Mrs. Bolatito Joseph rose to the peak of her broadcasting career in the Ibadan Zonal Office of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria and retired last year as the Zonal Director. She tells SAM NWAOKO her media journey in this interview.
How did your journalism career start? How did your media journey begin?
I never prepared to go into journalism. When I left secondary school, I just wanted to work. That was the normal thing for any graduate; once you finish school what you want to do next is to have something that would fetch you some money. So, I was on the lookout for something to do and I met my husband’s younger brother. He was the one I met first before my husband; he connected me to my husband. My husband’s younger brother happened to be a journalist at the NTA while my husband was working at the FRCN. When I met my husband, he introduced me into media practice. He felt I could do some media assignments with the Educational Service of the FRCN. Most times, they called for presenters and he introduced me to Radio Nigeria. I did my audition and started work as a freelance artiste with the Educational Service of Radio Nigeria. It was on pro bono basis. I did this for two years and it prepared me for the main assignment of broadcasting. After those two years with the educational service, there was this vacancy for presenters. Three or four of us were called for another audition which we went through. Two months after, I was given the job as a presenter on the Yoruba station. So, I started as a Yoruba presenter. I worked with the likes of Mrs. Bisi Kasumu, who actually conducted my audition; and Reverend Tayo Adebayo, who was then our Controller Programmes. I was employed in 1987 and by 1988 I was sent to the Radio Nigeria Training School at Shogunle, Lagos. There I had my basic presentation course. After the training, I continued presenting Yoruba programmes including request programmes — Ire ni Tiwa, Mo Yo Fun E and music chit chat programmes. I started the programme that Kola Olawuyi eventually presented. When I went on leave, he was called to anchor the programme which was music and chit chat programme on Saturdays. From there, that programme was turned into an investigative package where he discussed issues that needed investigation. That was how I started my journey into the media world.
The programme Kola Olawuyi was filling-in for you later made him popular and brought him fame. Did you envisage the extent to which it went?
I never did. It became really very popular. Interestingly, mine was fiction. I could just tell a story around a situation and tell people to write in their reactions and pieces of advice or I could tell the listener to call in and share their reaction. That was what I was doing at that time. But when he came, he was able to put reality into it by actually bringing true life stories on air and also bringing people affected to come and talk about such. That was how the programme got sponsors by so many companies and it became popular. It means that creativity is important. You could have a programme and somebody would be thinking outside the box to take that programme beyond your creative mind.
Did your educational training prepare you for this?
I was just a School Certificate holder when I joined Radio Nigeria. After my secondary education at Government Girls Secondary School, Bida, Niger State, I returned to Ibadan and I first worked at a chemist at Salvation Army Road as a sales girl. I left Famo Chemist for Foodco Supermarket. When the Bashoruns started Foodco Supermarket, I was one of their first salesgirls. I left there to re-sit for my school certificate exams. Afterwards, I got into Radio Nigeria. Nothing actually prepared me for the journey but my husband and his younger brother were my lecturers. They prepared me and ensured that I got into the mood for the job.
You rose to the peak of your profession in the South West. In-between, you served as General Manager in Ekiti – Progress FM; in Osun, Gold FM and in Ibadan, Premier FM. Did you see yourself rising to that peak at some point?
I will say yes because when you get into a career, you want to ensure that you do your best and you give it all it takes to excel to ensure that you get to the peak of your career. As General Manager of Progress FM, I did that as a School Cert holder. As General Manager of Gold FM, Ilesa, Osun State, I was still a School Cert holder. Likewise when I got to Ibadan and was appointed as General Manager Premier FM, Ibadan. I did all of that as a School Cert holder. It got to a point when I said if I must rise to the peak, I need more qualification. It was so that if you don’t get additional qualification, you get stagnated. So, I enrolled for HND at The Polytechnic, Ibadan. It was not easy because I was already a General Manager in three places and I was controlling, training and giving directives to people on the job. Going back to school meant that I needed to bring myself down and adjust to get into that student mood again so I could relate properly with other students. That was what happened. Even though it was part-time, it still wasn’t easy. Some of the lecturers called me ‘Aunty’, some called me ‘Mummy’ while some of the students even called me ‘Grandma’. However, the main thing for me was focus. I needed to ensure that I got what I wanted as a student – to excel. At the end of the day, I got what I wanted, I got Upper Credit. Immediately I graduated, I didn’t just want to sit as an HND holder when I could further my studies. I got admitted to the University of Ibadan to study for a degree in Communication and Language Arts and I also went on to get a Masters Degree in the same course in UI, specializing in Broadcasting and Broadcast Journalism.
