Though my last day on radio was December 24, 2021, it has taken me a while to post this because …..
I don’t think I have the words.
Isn’t that funny?
After 16 years talking on the radio & 2 degrees in communication – I . don’t. Have. The. Words !!!!
How do you say goodbye to something you have done for almost 2 decades? Something you have done your entire adult life? Where do you go? And the most asked question of all –
WHY?
Before I say why I’ll briefly tell you how it all started.
I was conned into visiting Nigeria and serving (NYSC ) by my dad. The year was 2005.
I was posted to NTA in VI and I started to cover stories as a junior reporter. So junior, I was given all sorts of weird stories to cover. My most memorable one was about a family of mentally ill people who had turned Ahmadu Bello street to their residence.
While serving at NTA, I wrote to the MD of 96.9Coolfm applying for an internship in the news department. I got the gig! I was to resume at 6 am every weekday & close at 12noon. From there, I would resume at NTA to cover whatever story I was assigned.
About 2 weeks into this new job, I walked into the CoolFm studio & started a conversation with Dan Foster. He thought I was funny & interesting and within minutes, I joined him on air. It was fun and I thought that was it.
The next day, he came looking for me and said “you’re going to be my sidekick/co-host “. Who was I to say “No”???
Dan was a great teacher. He taught me all about radio. He gave me books and articles to read. He pushed me to be a world-class On-Air Personality. He was really cool and never wasted time in telling me I had messed up if I did or if my aircheck was on point. He was my teacher & my friend. And we quarrelled ehn ? One time we didn’t speak for months but we were co-hosting the most popular radio show in Nigeria! 😂 . We would banter on-air and once the mics went off, we would ignore each other till it was time to go on again 😂.
I was the only youth corp member allowed on-air at CoolFm. The same thing at NTA, I was the only one allowed to cover stories. I ended up covering multiple stories for nationwide news & Newsline.
After my NYSC year, I knew radio was the best option for me. I was soon given a weekend show. Saturdays & Sundays 12-6 pm
My first radio interview was with D’banj. This was when “Tongolo” was really hot! I was so nervous and it showed. I had a massive headache once we were done.
I got to interview so many people there from Frank Nweke Junior to Mode 9, Cobhams, Dakore Egbuson, Brick & Lace, Sisqo, Brian McKnight, Djimon Hounsou etc
My senior colleagues were Freeze, Olisa Adibua, Lakeside & others!
It was a dream come true! I was a fan of this station who used to call into request songs & win prizes & then I got to work there? Mind-Blowing !!! 🤯
I decided to get my masters in Media & Communication in 2008. Actually, that’s a lie! My father (again) found a way to convince (command) me to get this degree. The classes were in the afternoon & clashed with my new schedule. I spoke with management about it & they let me leave work early to attend classes.
Dotun was working in the production studio then & he would take over the remaining 2 hours of my show – ensuring that it ran smoothly.
By the end of the degree programme, I was unsure if I wanted to go the corporate route …I was still pondering it when I heard that a new hot radio station will be opening soon. I decided that I would go give it a shot.
Guess what? I was hired as Program Director! I was ecstatic! 💃🏾
I gave CoolFm 3 months notice & they accepted my resignation.
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