Kamaka
JF-Expert Member
- Jun 7, 2010
- 563
- 33
The Things Nigerias FM Radio DJs Do
Uche Nworah (uchenwo[URL="http://groups.google.com/groups/unlock?_done=/group/wanabidii/browse_thread/thread/bf9ca69181d6c0d7&msg=ee5911b6cb61c6a7"]...[/URL]@yahoo.com)
Anybody who grew up around the 80s and 90s in the eastern and southern
parts of Nigeria will recall with nostalgia the activities of a few
individuals who made listening to radio a pleasure. I remember how as
young men growing up in Aba, the commercial city of Abia state we were
all addicted to Radio Rivers 2 (FM Stereo). I could still recall their
Radio Rivers Two, FM stereo trademark station jingle. The station
could easily be described as the best FM station in the whole of the
South East and South South at the time. They were known for their
quality informative, educational and entertaining programmes,
especially music shows which made many young people to adopt the
station as one of choice. A few names I can recall from that
pioneering golden FM era are Marvellous Macaulay Apolema Junior,
Daphne Gogo-Abbey, Victor Burubo, Adokie Amasiemeka, Jude Tabai,
Brighton Sogwe, Jotex Jompey and of course the King of Talk Radio,
the one voice that symbolised the people-oriented philosophy of the
station, the late Boma Erekosima (Bless his soul).
Around the South East, there were a few other stations which paraded
quality Radio DJs and talk personalities that resonated with the
people including Ngozi Ibegbu, Chuzzy Iboko, Rosemary Azinge, Chris
Snakeman Odili and D.N.D Onyeachor of ABS Enugu. Others are Frank
Fyne Nwaonyigbo, Ken Ugwu, Nnamdi Olegbara and Teddy Oscar Uju of IBC
FM), but Radio Rivers 2 easily stood out from the lot. Many praises to
the Radio DJs of that era for their contribution to broadcasting
development in Nigeria despite the challenges. This was long before
the advent of GSM mobile phones which todays radio DJs increasingly
rely on, for listener phone-ins, without which many of them will
struggle to host even an hour- long show.
FM stations have since exploded in Nigeria and become common features
in most urban cities. It is not surprising that Lagos has coveted the
title of FM station capital of Nigeria judging by the number of
licensed FM stations operating in Lagos. There is Cool FM, Classic FM,
Unity FM, Rhythm FM, Wazobia FM, Beat FM, Star FM, Inspiration FM,
Brilla FM (sports focused) etc. No doubt the competition for the
listening ears and attention of the public is now very intense, as
that invariably affects a stations ability to attract advertising
support. The need to attract and keep the listeners entertained,
especially restless young people who are the primary targets of the
new genre of music-inspired FM stations that currently dot our radio
broadcasting landscape may have led to the introduction of various
programme formats by the various FM station owners, the most popular
being talk shows which air mostly during drive time. These are call-in
programmes that usually give listeners an opportunity to rant or rave
on air, and also to contribute to whatever topics were being
discussed. The programme format is usually conversational and in-
formal, there are no scripts to follow and most presenters have
occasionally fallen into the as the spirit leads trap, thus going
off - track pandering to what they may perceive as popular tastes
which if truth be told actually offends the sensibilities of the
listeners. Perhaps this may have been why Dafe Ivwurie had argued in
his Daily Independent column - Dafes Joint that many of todays FM
talk show hosts may not be able to survive in the broadcasting world
if the live phone-in concept is abolished. Dafe was obviously
referring to the unpreparedness of some of the hosts and hostesses who
rely mainly on listeners phone-in contributions to survive on their
daily shows.
No doubt opening up such shows to audience participation helps make
the shows interactive but what needs to be checked is the over-
reliance on the audience as this now makes some of the Radio DJs lazy,
many have jettisoned researching their themes and topics before coming
on air, hoping as usual that the listeners will rescue them by jamming
the stations with phone calls. I once listened to an afternoon show on
one of the wave making FM stations in Lagos and was appalled at the
apparent unprepared ness of a female presenter whose call to the
listeners to phone-in and contribute to a mundane topic she had
dreamed up on air was shunned. As the listeners did not heed her call,
she struggled all through the programme. Such on-air technique
obviously shows lack of respect for the listening public and could be
likened to a teacher going into a classroom without her lecture notes
and lesson plan, hoping that he students will fill up her lesson time
with questions and answers and other activities that do not in any way
contribute to learning.
