Africa’s Queen of Letters

Written by Denise Mhlanga
Thursday, 07 July 2011 13:41

Nigeria-born Moky Makura is a multi-talented go-getter with a vision for Africa – to tell her own stories and highlight achievements of her heroes and heroines in their various fields of endeavour.

Moky Makura’s Africa’s Greatest Entrepreneurs (Penguin, 2008), which tells the success stories of the continent’s top entrepreneurs – talent and jewels of African business we do not often hear about. Makura writes in her introduction, “As Africans we often hesitate to tell our own positive stories and if we don’t highlight our achievements and take responsibility for the future image of Africa, nobody else will.”
This book was so popular that it featured on the Exclusive Books Top 10 best-selling business books in South Africa. It was also selected for the Exclusive Books Homebru promotion, which showcases the best of South African writing each year. Last year the sequel, titled South Africa’s Greatest Entrepreneurs, was launched. It is a profile of dynamic business visionaries who have built super brands for the South African economy.
After a production process of three years, Makura’s company, MME Media, launched Nollybooks, a series of romantic novels aimed at young readers, at about the same time as South Africa’s Greatest Entrepreneurs.

When I meet with Makura at her Johannesburg home, I am amazed by her passion and drive to tell African stories. Listening to her speak of Africa, I am reminded of the importance of our roots, our diverse cultures and all the things in between that make Africa a complex yet intriguing continent.

Makura reminds me that her success came about thanks to a lucky break. True enough, she has been lucky in that she does not fear failure. She gets on with whatever it is she set out to achieve. “I am blessed in that I believe in my best ability to achieve what I set out to do,” she says. She strongly believes that what hinders many people from reaching their dreams is a fear of failure.

But hard work is everything, she says. “Whatever it is you believe you can do, you have to be focused and work hard at it until you get it right. If people could live with no fear of failure perhaps they could realise their dreams and be what they want to be.”
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Makura was educated in the United Kingdom, but she remains an African at heart. Her love for the continent is certainly evident in the Nollybooks series. The collection of authors, all of them African, tell compelling African stories in an easy-to-read way. Initially aimed at South African audiences, Nollybooks will be taken into other African markets.

She has always wanted to tell African stories, Makura says, especially stories showcasing the side of Africa we do not often hear about. For her Africa has much to offer, and she draws inspiration from the continent’s entrepreneurs as well as its ordinary citizens. She is not naive though, as she says she cannot ignore the fact that there is poverty, war and other negative things about Africa. However, it is important that Africans focus on the positive that comes out of the continent in order to in some way eradicate the negative that the world has come to associate with Africa. “We as Africans have to tell our own stories and not wait for someone to do it for us,” she says.

Asked if the Nollybooks series is aimed at improving literacy levels on the African continent, Makura says she is not arrogant to say it will. However, getting people to read should help in some way. “Reading is about escapism,” she says. “People love to read books that entertain them, something that they will enjoy at an affordable price.”

She explains that the series is a truly African product. Readers will identify with the settings and characters in these novels. People enjoy reading books when they enjoy the content, she says – and that is what this series is all about.

Makura describes the content of the novels as good old heart-warming romance featuring strong independent characters. The girls in the books have been brought up well, and they get the men at the end. Nollybooks have been well received in the local market, and Makura hopes to sell over 1 million copies of these books to the African market. She expects commuters using public transport to make up a significant part of the readership.
She believes Africans and people in general want to read stories that reflect their lifestyles and aspirations with content that is relevant to them.

The novels in the series all follow the same formula and writing style, and Makura believes that this has contributed to the series’ success. The series includes eight titles including Finding Arizona by Michelle Atagana and Looking For Mr Right by Cherly Ntumy. There are plans afoot to release a second eight-title Nollywood series soon.

Before starting MME Media in 1999, Makura worked in media sales in the UK. Her belief is that in life we all have to sell something – be it a product, idea or concept – and this ability to sell, coupled with hard work, has enabled her to reach her goals.

Her ambition to take Nollybooks to new heights is what drives her. She believes we all have ideas, but not many people are able to successfully execute those ideas. She is an entrepreneur who is focused on what she wants from life and will not hesitate to go for it.
She sees no limits when it comes to exploring Africa, hence her vision to unearth African talent on a big scale.

She has certainly found her mission in life. “I think for people to be happy, they need to know what they have to do in life,” she says.
Married to a Zimbabwean with whom she has two children, Makura has lived in South Africa since 1998. She holds an honours degree in politics, economics and law from Buckingham University in the UK.

She has been an anchor, presenter and field reporter for M-Net’s Carte Blanche and played a lead role in 2006 in the pan-African TV drama series Jacob’s Cross. Makura also contributes to various magazines on Africa-related subjects.
MME Media co-produced a TV series called Living It about Africa’s wealthy elite that was broadcast across the continent via the DStv platform; Makura was the presenter. MME also runs the website www.africaourafrica.com, which enables Africans to tell African stories that highlight positive achievements on the continent.

Makura’s own positive achievements should serve as inspiration for others to come forth and tell their good news stories. But she makes it clear that it has taken a lot of hard work to get here. “I have learnt to be patient and clear in my vision,” she says. “And to believe in my ability to achieve what I set out to do.”

Moky Makura in Brief

• Makura is 43 and speaks English and Yoruba
• As a child she loved reading books by author Enid Blyton
• Loves playing netball
• Favourite getaway place in the world is Mozambique
• Cannot live without her mobile phone and laptop
• Favourite quote: “Until lions learn to write, hunters will tell their stories for them”
• Loves travelling abroad on holidays
• Would love to have a talk show titled Ordinary People – Untold African Stories
• Admires the writing talent that springs from Africa
• Self belief is her secret to success