VIDEO: BBC Focus On Africa premieres new satire slot, What’s Up Africa with Ikenna Azuike

On 16th January 2015 Focus on Africa, the BBC’s flagship daily television news programme, launched a brand new weekly satire segment, What’s Up Africa, presented by Nigerian-born vlogger Ikenna Azuike. The segment will be broadcast on BBC World News, on partner stations and also be shared across social media, catering for young, digitally-connected Africans who don’t often engage with traditional news outlets.

Azuike, named in New African magazine’s list of Most Influential Africans of 2014, uses humour and satire to connect with audiences, offering a fresh and alternative perspective on African news. The What’s Up Africa vlog, which started life on YouTube, has racked up nearly 2.5 million views to date.

The new 11-part series created especially for the BBC, is a co-production between the BBC and Radio Netherlands Worldwide. A lawyer turned journalist, Azuike created What’s Up Africa whilst working as a producer at Radio Netherlands Worldwide. He said:

“I started What’s Up Africa because I felt that a lot of the coverage of my home continent was either too focussed on presenting images of war, famine and general disorder, or sugar coated reports of Africa’s progress. The BBC is a very impressive organisation which covers Africa in depth. I am so pleased that they feel my contribution can add value for their huge audiences across Africa.”

Kathy Harcombe producer of What’s Up Africa said: “Focus on Africa has always been pioneering, looking for new ways to engage with our audiences across a range of different platforms. What’s up Africa fits perfectly with this ethos, it is irreverent and inventive and aims to give an alternative view of the continent. It opens up debate on topical issues. It is not just three minutes of video – it’s the start of a conversation. We think that existing viewers will enjoy this new slot and hope it will also appeal to new audiences.”

What’s up Africa will be broadcast every Friday on Focus on Africa from 6:30pm WAT on BBC World News