CV: Can we meet you?
HOTINC: My name is Tehila. The CEO of Hotinc. I am a graduate of the department of Psychology.
CV: How did you come about Hotinc?
HOTINC: Before the name Hotinc,we've been doing some social event and shows on campus that had not been really popular, it was later that we came up with a brand name for what we do
CV: Can you mention some of the events you have organised?
HOTINC: We did OAU Splash Party, Wild and Free and a lot more that I can't remember, we've done 24 events.
CV: Are you the sole brain behind Hotinc or you have a team ?
HOTINC: (Laughs).If I am the one doing it, It should have collapsed by now,I have a crew with friends and team members that supported me all through. They came around anytime we had an event coming.
CV: How old is Hotinc?
HOTINC: Hotinc is just a year old.
CV: ( Wow) So what do you have to say about the just concluded OAU Awards right from the nomination to the day of the awards,because last year it was just an online voting but it took a new dimension this year.?
HOTINC: Things keep getting better every year,Ideas keep coming up, We discovered that there was a lot of lapses last year. Even this year, we can't say it was hundred percent perfect. We learnt our lessons from last year's mistakes to make sure that things get better this year, There were complains from people last year about the voting site being shut down during the voting process and the number of votes they had. So we came up with three stages of voting- Instagram voting whereby nominees would see for themselves the number of people that voted for them . There was also voting on website where people who couldn't access Instagram could cast their votes. And lastly,we included the offline voting for people who do not have a browsing phone. All we did was to carry everyone along in the process
CV: Did you receive any complaint as regards the OAU Awards?
HOTINC: (Laughs) I have actually been waiting for a release. You know OAU students with finding faults if they don't like an event, So I'm surprised am yet to get any complaints really. Infact I've been going through all WhatsApp groups to be satisfied with what we did.
CV: You said something about expecting a release . Is it that you are not satisfied about the event or you're just feeling there was a lapse somewhere?
HOTINC: Like I said, it was not hundred percent perfect. I feel there are things we ought to do,like expecting someone to come up with a criticism or sort of and we'll make amendment but there was nothing of such,so I assumed everything was perfect and everybody enjoyed it.
CV: What else should OAU students anticipate after the OAU Awards?
HOTINC: We have a lot of things coming up but we're taking them one after the other. The current one for now is "The Most Beautiful Girl on Campus." It is like a form of beauty pageant and the grand prize for this event is a branded car. It's been a while we had that kind of thing on OAU campus up to like four or five years now. What Hotinc is 'concerned with' is to awaken the social life of OAU.
CV: What's your view on Ycee's recent coming to OAU campus. Was the turnout as expected or below expectations?
HOTINC: Like I said earlier on ,every of our events keep getting better. The event was beyond every expectation. Amphi was a total shutdown, There was no vacant space at all. You need to see the videos on Ycee's page . When he got to the stage, Merely looking at the crowd he was like "Oh my God."He couldn't believe the turn out. I guess that is his largest student crowd so far. Though he had been to OAU before with 9ice but then he didn't pull that kind of crowd. 'Then he pulled about 700 people or so. But this time around, it was a beyond imagination. I must say it was a huge success, crowd-wise. A lot of people came around. The UBA Manager was there, Lexie Armani and the likes. Of which they all had an award each to themselves.
CV: When will the videos be out?
HOTINC: Very soon. They are short videos that people can easily download and watch. We will also put some photo collages together for people to see. Infact anyone that didn't come for the Ycee show is probably not socially inclined. Because if you are,you would be there. The show is still the talk of town.
CV: Which other artiste should OAU be anticipating?
HOTINC: We are bringing either Davido or Mr Easy. Infact Davido has been telling me he wants to come to OAU but the fear is,if we can handle Davido. Am sorry to say this, OAU cannot handle Davido. But all things being equal Mr Easy is coming second semester.
CV: What exactly do you mean by OAU cannot handle Davido?
HOTINC: Fine, if Davido is coming to OAU, he is not coming to OAU campus alone but to south west. People will come from Ibadan,Ilorin, Akure etc Amphi can't accommodate that crowd and we can't do a ticketed event in sport complex.But OAU should be rest assured that Mr Easy is coming.
CV: So that means OAU should expect a bigger 'hit' from Hotinc next semester?
HOTINC: Yes o,because it's going to be another shutdown on OAU campus. We can't promise what we cannot do. But if OAU students can pay #1000 for Davido,we will bring him down here.
CV: If students are ready to pay the #1000, where will you use for the event?
HOTINC: The thing is we can't have ten thousand students that will be ready to pay 1k for a ticket. Not that they can't afford it but if we have a reasonable amount of students who are ready to pay that amount, then we'll use Amphi. The fact is we can't make it as less as #300 or #500. With that there will be too much crowd and can result to stampede.
CV: Regarding the price,can't you ask the S.U to subsidize it?
HOTINC: The S.U subsidizing it is not actually the problem but we need to consider and control the crowd.Amphi can't accommodate much crowd. coming up with that 1000 is as a means of crowd control.
CV: But can you guys try and work towards bringing Davido?
HOTINC: OAU is not ready for Davido.Davido wants to come but they are not ready for him. Infact let it go round that if OAU is ready to pay a minimum of #1000 for Davido, then trust me he will come. Because the security is going to be tight. This is Davido and we are not going to be using students' union security. We will used the armed forces. We can't afford to let anything go wrong, Because if anything happens, Hotinc will be at the receiving end. So if OAU is ready, there is no big deal in bringing Davido.
CV: What message do you have for OAU students?
HOTINC: Yeah ,they should keep supporting our events and we won't go below their expectations. We love them and we value them more than any other thing, Without them we can't go this far. They should also anticipate bigger things in second semester, especially that of the "Most Beautiful Girl on Campus" and of course someone is going home with a car. In a nutshell, it promises to be great!
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