Hitlist N Cruzin has taught me that life is about giving -Mursty Adinoyi

Mursty Adinoyi

Mursty Adinoyi, presenter-producer of Hitlist N Cruzin, is gradually becoming the hottest TV presenter-

producer in town. And in this interview by OSEYIZA OOGBODO BLOG, he states unashamedly that he’s following the path that those before him like Kenny Ogungbe, Kwame, Ayo Animashaun, Tajudeen Adepetu and others took.

What’s the latest about you?

The latest right now is that Hitlist N Cruzin now has its own radio studio and we want to start having Hitlist N Cruzin on radio as well. So, apart from you watching us on your TV, you’re still going to be listening to a programme called Hiltlist N Cruzin on your radio.

Is it that you’re going to be doing the same thing you do on TV on radio?

Yeah, you know Hitlist N Cruzin is about entertainment, celebrating Nigerians, and what we’ll be doing on radio won’t be different from what we do on TV. But the only difference will be that on TV we take people out, buy things for them, but on radio, it’s not going to be like that. Of course, you are going to have the latest, hottest, freshest music from Nigeria and abroad, entertainment gist that you cannot get anywhere else, so much, so much that we cannot have on TV, you’re gonna have on radio. The bottomline is that when you watch us on TV, you have something to take home. And when you listen to us on radio, you’ll also have something to take home as well.

Why did you decide to have a radio programme?

You know, as a young man, you have dreams and aspirations, and when you achieve one, you want to do more. Our leaders that we’re looking up to, the likes of Kenny Ogungbe, he has a 24-hour channel on Daarsat. The owner of SoundCity, Tajudeen Adepetu, has a 24-hour channel as well on DStv and a TV station. Ayo Animashaun too has Hip TV 24 hours on DStv as well and Kwame too on StarTimes. Don’t forget that these guys started before me. So we’re looking at the steps they took and they are taking to know which way to go so as not to fall. Also, I understand that the best way not to fall is to keep on moving, and to keep moving, you have to keep diversifying, keep expanding. I have people working under me, and anytime I look at them, something tells me that it’s like these guys are hooking their future on you. Because if I fail, and by the grace of God I won’t, I’m not failing alone. Others will go with me, and the only way not to fall is to keep diversifying and expanding. And when you look at expansion, radio should be part of our expansion an entertainment production company. And God-willing, if we have the opportunity tomorrow, to run 24 hours on any platform, we are ready for it. So those are the expansion plans. And the only thing is to keep on getting better, so that people under you as well will have something to take home at the end of every month. I have a married person working under me, his child is gonna eat, his family will too, so that inspires someone like me to do more because you know that you are creating opportunity for others. And if you’re creating opportunity for others, the best way you can get better is to keep expanding.

Which one is more challenging? TV or radio production?

I would say both are very, very challenging, because you know that even to come from your house and interview me in my office, you know it’s challenging, don’t you? You have to pay transport, or buy fuel in your car, and if there’s fuel scarcity like now, you’ll buy black market, so it’s challenging, right? So, TV production has its own peculiar challenges, likewise radio too. But to me, I always see challenges as a stepping stone, because if it’s a smooth ride, then it won’t be interesting, so those things that make it hard, they are the things that make you stronger, so those challenges will definitely come and the best you can do is to get over them.

What is one profound thing that has happened to you because of Hitlist N Cruzin?

Hitlist N Cruzin has opened my horizons. It has made me see that life is about giving. That we take people on a shopping cruise, buy things for them and take them back home, we’re giving. And I think to myself, if all of us can be giving, this country will be the best country in the world. Your giving to someone does not mean you’re better than the person. So, as you said, one profound thing that has happened to me is that I took somebody on cruising, one Ibo guy like that, in Lagos here, and a week after the cruise, the guy called me from Asia that he’s so-so person, he’s the one I cruised last week, do I remember him, he’s in Asia, he’s a business guy, what would I want him to buy for me. This guy bought me a camera worth N300,000. How much did we spend on taking this guy on cruising? N20,000. So it makes you know that you giving doesn’t make you better than the person you’re giving to. And that experience was so profound to me that till tomorrow, it keeps me going on. Hitlist N Cruzin is not better than anybody we cruise on the show. Someone we cruised bought me camera of N300,000. So what I’ve learnt from Hitlist N Cruzin is that life is about giving. You can imagine a situation where the government can give us light, give us good roads, give us all they need to give us and we the citizens too keep giving what we need to give to this country. Imagine what Nigeria would be like.