₦airaland Forum

Adkool:
That's great memory of sane presentation of Nigerian best. But it wouldn't be complete if Masters from Star F.M 101.5 weren't mentioned.

Late Femi Fashina.
Grand Master Dee
Grand Master Lee
D.J Kwame
D J Xmax my very good friend and head of presentation for many years of Star F.M, when Nigerian content was being promoted.
Akin Akindele, very jovial and father of comedy.
M.C Murphy (formerly of OGBC 2, like many of the above quoted great presenters.)
And not to forget Alariwo of Africa.
And a lot of others
They deserved to be mentioned as the very booming Nigerian music industry was their legacy. They built it while Raypower and Rhythm were playing only foreign content only. Ask 2-face, Tony Tetuila, Baba Frayo and many others.

henrimoto:
😆😆😆😆 I dey tell you!!! No be only you, we plenty. This was one reason wazobia Fm of the days of YAW!!! captured a lot of listeners in Lagos and beyond.

henrimoto:
Yes!!!! I also was a radio addict too. Certain Radio Stations then make living in Lagos Fun.

AImiron:
Memories….
Chai I don old ooo

naptu2:
Radio

First there were many MW stations, none of which was able to really capture my attention. We had Radio Lagos, RCOS, B.C.O.S/Radio O.Y.O, Ogun Radio/OGBC and of course the king of them all Radio Nigeria 1 (1089). Radio Nigeria 1 was the first place to go to for the 7am news and whenever there was a coup.


RN2

Then came the glorious Radio Nigeria 2 (RN2). RN2 played great music and they had superstar presenters. It was the first FM station in Lagos. I paticularly enjoyed listening to the station in the afternoons and at weekends. RN 1 catered to the older folks, while RN2 was the new exciting station for the younger folks (these roles were replicated on tv, with NTA Ch 10 being for the older folks and NTA 2 Ch 5 for the younger folks).

RN 2 had superstars like

(Your Willing Willy) Willy Egbe
Sunny Irabor
(JAJ) Joseph Akinyemi Johnson
Ohi Alegbe
Jones Usen
Ihria Enakhimo (one of the funniest human beings on tv and radio)
(Bonny with the face) Boniface Onogwu
Godwin Asuquo
Momoh Kubanje
Tony Ibegbuna (he was the voice of the station when it started. It seemed like he did all their jingles).

And many more. There were shows like Willy Brunch, Sunny Side Up, Martin Street Special (before the Martin Street studios burnt down), Police Diary, I Beg Una, etc.

Radio Nigeria One later caught my attention with a beautiful breakfast show called Radioscope. In the years that I was hooked on that show (1988-1993) it was hosted at various times by Zachary Mohammed (Captain ZM), Manny Onumonu and Evelyn Russel.

Radio Nigeria Three was set up in 1989 (it was the first community radio station in Nigeria and broadcast in pidgin, igbo yoruba and hausa) and I often listened to them in the evenings.

RN2 is now known as Metro FM, RN3 is now known as Country Radio and RN1 moved from MW to FM and is now known as Radio One.

OGBC 2
Then came the Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation's second station (OGBC2), the second FM station that could be received in Lagos. It blew RN2 out of the water. It was lightyears ahead of its elder sister OGBC (which transmitted on the MW band). It had great presenters like

Ladi Akeredolu-Ale
Larry Ichiejile
Olusesan Ekisola
Aderinsola Aladeselu
Peter Okodua
Busayo Olaifa
Toyin Shogbesan.
Ambrose Shomide
Toba Opaleye

Its breakfast show, which included Headliners (newspaper review) and Bournvita Sports Special with Larry Ichiejile/Izamuje was second to none. It rode on the wave of the golden age of hip hop by playing all the latest hip hop tracks that people wanted to hear.

It was one of the key sources of information during the June 12 movement. People got anti-government news from OGBC2, The Punch, The Concord, etc; pro-government news from the NTA, Radio Nigeria, Daily Times and New Nigerian and impartial news from The Guardian and The BBC. Then the government shut down OGBC temporarily.

