By John Billions
Arise News OAP and one of the current anchors of highly popular “The Morning Show” program, Vimbai Mutinhiri, is probably the most brilliant female broadcaster in Nigeria today.
Ensconced between two highly prolific alpha male broadcasters with equally high intelligence, Dr Reuben Abati and Rufai Oseni, she has positioned herself as the calm intelligent voice sitting in subtle check of their sometimes-extreme opinions and advocacies. She won’t shout and scream but when she finishes her presentation you will not need anyone to tell you she packs loads of cerebral cortex in her head as well as a deep thinker.
Aside from her obvious versatility across subject matters, she has a way of benignly asking the most probing questions while at the same time relaxing the guest with her calm voice and ways. I am yet to see her angry or bullish but sure know people like her are much more difficult to manage when they eventually get angry.
I was reliably informed that before and after graduating from University of Cape Town with honors degree in politics, philosophy and economics, she participated in Big Brother Africa in 2011 as well as acted and modeled before ending with broadcast journalism in Nigeria. She is as comfortable discussing international affairs as she does local matters. Sometimes I wonder how she knew so much about Nigeria and her historic politics whereas she was born Zimbabwean and only relocated to Nigeria around 2020. Hopefully, I will ask her soon enough.
After watching and observing her for a reasonable time, following the maternity absence of equally formidable Ayo Mairo-Ese, I’ve been wondering what will happen when the latter returns from maternity leave. Will viewers lose Vimbai or the managers of the program be able to accommodate the two of them and change the composition of the popular show to 2 male and 2 female anchors?
Whichever way, I just like celebrating those who are very good at what they do. Vimbai is certainly very good at her job and deserves celebration. Matching the levels of iconic Reuben Abati and irrepressible Rufai Oseni without losing yourself or “copying and pasting” their opinions is stuff for those with strong academic and external orientation background shaped by good professional experience.
