My father got healed of 15-month illness day I was born —EOB

Enitan Olusegun Bamidele also known as EOB is Director of programmes, presenter, and broadcaster with Fresh FM, Ibadan, Oyo State. He is a native of Lokoja, Kogi State and studied Mass Communication at The Polytechnic Ibadan. In this interview with OLAIDE SOKOYA, he speaks on his journey into broadcasting and what it takes to make it in life.

Memories of early life…

It was very interesting; I grew up in a poor background with two siblings and had five years space between us. I went to Saint Leo’s Catholic primary school two, Orita Challenge, Ibadan. It was called ‘School Olosan’ then. After then, I proceeded to Eyinni High School. When I was about to write my West African Examination Council (WAEC), my father called me and said if I passed or otherwise, I would have to stop my education because he was not buoyant anymore to pay our school fees.

That was when I started looking for a miner job to do. Later, I came across a man who was a gate man at a factory, he accepted me to be helping him and decided to give me half of his salary. Months later, a lady working in that factory heard about it and advised me to see the Managing Director of the factory himself. I met him and he asked me some questions which I answered correctly; he gave me a job and promised to pay four hundred naira monthly. After some months, the company started facing some challenges and later folded up. My father later got me another job and I worked there for five years before I proceeded to higher institution at The Polytechnic Ibadan where I studied mass communication.

Your journey into broadcasting?

It all started from childhood. My father was a broadcaster. Broadcasting has been my life; even when I was in Polytechnic Ibadan, I joined a drama group. In fact, the very first day I gained admission to the  Polytechnic Ibadan, my department was  having their ASCOM day. I went there and  I gave a presentation.  Since then, I became popular and any event happening in the school, the organisers would be looking for me to handle the event and also be the MC.

During my National Diploma, I contested for the post of PRO and I won, based on my popularity. When I went back for my Higher National Diploma, I contested for Student Union Government as PRO and I also won. Later, a lecturer in my department saw my potential and helped me by buying two hours air time at the Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation (OGBC) which was sponsored by the Ibarapa Local Government. He promised to be giving me N30,000 per month which was a lot of money for me then. Later, I went for a year Industrial Attachment at the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) and later back to OGBC. When my sponsor wasn’t forthcoming anymore, I started doing shows and MC events to make money.

One day, a friend of mine came to spend three months with me and he propose a project then I got engaged with. After a while, I got to know he was working with Yinka Ayefele. I traced him down his office to collect some money and had a chance to record a demo for Ayefele’s proposed internet radio, which he (Ayefele) liked. I met with him and after a short chat, I was offered a job. That is how ‘Let Talk About It’ programme stated.

Inspiration?

It is the grace of God, because my inspiration comes from hi,. When I was anchoring a programme at OGBC then, whenever I got home, my father would penalise me that I wasted an hour without a keynote, which weakened my presentation. One Sunday, as I was scripting for the next programme, my father came in and asked what I was doing, and then he said, “That is why you always waste all the time on your program without a keynote; you should allow God handle it for you and not by yourself.” It was that day he told me about my name ‘Enitan’.

My mother had carried my pregnancy for 15 months and during that period, my father was seriously sick until the day I was given birth to; he became healed from his sickness the very day my mother gave birth to me.

You always talk about your past in Ibadan…

What keeps me going has been God’s grace and his directions over my life, plus late father’s advice.