Her utmost wish is to see every Nigerian child become a champion with his or her talent. She believes that every honest talent comes from God and should be used for personal and societal enhancement. Against this backdrop, young and talented Beeyolah has since 2000 organised the Merger of Talents Concert for the promotion of musical talents such as singing, dancing and playing of musical instruments. Formally known as Abiola Akinyeye, Beeyolah who is a graduate of Mathematics & Statistics and holds an MBA in International Business Management, is a banker n; a career she is combining successfully with her love for music. A pianist and an impresario, she is the diva behind Divine Octaves, a soul-inspiring entertainment outfit under which she has also promoted musical talents in children in the last three years via her Kids Got Talent show whose third edition will be holding next month. Beeyolah who hails from Ondo State recently shared with Vista Woman the idea behind Kids Got Talent. Her words:

I actually discovered my passion for music when I started playing the piano as a child. Since then, I’ve always wanted to promote creativity in every child. Hence, about 10 years ago, I brought together a church choir and some instrumentalists, and that was the first concert I had. Seven years ago also, I started the Merger of Talents Concert which took to stage a very successful fusion of music, dance and art exhibition. We’ve had Soul E, Omo Baba, Tosin Martins, Faze, Sound Sultan, and many others perform in the concert. My first concert was at Christ Church in Gbagada, Lagos, and the last five were staged at the Muson Centre in Lagos.

Three years ago, I decided to concentrate on kids. That idea brought the birth of Kids Got Talent. It was in the same year that I staged Kids Got Talent- Season 1.

I strongly believe that Nigeria is blessed with an abundance of raw talents; gifted children who need a little push to make a difference in this world of opportunities. With a population of over 150 million, and about 40 per cent of the population constituted by children, we believe it is of significant importance to encourage creativity in this fraction of our population. Research has shown that music is an important part of life and that participation in musical activities often leads to better grades and test scores.

Beeyolah

In fact, music helps a child’s overall intellectual development. Kids Got Talent is a family-styled discovery project targeted at children who are endowed with talents. The event seeks to provide these children with a healthy environment where they can be motivated to showcase their individual or group talent. We actually seek to identify and nurture talents in kids from age 4-13, who can sing, dance or play any kind of musical instrument.

Participation is open to individuals, groups, church choirs, and schools. Registration for this year’s concert is on and auditioning holds this month. The grand finale holds next month in Lagos, and there, participants will win prizes in any category in which they emerge winners.

I believe strongly that we have so many hidden talents in our children. I fear greatly because if not nurtured, these talents could die! I feel kids are often neglected because they cannot take decisions on their own. For instance, I cannot relate with these kids without involving their parents! Hence, I will say this project is in partnership with parents. That’s why I am appealing to parents to stop killing the talents in their children.

The happiest adults are the ones doing what they love doing, so, why can’t we encourage kids to do what they natural love doing?  From my past concerts, you’ll find talented kids as young as four and five doing extraordinary things. We had children playing pianos perfectly, doing bailey, etc. You need to see our previous participants and winners! I mean, we have amazing talents in these children that we all need to tap into. All we need to do is identify these kids and encourage them to continue, and that’s what Kids Got Talent is up to.

Education is necessary, but the world doesn’t depend on academics. In fact, stereotypes academic careers are also embracing change. Gone are those days when people depend on mere academics. In the US, for instance, entertainment is one of the highest sources of revenue. However, with the nature of our concert, no child will have to drop out of school because he or she wants to do music. No! Education is a necessary background for whatever talent anyone wants to pursue. It’s the basis!

It is sad to find that we hardly pay attention to children in this country. They are our legacy and the future of this nation. We therefore ought to do more for them. I mean, come and see them behave like adults on stage! These kids have got talents! We stand to guarantee the future of our nation if we can secure these talents because these ones will have something to hold on to and will have no need to decry unemployment.

Nothing can be built on a shaky foundation. This is the best time to catch these children, and prepare them for the future. As a nation that is 51 years old, why can’t we start laying the foundation against our 100th anniversary by concentrating on our kids? We can start building our future from now! We know our leaders have erred, but let’s forget that and work on our kids so that when we are celebrating our 100th anniversary, we can have something better. That’s why we at Kids Got Talent do not only focus on talents but on morals, values, etc. in children.

If I were in a decision-making position, I would nurture talents in children. I think it’s high-time we stopped relying on white-collar jobs and began to put our talents into use. As an entertainer, you can do far better than so many people in white-collar jobs. I think the problem is just that we’ve so much wired our mentality into believing that we all have to be in the white-collar league. Beside, you can still be an entertainer and dress like a banker or a lawyer in corporate wears if that’s what fascinates you!’