I came to Ibadan to join my parents in 1970 as a nine year old “semi-stubborn” boy, having revolted against my paternal uncle who I was staying with at our family house in Igbore Abeokuta. One morning like that, I just decided that I want to go and join my parents in Ibadan. I boycotted school in protest and the wahala started. Of course, in those days, it was unheard of for children to decide where to stay or not, or when to shift location particularly when staying with a well respected disciplinarian elder member of the family.
I took the risk because I was just fed up. After much beating on that morning of “no fair hearing”, rejected multiple advice, running away, and “catch am, catch am” chasing by neighbours, I find myself in Ibadan that same day. . Specifically at Olaogun Farm Estate, Old Ife road. If we fight, we may win, if we don’t, we have lost.
The estate was a complete village with a lush green environment and a growing prosperous poultry on vast greenland owned by a paternal uncle, Chief SO Bamigbose. We called the hardsome, hardworking hefty man, “Daddy Olaogun” now of blessed memory. That was the first time I saw a poultry farm, and the beautiful sight of a well organized farm estate immediately caught my attention and elevated my interest in agriculture. Aside a small village near the estate, only the Nigeria Army Recce Barrack was the major settlement near the farm. It was almost thirty years after, while producing and presenting with Lanre Legacy, Farmers Radio program on Raypower, Lagos and Radio Nigeria, Ibadan that I got to know that Olaogun Farm was the second largest farm in Nigeria at that time after Folawiyo Farms in Oyo town. The late owner of the now defunct Farm Fenders told us this when we approached him for advert on our Farmers Radio program. Wow! What a good news to be part of that glorious history in my childhood years.
It was in Ibadan that I first saw a Rediffusion Box. A seemingly magic box of sounds without feedback, (asoro ma gbesi), providing us with news mostly in Yoruba, music, discussion and entertainment programs. Ewi Yoruba daily poetry rendition by real Yoruba Ewi exponents with the likes of Baba Yemi Elebuibon, Lanrewaju Adepoju, Oyewole Olowomojuore, Tunbosun Oladapo as foremost Ewi exponents with different styles of composition and delivery
Baba Elebuibon was very traditional and “Ifaic” in his own unique renditions while Adepoju was topical with his unique lyrical voice. Both interested me the most. I still remember Elebuibon’s sign off after his Ewi on rediffusion. “E ma ma je ko jo bi ara loju eyin, sebi, Yemi lo wi be, Yemi omo Elebuibon, emi Ayinde lo so be lewi..”. (Don’t let it be a surprise to you, it’s me Yemi Elebuibon, Ayinde who is saying it in Ewi Yoruba poetry form)
From Elebuibon and other Ewi reciters, I developed special interest in Yoruba culture as expressed in the native language brilliantly delivered. I even made attempts to write some Ewi and read to myself mostly. That is the power of listening to the radio with good contents. But my curiosity like every child was “who and who were in the magic box hung behind the reach of children” . If the box was not beyond children’s reach, many Rediffusion boxes would have become scraps through the damaging acts of curious children turned emergency radio engineers. Who was inside the box for many hours per day remained unresolved curiosity for years.
All radio communication I received during my middle childhood were through this Rediffusion box before other radio stations started making impacts in succession in Ibadan. Radio Nigeria owned by federal government and then Oyo State Radio also known as Radio O-Y-O, Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State, BCOS, Ile Akede, Orita Bashorun owned by Oyo State government.
Social service jingles and human angle programming were the central focus of the two government owned radio stations apart from being the megaphones of government and its activities.. I still recollect the fatanstic road safety jingle of BCOS to reckless drivers, “Ma gbe wo, efun n’bedi, ma gbe wo, ye sagidi. Iwo nikan ko ni bi re, gbogbo oko to ba niwaju lo ni bi lo..” And the Radio Nigeria anti-police bribe campaign. Well delivered in a short time.
According to google, the first radio station in Nigeria was established in Ibadan in 1939. In 1944, Kano had the next radio station, that means Ibadan station was the only one in colonial Nigeria for five years.
In 1976, the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State was established. Its Frequency Modulation, FM stereo station was established in 1978. The three radio stations, Radio Nigeria and BCOS OYO 1& 2 are owned by the federal and Oyo state government respectively.
With the first private radio station in Nigeria, Raypower FM, Lagos registered and commenced commercial operations on September 1, 1994 owned by Chief Raymond Dokpesi, media entrepreneur and chairman of DAAR Communications, the broadcast media field was opened for other radio stations to emerge. Splash Fm 105.5 was established on January 22, 2007 in Ibadan making it the first private radio station in the ancient city. It’s owned by West Midlands Communications Ltd, a company of Baba Adebayo Akande. The second private radio station in Ibadan was Space 90.1Fm. From 2007 to date, Ibadan has over 50 private radio stations out of almost 70 radio stations in Oyo State, coming second to Lagos state with a total number of 72 licensed FM radio stations as at January 2025.
It’s a great leap for Ibadan from 2007 when the first private radio, Splash Fm came on air to date, with almost every major area having one or more radio stations adorning its landscape..
What does this relative proliferation of radio stations in Ibadan signify? Development, more education, information and entertainment platforms, using radio as a tool for social mobilisation, motivation, cultural integration, enhancing government to people, people to people communication and feedback. Radio stations do not proliferate in places where there’s no development or potentials for development except on rare occasions where special objectives are the main driving force, like refugees radio, workers /pensioners radio, village radio, farmers radio, campus /student radio, purposely set up for specific target audience. In that case, profit is not the objective but acquisition of knowledge to effect positive changes in skill, attitude for information empowerment of the target audience.
Ibadan stands tall in playing host to many conventional radio stations but more still needs to be done in specific target audience areas and issues based radio broadcasting as the town continues to grow and develop into a mega state structure with eleven local government areas. Ibadan with a population of over six million is more than the population of Bayelsa and Yobe states.
I listen more to radio when I am in Ibadan than in any town because of the originality of their Yoruba language of broadcast and contents. Although their contents may not be as thrilling as “Abule Teretayo” on Sundays presented by Segun Durodola, Olalomi Amole on Radio Nigeria of yore, notwithstanding, I still regard Ibadan radio stations as the best to listen to among radio stations in other towns or states in Yoruba land
Let’s hope the reign of Olubadan Adewolu Ladoja will bring more radio stations to Ibadan land. Radio stations are never enough for a fastly developing and expanding city like Ibadan but they need to diversify more for more specialization and economic sustainability.
Adeola Soetan
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