Do they still conduct auditioning in FRCN? Is it still what it was back in your days?
Auditioning still takes place in FRCN. It is a very important component of what we do. Before I retired from Radio Nigeria last year as the Zonal Director, I was the Deputy Director, Programmes and whoever wanted to come on air must go through that exercise known as ‘audition’. They have to go through that and that we did. I believe that the person that took over who happens to also be a ‘presentation’ person would also ensure that. If you don’t have it, there is nothing you can do about it. You cannot put somebody that does not have what it takes behind the microphone because it is not something that is hidden. It gets easily exposed, once you are not there, you are not there and the blame would be placed on your table. So, up till the time I left and even as I speak now, I believe auditioning still takes place because that is the first thing you will do before you are considered as a presenter.
You are a media person by profession and you are also a media person by marriage because you have a journalist by your side. What is it like being married to a journalist like you?
It helps better because he knows my schedule of duty and understands better. When I had issues or I was confused, we discussed and he gave professional advice. Likewise if he had issues on his job, he talked to me. I think this even made our relationship more robust and very interesting. Once you have the knowledge and understanding of what your spouse is going through, you would act differently. For instance, when we mounted shifts, if I was on morning shift and he was on afternoon shift and we might relieve each other because I might be the one to do school runs. He would man my shift while I did house chores and take care of the children. Sometimes he would say ‘don’t worry, I will do two shifts’. That happened. Sometimes we swapped shifts if he had errands to run too. So, being in the same profession made it easier for us. There were times I would have assignments in Abuja and I could be away for a month; sometimes, it could be two weeks and he would take charge of the home. He too also later became network news reader in Abuja and he would go for the duty and I would take charge.
Did your husband’s presence save you from the newsroom harassment some people might have experienced because newsroom could be a mad house?
It is not that newsroom could be a mad house, it is indeed a mad house. When you need to meet deadlines, the newsroom is a mad house. I experienced it in Abuja. When it was close to the hour for the network news to go on air, all hands would be on deck and the bulletins must be made perfect. We rushed through the bulletins to ensure that we dotted the ‘Is’ and crossed the ‘Ts’. However, I didn’t experience harassment in the newsroom because before I joined the newsroom, I was already a senior staff. And, you know, there is this respect for the senior staff members when you are mounting a shift or reading the news.
However, we also had our own difficulties. When you are reading the news on the network, you will have so many names that would come in the bulletins, names from places you had never known before and which you were seeing for the first time. That is why you are advised to be in the newsroom early enough for you to be able to get the pronunciation of such names. When you don’t rush into the newsroom to pick the bulletin and rush into the studio, you will present better. You would have time to ask questions and interact with the reporters who would help you with how names of some communities or even state are properly pronounced. When you now read and get credits for a job well done, many would not know that people had done the groundwork of putting you through that difficulty.
Did you come across such difficulty?
Yes. I’m from the South West and even at that, there are some names I am not familiar with. I grew up in the North and I may be familiar with some northern names and not familiar with some others. For me, the most difficult were names from the South East and South-South. They usually get me confused but once I have editors or sub-editors from that area around, I feel comfortable. If not, I even had to make calls to people from that part of the country and they will say ‘spell it’. When they pronounce it, I would record, play it back several times and learn it before I go to the studio.
So, how is life in retirement?
I started life in retirement last year and I must say it’s been fun and awkward.
Did you prepare for life in retirement because a lot of retired people get sucked-in by sweet-talking advertisers who rip them off through bogus and often phony investments?
