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Ace broadcaster, Funke Moore recounts what life has taught her at 50

MRS. Olufunke Abayomi Moore, the Director of Current Affairs, Lagos Television (LTV), turned 50 on Thursday, September 5, 2013.  The mother of two children who started her journalism career with the defunct Daily Times before berthing at Lagos Television almost 30 years ago, told ENCOMIUM Weekly in this interview how her sojourn into the world of broadcast journalism started.

What will you say you cherish most turning 50?

What I cherish most is being alive, being in good health, having my children, my grandchildren and being closer to God than I have always been.

Aside God, what will you attribute your turning 50 in a country where the average lifespan is said to be 45?

I owe everything to Him. I would not take credit for anything.  Being human, I have no control over anything but I will tell you that I try to give myself rest of mind.  I try to take things easy.  I live moderately, do everything moderately.  I don’t let things bother me much.

Even, when they say life expectancy is less than 50, there are people who are celebrating 70, 80 and 90.  I want to emulate those people. I am learning to take better care of myself than I did when I was 20, 30 and 40.

What are those things you are still surprised you can still do at 50?

I don’t feel any difference than I did when I was 30 or 40. I still do a lot of things.  I can do aerobics for an hour. I can work for hours if I choose to and the weather is good. I can do everything that I have always done. Is that fantastic or extraordinaire? My friends do the same thing.

Not everybody who is 50 can do most of the things you mentioned?

Seriously?  Let me say we owe it to God then.

At 50, do you still have an unfulfilled dream?

As long as one lives, the best is yet to come.  Even when you are 60, 70, good things can happen to you.  As long as you still have the breath in you, life is not over.  Anything can still happen. I have contentment but I believe that my God is a good God.  As long as I am alive, good things will continue to happen to me.

What are your regrets?

I don’t have any.  Every experience that I have had contributed to the woman that I am today. I have made mistakes I don’t regret making them because they have contributed to making me the woman that I am today.

You don’t have any regret that you are not married again?

What is there to regret about? I have been married, my husband is late. I have children and grandchildren.  Even though you think that being 50 is over the hill, I don’t think so. I think my life has just started (general laughter).

And you still have the hope of getting married again?

I didn’t say that, don’t put words in my mouth.  There are millions of women who don’t have all those things that I have.  And for those things, I say thank you to the Almighty God.  I say, thank you Jesus.  You cannot have everything.  Nobody has it all.  So, what you have you have to be thankful.  I have no regret about anything.

Looking back, what is it that you think you should have done differently?

Nothing.  I just told you I do not regret anything.  You learn from your experiences, from the experiences of others. When you are a child, you behave like a child.  When you are an adult, you dump those youthful exuberances. You get more matured, you get wiser.  That is how life is.

At 50, you are almost at the peak of your career, you are already a grandmother and your children are out of school, will you say you are lucky?

I will rather say God has been gracious and kind to me.  I am very thankful to the Almighty.  He’s been gracious unto me, I have earned unmerited favour. If you say that is luck, I will agree with you, that I am lucky.

What are the lessons that life has taught you?

Life has taught me that with God, everything is possible.  That everything does not depend on you.  The race is not for the swift or the powerful, God blesses those whom He wants.  Life has taught me that there is no permanent enemy and there is no permanent friend.  Life has also taught me that you have to learn to forgive and forget.  Life has taught me that ultimately, what you have is your God. I don’t expect much from anybody except from God.

What is your philosophy of life?

Do to others what you want them to do unto you.  Love your fellow man because, ultimately, you will be held accountable for your actions.

You’ve been in broadcasting throughout your life…

(Cuts in) My life is not over, I could still go into another profession. I could decide to be a trader, sell gold or whatever.  Yes, but I have been in broadcasting for almost three decades now.

Where and when did your sojourn into the broadcasting world start?

I started journalism at a very early age.  I started with the defunct Daily Times of Nigeria.  I went to Times Journalism Institute (TJI).  Then, it was known as Daily Times of Nigeria Training Centre.  I later went to Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ).  I went to Lagos State University, where I read English Language for my first degree and University of Lagos, where I got my second degree in Literature in English.  I started as a reporter, a sub-editor and rose to be an editor. I was a presenter, a newscaster, producer, writer.  I have done everything and I am still doing them.

Will you say you are fulfilled in this career?

It could be better.  But I thank God for where I am today. Not just professionally, in everything, I thank God.  It could be worse but it is good, it’s been a good life and I thank God.

Was there a time your felt like calling it quit with the job?

Doesn’t it happen to all of us?  You take stock and you are like I have been wasting my time. That happens in every profession.  It could just be that at that time, you are going through a bad period, a bad patch.  But what is without its challenges or difficulties?  Nothing.  So, you decide to trudge on.  It hasn’t been such a bad journey but it could be better.

If not broadcasting, what other profession would have been for you?

If I wasn’t a broadcast journalist maybe I would have been a lawyer.  One of my children incidentally is a lawyer.

Is there anyone of them who is interested in journalism?

No, no, no.  I have two children. One is a dentist and the other is a lawyer.

-TOLANI ABATTI 

  • This story was first published in ENCOMIUM Weekly on Tuesday, September 17, 2013
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