions within and without. She was serving both the office of the governor and deputy governor of Cross River state. She served both the Donald Duke and Liyel Imoke administrations.
In 2009, Maryann scored a big break in Lagos to host the first season of MTN Textamania, a TV game show for secondary schools across the country, sponsored by MTN Nigeria. After wrapping the first season of MTN Textamania, she was invited to be a regional judge for MTN Project Fame west Africa. Judging in Calabar, Uyo and Port Harcourt Auditions for six straight seasons.
In 2013, Maryann decided to take a bold step and switch from civil service to the private sector. She moved to Port Harcourt and took up a job with Nigeria's Number One talk radio station, Nigeria Info Fm 92.3, as a show anchor and producer. She worked there for six years and rose to the position of head of presentation and head of On Air Personalities.
Then at the close of 2018, she decided she was returning to her first love, television, which facilitated her move to Lagos. In 2018 she joined Plus Tv Africa, a Pan African News Channel where she served as the head of the political desk, producer and presenter of the flagship program Plus Politics, where political issues are dissected and pertinent questions are asked. It plays host to politicians, analysts and journalists from across the board.
In April 2019, she was invited by State Department through the US Consulate Lagos to participate in the international Visitor Leadership program (a professional exchange program by the US government) in the United States of America for the first-ever "Women in Politics And Civil Society".
A project that examined the US commitment to support gender equality and support for women's contribution to social and political affairs. The program had in attendance women from 20 countries across the world who travelled through Seattle, Iowa, Texas, Alabama and Washington DC.
Mary-Ann is among the first females to host a prime-time political show solo on Nigerian TV.
In her work as an interviewer and talk show anchor, she's been privileged to interview Governors, Ministers, Senators, and Captains of industries. Celebrities and rising stars, even high commissioners and Consular Generals. While on the radio, she was at the forefront of the fight against gender violence, rape and maltreatment of widows in the southeast and south of Nigeria.
She created programs and shows on the radio to address these issues and collaborated with NGOs and law enforcement agencies to spread the word. In collaboration with her colleagues on the radio, Mary-Ann brought awareness of an environmental hazard in Rivers state called the SOOT.
Every day, an hour of her morning show was set aside to get government and relevant agencies' attention to the particulate matter in the air and the pollution in the environment, thereby causing people in port Harcourt to fall sick.
This was caused by illegal crude oil manufacturers, also known as militants. The matter in the air can be seen as black dust on the floor, cars in the nostrils, and under the feet. She only didn't educate and draw attention to it. Instead, she got national and international attention to it.
She was interviewed by the BBC (outside source audio) and several other news network outlets. Mary-Ann is also a strong advocate for women to get into positions of leadership with active participation in politics. She still has a monthly program that she does on television encouraging women in Africa to get more involved in political leadership.
Most recently, she's become a Rotary International Peace Fellow with a Post Graduate Diploma in Peace and Conflict Resolution at the prestigious Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. In her peace-building work, she aims to train and work with journalists on peace reporting and peace-building, especially in Nigeria and west Africa.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
Twitter is my favourite. On Twitter, it's limited words, so you must be brief and straight to the point, delivering the message intended for your audience. It's also a great place for ideas sharing and very important banter for people like me.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
I'm a political journalist (Broadcast), and this didn't happen overnight as I started off as a disc jockey and an announcer. I was entertaining my audience on the radio and playing great music, enjoying myself as a youngster. I sincerely didn't realize this was where I'd end up.
But one day, I was drafted as a reporter to the government house in my state, and I worked closely with the governor, travelled and reported on state issues. One day it hit me that a lot of unusual activities took place under the government's watch that needed to be questioned, and that's how my very entertaining show became a hard fact and government assessment program.
This is how my interest in politics grew, and now I'm on national TV, quizzing and grilling politicians and leaders. I do this because I believe we as journalists have a duty to educate the populace on their rights and responsibilities and also get our leaders to be accountable to the us.
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
It's simple; the average Nigerian constantly seeks opportunities to be heard by its leaders, and the media creates that platform, and on my shows on tv and radio, grant that wish. The fact that people walk up to you and say I love that question you asked that politician or I like that you're pushing this conversation or educating us on our rights gives me more power to keep doing it. The value-adding and impact these programs create makes me wake up every day and do it all over again.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Don't let anybody tell you, you can't. If everyone else says it's never been done, forget about it, don't let yourself believe it because you may be the one to make it happen. My former boss said this to me.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
Family. They're my biggest cheerleaders; they've held my hand from day one, corrected me, allowed make mistakes and learn from them and celebrated all my wins. But, most importantly, they never left my side, always there for me.
