Mojoyinoluwa Adeshina: 10-year-old on-air personality, author

Mojoyinoluwa Adeshina is an amazing bundle of boundless gifts and grace. She is simply a little wonder and a smart observer. She is the youngest On-Air Personality (OAP) in the country, an author, illustrator, a programmer with 10 games in her kitty, a poet, serial social entrepreneur and seasoned speaker. 

Additionally, she loves knitting and making beads. Her exceptional gifts were discovered early when she was just three years old. She loves scribbling a lot.

Mojoyin started drawing when she was five years. Then, she would make sketches, designed and sew dresses for her dolls. Today, she is an illustrator, who was inspired to draw and paint by her multi-talented father, Francis Adeshina, a brand strategist, an illustrator and a publisher. She draws, paints and illustrates both digitally and traditionally.

Mojoyin also learnt how to code and write programmes at age seven, using Scratch App during her summer holiday. Her love for coding enabled her to create games and Apps during her spare time. Through this, she has created about 10 different games. These include Pong Game, Fashion Game, Name Game. 

Apple Game, Hide and Seek Game and Favourite Pet Game among others.

At 10, she became a reading guide at Readland Community Library and an Assistant Librarian at the Presidency Bookshelf Community Library Project, spearheaded by the wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo in partnership with Readland Character and Competence Centre for Children and Teens.

Adeshina on set

She is the youngest Nigerian OAP ever at age 10, a radio presenter and a radio co-host of a children variety reading programme on Voice of Women Radio, WFM 91.7. This radio programme is called Readland Radio Funtime on Voice of Women Radio 91.7 FM, reaching out to over 7.5 million listeners across Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States traditionally and globally through online streaming. 

This is the only radio station in this part of the world that is dedicated to women and their families. It is a reading programme dedicated to promoting and fixing reading challenges among children. Celebrities and authors are featured on the programme.

She is a voracious reader and has read over 1, 000 books, thanks to the family’s home library that has over a 1, 000 books. Her dad invests heavily in books. And it was this home library that evolved into the famous Readland’s Community Library. Their home welcomes over 200 children monthly. They come to read books and have fun. 

Mojoyin’s style of writing is inspired by the works of Mary Pope Osborne, the author of Magic Tree House Book series and her Mum, Temiloluwa Adeshina, the author of Bantu, the Big Fat Bully and other amazing series illustrated and published by her father. 

She became an author at age 10. Her book: Tribes Apart, The Nigerian of My Dream Series was inspired by the Nnenna and Friend’s The Nigerian of My Dream competition, where she emerged one of the winners.

The story was aimed at encouraging unity and love among Nigeria’s over 250 tribes. It was also written to promote strength in diversity among Nigerians.

For her diligence and versatility, she has won several awards. These include The Dolly Children Foundation Award in recognition of her significant contribution and dedicated service to humanity, Kidpreneur Ambassador Award in recognition of her significant impact and unwavering dedication in Africa, Amazing Amazon Award for being an outstanding Kid Entrepreneur. She was also recognised and chosen by the Lagos State Ministry of Education as the Face of Lagos State World’s Literacy Week 2019, where she inspired thousands of Lagos State primary and secondary school children to read, write and author their own books.

Her book, Tribes Apart, was the official book of the 2019 Lagos State World’s Literacy Day event, organised by Lagos State Ministry of Education.

Mojoyin’s dream is to build schools that will provide free high-quality education to less privileged children.