Pioneer General Manager of Nigeria’s first privately-owned broadcasting outfit, DAAR Communications, owner of Ray Power 100.5 FM, Olusesan Ekisola, will turn 70 on June 26. He speaks with Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME on how his late mother influenced his journalism career, the many battles he fought at OGBC, why he left Ray Power and why he will reincarnate as an academic instead of a journalist.
• ‘Dokpesi was a great leader, mentor’
You will turn 70 in two weeks’ time. But, you don’t seem to look it.
When my dad turned 50 in 1964, as a little kid I wondered if I will be able to get to that age. But, before I knew it, I blew past 50 and now am 70. I am grateful to God. Some people did not have such grace that God has placed on my life. In my immediate space, the person that was born before me died, the person that was born after me died. So, out of three, I am the only one alive. Then my mum later had a daughter for the former Governor of Lagos State, the late Alhaji Lateef Jakande. She died at 28, shortly after her PhD in Marine Law. I thank God for the special grace to be alive today to give my mum the proper send forth after her death. I am in a spirit of gratitude.
Your mum was a journalist. How did that influence your career as a journalist?
My late mother was a journalist and very assertive. I had the normal attachment to my mother. She was a professional journalist and a feminist. She started her career with the Daily Service. She loved to read and one of the things I picked from her is the appetite to read. People think am the superstar. No. It was my mum’s influence. I actually copied from my mum even though I wasn’t doing it consciously.
Growing up you wanted to work in organisations like commercial banks where you could earn fat pay. Yet, you settled to be a journalist. Did journalism fetch you that fat pay?
As at that time, there was no money in journalism. It was a prestigious thing to be a journalist that commanded respect. There were famous columnists like Candido, Alade, Aiyekoto, Peter Pan and Abiodun Aloba then. When I left secondary, there was the ambition to go for Higher School Certificate (HSC) to get A ‘level that enables you enter university. But then there were also those who got employed, dressed smart and earned well in private sector.
I wasn’t sure I understood the implications of earning big salary then, but just to earn it. I took tests in banks like Barclays Bank (now Union Bank) and Standard Bank of West Africa (now First Bank) I wasn’t called though performed well. I also did test at Moore Plantation Ibadan, still was not taken. I was then a Clerical Officer at Federal Ministry of Transport and Aviation, Marina, Lagos, but was still seeking employment at those organisations. I however settled for Radio Nigeria Ibadan as studio manager because I was convinced by a relation Mrs Bisi Onabolu that I would have two days off in a week. Here I met Yanju Adegbite who became a very close pal. We later rose to be live on air, run our own shows live etc. We enjoyed the support of the likes of Ishola Folorunso who was of the old school. In 1976, with the splitting of Western State into Ogun, Ondo and Oyo states, I was approached by OGBC, which I obliged and that separated Yanju and I, as he too went to BCOS Ibadan.
What was the experience on your first day to be live on air?
It was an intriguing one because you don’t know who was listening to you. And you don’t know whether what you were doing meant entertainment or not. But there were people who monitored what we were doing, whether we pronounced names or words properly, every mistake was recorded and you learnt from it.
In fact, first day on air live was like your heart was going to fall out of your mouth because of tension. But with time, one became confident with microphone life.
Looking back, can you compare the quality of broadcasting then with what we experience today on our airwave?
Well as much as one might be tempted to make ugly remarks about the quality of today’s broadcasters, but the issue is the sudden explosion in numbers of stations. Also, the human resources to man them could not be spread evenly enough among them for quality services. So, all kinds of people got behind the microphone.
Again there is the dearth of trainers, which reflected in the quality of training people get while in employment.
But there are still some veterans who should leave some legacies behind in the industry. All this free for all needs to be properly coordinated.
It can be deduced that furthering your education was the opportunity cost for keeping good employment? How did you correct this later in life?
If I reincarnate, I am sure I will be in the university system. I love to read and find new knowledge. Unfortunately, I could not get a chance to achieve all that. As soon as I left the college, I went into employment. But some of my friends did same but were able to return to university. I moved from one employment to another trying to find money, which was nothing. It was not money that I needed then. I was just trying to define what I needed. I didn’t have easy passage because of the prevailing situations.
