January 02, (THEWILL) – Isaac and Nneka Moses, hosts of Goge Africa, speak with SHADE METIBOGUN about the secret of their 24-year marital bliss, the success of their two decades-old TV tourism/ cultural show and sundry issues
You recently celebrated 22 years of Goge Africa and 24th anniversary of your marriage. How does it feel marking such landmark achievements?
Isaac: It feels good. As for marriage, it still feels like yesterday. For Goge Africa, I still have that same excitement I had when we started, especially if there is a new episode coming up. I am always excited to get down to work. Once we finish production, I always want to get it out from post production and send it to the station that would broadcast it. It still holds the same excitement that it used to hold a few years ago. I don’t always remember our marriage anniversary, except my wife reminds me. I just take one thing at a time. That is the way it should be. Everyday should be as important as the other.
What have you achieved with Goge Africa?
Isaac: Being alive is an achievement. Also seeing people begin to look inwards by using local contents as materials for their programmes and looking inwards for tourism are achievements for me. Goge Africa has changed the perspectives of many people with the way we showcase different cultures and heritage of the people. Because of that, local designers are beginning to get patronage from more people. Our food has become the in-thing. Brands are now interested in sponsoring and associating with our culture and festivals. For me, these are major achievements. For instance, because of the culture festival that MTN sponsors, other local festivals now have a lot of equity. For such a big brand to be identified with local festivals, it has influenced some other brands to associate with our local festivals and sponsor them as well. We have been able to draw attention some of these local festivals. We have shown what communities look like in their happiest moments and how hospitable they are, as well as how and when you can see the very best of them, which is what brands love to associate with. That single effort by Goge Africa has created an enabling environment that has boosted tourism. People come from other places, especially neighbouring countries, to be part of our festivals. Those are major achievements for us.
The perks of this business may not be about money; it may be a barter arrangement with a company or hotel. We may have to take people to a hotel so as to run down our bill. Leaving our house and moving into the hotel makes everyone happy. For me, it is fun. We are passionate about what we do and we catch fun doing it. We may get a phone call to cover a festival somewhere, which means that it could be an all-expense paid trip with free accommodation and free food etc. Sometimes the invitation may not come with money and sometimes it does. We are just having fun basically.
Nneka: Most times, it comes with money, but there are places we go on our own just to discover new things and support the people because they don’t have brand support and the community is not rich enough to do that. We have gone to Makoko, a slum in Lagos State. It was sponsored by Goge Africa Foundation. It is just something we enjoy doing. We organised a training workshop on tourism for youths sometime ago and it was free. Some of those participants came back to say thank you. And they came with gifts to show their appreciation.
Was there ever a time you were tempted to suspend the programme because of some challenges you had?
Isaac: In fairness to you, there are always challenges.
I can tell you that it has not been all that rosy for us. But I enjoy what I do so much that the challenges are the things that make me stronger. Although we started with some independent producers, many of them are no longer there. Not that I am happy that they are not there, but it shows how challenging the business can be. The challenges made us push and explore all other avenues to sustain the programme. Here we are, 22 years and still counting.
Nneka: Working with my husband is easy. We have both disagreed on some issues in the past, but we do disagree to agree. Quitting the programme or our partnership has never crossed my mind. I have never seen it as an option. I have always found out that I am not complete if I am alone. I always feel complete if my husband is with me because he gives me the confidence that I need. With him and God, everything and anything is possible. Problems and challenges come, but my husband has been very supportive. He is a man of faith. He always believes that we will overcome and usually, we do.
How did you coin the word Goge and what language is it?
Isaac: Goge was coined from the Hausa language. It is a musical instrument used in Africa. It is used in the northern part of Nigeria. It’s a traditional guitar. Late singer, Dan Maraya Jos, a famous musician from northern Nigeria used it for his music. The word also means “to clean”. So Goge Africa means to clean Africa and it is symbolic because of the instrument.
Many couples find it difficult to work together, but you have been able to build a working relationship over the years. How have you been able to achieve this?
Isaac: It works for me, I don’t know of other people. I am more at ease to know that whatever I don’t remember she would remember. It’s a family business. So she has the interest of the family at heart. She wouldn’t discuss a business that would not be of benefit to us. I am an easy going person. If she gives me a good reason for not adopting a template, I will go with it. I am not too full of ego to accept or see a better reason. And it has been working for us perfectly. She is good at finding our route. If I miss my way, she calls me back. You don’t have to be another person just to make someone happy. How long will you keep up with that? I am myself. We might see a Yoruba woman with a big backside while driving and we would laugh and just have fun.
How do you resolve your business conflicts?
