Working Lives – OAP
The world is filled with mobile phones, tablets, and computers but the radio still has the widest audience coverage, reaching millions without access to the internet. As important as a radio set is, so are the content and the voices – the presenters or On-Air Personalities (OAPs). It’s our first Working Lives episode in the new year and in it, we explore the world of the voices on the radio, whose role it often is, to attract and retain the audience interest as well as distinguish one station from another through their shows. Enjoy!
Wale
After I graduated from Babcock, my dad was able to use his connections to get me into one of the top radio stations in Lagos. Apart from the fact that my dad helped, I also knew what I was doing. It’s not like I was just a spoilt kid using his father’s privilege to get a job, you get?”
Where are you from?
I am from Ijebu Ode in Ogun state.
Okay. Which school did you attend and when did you graduate?
I studied Mass Communication at Babcock University and graduated in 2017.
Tell me about your family.
My dad is a petroleum engineer. My mom owns a supermarket in Lekki. I come from a well to do family. We aren’t so rich, like very rich, but my parents made sure they provided everything we needed. Plus, we always go on vacations like twice a year.
Oh. You still stay with them?
No, I don’t. I stay by myself now.
Okay. Where do you live and how much is the rent?
I live in a 2-bedroom flat in Ikeja. I pay N450,000 in yearly rent.
Tell me how the journey started. What made you want to study Mass Comm and venture into the media industry?
Well, it all started when I was a kid. As kids, we usually have one profession we love even if we really do not know what it is about. That’s how it was for me too. Seeing newscasters on the television was amazing to me and I wanted to be one. I understood the field more as I grew older, and I was determined to be either a newscaster or an OAP, and here I am today.
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That’s interesting. How then did you start working as an OAP?
After I graduated from Babcock, my dad was able to use his connections to get me into one of the top radio stations in Lagos. Apart from the fact that my dad helped, I also knew what I was doing. It’s not like I was just a spoilt kid using his father’s privilege to get a job, you get?
Yes sure, I get you. What did you have to do when you started working newly?
When I started then, I was basically only creating content for like 7-8 months. It was not until the 9th month that I got a show of my own show.
How’s life like being an OAP, do you get anxious when you are about to go on air?
Hahaha. No, I don’t. I don’t know about other OAPs though, but I don’t get anxious. I have always had this spirit of talking to a large audience, be it in person or on air. So, it’s not a big deal for me. I just get into the studio and do my thing like the pro that I am.
Haha. So how many hours do you work in a day?
I work for 5 hours a day. I don’t work on weekends.
What’s your best day like on the job?
Every day is my best day on the job. This is something I have always had a passion for since I was a kid.
Have you had any shocking encounters while on air before?
No, not at all. We always make sure our phones are on silent when in the studio and also that the mics are not on if we are going to say anything that isn’t related to the show.
Okay. How much do you earn?
I earn N257,000 monthly after tax.
And how much do you spend in a day?
I don’t really spend so much on myself in a day. I have a car, so only petrol takes money from me, and I calculate it as a weekly expense. That takes about N13,000 from me weekly. But since you really want to know how much I spend in a day on just food, I spend N1,500 at most.
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Any other thing you spend money on?
Sure. I buy foodstuff at home for the family, pay my son’s school fees, and then also lau lau spending for the weekend. All of these take about N100,000 from me monthly.
Oh, that means you’re married…
Yes, I am happily married with a kid.
How about savings?
Yes, of course. Saving is very important to me. I don’t joke about it because there could be an emergency anytime. I save N100,000 monthly. Nothing can change this amount, it’s fixed!
For how long have you been working as an OAP?
I have been a presenter for two years and some months now.
And do you have plans to venture into something else?
Not really, apart from just following my dad’s line of side hustle, which is having a fish farm. I plan on investing big in fish farming this year. There is a lot of gain in that business, and it is also less stressful, unlike poultry farming.