I joined Radio Nigeria Ibadan in December 1973, and was auditioned with a Breakfast Fiesta programme. While at Radio Nigeria, I made effort in 1974 to study at The Polytechnic Ibadan, but ran into stormy water of campus politics and that affected my A’Level examination. While I was there, I was elected Social Secretary of the Students Union. I was hoping to be a geology graduate.
I made another attempt to reregister at the University of Ibadan for Advanced level too. But this coincided with an invitation from OGBC for employment at Abeokuta. That truncated my move to rewrite the examination.
In 1979, I did a diploma course in Mass Communication at the University of Lagos. I also did a course in Public Administration at the Ogun State Polytechnic.
From OGBC2 to Ray Power FM: What were your experiences?
Before I left for Ray Power FM in 1993, I had lots of wrestling matches with some people at OGBC, Abeokuta because I was rebellious, especially on matters of promotion. At one instance, there was a fellowship holding in Netherland and it was circulated to almost everybody in the station except me. But few days to closing of entries, none of the applicants from the station was selected. That was when my name was sent to the organisers who immediately chose me for the fellowship that lasted six months.
The assessment report I got from the Netherland fellowship indicated that I was the best candidate since the fellowship was initiated. The organisers of the fellowship even wanted me to enter for the second phase of the fellowship, which was training the trainers. I turned down the offer because my wife had just put to bed and couldn’t stay away for another six months.
All these battles culminated into a serious health crisis that almost took my life. I spent one month in the hospital bed battling with strange ailment. It was shortly after this that I was moved to OGBC2 and the battles subsided. I made my impact at the station to the extent that it gave Radio Nigeria a run for its money. I moved to Ray Power FM as Controller Presentation shortly after to be the pioneer General Manger of DAAR Communications, owner of Ray Power FM.
Your stay at Ray Power was brief. What happened?
We started broadcasting on September 1,1994, after an initial shut-down by military government over some sensitive issues. A year or so after, a set of circumstances, which made it difficult for me to continue to do things professionally, led to my moving on from DAAR Communications. I left after we came back from a trip to South Africa to look for ideas and plan for the setting up of the African Independent Television (AIT). It was not an easy decision, but, at that point, that was what I was convinced I should do.
Raymond Dokpesi’s death
Dokpesi’s death is like a huge tree suddenly pulled off the ground. Lots of lives will be impacted by his death. He was a giver. He was a lover of human beings and he related with people irrespective of status. He has the ability to move from any level to relate with people. He was a listener. I thought I was very hard working until I met him. I found out that I wasn’t even one tenth as hard working as I would have loved. He was a great leader and mentor. He achieved greatness and he did that from a very lowly background into prominence. This feat made it possible for him to dine and wine with the elders and the kings.
What was your most memorable moment?
It was at the 50th birthday celebration of former Head of Service (HOS) of Ogun State, Mr. A. A. Degun. I was at the party in company of my gang. I took too much drink at the party and I was to present a show that evening. I managed to get to the station but too drunk to sit behind the microphone. I was lying down at the station’s reception till 1.00 am when the station was to close. The station decided to play music all through that time I was lying down. Interestingly, none of my bosses asked me about the incidence as they simply ignored me.
What is your legacy for the industry?
I believe the role I need to play before I finally quit is to draw attention to some of the lapses in the industry. I am working on a project to this effect. It will be similar to what we did at OGBC and Ray Power FM. Right now, there are too many radio stations. Interestingly there are lots of talents in Nigeria, and especially in broadcasting some styled themselves as On Air Personality (OAP), which is same as Duty Continuity Announcer. Maybe it is part of the evolution, but I have not heard of such name in broadcasting in US or Europe. What is essential now is to have more professionals manning the role of OAP. One such rule is that whatever you say on air without proof should attract sanction. And the mantra is: ‘Put your brain into gear before you open your mouth.’
