One of my most memorable experience with Cool fm was Kemi impersonating a lady calling one big man like that of terrorist attack at Lagos Island........ After the prank the man said 'Kemi ma pa mi o'
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
Continue to Rest in peace Naphtali Tope Brown (Brown Sugar) and Dan Foster.
I bought my radio coz of friday night jammz from cool fm to raypower and later top radio, Unilag fm and larry izamoje on Saturday morning show always gives me goose bumbs, but now just naija info and 88.5U fm and vibezfm.
Sadly, politics have crept into the lives of our OAPs right now...
As a fact, some radio stations seems to be promoting ethnic agenda sef...
The biases in analysing today's Nigeria is something else...
Any station you tune to, especially the radio stations seems to have a favourite candidate in the last general elections and these has divided even their listeners.
Please do you remember one East or Sourtern Africa hit song sang by a female artist that they always played backed then on RN2….. please I need that song as I have been searching for it too!!
Is it Pata Pata by Mariam Makeba?
naptu2: This song was a world wide hit. Radio Nigeria 2 used to play a pop/electro version of this song on Saturday mornings.
naptu2: This is one of my favourite childhood songs. Someone created an instrumental and electronic version in the 1980s and it created one of those situations where I love both the original and the cover version.
This is a live performance in the US. Harry Belafonte invited her to the US in the early 1960s and the Apartheid Government immediately revoked her citizenship. She became a stateless person, but many African countries (including Tanzania) immediately granted her citizenship. If I remember correctly, she also got a United Nations passport.
This is one of her two most famous songs (in my opinion it is her most famous, more famous than the "Click Song" ).
Miriam Makeba - Pata Pata (live on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1967).
I'm off to look for the cover version. I don't even know the name of the person that did it but it was regularly played in the mornings on Radio Nigeria in the 1980s.
The nostalgia is too much! My family lived at Tom Jones area of Nnamdi Azikiwe street, Martins street was just behind us literally! As a child I remember the novelty of the first call in shows around 1981.........before then you had to go and buy request cards .......dedicated a particular song to your friend,sibling etc...........but birthday wishes were the favorite requests! I also remember the recorded song requests from in patients on admission in various hospitals..................those were simpler times but even then the rot was begining to set in...............the politicians are always the harbinger of bad times....then don start again!!!!!!!
... Please do you remember one East or Southern Africa hit song sang by a female artist that they always played backed then on RN2….. please I need that song as I have been searching for it too!! I just love that song
naptu2: 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
"This is Ray Power 100.5 FM." I was three states away from Lagos and used to hear that clearly. But only Sunday mornings. I used to wonder 'what is RayPower 100.5 FM?' Until one guy told me 'Na Lagos that one dey.' I used to tune in on Sunday mornings. 1994/1995, that was.
Ambrose olutayo shomide now works with faaji FM .. An extract of raypower...
Well, gen z's like me don't know half of the radio stations mentioned ...
The only ones that rings a bell to me is metro FM, cool FM and my former favourite raypower FM ...
but right now, none can take me away from city FM ...
the likes of kshowkshow the maestro , vien007, supper prince, kemi smalls and sensei uche got me hooked to the station, now they've moved on from city FM but I haven't been swayed by any other channel is why my fav is still city FM..
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
Before Rhythm there is star FM MITV Radio station 101.5MHZ With the Man who made Local parable in English and playing jamz. FFF Femi Felix Fashina The Dean of old school. Morning show and Wednesday night jamz
happney65: Thank you naptu for doing this. I was always hooked on to Raypower and most especially Eko FM as Ibadan hard no private radio station then except one useless government radio station. Oluyole FM.
Kenny Ogungbe and his friend Dayo Adeneye were a delight to listen to on Raypower before they fell out with the late Raymond Dokpesi
Always had a running battle with my elder sister because I don monopolize the family radio permanently on Eko FM. Used to alternate between EKO FM, Raypower and OGBC She would say "We dey live for Ibadan,you dey listen to Lagos Radio".
But now,Ibadan has almost 50radio stations if I am right,and the state with the most radio station after Lagos.
P S. Femi Sowoolu has a radio station in Ibadan named "Jamz FM" you can check it out
Those three names you mentioned that I have emboldened somehow can be linked to the root of the growth of the Nigerian music industry as we know it today. If you know ... you know. Kenny and D1 experimented with The Remedies, then followed by The Plantation Boiz and everybody else wanted to start singing!!!
IslamIsIdiotic: Seems to be a miscommunication somewhere. Your post only spoke about the 1990 version of the song. No mention of the 1960 original.....🤔
I posted it because Willy Egbe played the 1990 version of the song and used it to set a quiz in 1990.
Mom007: Wow. This certainly brought back memories and made me feel one type of way... there was something magical about early morning radio back then... used to love sitting in d car with my Dad every morning while he drops me off at school as he drives to work on the island. Even back then, lagos traffic was crazy and Dad had to leave home like 5am in order to get to work before 8. I would sometimes arrive at school between 5.30 and 6am when the school security guards will just be getting prepared for the day, in their singlets and shorts and all that and they always used to look at me funny. I eventually bought a small Walkman in order to continue to listening to the radio even after Dad dropped me off. Thanks OP for this delightful post.
These days, them born anybody well to drop their daughter with security men wey wear singlet and boxers ooo
Discovering Rhythm FM was one of the best things that happened to my life esp after Jamb had me stuck at home. I knew all the programs and presenters.
An era ended when Kemistry left Midday show. Phoenix had the most soothing voice on radio then. Jaj for the hip hop heads. Wild Child (now IK) was the best of the best of the best. His Night shows were a party esp every Friday.
Then DanFoster (God rest his beautiful soul) made me switch to Cool Fm later cos he Brough US radio down to Nigeria. His show with Olisa and Freeze (Now Daddy Freeze) along with Gbemi was very engaging.
BeatFM eventually brought UK radio down to Nigeria with Olisa, Toolz and Gbemi revamping the sound of radio and having the latest scoop on what ever was hot.
Honestly Radio was a major part of my life and God bless the radio presenters for sprinking their awesomeness into our lives.
If you want to the history of beat fm, come to me. I started listening to 99.9 in 2009 when they started broadcasting. It was olisa and oreka godis in morning. Toolz in the afternoon. Gbemi in evening. When I entered uni, I had a kchibo radio I used to listen to them on holidays and I got addicted to them. Till now, I'm still itching to meet toolz and gbemi. They infected me with their handover gist.