Nneka: We have division of labour and negotiating with outsiders is my job. Like he already told you, whatever I agree with a client is what is best for us. In addition to what you have asked him, I will say trust has kept us together. We have a joint bank account and anyone of us can sign to collect money. We also have friendship. I am not talking about love now. You can be in and out of love, but if somebody is your friend, you can even accommodate such a person more. There are so many ways to justify what a friend has done and it is easy for me to forgive so much. It is easy for him to forgive so much too. We are also lucky to love each other, but our friendship has helped us to build that trust overtime. It is what has translated to what people see over time. It wasn’t perfect from the beginning, but over time it became smooth. He doesn’t wait for me when he is going out. If I am not ready, I would just grab my food and run over to the car. We ensure it is just one car we use at a time because we are always together. Although there are other cars, we are just comfortable in each other’s company and I can say that he enjoys my company, too.
Isaac: It is effortless. It is not as if you have to struggle and go out of your way all the time. It is not as if what you are doing is what you don’t want to do, so it will be easy to be yourself. I don’t want nagging and some other things, which she is aware of.
Which would you consider to be your most memorable trip since starting this programme and why?
Nneka: Most of my trips are memorable. It is difficult to pick one. I can say that I love this place because of this particular thing, but there is none that has everything put in one. Some of them were for the adventure, some for the food, jewelries and accessories, but I would choose South-Africa or East Africa for the accessories. The one that touched me so much was a trip to Ethiopia. We were invited for the Timket celebrations. During the celebration, some children were shouting Goge, Goge. Apparently they were referring to Goge Africa shows on Ethiopia television. The community has only one television, which they watch every Sunday. Those people fell in love with us when they saw us in real life. I can say that the community is poorer than Makoko. The children said their parents would be happy to have us in their community so we accepted without even knowing the location of the place. Our host said we could not go there because it was a very poor community, so poor it lacked an access road. But we gave the children the address of the place where we were lodged. They came back and we followed them. We drove a while and parked our car somewhere so as to finish the journey on foot. We kept walking on a small narrow road for some hours. When we got there, they had contributed money to cook for us and they bought two bottles of drinks for the five of us which we shared. You can imagine the benevolence from their part. A whole community contributed money to buy two bottles of drinks. We were touched. For me, that trip was more significant than spending two weeks in a comfortable place and enjoying myself. Going to the slum and being invited by little children hawking pure water, not sachet water like our own here in Nigeria, was something cool for me. I felt loved.
Aren’t you afraid of visiting remote places where the people have strange beliefs and culture?
Nneka: Why should I be afraid when I am looking forward to seeing something new and different? There was a time we went to Bwindi, an impenetrable forest in Uganda. There were silver back gorillas there, but to find them, you had to go into the forest, which was very thick. We walked for about two or three hours before we encountered them. It was quite an experience. We have been to the python temple in Benin Republic as well. One python came to stand by us while we were making our presentation. I would cherish such experiences forever. We went to a crocodile farm, too. The crocodiles were sun bathing and we were making our presentation. Anything could have happened, but then, I was enjoying it.
Isaac: I find it exciting each time I want to show a new episode, especially if it is somewhere most people haven’t been to. In Burkina Faso, we rode on a crocodile. We had to give it a chicken to eat before climbing it and give it another one when it dropped us off. The community had a bond with the crocodile. That is the life of a tourist.
How do you handle language barriers?
Isaac: We face that, too. But in fairness, we go to places where English is spoken because of this same issue. Unless we have interpreters who will help us, we don’t go to certain places.
Nneka: We have been to places where the people don’t speak English or French. So we have to connect with the government and the locals. They always have someone who can communicate with us. We face language barriers, but it is not so much a hindrance. The hindrance I think we have is funding. If we have a lot of money, we will go to many places. You wouldn’t even catch me on this table.
What are the things that government can inject into the tourism sector in order to boost it?
Isaac: They should strengthen or build tourism infrastructure. Right now, tourism practitioners have been badly affected by the COVID -19 pandemic in most countries. Some countries’ survival depends on tourism. Government should inject some kind of palliative or bailout so that they can have something to lean on, pending when their recovery process becomes complete. If they can do that for tourism practitioners, it will help. Then infrastructures should be strengthened. As rail tracks are being built, the train can take you to more remote places than vehicles would take you. Such would further boost the tourism industry. There should be an enabling environment. The environment should be secured because inbound tourists could be hindered if there is insecurity. Even locally, people want to go to places where they feel secure. For instance, northern Nigeria has a huge tourism potential that may never be realised as long as there is insecurity in the region. These things should be put in place so that people can feel free to move around. That is why I talked about the train because it makes tourism more affordable for the average person. In Europe, travelling by train is more reliable, faster, clean, safe and efficient. The Federal Government is trying to develop the railway system in Nigeria, but it can do more because it has the wherewithal to do more. One thing I notice is that the government does not have a marketing communication vision out there on television, maybe on Cable News Network selling Nigeria as a tourist destination. Like we see in Incredible India and Welcome to Los Angeles, Nigeria should have one. It is the government that funds such communication. Our little effort has helped other tour operators sell over time and people are beginning to see the beautiful places we have in Africa through the spotlight we have thrown on those places. So, it is no longer all about going to European destinations because some places in Africa have taken the shine off those destinations. Africa is beautiful, it has places you would go to and you would not want to leave again.
