Some leaders are trained for microphones. Adedoja Allen was trained for the ledger, and it was that unlikely grounding in numbers, not in broadcasting, that ultimately rebuilt one of Lagos's best-known radio stations.
In this Sustainable Leadership Series conversation, Allen recounts how she arrived at City 105.1FM not as a media professional but as a finance specialist tasked with fixing a broadcaster drowning in unpaid wages, creditor threats, and a fading on-air identity.
Her career path, through an accounts role at the BBC in London, a Head of Finance position at Telecom Express, and years as a portfolio manager at ARM Investment Managers in Lagos, had nothing to do with radio; however, it gave her the discipline to diagnose institutional collapse and rebuild systems from scratch.
The interview traces City FM's turnaround under Allen's leadership, from assembling a team of media strategists and branding experts to introducing internal controls, welfare structures, and listener research that had never existed at the station before.
That discipline pushed City FM from 24th to among the top 10 radio stations in Lagos in the rankings within a single year, a climb she describes as a product of structure rather than chance.
Allen also discusses platforms built on her legacy, including "Praise in the City," a long-running community event, and "She Leads with Adedoja Allen," a mentorship day for women in leadership.
She reflects on founding City Media Academy to train Nigeria's next generation of broadcasters, framing her story as proof that financial discipline and cultural leadership can sustainably rebuild African institutions.
The conversation positions Allen, the first woman to lead a Nigerian electronic media platform, as a model of unconventional leadership in Africa's development narrative.
