This article seeks to address who the richest video director in Nigeria is. From our research on the top video directors in Nigeria, Kemi Adetiba came tops in terms of her net worth. Read on and learn more about her.
Who the richest video director in Nigeria is would be discussed below:
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Early Life of Kemi Adetiba
Kemi Adetiba was born on January 8, 1970, to Mr. Dele Adetiba, an iconic sports broadcaster, and Mayen Adetiba, a prominent civil engineer. She is the only daughter of the three children that Dele and Mayen Adetiba have, the other two being Remi Adetiba and Bamidele Adetiba Jnr.
She attended Atlantic High School in Lagos for her secondary school education before proceeding to the University of Lagos to study law. Later on, after graduating from Unilag, she applied to the Nigerian Law School and was subsequently called to the bar when she passed the exams.
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Professional Career of Kemi Adetiba
Kemi Adetiba as a young child had featured in some television commercials, notable among them are the two nationwide television commercials for the detergent brand Omo in which she was featured in.
After Kemi Adetiba had graduated from the university, she briefly practiced law by working in a law firm, but she soon left to venture into the Nigerian media space. Upon joining the media industry, Kemi Adetiba became an on-air presenter for Rhythm 93.7FM on Victoria Island, Lagos. As an on-air presenter with Rhythm 93.7FM, she was the voice behind two nationally syndicated hit radio shows, namely ‘Soul’d Out’ and ‘Sunday at the Seaside’. Still, as an on-air presenter, Kemi Adetiba anonymously posted personal remixes of songs on platforms such as Spotify and Soundcloud, using the moniker ‘hule’.
After spending some years on radio, Kemi decided to transition into the audio-visual media space, where she went on to produce and present several shows on television. On Mnet, she produced and presented shows like Studio53, and Temptation Nigeria. She also anchored shows on Soundcity TV as a presenter. In addition, Kemi Adetiba, between 2009 and 2012, hosted the Maltina Dance Hall for three seasons. She formed the base of her net worth from being a radio and television presenter.
With success in the front of camera appearing on several television shows, Kemi Adetiba decided it was time to go into filmmaking and production, leading her to enroll for a course at the New York Film Academy so she could learn the ropes about being a pro behind the camera. And today, she has achieved massive success in the entertainment field as a director. Let’s explore her directorial journey in the next paragraph.
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Kemi Adetiba’s Career as a Video Director
As we stated in the trailing paragraph, Kemi Adetiba enrolled to study filmmaking and production at the New York Film Academy. There, she learnt the ropes of conceptualizing, shooting, and editing videos. In 2008, she directed her first official job which was a short film known as ‘Across the Bloodied Ocean’ which she presented as her thesis film for the New York Film Academy. The film, ‘Across the Bloodied Ocean’ which was written, directed, and produced by Kemi Adetiba featured acts like Osas Ighodaro and Dee Spencer. The next year, in 2009, her short film premiered on the screen of the Los Angeles Film Festival and the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta.
Kemi Adetiba also directs music videos. She directed Omawunmi’s ‘Today Na Today’ music video, as well as Tiwa Savage’s ‘My Darlin’, among several others. In 2016, Kemi directed ‘The Wedding Party’, which was the highest-grossing Nigerian film as of December 2016. The Wedding Party film featured top acts like Adesua Etomi, Banky Wellington, Richard Mofe Damijo, Ireti Doyle, and Beverly Naya.
In 2018, Kemi wrote and directed ‘King of Boys’ which was yet another Nollywood blockbuster on her credits. The King of Boys film which featured Osas Ighodaro, Adesua Etomi, Jide Kosoko, Lanre Hassan, and Sola Sobowale, is arguably one of the most famous movies she’s directed so far. Other movies she’s directed include King of Boys: The Return of the King, and To Kill a Monkey.
Below is a list of audio-visual content Kemi Adetiba has directed so far:
- King Women
- ‘Last Bus-Stop’ by Niyola
- ‘Dance Go (Eau De Vie)’ for Hennessy Artistry ’15
- ‘Out a Magazine’ by Lindsey Abudei
- ‘My Darlin’ by Tiwa Savage
- Tease Me/Bad Guys’ by Wizkid
- ‘My Place’ by Lynxxx
- ‘Anifowose’ by Olamide
- ‘Love to Love You’ by Niyola
- ‘Sitting on the Throne’ by Olamide
- ‘Toh Bad’ by Niyola
- ‘Say’ by Bez
- ‘If I Die’ by Da Grin
- ‘Follow You Go’ by Banky W
- ‘More You’ by Banky W
- ‘Fall in Love’ by Ego
- ‘The Future’ by TY Bello
- ‘Lagos Party’ by Banky W
- ‘Today Na Today’ by Omawunmi
- ‘Ekundayo’ by TY Bello
- Across a Bloodied Ocean (2008 – thesis film)
- The Wedding Party (2016)
- King of Boys (2018)
- King of Boys: The Return of the King (2021)
- To Kill a Monkey
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Awards and Recognition for Kemi Adetiba’s Video Directing
Kemi Adetiba has earned several awards and recognition for her works of art in directing films and music videos.
Below are some of them:
- Best Female Video for the song ‘Ekundayo’ by TY Bello at the Soundcity TV Musical Video Awards
- Best Female Video for the song ‘Today Na Today’ by Omawunmi at the 2010 Nigeria Entertainment Awards
- City People Entertainment Award for Best Music Director of the Year at the Headies 2014
- African Entertainment Award, USA, for Best African Movie for ‘King of Boys’ in 2021
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The Estimated Net Worth of Kemi Adetiba
You can agree that the 42-year-old Kemi Adetiba has enjoyed a successful career from radio presenting to hosting television shows, and now directing and producing films and music videos. Her earlier careers as an on-air presenter and television host formed the base of her net worth. Now, the bulk of her income comes from her directorial gigs, especially movie production. She earns an estimated $250,000 to $2 million for directing one movie, judging from what directors of her certification and experience charge. She also earns income from scriptwriting and producing movies. As of 2022, Kemi Adetiba is estimated to be worth over $2 million, making her the richest video director in Nigeria.