If there is one woman in Nigeria who needs no introduction, Adesuwa Onyenokwe perfectly fits the bill.

Born on August 8, 1963 in Ibadan, Oyo state, Adesuwa attended Emotan Preparatory School, and Idia College, both in Benin City, Edo state before going on to study drama at the Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife.

Few women have been able to match up with Adesuwa’s giant strides since her advent into the media-world and the haven of big screens.

From spending 15 fruitful years at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) to a decade of her successful TV production, “Today’s Woman with Adesuwa” she has extensively written her story in the book of the greats.

Here are 7 reasons why Adesuwa is an icon for this generation

1. Newsline– In a defining period of her career, Adesuwa anchored the popular Sunday magazine show, Newsline on NTA. Newsline aired every Sunday by 9pm in place of the daily Network news which usually ran at the same time.Adesua defined Newsline by working tirelessly to bring enthralling human angle stories to her viewers. The show was widely referred to as “The Sunday Sunday Tonic” by its loyal fans.

   Adesuwa, through her reports on Newsline exposed some of the decadence permeating the Nigerian society at that time.

2. Marriage and career– In a feat that is not unlike what Superwomen do, Adesuwa over the years has managed to balance her career with her home and marriage. She married Ikechukwu Onyenokwe around 1988 and has so far been blessed with 6 children.

Despite the tenuous task of childbirth and grooming, Adesuwa was able to also tend to her       career which has so far blossomed into a giant Iroko tree towering high in the sky.

3. Pope John Paul II visit– During her stint in NTA, Adesuwa had quite a number of high profile assignments in her portfolio. One of the most memorable however, was her coverage of the visit of the Catholic Pontiff, Pope John Paul II to Nigeria in 1998.

4. Empowering women– In 1998, Adesuwa, worried about the lack of female voices in the general scheme of things in the society started her TV show “Today’s Woman with Adesuwa”.

She created the show to extol the virtues and qualities of the Nigerian woman because she noticed a general lack of proper understanding in the society.

Adesuwa and her show faced some challenges but she tenaciously held on until it became popular enough to attract advertisement.

5. Today’s woman– After resting her TV show following a very successful 10 years of running, Adesuwa went on to launch a magazine in place of the show around 2010. The magazine, Today’s Woman had similar goals to what her TV show achieved.

She greatly impacted the lives of the younger generation through her message and inviting numerous women of timbre and calibre to inspire the growing girl-child in the country.

6. Seriously Speaking– Adesuwa, with cumulative 30 years experience in the media business began a new TV show, Seriously Speaking in July, 2014. The show, which airs on Channels TV has played host to a long list of celebrities, public figures and notable guests.

According to her, “Seriously Speaking is exciting, inspiring, informative, educative and entertaining. The ideas, insights and concepts shared by our guests are and invaluable and with its mix of originality and spontaneity, the show is set to engage the African audience.”

7. She is not done yet- Despite her many achievements and accolades, Adesuwa has no plan to rest yet as she has revealed ahead of the 10th anniversary of Today’s Woman magazine in 2017 what she plans to do.

In an interview, she said, “Today’s Woman will have her own lifestyle TV and radio platforms is no doubt, and it’s coming sooner than you think!

“In the immediate term, Today’s Woman is getting more interactive with a soon to be released ‘Today’s Woman On The Go’.

“It will allow women have real-time interaction, in bite size pieces, that will lead them to the wealth of information on our website.”