There is also another issue to worry about, that of some of the themes
and topics that Nigerias modern day Radio DJs introduce and discuss
on air. It is now such that no topic is off-limits. It is obvious that
some of these topics are not well thought through and researched
before discussing them on air. There is little regard for the social,
cultural and religious undertones of some of the topics. Everything is
now assumed to be okay, after all that is the way the Americans and
the British do them, therefore it must be right and suitable for
Nigerians. The major culprits of this apparent cultural insensitivity
are the returnee Radio DJs, Nigerians who have sojourned in the
Diaspora and are now back working in the various radio stations. You
will find not only their phoney accents annoying but also their dry
sense of humor. Throw in the mundane topics they discuss on air
sometimes and you wouldnt need to go far to discover who is killing
radio broadcasting in Nigeria.
Just this morning on my way to work, I was listening to a show hosted
by a male and female presenter on one of Lagos FM stations and the
topic they thought wise to discuss by 7A.M on a Thursday morning when
kids are being dropped off at school by their parents was married
women going out on ladies night out. As if to add insult to injury,
the female presenter knocked my fellow Igbo brothers as the backward
(she actually used the word traditional) ones who would not want their
wives to go on such fun escapades, she invited Igbo men and women to
call in. And what did the male presenter do? He not only invited Hausa
men and women to also phone in, but did so in the fakest imitation of
Hausa accent you will ever hear. This obviously was fun to him but to
me it was another poor attempt at stereotyping and dumbing down of a
race. Of course I immediately changed to another station.
I have also had the misfortune of listening in to a show where the
presenters having searched the whole planet for themes, topics and
issues to discuss decided on a most palatable one - fart and
farting. Yes, you read right. And for another hour, listeners were put
through what I can only describe as one of the worst moments in radio
broadcasting in Nigeria. There were callers (who are these people?)
calling in to describe how to do a great fart, the various odors,
noise levels etc.
There was also this day when some presenters picked on mechanics,
describing them in such condescending terms that you will think that
auto mechanics are not human beings. Buoyed on by the presenters,
listeners started phoning in, one actually lamented how his dad had
once invited a mechanic on a visit to their house to join him at the
dinner table and he actually did, only for his dad to get angry and
shout at the mechanic for not knowing that the offer was only
ceremonial and wasnt meant to be accepted. They all laughed about
these and I was thinking, who is the crazy person here? The man who
invites another to table with the hope that his offer will not be
accepted? Or the mechanic who humbly accepts a free lunch offer only
to be scolded and derided for it?
Its good to see that new things are happening in radio broadcasting
in Nigeria but the presenters should please not throw caution to the
winds by adopting a Lawrence Akapa tabloid style approach in their
quest to entertain the audience, our children are also listening.
Uche Nworah (uchenwo[URL="http://groups.google.com/groups/unlock?_done=/group/wanabidii/browse_thread/thread/bf9ca69181d6c0d7&msg=ee5911b6cb61c6a7"]...[/URL]@yahoo.com)
Anybody who grew up around the 80s and 90s in the eastern and southern
parts of Nigeria will recall with nostalgia the activities of a few
individuals who made listening to radio a pleasure. I remember how as
young men growing up in Aba, the commercial city of Abia state we were
all addicted to Radio Rivers 2 (FM Stereo). I could still recall their
Radio Rivers Two, FM stereo trademark station jingle. The station
could easily be described as the best FM station in the whole of the
South East and South South at the time. They were known for their
quality informative, educational and entertaining programmes,
especially music shows which made many young people to adopt the
station as one of choice. A few names I can recall from that
pioneering golden FM era are Marvellous Macaulay Apolema Junior,
Daphne Gogo-Abbey, Victor Burubo, Adokie Amasiemeka, Jude Tabai,
Brighton Sogwe, Jotex Jompey and of course the King of Talk Radio,
the one voice that symbolised the people-oriented philosophy of the
station, the late Boma Erekosima (Bless his soul).
Around the South East, there were a few other stations which paraded
quality Radio DJs and talk personalities that resonated with the
people including Ngozi Ibegbu, Chuzzy Iboko, Rosemary Azinge, Chris
Snakeman Odili and D.N.D Onyeachor of ABS Enugu. Others are Frank
Fyne Nwaonyigbo, Ken Ugwu, Nnamdi Olegbara and Teddy Oscar Uju of IBC
FM), but Radio Rivers 2 easily stood out from the lot. Many praises to
the Radio DJs of that era for their contribution to broadcasting
development in Nigeria despite the challenges. This was long before
the advent of GSM mobile phones which todays radio DJs increasingly
rely on, for listener phone-ins, without which many of them will
struggle to host even an hour- long show.
