Naa Adjele Odua Doku is a successful Ghanaian radio broadcaster.

In this interview with Lukmon Akintola, the highly intelligent woman speaks about her passion for radio, giving back to society, and promoting her country. 

Your profile is rich and intimidating, is this a reflection of how far you have come in the media world? 

Looking back, I never thought I would get this far. If I could talk to my younger self, I would say, “you know what, you got this in the bag. You don’t have to be afraid.” I know that there is more room for improvement.

Presently, I’m not letting fear hold me back; I’m opening up because back then I used to be afraid. I don’t like being at the centre of attention. But now, I know it’s about using that light to touch people positively. I look back and I’m grateful for all the hurdles that I crossed and the achievements that I’ve been able to accomplish. 

You have been in the broadcast industry for more than a decade; would you say that broadcasting has evolved? 

Indeed, a lot has changed with the emergence of social media. There’s a wide reach of audiences worldwide. It’s about time we become more conscious of who we are as a people. The media space is no longer about professionalism, there’s a creative aspect to it, including the passion and deploying a sense of realism.

It’s not just about reading, but the emotions embedded in your presentation. Asides from that, building a personality out of it is equally important. 

Would you say that there are gaps to close between Africa and the western world as regards broadcasting? 

There was a time when we used the western world as a yardstick for broadcast presentations. However, I believe that Africa is the new world order. The western world wants to feel and know everything happening on the African continent. They enjoy our music, food, sounds, culture, people, and dance; they want to be us.

The only difference is how smoothly things run; I am referring to their processes, and structure, and how simple it is for them to execute plans. I believe these are some of the things we can learn from to get things running better and smoothly in our industry. But using them as a yardstick, I think that time is long gone.

Since everybody wants to have a piece of Africa, we just have to project our worth. 

With your reputation, one would expect you to deploy your influence for the betterment of young Ghanaians 

A few beautiful projects are coming my way. One is a mentorship programme, while the other has to do with mental health issues and relationships.

These projects will be engaging mostly the youth. The projects are still on the drawing table and I will be sharing them when I am ready. 

Having conquered Ghana, what are your new projections? 

I’m still working on conquering Ghana. I don’t think I’ve done enough yet. I’m still pushing to conquer Ghana. But yes, other projects are coming through that will extend to West Africa, the entire African continent, and hopefully, globally. 

Personality has a way of imposing responsibilities on people, has it placed anything on you? 

My responsibility right now is to be an exemplary person and keep treating people with kindness. I am also mindful of how others feel. 

On a private note, how do you cope with attention from the opposite sex? 

I have always been a tomboy even while growing up. Back then, I thought that would be a way to keep the guy’s attention off me. Fortunately, God had other plans for me. He gave me a lot of other features so when the attention came hitting on me here and there, I didn’t know how I did it.

It was like magic; I have this intuition where I can tell if you’re real or fake. Mostly, the only way I cope with such situations is to say thank you and move on. Such compliments are nice but I don’t let them get to my head.

The good thing is that some of these people genuinely end up becoming good friends since we find ourselves in the same industry. For others, they drop along the way.

Does your job affect your marriage in any way? 

I have my ways, I manage. It takes a toll sometimes. Sometimes I’m tired, stressed out, and frustrated but I don’t allow it to distract me from things I love doing like cooking. When I find myself in circumstances like this, I play with my kids. I spend time with them, going to dance classes with them, and visiting them in school.

When I’m down, they are always there for me. They give me the chance to do what I love and I don’t take that for granted. 

How do you project the heritage and culture of Ghana to the world? 

Using my indigenous name is my first way of projecting Ghana as an ambassador. At first, I didn’t see the beauty in it until I did a little research on African studies back at the university, and there was an awakening. For instance, my tribe the ‘Ga’ has its roots in Ile- Ife in Nigeria. And finding out how powerful my name is as an African has changed my mind about everything.

My name, Naa Adjele Odua Doku, aside from being beautiful, is unique and has a beautiful meaning.

I’m proud of my tribe and where I come from. It is believed that certain lifestyle activities are only limited to westerners but my lifestyle show “Outlook” is giving Ghanaians the realisation that everything happening in the western world can happen here. I’ve had the chance to meet talented people who are doing amazing things and creating businesses out of their passion.

And that’s what I’m trying to project right now. In a nutshell, I’m projecting my African heritage through the amazing lifestyle people are creating through their talents. 

What is your edge as a broadcaster? 

My unique selling point is just being me. My passion for the things I love brings out my fun side. The thing is; I host a radio show on one of the biggest entertainment radio stations in Ghana - Hitz 103.9 FM, from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm. It is called “Afternoon Definition”.

I grew up surrounded by music lovers and filmmakers and I naturally gravitated to television and music of all genres.

I love the typical Ghanaian palm wine music, high life, and others.

The other thing is, I can play my music with or without a DJ. Aside from that, I love everything about television production and lifestyle, and that’s how my show “Outlook” came into existence. That’s my edge.