Adebayo Adenrele
Multiple award winning photographer, Bayo Omoboriowo has narrative his ordeal on how he became the official photographer of former president, Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking on Channels TV, he said the zeal for photography started in school where he would borrow his friend’s camera to snap pictures but hope seemed lost when his phone was stolen at a presidential rally in 2014.
According to him, it was at the momen he was noticed by former President Buhari and was invited personally to become his official photographer after he became the president of Nigeria.
He said, “I tell you, it was a story of from Mushin to the world. My father is a local photographer. I remember hawking pure water too. My father did not even know our local govt chairman not to talk of any big politician.
“I went to University of Lagos and studied pure and applied chemistry. I finished with 4.262 GPA. While in school, I borrow camera from friend and started taking pictures in events.
“One day, I was watching TV and saw advert for the APC national convention in Teslim Balogun Stadium. So I picked my camera and off I went.
“When General Buhari came into the stadium, everybody started running after him and I follow and take pictures.
“Then I noticed they stole my iphone, phone of over N100,000 by then. I was demoralized and pained. So I told God, please you have to compensate me for a job I do for free. A gentle prayer that it was, I never know God heard it.
“So I couldn’t go home that night, I slept on the floor in the stadium. I never know some people saw me.
Then campaign started. A media firm was contacted to manage Presidential campaign social media handle. The firm noticed they cannot perform optimally without a Photographer. Because one of them saw me sleeping on the floor the other time, I was contacted. We started the campaign and that was how General Buhari took a notice of me.
“After Election, he sent for me and said it has to be me. That was how I became his official Photographer for 8 years and travel all over the world with me and winning so many local and international awards. “