Raypower
The very first private radio station actually began broadcasting without permission from government. The station debuted sometime in the middle of the year (broadcasting on 100MHz), then they were ordered to shut down by the NBC, then they legally started transmission towards the end of the year on 100.5MHz.

It virtually wiped out OGBC and RN2 from the airwaves. They were broadcasting from Alagbado, but they had a relay station on Bookshop House in Marina, thus their signal was clearer across Lagos than OGBC and RN2's signals. They poached a lot of talent from OGBC and Radio Nigeria. People like Ambrose Shomide and Momoh Kubanje joined the station. They had presenters like

Olusesan Ekisola (the first General Manager of Raypower, he was poached from OGBC).
Steve "The Sleek" Kadiri.
Dennis Tha Menace Ogi
Ogee Onazi.
Sule "Solazo" Ellams
Becky Ellams
Lola "L Boogie" Mogaji
Ibiyemi Olufowobi
Busola Faiga
Doe Abrahams
Tony Akiotu
Jumobi Adegbesan

They had Milo World Of Sports (which attempted to compete against Larry's Bournvita Sports Special on OGBC), Newspaper Headline Review, Jukebox (with Olusesan Ekishola), Rock Radio (with Dennis Da Menace Ogi), Doe Abraham's calypso show, etc. They also collaborated with The BBC and broadcast Sports Round Up, Sports World, News Hour, etc. It ruled the airwaves for much of the Abacha/June 12 crisis era and people depended on their news for information about what was going on.


Rhythm

And the Murray-Bruces finally floated a radio station. Their selling point was "More music, less talk" and they won people over by playing mainstream music that people liked (hip hop, R&B and soul). Rhythm has endured and has remained one of my top two favourite stations since 1997. They've had presenters like

Femi Sowoolu (formerly of OGBC)
JAJ (formerly of RN2).
Eldee The Don.
Steve (the South African)
Naphtali Tope Brown (Brown Sugar)
Nnamdi Anazia
Kemistry

And more recently

(The Wildchild) I.K Osakiodua
Phoenix
(Big Time) Onome Oyaide

At breakfast time I would often switch between the sports, newspaper review and news programmes on OGBC2, Raypower and Rhythm, before OGBC2's quality and signal strength depreciated.


Cool FM

Between 1998-2010 Cool FM had undoubtedly the best collection of nigerian on air personalities in one radio station that I have ever heard. The only radio station that has had anything like that (and they are a distant second) is Radio Nigeria 2 (in the early 1980s).

They had amazing presenters like

1) Lakeside (Lekan Saheed). He was definitely my favourite. The guy was INSANE!

2) Iyke The G (nobody else plays the kind of music that he plays. It's almost like he reads my mind).

3) Dan Foster (the Big Dawg. He has an unusual ability to connect with his listeners).

4) Kemi Adetiba (amazing impersonations).

5) Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi

6) Olisa Adibua (yes, the same guy that hosted "Top Of The Pops" on NTA2 Channel 5 c1988-1992)

7) Dare Art-Alade

8 ) Tosyn Bucknor (she also co-hosted the crazy Fanta show with Lakeside).

9) Mark Silvere (an american that first presented the Good Morning Nigeria Show. He also had the ability to connect with his listeners [he often prayed for them on air]. Made a good team with Dan Foster).

10) Keith Lane. The very first voice I heard on Cool FM (on the day they started transmitting). This guy is the definition of insane! He introduced "Radio Grafitti" to Cool FM and it hasn't been the same without him (no one has his level of insanity). His first stint at Cool FM ended when he complained about a decision that management were about to make and invited listeners to call in and talk about it. He was brought back several years later, after Dan Foster left the station, but listeners hated him because they kept comparing him to Dan (Dan is nice and friendly, while Keith is irreverent and insane).

