Marcy Dolapo Oni and Bolanle Olukanni have been unveiled as the much anticipated co-Hosts on the long-running programme, Moments with Mo, Africa’s first and only syndicated and internationally acclaimed daily TV Talk Show, now sitting exclusively on EbonyLife TV, Channel 165 on DStv.
L-R: Newly unveiled co-Host, Bolanle Olukanni; Queen of Talk & CEO EbonyLife TV, Mo Abudu; newly unveiled co-Host, Marcy Dolapo Oni.
TINAPA, CALABAR (JULY 19, 2013) Both finalists emerged from one of the widest and most keenly contested searches ever seen on the continent. Spread over an intensive 7-day period of stringent but fun auditions designed to throw up the ideal talents, the elaborate search saw co-Host hopefuls from many parts of Africa, including Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, the UK, the US and many parts of the world, swarm into the Eko Hotel & Suites venue of the Auditions in April 2013.
The announcement means that Oni and Olukanni are now favourites to share the hot seat with the globally celebrated Africa’s Queen of Talk and CEO of EbonyLife TV, Mo Abudu, as the exciting threesome now continues to make the popular Talk Show the platform to discuss interesting, engaging and topical issues and human interest stories; interviewing Global Black citizens of the world; entrepreneurs and achievers in their own rights; ordinary people doing extraordinary things that affect the lives of people around them positively.
Set to start on Monday July 22, 2013, the new season of Moments with Mo is one of the many exciting, homegrown, glossy polished and sophisticated programmes that can be seen exclusively on the newly launched EbonyLife TV, Channel 165 on DStv.
Dolapo and Bolanle both come on board with impressive resumes that are bound to elevate the Moments with Mo brand equity and personality, commanding and reinforcing pan African followership and global reviews.
Dolapo Oni, who started her African Television career as the anchor on the MNET show, 53 Extra, and who soon became a force to reckon with, brings her alluring countenance and bubbly, effervescent personality to the Show. The Nigerian-born actress and television personality received her Primary education from the Lebanese Community School in Lagos. She had her secondary education at Headington Girls Independent School in Oxford in the UK where she became the first black head girl. She went on to attain a Degree in Chemistry from the University of Bristol.
Following her passion for the arts however, Oni finally pursued and received a postgraduate degree from the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in London, proceeding from that point to become a seasoned presenter, actress and style icon known across Africa.
Dolapo has worked with classical and contemporary material across all mediums – from stage and film, to radio and TV, crafting her expertise in entertainment. Oni has played key roles in numerous plays, including William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Walking Waterfall by Nii Ayikwei Parkes; In Time by Bola Agbaje; God is a DJ by Oladipo Agboluaje; ‘Iya-Ile’ (The First wife), a play produced by Soho Theatre/the Tiata Fahodzi Company, to mention a few. She has received rave reviews from seasoned theatre critics for her lead roles. Recently she became a new addition to the cast of the South African TV Series, ‘Jacob’s Cross,’ where she played ‘Moremi Omotoso’ – a woman who is passionate, liberated, strong and fights for what she believes in.
Dolapo has also played host at many high class events of which the groundbreaking EbonyLife TV launch remains clearly memorable.
“I’m so excited to be part of history in the making with EbonyLife TV,” said the ever so cheerful Oni. “It’s an amazing team and the perfect new venture for me. Mo Abudu has always been a mentor to me and I am very excited to start this new chapter.”
Bolanle Olukanni, on the other hand, is a double degree graduate of The Loyola University, Chicago, with Bachelors of Arts in both Communications and International Studies. Raised in Nigeria, Israel, Kenya and the USA, Bolanle Olukanni has seen a fair bit of the world but finds there is no place like home.
A National Qualifier for Competitive Monologue Acting in America, a study in the power of the human voice through social action inspired monologues, Bolanle worked briefly in the US before returning home to Nigeria for her NYSC, a period during which she co-founded ‘Girls For The Future’, an empowerment training workshop which empowers Nigerian girls through education.
Her favourite maxim being “No one is powerless; each person has their own voice”, Bolanle is a strong believer in the importance of one’s voice. Being a co-Host on Moments with Mo is therefore a wonderful platform where her voice could be heard through inspiring TV. Bolanle loves writing poetry, reading and making Black Tea with Lemon.
“I look forward to being part of this new and exciting season in Television,” says Bolanle. “It’s a privilege to have emerged as a finalist in the keenly contested Search. It’s even a greater privilege to be part of Moments with Mo and the EbonyLife TV movement.”
For Yvonne Adefajo, Producer, Moments with Mo, “Moments with Mo re-emerges with three times the fun, the action, and all the glam it has been known for over the years. It’s been great working on the show, and we are excited about creating content that is relevant and celebrates the greatness in Africa. It has been an honor to work alongside some of the most talented and creative people in the industry.”
A pleased and satisfied Mo Abudu, CEO of EbonyLife TV, could not hide her sense of fulfillment. “The search for my co-Host was an intensive and exhilarating process that involved series of demanding auditions and tasks. Moments with Mo now sits exclusively on EbonyLife TV, which is a channel designed for young people. Our objective for the Search process, therefore, was to come away with two hot, fresh, brilliant and young people who would be sitting in the spotlight with me in the New Season of the Show, discussing topical issues from the younger person’s perspective. We are happy to have achieved this aim with Dolapo and Bolanle. Africa can now sit back, relax and expect a more revved up New Season of Moments with Mo, on EbonyLife TV.”
Moments with Mo is Africa’s first and only syndicated daily talk show airing now across 48 African countries and on cable TV in the United Kingdom. In over 7 years of its existence, Moments with Mo has transformed the face and flavor of African TV. The show has been able to achieve this feat by constantly seeking to build and project a new, stronger, more independent and confident Africa. One that speaks for itself, celebrates its people and achievements, and solves its own problems.
Over the past 7 years of its existence, Moments with Mo has hosted an impressive list of guests. From Presidents to Nobel Laureates; celebrities to Governors; and even the US Secretary of-State, Mrs. Hilary Rodham-Clinton on her visit to Nigeria, and of recent, Christine Lagarde, the Managing Director of IMF.