I prepared halfway. I say this because if you give me bags, cloths, shoes etc to sell, I will end up being the one to wear all of these things because I am not good at trading. But this career that I have built over the years – 35 years in all, I could do well. I can help people to set up stations; help package contents, adverts and a lot more about communication and media buying. I could also do event planning. Some people will tell you that retirement life is difficult. Yes it is but if you know what you are doing and know your strengths and weaknesses, you would live fine. I know my weakness – I cannot do buying and selling. But in the media profession, I can do a lot. I retired in October 2022 and I set up my office in November 2022, just one month after. I did this because I did not want to just evaporate. I set up BJJ Events Media and Communication Services and I got myself ready for it. Since I started, people have been interacting.
However, it is not easy to prepare for retirement because you will not know what you will meet out there. For instance, when one retires, it is expected that one should be comfortable to a point. We have National Housing Fund to which you contributed all the months of your working life. On retirement, one expects that one should get this money to cushion the effect of the retirement. For me as an example, I’ve been going to the Federal Mortgage Bank for about 10 months now to access what you have there and you hear excuses like IPPIS is yet to credit your account and so on. How long do I have to wait for my savings to get to me? On the other side, there is pension fund there too. How do you access your money? Is it one year or more after you have retired? These are challenges for retirees. You had been used to getting salaries every month but once you’re retired this stops. There is no money coming in from anywhere except you have a business or you had embezzled money which you had kept somewhere, which you fall back on. That is why you find that some civil servants, when they see that they are close to retirement or even before, they would embezzle so as to have something to fall back on. Retirees that are not in this habit die months after retirement because they can no longer feed well, some don’t have a house of their own and some have children they are still paying their school fees. Some even have more than one wife. So, these are some of the challenges of retirees. It is very important that the government do something about this. Some of my retired friends call me to ask for some money to feed. Imagine that kind of life for a person who had been collecting N300,000 or more monthly before retirement. Having served the country, it will not be fair for civil servants or retirees to suffer and die. it is important that government takes charge.
Why is IPPIS not remitting money to Federal Mortgage Bank? Why will it take more than one year for a retiree to access their gratuity and pension? It is important that these gaps are bridged for the retiree to live a decent life.
Is it too early to ask if you already miss the newsroom?
Yes, I have missed the newsroom. I wish to go back very soon. I’m just trying to get my acts together. I’m consulting for stations – private and public, and for individuals now. Those who are interested in selling products or want their brands promoted, that is what I do now. Weddings, burials, birthdays and all that are what I am involved in right now. Maybe I’ve had enough of the newsroom at the moment but I am looking forward to getting back behind the microphone to read the news and to also present programmes.
What do you think broadcasters of today should learn or do as a routine?
It is important that today’s broadcasters should get the necessary training. I am also involved in training broadcasters. We have students that we train in the art of presentation and production. What I have noticed is that most stations do not engage producers in their programmes. They leave production in the hands of presenters which is not too good. If you want to ensure that you prevent hate speech and fake news; if you want to maintain standard like we met when we joined broadcasting, it is very important that they engage producers. We say that two good heads are better than one but we notice these days that there are no contents on radio. We leave contents in the hands of our listeners through phone-in programmes. They are the one that anchor the programme and give you topics. You can just fly a kite, say a few things and ask them to join the conversation through phone calls. Then they begin to drive your programme. That is not good. You should do proper research, put your materials together and ensure that you do a dry run, a kind of rehearsal. It is also important for you to have a written script, no matter how good or gifted you think you are. Even if you have the gift of the garb, the script is very important because it is supposed to be a guide. You also need a script so that when there are queries from the powers-that-be or the regulators, you can bring your script and say these are the things I put together to drive this programme. These days that we have stations that are jamming, one station could jam the other and while you are on your own programme, your station might have gone off air and another station had taken over on your frequency. So it is important for presenters and producers to work together for a good package to be driven on air.
Another area is the social media. Social media is good to push our frontiers but the positive aspect of the social media is what I feel we can use, not that you begin to pick content from social media and then you now take it to the traditional media. It is supposed to be the other way round. In the traditional media, adequate research and findings would have been done before you go to the press or you go on air. I would love to see these new broadcasters to look at to ensure that we get back that old tradition where things are properly done and properly researched; where contents are good and of quality and of standard.
READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then