11) Charles Supo Orija (the king of news).

They also ran the Bournvite Sports Special with Larry Izamuje for a while (at first it was networked with OGBC2, then it was exclusively on Cool FM) and also had Sports Express with the Sportsvision crew.

Now I just shuffle between Rhythm, NigeriaInfo and Classic FM. No radio station is particularly dominant or strong enough to get my attention exclusively. Raypower lost the right to use their relay station, so their signal isn't particulalrly strong and they also lost a lot of their best presenters. The 2010 tsunami also saw Cool FM losing their best presenters and I don't listen to them anymore. OGBC2 and RN2 (now known as Metro FM) are shadows of their former selves.

Picture 1: Sunny Irabor

Picture 2: Joseph Akinyemi Johnson (JAJ)

Picture 3: Jumobi Adegbesan and Dennis Da Menace Ogi

Picture 4: Dan Foster

chudez0147:
Lol . Ihria Enakhimo Was my neighbor at #9 George street

naptu2:
I didn't plan to mention all presenters/radio stations, just some that defined certain eras for me.

RN2 in the 1980s, OGBC2 in the early 1990s, Raypower in the mid-1990s, Rhythm in the late 1990s and Cool FM in the late 1990s and early 2000s.


I expected that others would also mention the stations and presenters that defined that period for them and they have done so, but surprisingly nobody has mentioned this man. He was on my mind when I wrote that post years ago, even though I didn't mention his name.


I wrote that Radio Nigeria 3 started in 1989. Well this man was the star of the station and he was incredible. He could host many programmes back to back and in many different languages. I'm referring to Bisi Olatilo

I still remember some of the things that he said on RN3.

I remember when he talked about Iya Modinat on his show. I was shocked.

Iya Modinat was a woman that sold food under a tree in Obalende. I had heard about her, but I didn't believe it until I saw it. Cars used to come from State House Dodan Barracks, from the many state liaison offices on Victoria Island, from the homes of wealthy people across Lagos, just to buy rice from a rude woman that sold food under a tree. You would see NTA newscasters and all kinds of celebrities queuing to buy food from this woman in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I refused to eat her food.

One day there was a commotion in Obalende and I was told that people attacked Iya Modinat and her children because they said that she was using juju in her food.

Bisi Olatilo spoke about her on his radio show (that was when she was still doing brisk business).


I remember the day that he started talking about parts of Lagos. He said that it was one man that started spare parts business in Alaba, now there are spare parts shops everywhere. It was one man that started chemist business in Obalende, now there are chemist shops everywhere in Obalende. He kept talking about places that were known for certain things and how it was started by an individual.

He presented programmes in Pidgin, Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba on RN3 (it was the first community station in Nigeria).


Now we have Wazobia FM, Naija FM, etc.

MD45:
The combo of Bisi Olatilo and Smart Orotemu was always a delight to listen to because of the jokes and strong grasp of pidgin English. Smart was just a comedian on radio. Together they moved a great portion of radio listeners to RN3. Another OAP was Ijeoma Benlowu. RN2 also had Ndidi Osoka.

naptu2:
And Veronica Osawere.

MD45:
The combo of Bisi Olatilo and Smart Orotemu was always a delight to listen to because of the jokes and strong grasp of pidgin English. Smart was just a comedian on radio. Together they moved a great portion of radio listeners to RN3.

It was from Smart I heard this joke-proverb “person way shit for bush nor dey remember d place reach person way match shit for bush”.

Another OAP was Ijeoma Benlowu. RN2 also had Ndidi Osoka.

naptu2:
Kpamgbo the magician! I wish I could remember the entire monologue. It's one of the funniest things that I've ever heard in my entire life.


This was just after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 elections and I was listening to RN 2 with my mum.

Ihria Enakhimo began an incredible monologue. He told the entire story of the election and the annulment of the election, but he changed names and some other things. It was funny as hell. My mum and I burst out laughing when he said "Kpamgbo The Magician". The minister of justice and attorney general of the federation was Chief Clement Akpamgbo and the government had just released a new decree about the annulment of the election (that was what he was referring to when he said, "Kpamgbo The Magician".


