He is everyone’s favourite. You’re not likely to find too many people who will tell you they have a problem with veteran broadcaster, Ambrose Somide’s style of presentation on the radio, or even his personality. This is because he has such a sublime way of displaying his craft that you cannot but be impressed with his presentation. And to put the icing on the cake, he’s got a remarkable personality to go with it. This explains why Ambrose Olutayo Somide has massive followership and listeners who adore him to no end. These are
What part of your background prepared you for broadcasting? What part of it prepared you to conceptualise the brand that you have nurtured into a household name today?
Well, did any part of my background give me an idea that I will be a broadcaster? Going back in time, growing up in the village, I would say my first exposure to radio was from WNBS. That was my first contact, because I grew up in the village, a place not far from Ibadan called Elesin village, very close to Ogunmakin. It was not far from the Lagos – Ibadan express way then, so broadcast signals were filtering into my father’s old transistor radio. So, every evening, while growing up, we would listen to the news, listen to music and programmes and all of that. I think, at that very young age, that informed my desire to also want to talk on radio someday. Now, growing up in the village, listening to radio and also having seen on television great artistes like King Sunny Ade performing on television then, I also wanted to be an entertainer. I also wanted to sing. So, I would gather my cousins and nephews around the village and we used the broom as guitar, our microphones were perforated tins of milk hung on a rod or stick and we pretend to be King Sunny Ade. I would say those formative periods led to my desire to want to be an entertainer or a broadcaster. Having left secondary school, and having been exposed to radio way back in 1983, Radio Nigeria Abeokuta then, that was how the journey started. First, I started as newsperson in the newsroom, later, I was given the opportunity to present some programmes, and the rest, they say, is history.
Before you got into mainstream broadcasting, you went to school, take us through that.
I went to the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, and studied Urban and Regional planning. But before I got admission into the University, as I said, I’d already gotten exposed to radio and worked with Radio Nigeria Abeokuta, FRCN, and I was trained as a newsperson and a programme’s person. Then, when the Buhari/Idiagbion regime took over in 1983, by end of 1984 towards end of 1985, those out stations in Abeokuta, Akure, were closed down. Some of us were moved to Ibadan, some of us were taken back to Lagos. My mother felt that I should look for something else to do and remain in Abeokuta because there was nobody I could stay with if I’d opted to go to Ibadan or come to Lagos. Then I got a job with Ogun State Property and Investment Corporation (OPIC), they were developing Agbara Estate in Agbara then and so that gave me the opportunity to be exposed to land survey, town planning, architecture and all of that. When I wanted to go to the university I opted for Town Planning, which was possibly the easiest choice in that field then and I went to Obafemi Awolowo University to study Urban and Regional Planning. Throughout the period I was in Ife, broadcasting didn’t leave me. I was doing one or two things for OGBC then, so when I finished, and I went for service, I was still coming back to Abeokuta to be part of different shows. Then, I joined OGBC in 1991 -1992 and around 1993, we now came to Ray Power to establish Nigeria’s first privately owned radio station along with Kenny Ogungbe, Shyshy Shillon under the leadership of High Chief Aleogho Dokpesi and from there the story changed, the landscape changed and from there AIT was born.
As a young man resident in Lagos then, I would say the first time I heard the name, Ambrose Somide on radio was on OGBC, would you say that was the platform that gave you your big break before Ray Power even came on board?
Yeah, I must give credit to OGBC 2 and to Olusesan Ekisola who saw the raw talent in me, along with others too, and took it upon himself to develop us by giving us opportunities. He made the best of the raw talents on OGBC. I was already a household name on OGBC before the advent of Ray Power. But you see, Ray Power, being the first private radio station, gave us the platform to express our creative abilities and talents. When you’re with a state owned stations, you’re working under some restrictions, there are some limits you cannot go beyond. As the first private radio station, you had the world, you had the instruments and you had the best of equipments. Now, you are not limited in any way, even though it was during the military era or thereabout, but we still had the opportunity and freedom to express that creative talent and ability. And that was how the talent blossomed and became a household name.
Let me tell you why I’ve got tremendous respect for you as a broadcaster. You speak impeccable English, yet you can hold down Yoruba programmes so effortlessly on radio, communicating in impressive Yoruba language as well. How have you been able to achieve this?
Well, first, I’m Yoruba, so I should be able to speak my dialect, and again, I grew up in the village, like I told you. I had the opportunity of mixing with elders in our family and the extended family who exposed us to a lot of the Yoruba tradition and culture and the Yoruba language. But I must say that I was also a bit deficient in the Yoruba language and I had to, over the years, learn some deeper side of the language myself. On the side, well, having gone to school, and having been trained over and over again, I should know what to say and how to say it in English, even though I believe I may still not be so vast in English, but knowing what to say and how to put that thought across is a plus for me. And having to think in my local language and culture where I come from and expressing that in English is also an added advantage for me and if you want me to trade anything, I don’t think I want to trade any of the two.
Let’s come to Faaji FM, sir, how did the vision for the station evolve?
You will recall that Faaji FM’s story is not new. For people who have been in Lagos and who have been part of the history of broadcasting, especially private radio in Nigeria, you’ll recall that there was once Ray Power2 – 106.5. This was around 1988/1999. At the advent of democracy, we designed the radio station as a talk station. In fact, I was sent to BBC London to go and learn how to run a talk station and when I came back, we established Ray Power2 in collaboration with the BBC as a talk station but somewhere along the line, it didn’t really fly. Nigeria was not really ready for a talk station then, so the management of Daar Communications rested that station. But from that moment that it was rested, I started working on the concept, believing that we could still bring back the same channel, and use it to also do the same entertainment Ray Power is doing, but using a language that people who are one way or the other deficient in the English language would understand, and that’s Yoruba language. These are people who would love to contribute to discussions on other radio stations but cannot do so because of their limited knowledge of English language. This was what gave rise to Faaji FM. So, when I now sat down with High Chief Aleogho Dokpesi in 2006, he said go and rework this thing very, very well because at that moment we wanted to do a mixture of English and Yoruba. So, between 2006 and 2012, we kept working and changing the idea until we now said, you know what, there’s never a dull moment in Lagos, from AM to PM, Monday to Sunday, people are having fun in every part of Lagos, why not build a station around them and capture that unlimited enjoyment called ‘faaji’ in Lagos? Why not create a radio station that will encapsulate that enjoyment, that bubbly life of Lagos, bring it on radio and express it through music and other forms and then you can have that audience with you. And that was how we sat down and designed Faaji FM and it flew. It’s been flying for about five years now. And I must say that, for the first time in a very long while, a radio station would enter the Lagos market and would be one of the top ten stations for almost six consecutive years, it’s just amazing.
What would you say has been the strength of Faaji FM? What has helped you stand out from the rest of the pack?
