MD and CEO of Rave TV, Agatha Amata, popularly known for her talk show ‘Inside Out with Agatha’ sits with Chude Jideonwo, host of #WithChude to discuss public reaction after her marriage ended, being a single mom, and her journey through the Nigerian TV industry.
She shared that after her marriage to Fred Amata ended, the reactions from the public was overwhelming, particularly from the people who expected that they reconcile their differences. “I was bombarded at that time, people who didn’t know me were talking about me, and that was a shock. I entered a salon once, and the people didn’t know I was the one seated there. They were discussing my marriage, and they were talking about me as if they lived in my house. That was the most incredible thing that I had ever experienced. I didn’t realize the kind of impact both Fred and I had made because he was also out there. In a way, I had an idea of how the reaction was going to be, but I didn’t expect it became a talking point. I know that everybody wishes you well, but I always tell people that you can’t wish me better than I wish myself. I don’t think anyone on their wedding day is calculating their divorce date, but life happens. It is better for women to know when it is no longer adding and starts subtracting from you. The first thing people said was, ‘for the sake of your children’, but an unhappy home can never raise happy children. If anything, it is going to injure those children and their outlook. The best thing you can do is to remain friends, which I tried to do. We both tried, but it just wasn’t working”.
Agatha also mentioned that after her marriage ended, she focused on her children because she knew that there was a vacuum that she could only do her best to fill. “I stopped everything to focus on children. If there is anything I have done right in this world, it is my children. I don’t worry about them. I don’t know how I got so lucky, but God has been good to me when it comes to my children. They usually say that as a single woman, it is very difficult to raise good kids, but I don’t think so. My children are my best friends. It is just now that I am older that I realize that they will go and I will be alone, but I have no regrets. My children are my price. It is not the house or the car, they are the legacy I am leaving behind, and I am glad that I have left two good ones”.
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On her work as a pioneer in the Nigerian Television and Media industry, she said, ‘I never looked at the work I did as hard work. I was producing, marketing, editing, and presenting, I sent to 36 stations every week, and it was something I had to do. There was no choice, I had to learn everything. I wasn’t used to sitting down and waiting on other people to do stuff for me, and when I look at myself today, I thank God that I went through all of those stages. God was preparing me for everything that I am doing now.
“I have had a lot of practice. If you want to go into anything, it is important to start from the bottom. Don’t take the training process for granted; there is a lot you learn that no training or course can teach you. You must understand your market and who you are talking to because the environment in Nigeria is not very user-friendly. Everything that can test you will test you; if you are not grounded, you will be washed away,” she added.
