SHE’S AN award-winning documentary filmmaker who has interviewed some of the world’s top leaders and just last month made history by becoming the youngest person to be interviewed by Forbes magazine.

But Zuriel Oduwale maintains she is a regular 11-year-old girl who enjoys nothing more than to play her Nintendo Wii and board games with her family.

“I do all the usual things like go to the mall with my mum and sisters and ride my bike with my neighbours,” she says, although she is more than aware her life differs slightly from most girls her age. “I am in a home school-based curriculum, so that allows me to get ahead in my school work and then I have some time to travel for my extra curricular programmes like my Dream Up, Speak Up, Stand Up programme, or interviewing leaders for my documentaries.”

Touted as the next Oprah Winfrey, Zuriel is committed to rebranding Africa by showing the positive things about the continent, and campaigning for education for girls.

Some of the high-profile names Zuriel has enjoyed exclusive one-to-one time with include Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan and her personal favourite, Prime Minister of Jamaica, Portia Simpson.

“She held my hands and prayed for me and then she put me on her lap to take official pictures with her, which was very different from all the other 13 presidents and prime ministers I have interviewed.”

Zuriel, which is Hebrew for ‘God is my Rock’, believes by leading by example, girls may be inspired by her journey and do the same. That, she believes, can show her peers and the world the need to educate the continent’s often forgotten girl child.

Zuriel’s vision for her Dream Up, Speak Up, Stand Up programme is to inspire girls to “accomplish their dreams like me” by using it as a platform to push the influential work she is doing around the globe.

When talk moves to the future of the 200 girls kidnapped by Islamic extremists in Nigeria last month, the 11-year-old said she was both “sad but relieved at the same time.”

She explains: “Sad because I can’t imagine being taken to some strange place by some strange people, but relieved because the whole world is talking about it so maybe something can now be done.”

Keen to prove age is nothing but a number, Zuriel wants to show parents – and the world – by “using me as an example, what their children can do”.

Zuriel began pursuing documentary-making and journalism when she was nine after entering a competition in the United States, where she resides with her Mauritian mother and Nigerian father and three siblings – two sisters and one brother. The competition asked applicants to produce a documentary “about a revolution or reaction in history”.

“I knew right away what I wanted to do even though I was only nine. It was my opportunity to find a successful revolution and show the world that Africa is not all bad.”

In a typical day, Zuriel and her nine-year-old sister are made to watch an hour of news and asked to write – and later discuss – what they have heard with their parents.

“When I watch the news, I find that most of the news about Africa was always negative, so I thought I could show something that was positive like a successful revolution.”

She then began research on the Ghana revolution, the 1979 uprising which arose out of a combination of corruption, bad governance, lack of discipline in the army and frustrations among the general public. Her research took her to the African continent where she was able to interview flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings, who led a coup and later became the country’s head of state.

“I had to take my own camera to interview President Rawlings, set it up, write my own questions, shoot the clips and do the editing because that was the rules of the competition,” she says. “It was hard, but I did it. Sometimes I was working late after doing my homework to complete it.”

But her hard work has paid off. Last year, aged 10, Zuriel made history by becoming the youngest person ever to be interviewed by the prestigious Forbes magazine.

“[At the time] I didn’t understand why they wanted to interview me,” she says coolly. “It wasn’t until they said even though the work I was doing for girls’ education in Africa was not about wealth creation, it was too special to ignore. They wanted it in their women’s future leader edition.

“I think it’s pretty cool now. I understand what it means and more importantly, a few months before, Mr Aliko Dangote, the richest black man in the world, who I have interviewed, was featured in the magazine. I feel really special.”

Though Zuriel hopes to explore her chances in basketball and robotic engineering, her life-long goal is to become president of the United States.

“People always ask why I don’t want to be the president of an African country, but I feel if I am president of an African country, I might be able to affect one or two other countries, but if I am president of the United States, not only would I be able to affect the United States, but most countries in the world including those in Africa and the Caribbean region. That way, I can change the way girls are educated around the world.”

omenka:
Wow! Great mind.

But pictures of her with those presidents wouldn't have hurt this thread op.

princdebola201:
All I see is Oprah Winfrey in Making..Make I Run go Book this Girl down for Marriage.as e dey Hot*IN ARSENE WENGER VOICE* catch Dem Young..!!!