FM stations have since exploded in Nigeria and become common features
in most urban cities. It is not surprising that Lagos has coveted the
title of FM station capital of Nigeria judging by the number of
licensed FM stations operating in Lagos. There is Cool FM, Classic FM,
Unity FM, Rhythm FM, Wazobia FM, Beat FM, Star FM, Inspiration FM,
Brilla FM (sports focused) etc. No doubt the competition for the
listening ears and attention of the public is now very intense, as
that invariably affects a stations ability to attract advertising
support. The need to attract and keep the listeners entertained,
especially restless young people who are the primary targets of the
new genre of music-inspired FM stations that currently dot our radio
broadcasting landscape may have led to the introduction of various
programme formats by the various FM station owners, the most popular
being talk shows which air mostly during drive time. These are call-in
programmes that usually give listeners an opportunity to rant or rave
on air, and also to contribute to whatever topics were being
discussed. The programme format is usually conversational and in-
formal, there are no scripts to follow and most presenters have
occasionally fallen into the as the spirit leads trap, thus going
off - track pandering to what they may perceive as popular tastes
which if truth be told actually offends the sensibilities of the
listeners. Perhaps this may have been why Dafe Ivwurie had argued in
his Daily Independent column - Dafes Joint that many of todays FM
talk show hosts may not be able to survive in the broadcasting world
if the live phone-in concept is abolished. Dafe was obviously
referring to the unpreparedness of some of the hosts and hostesses who
rely mainly on listeners phone-in contributions to survive on their
daily shows.
No doubt opening up such shows to audience participation helps make
the shows interactive but what needs to be checked is the over-
reliance on the audience as this now makes some of the Radio DJs lazy,
many have jettisoned researching their themes and topics before coming
on air, hoping as usual that the listeners will rescue them by jamming
the stations with phone calls. I once listened to an afternoon show on
one of the wave making FM stations in Lagos and was appalled at the
apparent unprepared ness of a female presenter whose call to the
listeners to phone-in and contribute to a mundane topic she had
dreamed up on air was shunned. As the listeners did not heed her call,
she struggled all through the programme. Such on-air technique
obviously shows lack of respect for the listening public and could be
likened to a teacher going into a classroom without her lecture notes
and lesson plan, hoping that he students will fill up her lesson time
with questions and answers and other activities that do not in any way
contribute to learning.
There is also another issue to worry about, that of some of the themes
and topics that Nigerias modern day Radio DJs introduce and discuss
on air. It is now such that no topic is off-limits. It is obvious that
some of these topics are not well thought through and researched
before discussing them on air. There is little regard for the social,
cultural and religious undertones of some of the topics. Everything is
now assumed to be okay, after all that is the way the Americans and
the British do them, therefore it must be right and suitable for
Nigerians. The major culprits of this apparent cultural insensitivity
are the returnee Radio DJs, Nigerians who have sojourned in the
Diaspora and are now back working in the various radio stations. You
will find not only their phoney accents annoying but also their dry
sense of humor. Throw in the mundane topics they discuss on air
sometimes and you wouldnt need to go far to discover who is killing
radio broadcasting in Nigeria.
Just this morning on my way to work, I was listening to a show hosted
by a male and female presenter on one of Lagos FM stations and the
topic they thought wise to discuss by 7A.M on a Thursday morning when
kids are being dropped off at school by their parents was married
women going out on ladies night out. As if to add insult to injury,
the female presenter knocked my fellow Igbo brothers as the backward
(she actually used the word traditional) ones who would not want their
wives to go on such fun escapades, she invited Igbo men and women to
call in. And what did the male presenter do? He not only invited Hausa
men and women to also phone in, but did so in the fakest imitation of
Hausa accent you will ever hear. This obviously was fun to him but to
me it was another poor attempt at stereotyping and dumbing down of a
race. Of course I immediately changed to another station.
I have also had the misfortune of listening in to a show where the
presenters having searched the whole planet for themes, topics and
issues to discuss decided on a most palatable one - fart and
farting. Yes, you read right. And for another hour, listeners were put
through what I can only describe as one of the worst moments in radio
broadcasting in Nigeria. There were callers (who are these people?)
calling in to describe how to do a great fart, the various odors,
noise levels etc.
There was also this day when some presenters picked on mechanics,
describing them in such condescending terms that you will think that
auto mechanics are not human beings. Buoyed on by the presenters,
listeners started phoning in, one actually lamented how his dad had
once invited a mechanic on a visit to their house to join him at the
dinner table and he actually did, only for his dad to get angry and
shout at the mechanic for not knowing that the offer was only
ceremonial and wasnt meant to be accepted. They all laughed about
these and I was thinking, who is the crazy person here? The man who
invites another to table with the hope that his offer will not be
accepted? Or the mechanic who humbly accepts a free lunch offer only
to be scolded and derided for it?
Its good to see that new things are happening in radio broadcasting
in Nigeria but the presenters should please not throw caution to the
winds by adopting a Lawrence Akapa tabloid style approach in their
quest to entertain the audience, our children are also listening.
