Nigerian broadcaster, actor, sports presenter, and compere Jimmie Akinsola talks about his many entertainment hats, being a sports presenter, the 2010 World Cup, and more in this interview with PETER AKINBO
What is the one thing that is always driving your many career paths?
I would say sports. So from a young age, I was following sports. My dad used to take me to barber shops to watch like African Cup of Nations matches. I also had an uncle into sports, Godwin Dudu-Orumen, he had a TV show called ‘The Best of football’. And when I was about six, seven years old, I had the opportunity of being on the show. At the time, I didn’t know what I was doing, I knew I liked football too much, so I was very much invested in football, in sports in general.
What sports did you play while in school?
While I was in secondary school, everybody played football. Before break time, you already run to the field to go and secure a spot so you can play mocking post with your friends. But when I got into senior secondary school at Igbobi College, I had started stretching out in terms of my growth so I gravitated towards playing basketball, I went to different basketball camps. One of the most notable was Milo Basketball Clinic.
So how did you separate career and sports?
When I got to university, I didn’t really do much sports because I was in and out. Yeah, I tried to play basketball still but I had a patchy university life. I started out at Ogun State University. I had to fend for myself then and was paying for university at the time so because I was the one responsible for all of that, I didn’t really have time to focus on sports.
How then did the entertainment career start?
So, I had to leave OSU and come back to Lagos. My uncle, Godwin Dudu-Orumen, then gave me a chance to be a producer on his show. I was kind of living within the office space at the time, in a way, you could say I was homeless. Then I was a producer, and from there, my interest in other sports started developing. I learned how to get in front of a crowd from being there. I had the opportunity on one occasion where he wasn’t feeling too well and he said I should present the show. I was 16 or 17 at the time, I started presenting the show and I never gave it back. I think he was also ready to take a step back, and I became the host of the show, ‘The Best of Football’. In that time, I also tried to get my education sorted by doing a part-time degree in Business Administration at Lagos State University but I was only able to finish that after I started working at BeatFM.
What led you to the job at BeatFM?
At this time, I’ve always had a dream of being an actor. Sports was my lane but I was living in Surulere, the home of Nollywood at the time and I was always seeing people shoot so I was very outgoing. And on one of those outings, I met the general manager of BeatFM, but we didn’t even know who each other was, we just had a good time. Fast forward to maybe a week later, I went for an interview at BeatFM, and he was the general manager. The interview quickly became a ‘gist’ session at this point. I still didn’t get the job for another three months. In fact, the general manager forgot that I came for an interview. But I went back to the office and on the day I went back to the office, the owner of the company walked in, I introduced myself and he had liked my voice and he said, “Come into my office” and I was on radio the next day live, and this was 2009. By the year 2010, I was at the World Cup in South Africa, covering the Super Eagles. In terms of sports, it’s been an instant love affair. What I’ve learned from my career is that the one thing that helps me stay head and shoulders above my peers is the relationships I have and how I manage my relationships.
How was your experience at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa? What was your favourite moment at that tournament?
I saw Yakubu (Aiyegbeni) breaking my heart. For me, the entire experience from being a head of sports at BeatFM was very surreal. That responsibility had me following the Super Eagles during the qualifying process and I was able to meet with dignitaries that would ultimately become FIFA officials at the tournament. One of my craziest experiences was going to Kenya, where Nigeria secured the World Cup qualifier ticket. It was a game where we needed to win and the Kenyans were very much trying to frustrate us but a last minute goal by Obafemi Martins rendered the Kenyan fans helpless. There was so much hostility when I was leaving the stadium. I was insulted, my camera was broken, and I got a hot slap, a very hot slap from a Kenyan fan. Anyways, fast forward to the World Cup, the entire experience for me was amazing, it was also very cold, because South Africa at that time in June, it’s winter. So it was very cold, my fingers froze for the first time, I’ve never experienced that before. I was playing in the snow, which was kind of crazy. It was an experience going to each stadium. I experienced the company itself, just travelling by road from Bloemfontein to Randbrg, from Cape Town, you’re going all the way to the Mbombela Stadium, and you also had the nightlife in South Africa, the nightlife is crazy. But then, Yakubu missed the net, and we got knocked out and that was it. I had to be back in Lagos the next day. If he had scored, I would have moved on to Cape Town since we would have been in the knockouts so Yakubu shortened my trip in South Africa.
What do you think about the Super Eagles now?
I think the Super Eagles are suffering from a continued decadence of what has been Nigerian society reflected in the Super Eagles performance. I know this might be a controversial take, but I would say it anyways. I think Nigeria’s biggest problem is Nigerians itself, what we have as a gift also comes across as a curse. The go-getter mindsets, the ‘I can do all things. No obstacle is too much for me.’ mindset that Nigerians have is also the curse because that allows us to bend the rules. So, I will say to you that the Super Eagles have been on a path of decline since 1994 to 1998. If you look at our biggest achievement which is the 1996 Olympic gold medal, everything that has happened to Nigerian football since then has been on a decline. Aside winning the Nations Cup, I don’t think the Super Eagles have achieved anything close to that since 1996 and we’re moving on to about 30 years now, we have not even come close because it’s been a decline. The decline started in 1998, France ‘98. We won the first two games due to I said is our gift, our resilience, that’s how we beat Spain 3-2 in the first game, and then that same belief is what helped us in the second game against Bulgaria, but by our game against Paraguay, we got complacent. We started cutting corners. We were not doing the things that we needed to do so ultimately, we lost that game. Then when we played the second round, we stopped doing the what we were doing in the first two games. We were thinking of Brazil in the quarterfinals instead of Denmark and Denmark sent us home. Fast forward, we don’t go to the World Cup in Germany in 2006. In 2010, we qualified but we all knew that team was anyhow, let’s just go. Then we won the 2013 AFCON, that was the residue, that was basically the last of what we had in the tank, that generation. There was already a decline, there was no style of play, and there was no identity. Changing coaches every two years. If you count how many coaches the Super Eagles have had since the year 2000, I’m sure it will be more than a dozen. How do you have consistency? What are your expectations of a team when they don’t have enough time to do a training camp? And every player that is playing for the Super Eagles is playing with his teammates probably for the first time. We don’t have any continuity from U-17 to U-20 to U-23. There’s no continuity. How many of the players in the local league that play consistently together have had the chance to play for the Super Eagles? These Super Eagles are not challenged by other Eagles. They are not challenged, so they are comfortable. They know they’re going to play regardless. The only person fighting is Victor Osimhen. They moved the home games to friendly Uyo, see what they’re doing there, but you can’t come and do that in Lagos. Look at our stadium, the home ground of ‘we are Nigerians and we don’t lose here.’ We have killed that place.
What do you think about our chances to qualify for the World Cup?
Like I said, the gift and the curse, so we still hope that we can do all things.
Who is your greatest player of all time?
Thierry Henry.
As an Arsenal fan, do you think this is your year to win the UCL?
According to Opta stats, we have the best win probability and win percentage in terms of stats. So, if you’re asking me is it possible? Yeah, it’s possible. It’s more possible for us than most. It’s a very interesting situation, but this is why we all play to be in the Champions League. You saw the UEFA Nations League, all quarter-finals went into penalties or extra time. I know that’s what will happen on Tuesday or Wednesday next week, one red card can change the complexion of everything. At the end of the day, Madrid can come and do a 4-0 and that’s it.