“When I watch the news, I find that most of the news about Africa was always negative, so I thought I could show something that was positive like a successful revolution

I wonder what CNN and other Western media channels stand to gain from publicizing only Negative things about Africa...
Yet they come out to preach against racism when they are the one leading by example...


Useless RACIST...

EUROBOMBER:
Fellow Nigerians, I have taken time to study recent happenings in our nation before and after the elections and I have come to conclude that there is a grand plan to start some kind of war in Nigeria. Some people thought that the last presidential election was going to be the last straw to break the camel's back but are still in shock that the presidential election has been conducted and Nigeria is still at peace even with the incumbent losing the election.

Discerning minds can see that a pattern has been set to overheat the system especially by generating so much hatred and tension between the Igbo and the Yoruba. The rate at which it is going it is looking like one week one trouble. The pattern is that there is usually a provocative comment (alleged or true) made by a prominent Yoruba and somehow this is fed to the public and when the get to know of such comments, they become overwhelmed with anger.

Just check:

Before all these started, recall that a Twitter account was identified where a young man was calling for the killing of all the Igbos. Now I believe that the picture shown on that twitter account might even be that of someone that died many years ago. That twitter account was most likely created by the wicked forces outside Nigeria that intend to spark of a bloody ethnic conflict in Nigeria.

1. The case of the Yoruba Oba of Lagos-HRH Oba Akiolu where the Igbos were threatened with death in the Lagos lagoon.

2. The case of the Yoruba cardiologist in the US where a call for genocide against the Igbo was seen on his facebook page. (He says his account was hacked)

3. Most recently the case of the Yoruba Nobel Laureate-Prof Wole Soyinka released by the Cables revealing some provocative comments about the Igbo.


I want every intelligent mind to observe this, in the case of Dr Ariyo, he said his account was hacked and I am inclined to believe that this is true. The people behind this agenda to set Nigeria on fire are most likely the same people that used his facebook account to post such hate words against the Igbo. These are the same people that opened that twitter account I mentioned earlier where a call to kill all Igbos was made.

Look at the case of Prof Wole Soyinka too, how can an organisation like the Cable release such hate speech and tagging it to this man if not that some powerful forces were behind such. It is this same group of people that want Nigerians to start killing one another that used the Cables site to release that speech. Wole Soyinka himself has denied ever making such comments.

My Igbo and Yoruba brothers, please wake up and see that there are powerful forces pulling the strings underground to cause hatred between us and the agenda is to take it to a level where it will be too much to bear and violence would be the only solution. The forces behind this ultimately want a massive show of bloodshed in Nigeria starting with the Igbo vs Yoruba. Some people initially thought that the boko haram problem up north would start a religious war in Nigeria especially when churches were been blown to pieces every week but that failed. They later on resorted to attacking Muslims in the north even in their mosques to see if that would anger the muslims enough to start a massive campaign of violence against Christians but that also failed.

Let us all be wise and open our eyes, these forces plotting to plunge Nigeria into war are likely operating outside Nigeria. The boko haram option in Northern Nigeria failed to start the needed Christian vs Muslim war and boko haram is gradually winding down activities. Let us continue to pray for this nation and keep our emotions in check so that we do not witness a sort of bloodshed in this country that would be second to none in history. These evil forces have now shifted their attention to the Southern part of Nigeria and intend to start a campaign of massive bloodshed by starting a violent Igbo vs Yoruba conflict. We are too big to start a bloody confrontation against ourselves in this country, where do we run to for refuge? The numbers in Lagos alone can overwhelm Cotonou and even Ghana/Togo with a massive influx of refugees. How much refugees can flee through Bakassi? How much refugees can flee from the North into Niger Republic & Chad? Just with the boko haram problem Niger is already complaining and sending backing Northern Nigerian refugees.

This is the only county we have and we must do all we can to protect this country and ensure progress & development.

This message is especially for all the Igbos & Yorubas whose hearts have now been darkened and filled with so much anger and hate waiting to manifest. Let us put the evil ones to shame and ensure that their dream of an Igbo-Yoruba war does not come to pass!

GOD BLESS NIGERIA!