Alex Okosi ’94

Could you elaborate on your Exeter experience?One of the most important roles anyone played in my life at Exeter was my academic advisor. I’m telling you, I would not have survived Exeter without his help. I also had some really good friends here and developed very strong friendships. I really appreciate the support I got from the teachers. The learning environment at Exeter was very challenging, at first. It was really gratifying, because Exeter sort of reignited that passion in me for learning. It was an environment where people cared more about what you said at the table, as opposed to what you looked like. As a result, there were many different opportunities for me. Even though I grew up in Nigeria, I just felt like the sort of diversity that Exeter offered was unique. You could be anybody and everything was possible. I was obviously passionate about my learning, and I was intentional about making sure that I did well and took advantage of my opportunity here. It was a very special experience. After you attended Exeter, you went to St. Michael’s college and then acquired a position at MTV. What sparked your interest in Media?I feel like media is such an important and powerful platform for being able to enact positive change. When I looked for a job at MTV, there was obviously the entertainment aspect of it, but also the prospect of all of the things that one can accomplish with the platform. MTV is a way you can connect the young people to not only entertain but also to educate them. My dream came true, because I could use the platform to change the narrative and allow young Africans to showcase their talent. Media gives me the opportunity to feel like I'm actually doing something meaningful. One thing to be wary of is that media can be used for good and bad things. Media provides a way to spread false propaganda and other sorts of destructive sentiments. But for me, I work to utilize the powerful opportunity that media offers if used the right way––to educate, to entertain, to help people find a release from their day to day challenges, to empower.What was the narrative about Africa when you were growing up?When I was growing up, the narrative on Africa was a dark jungle fraught with death and famine, poverty and disease and so on. Of course Africa has all sorts of challenges just like everywhere else, and because Africa is a developing continent and some challenges may be more acute. But Africa also has incredibly diverse, smart, progressive, hardworking, global and determined young people as well. For me, the mission is to change [the traditional] narrative.  There's a lot of countries in Africa receiving aid that they don't need. If anything, donations have stunted the growth of the people. It’s like that old anecdote of either giving people fish or teaching them how to fish.I think that, for me, that was the narrative to change. To do that, I had to show the world all of the other parts as well, the whole picture. It's not about just showing them only the challenges. Yes, there are challenges, but there's still opportunity, there's still growth, there’s still hope.How does Africa MTV uphold your values of changing narrative and the importance of youths’ voice?For MTV Africa, it’s about the content we create. We make entertainment content, but we also make really powerful content that has the opportunity to educate and inspire. We've had Bill Gates, the first woman president in Africa, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and others. Being able to get powerful leaders have these intimate conversations about all of the issues that the continent faces allows young people to ask questions and remain engaged. It's about making sure that we deal with tough issues that you will face and doing that through content is really impactful. Another campaign MTV Africa did was Shuga, an award winning program. Through extensive studies, data has shown that the program impacts people in a very good way because it changes their behavior; people start thinking differently about the choices they make. The great thing about Shuga is it's a drama series. Using backdrops and storylines and characters can make youth relate as opposed to a public service announcement. 50% of Africa is under the age of 25; it is the youngest continent in the world. Because Africa is so young, making sure that the youth are speaking and creating a platform for them to showcase their talent is one of the most important things that one can do.