Achieving family life and work balance for media professionals requires\nthe understanding of the nature of their jobs by their spouses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mrs. Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha, Health Reporter with the BBC\n(Africa) gave the advice at the May fellowship of Journalists For Christ (JFC)\nin Lagos on May 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was the co-speaker with the Chief Responsibility Officer of\na Christian entertainment channel, Exclusive To Divinity (X2D), Mr. Deji Irawo\non the need for successful career and family life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gbenga-Mustapha, erstwhile\nHealth Correspondent of The Nation Newspaper explained how she combined her\nrole as a journalist with that of a wife, mother and a pastor\u2019s wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to her, she made up\nher mind to get married to someone with a flexible time schedule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhile I was waiting to get married, I made up my mind to marry\nsomeone who has flexible time. I got suitors who were engineer, lawyer,\npetroleum engineer,\u201d she said, confirming that she knew she couldn\u2019t cope with\nany of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut God gave me someone who\nhad his own business, who is also a pastor,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith the help of God and my\nhusband, I was able to strive towards a balance between family and work. My husband\nunderstands the dynamics of my job as a journalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMen could be jealous,\nespecially when their wives work where she meets all kinds of people but we\nwere transparent to each other. He was able to put off people who wanted to\ninterfere in our marriage due to the nature of my job,\u201d Gbenga-Mustapha said,\nurging professionals to be open to their spouses at all times and make them\nunderstand the nature of the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With her new job,\nGbenga-Mustapha said she now has more time for her family. \u201cAll along, my\nhusband makes sure I am so comfortable. I see myself now having more time for\nmy spiritual life. I now attend Bible studies, now having more time for loved\nones, I thank God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Irawo also relayed his journey\ninto broadcasting and how he was able to strike a balance between the family\nand work despite various challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The son of the popular Fatai\nIrawo, told participants of his involvement in the setting up of Dove Media, a channel funded by the Redeemed\nChristian Church of God which took a major toll on his marriage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I got married during the early years of\nmy career, I didn\u2019t balance my work and profession. Everybody loved the channel\nthen at Dove Media but didn\u2019t know what it was costing me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Irawo, whose X2D is commencing\nbroadcasting on Star Times on June 1, added that, \u201cGod was faithful. He\nsaved my marriage. I had been working and taking care of my wife and children\nbut was not emotionally available.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI had three projects on my\nhand that were startups. I had Dove Media, Hi TV and X2D. The saving grace was\nmy openness to my wife, it worked for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is a bit tough when you\nwork for other people. I must confess the media doesn\u2019t sleep, it doesn\u2019t stop.\nTherefore, if you work for yourself, take advantage of it. Transfer knowledge,\ndon\u2019t be afraid of other people, create time for holidays with your family,\ncreate time for your children and wife,\u201d he advised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople were hailing Deji\nIrawo, I didn\u2019t know I was losing on fellowship with God. When we begin to fill\nour relationship with God with work, problem would start. You must know you are\nnothing without God,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to him, starting X2D\nwas a tough time for his family. \u201c Now I understand that the business has to\ntake what it needs and the family must take what it needs as well without one\nkilling the other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On how he traced his way back\nto fellowshipping with God, Irawo said, \u201c I had to bring worship close to\nmyself. I had to audit my friends. I refused to have an image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI got a male Personal\nAssistant and I refused to expose myself and claim being a celebrity. I didn\u2019t\ntry to be a super star, only God is superstar. I don\u2019t get on red carpet to\ndraw attention to myself. I was able to maintain sanity,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President of JFC, Mr. Lekan\nOtufodunrin while welcoming participants said journalists must work hard to strive for\nbalance between family and work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c Work is important, but our family is much more important,\u201d he\nsaid. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Achieving family life and work balance for media professionals requires the understanding of the nature of their jobs by their spouses. Mrs. Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha, Health Reporter with the BBC (Africa) gave the advice at the May fellowship of Journalists For Christ (JFC) in Lagos on May 25. She was the co-speaker with the Chief Responsibility…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[125],"class_list":["post-380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insight","tag-family"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t