Mr. Femi Sowoolu is a man of many parts: broadcaster, author, activist, copywriter, scholar, social crusader, mentor, humanist and more. For nearly three decades, he has bestrode Nigeria’s broadcast media like a colossus and left unforgettable memories everywhere he worked. Among his admirers, Sowoolu is widely acknowledged as a strong voice in the old school of professionalism and excellence, qualities that define this indefatigable broadcaster who loves to play by the rules. But aside setting the pace and striving to return radio’s lost glory; Sowoolu is also touching lives and drawing attention to charity and the need for us to think less about ourselves. He is passionate about education and has designed educational programmes to address mass ignorance even among some educated people. As a strong believer in Nigeria, he is using the medium of radio to also draw attention to our history and culture as a way of informing Nigerians and engendering national rebirth. All these are happening in Ibadan, Oyo State, the birth place of broadcasting in Nigeria, where he runs Jamz FM, his radio station and a leading medium that is pioneering a revolution and rekindling hope. He spoke with YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine’s AZUH ARINZE and SYLVESTER ASOYA on his life and career…
JAMZ FM is one year old. How has the journey been?
It’s been a bit of both worlds. It’s also been challenging and exciting. Even with all my experiences, it’s been eye-opening. It revealed to me many aspects of building and managing a radio organisation in an environment that has a rich history in broadcasting, an environment I thought I knew, but every day, I learn new things. But in a nutshell, it’s been a wonderful experience and one I do not regret having, and what I have experienced so far tells me without any doubt that things will definitely get better.
You were with several organisations before now, what didn’t you know then that you just found out now that everything revolves around you as head of this organisation?
I understand now that many of the things I fought for growing up as a manager with my senior managers and chairmen about more facilities, increase in salaries for staff, quicker promotion and things like that are not as easy as they appear. Now, I understand how uneasy it is to sit at the top and ensure that everybody is satisfied 100 per cent. But at the same time, I try my best to keep up my own personal beliefs about ways and how organisations should run. I will never shirk any responsibility in terms of morality, altruism and doing the best things always. Having said that, we must always maintain our principles for truth, for the best practices and for always doing what is to the benefit of the majority as against the minority, no matter the situation we find ourselves.
What would you describe as the greatest lesson that you have learnt since becoming a business man?
The biggest lesson is the fact that consistency pays. You must always be consistent in the ideals you believe in, no matter how hard it is, no matter how difficult the challenges may be. And you must also believe in your passion, you must be willing to go the whole hug, and never give up, no matter how difficult things may be, so long as you are doing the right things, you will succeed.
What would you say is the greatest joy about setting up Jamz FM?
The greatest joy I get from Jamz FM is from my listeners on a daily basis. They call to thank us for coming to Ibadan. Listeners have also called to express their joy due to our leadership role and frontal position regarding changing the broadcast environment in this city. This is important because we all remember that broadcasting itself started in Nigeria right here in Ibadan. So, you might wonder what happened in the years in-between. When and how did they lose it? But people are happy that we are bringing back the ethics and professionalism required in the profession. Perhaps the greatest of all joys for me is that we are actually, without intending to be, becoming the litmus test for all broadcasting stations here in Ibadan. They are copying us, they are hyping us and they are even copying our programmes, name for name. Others would get angry at that, but we are just happy and cool because the truth is that the environment is getting better.
What would you say stands Jamz FM out, what makes you different?
Without looking down on other stations, I think professionalism makes us different from others. It is one thing that I brought here. I have ensured that all our staff obey the rules and are professional in conduct. This is why we are different. Unfortunately, every station you go to now, the personality becomes the star. That is not the tradition of radio. We don’t do that here at Jamz. Our listeners are the stars, not us. We are just presenters and we are serious about that. Once you lose that and become the star, you will lose focus and you won’t know what next to do. Radio is journalism and our duty is to inform, educate and entertain. If you stop that and speak only of yourself all the time, you will run into trouble. Maybe that is also why we are getting more and more listenership every day.
What new things are you planning to inject into the station now that you are one?
We are going to maintain our stride. We are going to keep on improving. We are going to become more visible because we just concluded work on our consolidation period. Right now, we are going to do a lot of live programming, live promotions, live events, concerts, talk shows and more.
Which would you describe as the most memorable story of the last one year?
Quite a lot. We are socially relevant, we work with non-government organisations. There is this particular foundation that works with autistic children that we are involved with. We personally took it upon ourselves to be part of anything they organise. We were with them last year; another one is coming up this year. We will continue doing that. We also have some projects on charity. What we seek is different. Nigerian journalists tend to follow only what is news, and everybody goes after the same people and direction and forget about human angle stories. But that is our passion. We are going to be seeking out human angle stories. There is one we are working on right now and we hope to follow up into the next year. It is based on education and this project, our Corporate Social Responsibility at Jamz, is to adopt a primary school, one of those less well-run schools for indigent children and take it up, make it popular, build classrooms, provide learning equipment and any other thing the school may need. We are already working on that.
Ignorance is a major problem even among educated people today in Nigeria. Are you doing anything with radio to address this challenge?
