I have fun when I talk to presidents —Zuriel Oduwole

Zuriel Oduwole is an achiever compared to many children her age. At 12, she has interviewed 15 heads of state and she has four films to her credit. The Global Ambassador for the Ethiopian Airlines shares, in this interview with DOYIN ADEOYE, her passion, inspirations, projects, among other things. Excerpts:
 What exactly drives you?

I really don’t know, but I know that I have the opportunity to do something and I am doing it. I see young children, especially girls, on the news, or whenever I travel across Africa, to countries like Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Egypt, on streets hawking and I think that they should be in school just like me. So, I’m doing what I can to tell older people to do something about this, because I can’t do it all by myself. I’m only 12.
What did you have in mind when you started your advocacy?
I was nine years old and even though we were born in Los Angeles, my parents who are from Nigeria and Mauritius, always tell us about our African heritage and who we are; the kind of history our continent has.
So, I knew that I had to tell my friends and other people at every opportunity, about the African continent, especially the positive things there, because usually on the foreign news, they show only the negative things in Africa, like wars, corruption, famine and disease, but Africa is much more than that.


At just 12, you have interviewed 15 heads of state, who are those on this list and how does it feel when you speak with such personalities?
I always have fun when I talk to them, and I think they have fun too, because usually, they have not been interviewed by someone as young as me. Sometimes they are surprised by my questions, because I don’t send my questions before I get there. I just ask them and sometimes, they laugh, sometimes, they are serious, because my camera is on and recording.
I have interviewed the presidents of Kenya, Cape Verde, Tanzania, South Sudan, Liberia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Guinea and the Prime Ministers of Lesotho, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis and others.
‘Educating and Healing Africa out of Poverty’ was your second film and it focused on the creation of the African Union (AU). Do you think it achieved its purpose of healing Africa out of poverty?
I made that film in 2013. I wanted to show how the AU affected Africa, and how the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are being carried out in some African countries.
I got to meet and speak with some African presidents during the project, and it allowed me learn more about what they are doing to accomplish the 2015 MDGs. So, I think if they accomplished the MDGs, then maybe they would have reduced poverty a little bit.
With four films to your credit, how do you manage the entire filmmaking process:  producing, editing, scripting, and the like?
It’s a lot of work, but I learn to do an hour a day, before going out to play with my sisters and friends. That way, it is fresh every day when I come back. It takes a long time, because I still have school work, and my other projects too.
I do the editing myself. I work with people to choose the best music, because I don’t know the process for licensing yet. I produce it, then I spend some time in the studio doing the voice over and re-editing, and then I go into post-production. It’s a really cool thing to do, and I love it, especially when I see the result in the cinema. The best part is when my grandpa, who is now 81 and lives in Lagos, comes to watch my films. He always smiles and I am very thankful to the Lord that allows me do this.
What excites you most about all of this?
That many parents now see me an example of what their daughters can do. It is really fulfilling.

What is the concept behind your project, ‘Dream Up, Speak Up, Stand Up?

It is to tell girls that they can have dreams, like me, to speak up about their dreams, and stand up for themselves and other girls, who can’t stand for them. I am doing my little part in this too.

How has it grown so far?

I think very well. So far, I have launched or delivered it in nine countries, some of which are Ghana, the UK, Malawi, Tanzania, Mauritius, South Africa, Nigeria, and the US. So far, I have spoken to more than 23,000 children and they always love to hear from someone their age.

It’s always exciting, screaming and all; we play brain games, and I give out prizes that my sponsors donate to me.

Do you feel like you miss out on being a child?

I am still a child. I’ll turn 13 next week. I am not sure what I miss out on. I play with my sisters, my friends at church, my friends on my street, we hang out in the mall, watch films.  But I watch the news also to see what’s going on in the world, like most children do. So, I do child things.

How much do you draw from your African side?

Pretty much, I get my sense of responsibility from there, because I can’t walk away from the things that go on there, and I get my opportunities and identity from my US side. So I balance it well, I think.

What is it that you still long to see in African countries, in terms of development?

In Nigeria, the electricity system needs  to stay on, so my grandpa can read his newspapers at night, and also so that children can do their homework at night, and then watch the news later in the evening too. Also there are so many floods when it rain, and then there is traffic. But in other countries, for the president to leave when his time is up, so there would be no fighting.

What are your hobbies?

I love sports; basketball, track and soccer. I also build robots and programme them.