The first episode of the ‘Public Eye’ season 2 examines the case of Oluwabamise Ayanwole, who went missing after boarding a Bus Rapid Transit and was later found dead.
Nigerian media entrepreneur and talk show host Funmi Iyanda held a private screening of the second season of her television show ‘Public Eye’.
The media personality premiered the first episode of ‘Public Eye’ season two, at a private viewing event on Thursday, in Victoria Island Lagos state.
Nigerian celebrities and media personalities like Derenle Edun, Ireti Doyle, Zainab Balogun, Linda Ikeji, Frank Oshodi, Pamela Braide, Yinka Davis and lotto64banks attended the private viewing.
The guests watched the first episode of ‘Public Eye’ season, which was about the insecurity in the country, the case of Oluwabamise Ayanwole, who went missing after boarding a Bus Rapid Transit and was later found dead.
Bamise, a 22-year-old woman, was allegedly killed by a BRT driver, identified as Andrew Ominnikoron, in March, on her way from work, after boarding a BRT from Ajah to Oshodi, Lagos State.
Pelumi Abegunde and Titilayo Abegunde, the older siblings of late Bamise, were also at the private viewing of the first episode of the show.
Public Eye Season Two
Ms Iyanda, who quickly rose to become one of Nigeria’s most-watched and revered TV personalities, launched the talk show ‘Public Eye’ after years of taking a break from broadcasting.
She started the show in 2020, with the first season of Public Eye Live on Instagram, during the Coronavirus pandemic and lockdown.
When introducing the show’s second season, Ms Iyanda said it is designed to provoke social change.
She noted that the show connects people with experts who would do a contextual analysis of their issues to seek solutions. It indicated that season 2 would have various topics and guests from across the country, including government officials.
She said: “This season tackles different social issues such as Corporal Punishment in Schools, Loan (app) sharks, insecurity, women inclusion, the Japa trend, population explosion, renewable energy, Ibo apprenticeship system, rising food prices, Elections in Nigeria and a lot more.”
Public Eye season 2, powered by the MacArthur Foundation, will feature guests from different parts of the country, government officials inclusive.
Background
Speaking at the event, Ms Iyanda, who has been a Tv host for over two decades, encouraged young journalists to carve a niche for themselves.
She said: “When I started my career, I was very young; I was in my twenties, and I had no idea of the future. ‘New Dawn’, which everybody came to love so much when I was doing it, I did not know what I was doing; I was only doing my thing”, she said.
“Seeing a whole generation of people in media, technology, fashion, development, among others, gives me immense hope”.
The veteran broadcaster, who started her career by producing and presenting ‘Good Morning Nigeria’, a breakfast television show on the Nigerian Television Authority, noted that her new show, Public Eye, will address the changes in the society and the actions of people in the community.
Ms Iyanda said she does not want to come on TV to do anything if she doesn’t consider it practical.
She said: “I respect the times that we are living in now because there is a lot of necessary conversation about what is wrong. However, a lot of the talks can be very divisive.
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Also, in Nigeria, in particular, there is so much disillusion, and this disillusionment is understandable.
It is also essential to face the essentials, so do it. And sometimes I see many people talking and unaware of what needs to happen and how they can do it.”
The veteran broadcaster said that Public Eye is geared towards bringing together many different perspectives of stories.
In 2011, Ms Iyanda was honoured for her web series by the World Economic Forum and named one of Forbes “20 Youngest Powerful Women in Africa”.
New Dawn with Funmi started in 2000 and ran daily on NTA Channel 10 Lagos.
The show’s success made it one of the best independently produced shows on NTA.