The guy was also fantastic on the Turning Wheel on TV in 1986/1987.

FreeStuffsNG:
Awwww. Thank you OP. Where is the picture of Busola Faiga? Supo Orija and Sunny Irabor are with Inspiration Fm, bosses of Rufai Oseni then.Check my signature for free stuffs!

henrimoto:
@naptu2, There's this other guy with this group "Chimamkpa Anyakpa"... You remember him?

Ahh! "Smart Oretemu" ! How time flies. How life goes on. I still remember how he normally introduce himself ...."My name na Smart Oretemu... " Very funny guy.

placeofallure:
How come I don't know all these people?

Anyway I'm not a Radio person. I've always been about TV or play games on my devices.

MD45:
I remember him too. Another great guy I must say.

Smart was too good. I remember when bread price shut up because sugar import was banned. Smart hala…. “Wetin b bread sef? Mtcheww, no b wetin we take dey hold belle b4 food ready! Nonsense, I nor buy again!!

henrimoto:
😆😆😆 ... But wait o , @MD45, you and @naptu2 get strong memory o, for you guys to still dey remember this radio presenters' words verbatim ...I hail you guys!

henrimoto:
...Are they not the same gang on MAX Fm ?

henrimoto:
...Sis., listening to Radio Stations can keep me indoors for "48" hrs, specially , Lagos FM stations . Ah! Life!

Presently, I'm out of Lagos. Where I dey, 10:30 Pm, there radio stations don close. E gbami ke! Which kind Adugbo be this ? 😆 😆 😆

Love800:
I really appreciate. Tankz.
Honestly, my dream is to do radio. Cos i love to talk in a closed space and not in the open. And the radio is the only avenue dat can give me dat opportuinity. Am working strongly towards it so as to achieve my dream. Tankz so much

MD45:
Smart made that statement on bread around 1991/1992.

I still remember it clearly even today like he said it yesterday Bro. I so listened to radio back then that it landed me in hospital cos doctors were treating me cos my two ears were paining me at some point due to constant listening to radio. I would put my radio under my pillow at it plays till day break.

I knew almost every song back then that was a hit song on radio and could tell you stories about how the song was composed. Artiste name, title, soundtrack to which movie, etc. My friends feared and wonder how deep and rich my knowledge was on music back then in university. Those days were good and fun for me Bro!

henrimoto:
At the bolded part,...I know it was around that time. At that time, my mother had a little shop where the radio is always on. This was how I became a radio fan.

henrimoto:
If you do listen to radio early 90's before raypower came on board, you would know this names

Pojomojo:
Daniel Akpata that anchors whispers if the early morning worked in radio for 4yrs without any Bsc degree for FREE today, his cashing out, you have got to have passion. Saraphina was in Delta state collecting 30k in a radio station when she made a post on Twitter, it was Emmanuel Etim that DM her and today she's in Norway after a meritorious service to Nigeria info, Chidi to was a student in Noun worked with Noun FM, moved to Nigeria info before relocating to USA.

placeofallure:
Early 90s ke! Make I carry my yeye self go siddon for one place.
How I wan take know them? I never sabi anything that time.

Pojomojo:
Google NUJ

MD45:
Those two guys Smart and Bisi were they guys that opened my knowledge and talent on how to develop a great sense of humor. I could make people laff so easily because of their influence on me and I picked those skills from them then. It's something that has helped me greatly in my career as a banker.

Love800:
Ok

henrimoto:
Follow and listen to "DANIEL AKPATA 's show on Max FM. He often talked about how he began working in radio station from a humble beginning. But make your heart strong,get endurance when listening to him (DANIEL AKPATA)...at times , that my guy can be very annoying and heart breaking...on radio ... 😆 But there is this positive influence around him.