Also, being a woman in an area as sensitive as politics, you have to work ten times harder to prove yourself, and every little effort counts for me, so I keep growing. I want to let little girls all over the world to know that we're unstoppable.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
My career trajectory. I've not had it easy at all, but it's been 18 years, and I'm still here standing strong, playing in the big leagues and doing what I was told years ago I couldn't. In 2020 I made the list of top 100 Media Personalities in Nigeria, curating culture and driving conversations.
That was a huge and landmark achievement for a small-town girl who came to the big city, and in less than a year, I shot straight to the top.
So, I'm proud of myself and all the work that's gone into building me to this point; grateful for family, good friends, and my amazing bosses through my years of moving cross country, and different tv and radio channels. I’m blessed.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
Social media mostly these days. But I like mixers too and work luncheons.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
I'm a people person. I have learned over the years how to deal with people in different spaces, be it work, family, friends, etc. I'm a very good listener to correction, criticisms and advice. I'm very observant, emotionally and socially intelligent, especially in the workspace, as this helps with managing and working with humans.
I'm super meticulous with almost everything, especially my job and everything else. I'm all about detail; down to my outfits, some could call it extra, but it has helped me personally and officially.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
Nothing is as it seems.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
In academia, Nigeria's Professor Wole Soyinka is someone I've admired. His use of satire to tell Nigeria's stories and his outspoken personality, especially in the advocacy for good governance in the Nigerian state.
Business, wise I admire the very vivacious Folorunsho Alakija; she has consistently stayed on top as not just the richest woman in Nigeria but in Africa as a whole. She has broken all the glass ceilings in the business and corporate world. What's not to love?
I'm in the creative circle; there are so many men and women I admire. Firstly Liz Benson, an actress and an icon, and Joke Silver, another trailblazer in the creative industry, these women have held it down on the screen and stage and are still breaking ground.
Internationally, I admire and learn from Becky Anderson and Christina Amanpour, and these women make me want to do better.
And on the political scene, Stacy Abrams does it for me. She's a strong black woman winning and showing black girls that they've got magic in them that the world deserves to see.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
I love music, I did some singing back in the day, but now I just go with friends for some karaoke once in a while. I am a fitness buff, and I love working out. It's great for my body and my mind. I play Badminton for fun, and I used to play professionally back in university.
I love to travel. It's my favourite thing to do, but overall, I love family; it's most important to me. I prioritize my family and the bond we have. We help each other stay grounded, so family first.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?
The pandemic actually had a positive effect on me as I could explore other skills I had and had not used. I dusted them up, and it earned me a huge recognition in 2020, all done from the comfort of my dining room.
I collaborated with journalists across the globe to educate people about the dangers of Covid, and we sent messages of love, hope and care to those who were depressed and distraught.
I worked with people I'd never met, and we brought some light to that very dark moment together. I connected with amazing people during the pandemic, which was a good year for me.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
Yes, I do have mentors, not one but a few who do not just mentor me in my career but in other areas of my life. I have been privileged to mentor some young men and women in my business, and I must say I'm so proud of the strides they've made and are still making.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
Don't get into broadcast journalism for the glitz and glamour. Instead, make sure you've got a passion for the job; let your number one priority be to tell and follow stories, especially those that get lost in the headlines. It's not a walk in the park, but once you find your rhythm, it keeps getting better and no longer feels like a job. So, read, inquire and constantly seek to better yourself even while on the job, and don't forget to take a break, rest, refresh and recharge.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
Most times, we depend too much on other people to be our cheerleaders or encourage us when the person we need the most is you. But, once you realize that self-reliance is a confidence booster and that you need to self-affirm, the sky is the limit.
Do we need others? Yes, but don't overly rely on them; failure is part of your success story. Fail and don't stay a failure; realize the mistakes you've made and work on becoming better and keep going. Believe in yourself.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
"Tough times don't last, but tough people do."
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
Coca-Cola, these guys have been around forever; they must be doing something right and constantly reinventing themselves.
Apple is obviously getting it right like Google, and they seem to be top world brands that are taking in so much year in and year out.
In Nigeria, Dangote is a top brand that's grown to become a name and brand that is not just Nigeria's Best Buy, one of Africa's best brands.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
Never take anything or anyone at face value. Most people and places, even things, are worth experiencing for yourself. Imagine if people dismissed you because of your tribe, height, colour or what they heard about you.
Would you have gotten to where you are today? Let's normalize giving people an opportunity to prove themselves instead of writing them off. I've even learned a lot about myself as I've grown into a well-rounded human being, I sometimes get wowed at how far I've come, and I'm grateful that I took a chance on myself.