Africa’s tourism is not enjoyed by Africans. Europeans are the ones enjoying it. Those destinations are not being developed for local tourism. Domestic tourism is the biggest income earner in the tourism business. Once it is developed, it will bring in foreigners and revenue will increase.
In the Caribbeans, there are peak and low periods. During the low period, prices are slashed so low that the locals would move into hotels to enjoy their facilities. But when the price changes, they know it is time for foreigners to visit and they move out. Also, the aviation industry is another big boost for tourism. People should be able to buy cheap tickets. In Europe, there are sites you can visit to get cheap tickets. Once you get such cheap tickets, they don’t serve you meals in the plane. Such facilities should be available here in Nigeria.
I remember when the city of Los Angeles said that the average resident gets $837 dollars tax rebate because of tourism. If we take it seriously here, we will be happy because of it. The good thing about tourism is that it dovetails into developing other sectors of the economy.
Nneka: I think the government should work with tourism operators to set guidelines for the industry. For instance, any foreigner can come into Nigeria and invest in the hospitality business, which is not applicable in other countries. There are small boutique hotels that belong to foreigners and our people will be struggling to set up theirs in their own country. In other countries, they will tell you that if it is not a five star hotel, you should leave them alone so that the local people who are in the industry can set up local boutique hotels in their country. If you go to Ghana, you will pay a special fare to enter any of their tourist sites. As a foreigner, you pay more but indigenes pay less. There is nothing like that in Nigeria.
Also, when you come into Nigeria as a tour operator, nobody checks to see if practitioners are qualified. If you are a nurse in Nigeria and you go to the United States, you will have to take some examinations to certify that you are qualified. The authorities want to be sure that the standard of operation is at per with their own over there. In Nigeria, foreigners conduct and curate tours with nobody stopping them and Nigerians would be looking at them. I know two people who come in here with groups and they do what they want to do at Osun-Oshogbo Festival and leave. As part of creating an enabling law, we should know who a tourism practitioner is, what makes him a qualified practitioner and the certificates in his possession. A lot of people call themselves tour guides, but what certification do they have? For us to pull it together and move forward, we need an enabling environment with all the aforementioned.
Were you at any point tempted to give up on having a child, especially after waiting for 13 years?
Isaac: No, there was no such time for me. Each time my wife sees her monthly period and she is down, I tell her that if it is not this month, it will be the next month. But then, having children is not the ultimate objective of marriage because you can have children without being married. I have friends in this entertainment business who have children and are not married.
In marriage, you look for friendship and companionship, for someone who will be there for you. It is not just simply having children and then you divorce. You must have a certain level of rapport with your other half to make progress and to have marital bliss. During our 24th anniversary celebration, one of our guests said the ship in relationship must continue to sail. If you want to jump out of that ship, ask yourself if you can swim. If you jump out of that ship to the water, have you considered the sharks and other wild creatures in the ocean? If you are thinking of the yacht that is more luxurious and more fashionable than yours, maybe you were just admiring it at a distance, by the time you move closer to it you will notice so many things that will ruin the attraction. That is life. A girl may be attractive because she is married, but if she breaks up with her husband, the guy that made her break up may not be ready to marry her. She will be stupid enough to quit the marriage thinking that the other guy will take care of her. So, those questions must be answered, the “ship” in that relationship, courtship, friendship must be sailing.
Nneka: My friends and family members talked about adopting a child while we waited, but we felt that if we were going to adopt a child, we should adopt not because we don’t have a child of our own. We don’t want to adopt a child because we need a child of our own. We should adopt a child to help our own child because that child needs a home and companion. And I can say yes that we have adopted a child because my daughter (my husband’s niece) started living with us since she was two years-old and she is 11 now. We started taking care of her when she was some months old, then she later moved in with us after we had Kamara, our own child.
A lot of marriages these days don’t stand the test of time. What do you think is responsible and what can be done about it?
Nneka: There is too much pressure on their pockets, too much pressure to produce whatever it is that puts food on the table and the salaries are not enough to foot those bills. Some don’t even have jobs and so things are falling apart for them and affecting their psyche. When such people go home, which should be peaceful, they take their problems along and unleash them on their partners. If you don’t have the grace of God to control your nagging as a woman and for the man, if your ego cannot beat the pressure, there will be a head-on collision. There will constantly be quarrels on a general note because of what the society has put on us. On the other note, I don’t know what rocks people’s boats, but I know that every ship should have one captain. If it is your choice that your captain should be the woman, you should not complain. If you choose that the man will be the captain, the woman should obey her husband. In our own relationship, I captain a certain part, which is the kitchen. I know what we should eat that is why he will ask me what we are having for dinner at times. There are other departments where he functions better. So I yield to his leadership. He is the head but sometimes, he permits me to be the neck.
Isaac: She has said it all. It is all about trust. There has to be one captain and both partners must agree to that. It is not a competition. So it shouldn’t be some form of rivalry. I have seen some couples trying to behave as if they are in a competition. If that is the spirit, they will not have problems. They are supposed to have the same purpose and objective.
