Media personality Ik Osakioduwa has said he avoids working with alcohol and tobacco brands because of his personal values and faith.
He shared this during an interview with Chude Jideonwo.
The 46-year-old said rejecting such deals has cost him financially. “They are companies that we don’t work for. For instance we won’t work for a tobacco brand. You won’t see us hosting alcohol brands or tobacco brands,” he said. “Those choices are deliberate, I mean we have lost a lot money to it. That is where the money is. They make the most money and I am not judging anybody who does.”
“How I choose to portray myself in the public space as a family-friendly brand, all of that come from my relationship with God,” he said. “When you come closer to how we do business, you will find that we never ever going to take money over principle.”
IK clarified that working with these companies is not a sin. “It’s not a sin to work with them – after all, Jesus turned water into wine,” he said. “But I believe it’s a position God wanted me to take early in my career.”
He added that his first major opportunity that could have paid him “multiple millions” was an alcohol-related endorsement. “I have learned to see money come and go and not do things just for money. That’s why I think my life has been on a straight path all this time.”
IK began his broadcasting career on Rhythm 93.7 FM, where he was known as “Wildchild,” before rising to fame as the host of Big Brother Africa. He has also hosted major events and television shows and runs his own communications company.
He married his wife, Olohije, in 2008, and they have two children.