Yes. And we are working with young people because certain persons are just stuck in their old ways while others are too far gone. We are working with those that represent our future, which is what we are doing at Jamz. We have a daily programme that runs from Monday through Friday, known as Kiddies Arena. It is an educational programme that asks children questions just as they are getting out of bed, at home or on their way to school. The idea is for parents to help with their phones so the kids can listen to our questions. Any child that gets the usual four questions correctly wins a prize from us. And it is so popular. These days, the kids are the ones drawing the attention of their parents to the programme. And the presenter is very popular with the kids too, a reason we are taking the programme to a special arena and have a special event. This is in addition to a spelling competition that is already up and running. Other features include general knowledge and current affairs so that we can improve the children’s knowledge of our country, world affairs and contemporary issues.
Why is Jamz in Ibadan and not Lagos where you spent almost your entire working life?
I am actually attracted to this town. It may interest you to know that I grew up in Ibadan. I love radio and most of my early radio stars were Ibadan people. I later left Ibadan, went to Lagos for my higher education and got my first employment in Abeokuta. A lot of stars I grew up listening to also moved because states were created. So, Ogun State, a new state, had its own radio station and you know what happened as Western Region was divided? Each presenter went to his or her own state and the ones at the radio station I used to listen to were of Ogun State extraction, so they all came to Abeokuta. One of them was my idol, Tunji Marquis. He was my first boss. I admire this man because I learnt a lot from him. But shortly after, I went to Lagos to further my education. That was how I joined Radio Nigeria. Then Rhythm took off and we started it together and then from there, I moved to other places. Coming back to Ibadan, to answer your question, was a thrill to me. It was something I actually looked forward to. This is a town of my youth, my childhood. So, it’s like coming back home to prove a point.
Broadcasting has done a lot for you, what have you done for broadcasting?
I have done quite a lot. The best I could do was to recount my experiences which I have done by way of a book which I wrote. And it documents my entire career which I hope young broadcasters would see and take one or two things of knowledge that would enhance their own careers. The book is therefore an addition to lectures and other things to those willing to learn. The problem with education today is that not many young people are willing to learn. But I must say that I am ready to lecture those who are hungry for knowledge. That is what we are doing and that is the best we can actually do for broadcasting.
Have you ever regretted pitching your tent with broadcasting?
I never could, I never would. There is no way I could. I tell young people, God gives you many talents. God is so magnanimous that He cannot just give you only one. It is your challenge to find out which talent you are most ardent at. And I tell people that I was very lucky to discover that I had a very good voice as a young boy. I won’t tell you how. I was always listening to transistor radio when I was growing up and I have always been intrigued by the amazing quality of what the radio is. So, it was just natural that I fell into what I like to do. I tell young people, when you’re young, find a hobby you enjoy and do effortlessly as a child. Pick it up as you grow up and you will never work another day in your life.
What is the greatest thing that broadcasting has done for you?
Not that I wanted it, I am a very reserved person, I shy away from public places. And I don’t like publicity, but I can say that what broadcasting has done for me is a name.
What has broadcasting not done for you?
I have very few wants, I really don’t need much. I try to achieve what I want and if I can’t get what I want, I don’t get disappointed about it. I am not a person looking for wants or needs. But what else do I really want? God has already given me a radio station, I should be very happy for that.
Outside broadcasting, you’re also a fantastic writer. Would you say writing also comes effortlessly?
Thank you for the compliment. My father was a historian and a writer, so I must have inherited some of his writing genes. I read a lot, so I gather knowledge from different sources and places. But I have also always believed that to be a very good broadcaster, you must also know how to write. And I use to say this to up-and-coming ones: “I come from the old school of broadcasting and back in the day, you were not allowed to go on air and just say anything out of your head. You had to write. You had to build beautiful scripts. You had to know sequences and what the issues were before you got started”.
In fact, we used to have a signpost back in the day that read: “Don’t open your mouth until you know what you want to say”. That does not happen much these days. A lot of people just talk, they think they are experts; they think they are superstars, but I tell people there is a reason American Presidents use teleprompters. Even the best actors in the world still follow scripts so that everything will be perfect. So, to be a good broadcaster, you need to know how to write and write well.
It is evident that God has been nice to you, what else do you need from the Almighty?
God has given me almost everything that I need. But anytime I pray, even though I don’t pray as regularly as I would have wanted, the only thing I ask Him is: ‘Lord, whatever it is that I need in life, make it possible’. I never asked you for much, I don’t want to be a millionaire, I don’t want too much money, I don’t want too much of good life. Let me maintain my humility and sensitivity. Just give me enough that I can get by. That’s all I ask for. But why do you need what you can’t use? That’s the problem with Nigerians. I really do not need much. All I ask is good health because of my age; I am not as strong as I used to be. And I ask for protection for my family. These are things that everybody needs. I will never pray to God to be a rich person. I don’t need wealth, I don’t want riches.
What is the commonest mistake that young broadcasters make?
The commonest mistake young broadcasters make is that they just jump into the art even without knowing what it is. And they come into the industry for all the wrong reasons. Some of them come in to be famous. That is the worst reason because fame you will find no matter where. You don’t come looking for it. Fame will come if it will come. If you go looking for it, you get the other name of fame, which is notoriety.