She started as Tosin Odukoya, Now referred to as Mrs. Tosin Dokpesi, she is Managing Director at the DAAR Communications village, located in Kpaduma Hill, Abuja.
Tosin’s journey in the world of television, she said, is worth telling over and again.
“I decided learning more about programming because one can never have the same television face forever. I am still a presenter but also a programmes officer. Though I was presenting Kaakaki, a breakfast show on AIT, I did other behind-the-scene jobs and I still do that now. Really, it has been exciting rising through the ranks and I enjoy whatever I am doing now because it is what I have always wanted to do. Television is a passion and I would not have done anything else,” she said.
Being a popular television girl, she could be ranked as one of Abuja Big Girls.
“I don’t think so,” she refuted. “I am Tosin Dokpesi and I remain a simple presenter on television. What keeps me going in this job is the fear of God and I don’t see myself as an Abuja Big Girl or celebrity.”
But television must have influenced her life in some ways.
“I don’t think so because I am still who I am. I can still pull up at the roadside and buy roast plantain, go to any eatery I want and my friends are still the same. When I was in Lagos, I was always going to buy food inone Buka located in Ogba! Of course people would stare at me but my life can’t change because I am working on television. It is like any other job and I don’t see it as any big deal. Agreed, some others would allow it enter into their heads, but I was not brought up that way. I was brought up to be humble and always remember my background. I don’t seemyself as a star now because I am still aiming higher. I am just Tosin.”
But she is married to the chairman of the DAAR Group, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, and that has upped her status. She can’t possibly be the girl next door! “Of course, I am like the girl next door,” Tosin enthused.
“Here, I am just a staff who happens to be the wife of the chairman! I do my job; That I am married to Chief Dokpesi does not stop me from being Tosin—friendly, humble and unassuming. I hate creating unnecessary airs around me and I hate publicity.”
But why does she run from granting interviews?
She laughed and replied: “I hate publicity and would not want to be quoted on what I never said. When I was still single and in Lagos, a soft-sell journalist called me on phone, asked a question and I answered. I was shocked to read what I never said and I didn’t know it was an interview! That was unethical. Though I have never been bothered about what people say, I just feel sorry for my mother, whose friends would call her and start asking questions. I am also a journalist just that I am in the electronic media. I believe things should be properly done and verified before going to press.”
But her marriage would have raised some dust in the media and society.
“I don’t think so because I married the man I love and who also loves me. He has always being my friend and we get along well, even before marriage. I think God brought us together for a purpose and you can see that we are both happy. When you are in love, you can’t explain it; I have always believed that whatever happens to me is meant to be and I have never been this happy! He is my friend, my boss and my husband. When we got married in 2002, I stuck to my maiden name and he allowed me. But when it was time to change to his name, I did. Really, I don’t want to discuss my marriage in public,”