Encomium
A lot of dust have been thrown up in the past few months over On Air Personalities (OAPs) on Nigerian radio stations who not only trash their local languages and dialects, but also speak in British and American accents.
ENCOMIUM Weekly had a chat with pidgin-English OAP, Grace Ekpo, better known as Lady G, of Wazobia FM, Abuja, on the hot topic…
What do you love about being on radio?
The opportunity to impact lives and the society positively.
What has being an OAP done for you?
It has made me popular, respected, loved and blessed me financially.
How long have you been on radio?
July 16 this year made it five years of my being on radio.
What programme do you host?
It’s called Kulele Zone (the afternoon show) on 99.5 Wazobia FM in Abuja. From Monday to Friday, I’m on air for four hours (that’s from 2 to 6pm). Then my weekend show is every Saturday, 6-12pm. My weekday programme, I do relationship, current affairs (that’s 3-4PM). I also have a cookery segment (I call that Balanced diet), I have for gender (that’s matter for ground) and I have for business (I call it business runs). I also have for children (amebo zone), that’s once a month. There’s amebo zone for adults and family.
What do you do to prepare yourself before you go on air?
A lot of research, read a lot. You have to prepare yourself mentally, emotionally (your emotion must be stable) also psychologically, because there are people you meet on air who could make you break the ethics of the profession if you are not prepared psychologically.
You said you’ve been doing this for five years. Five years isn’t five days, neither is it five weeks. So, what are those things that have helped you come this far?
Consistency, dealing with challenges as they come, taking the bull by the horn, having good quality content. That, I think, is the major thing. With that you can’t disappoint.
There are very many OAPs in Nigeria, from those who use pidgin like you to others who use English. So, what is that thing you’d say makes you unique, that thing that your audience look forward to about you?
First, my principles. I’m a very principled person. Then, my programme content.
If I want to be a successful OAP, what do I need to do?
First, you must be hardworking. You must read. You have to become someone who loves reading, because you need to learn things so you can impart knowledge to your listeners. You must also research.
What are those things that are interesting about being an OAP?
You get to meet different kinds of people, even though you don’t get to meet them face to face. The interaction you have with them keeps you alive. During such interactions, you learn from them and they learn from you. Being an OAP you can change lives for good.
Being an OAP is no child’s play, how do you relax when you are not working?
I have quality rest, just being indoors. I read, I listen to music. I travel, though not often, only when I’m vacationing. When I do, I like travelling by road so I can see the reality. As a result, when I’m speaking on radio about things that affect Nigerians, I’d be speaking from experience.
OAPs in Nigeria have a reputation for faking accents (trying to sound foreign and sometimes incomprehensible); a lot of dust has been thrown up over this. What do you think?
That is one problem we are experiencing, we fail to realise that we can’t speak English more than the English man or the American. Let me give you an instance, when I hosted the American gospel singer, Donnie McClurkin, I asked him all the questions in pidgin. He had to listen closely to understand what I was saying, then responded in English.
It was challenging for him, but he enjoyed it! He even said it was one of his most exciting experiences on radio. He then went on to our sister station who use English, and he asked them why don’t they use the same language that I used. Not because he was faulting their English, but because that is our thing. You can speak English without this phonetics thing, the key is your tenses are correct.
Provided my tenses are correct, even if it comes in my local accent, fine! We should stop faking accents and be real. Sometimes we fake this accent so much that people don’t understand us.
Tell us a little about yourself.
My name’s Grace Ekpo and I’m from Akwa Ibom state (Ikot-Ekpene precisely). I have an elder step sister (same father). From my mother, I am the first. I am a very principled person, that’s why people think I’m hard. I am very soft, so I use my principles as a defence. I’m mostly indoors.
-MICHAEL NWOKIKE
