Interview Session With Yanju Adegbite

Question: Sir, please let’s get to know you!

Answer: I am Yanju Adegbite by name, nicknamed as the music merchant, a presenter, news caster and master of ceremony.

Question: Can you tell us about your family background and education?

Answer: I was born on the 10^th of January 1955 to the family of Mr. Sijuade and Mrs. Amoke Winifred Adegbite. I was the first of three boys, and I attended Government College Ibadan (1969 set), my school number is 1736, and was in Swanston house. Although, I later dropped out of school in lower six due to lack of funds, and responsibility of having to sacrifice my education so my siblings could complete theirs.

Question: How was GCI during your days compared to the way the college is now?

Answer: Then, GCI was a school the rich and influential in the society attend, like politicians and other influential personalities. It was a school that people attended from all states of the nation. I lived at Oke Bola I had to trek down to school at the beginning of the school session as I was in boarding house.

And talking about the structure of the school, the principal of GCI was from England and he really played a great role in my life while in school. I can remember the school hall, now known as the assembly hall, was like a theatre where art students had to act plays according to the novel or text being read in class. GCI boys would play the male roles, and St. Anne’s girls played the female roles. I was a very shy person then.

Also, the football field, which is now known as the hockey pitch, was used to play standard hockey matches. Also, all students were in boarding house and I had to manage in there, even with my poor family background.

Question: Apart from being a broadcaster, what other job experiences have you had?

Answer: Like I mentioned earlier, I dropped out of school at age 18 and later got a job as an adhoc enumerator and also a disc jokey. Playing at parties and night clubs in order to make ends meet. I later got a job as a studio manager at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and also as an account clerk with the Cooperative Bank. While working as a studio manager, my work was to sweep the floor, open the fader to determine what goes on air and so on. On a particular day, I opened the station when late Mrs. Bisi Lasile Oladimeji did not resume on time to formally open the station for 5:25am, and so I was summoned by the boss Bisi Onabolu who at first seemed annoyed but later helped by nominating me for the intermediate announcer course.

I was later included into the presentation department of Radio Nigeria where I was given the nickname the “music merchant” by the then governor of the old western Oyo state, General David Jemibewon.  After a few years, I became the first voice to be heard on the radio O-Y-O and the first TV personality on the then Television Service of Oyo state (TSOS), now BCOS. I was also the special adviser on broadcasting to  the former Oyo state Governor, late Senator Isaiaka Abiola Ajimobi between 2011 and 2015.

Question: What were the challenges you faced during your year in service?

Answer: Well, while I was an account clerk with the cooperative bank and the work load was a lot. Also, I had to settle down at Radio Nigeria. I remember when I had a programme airing at Lagelu FM, and a particular small room at Premiere Hotel was where I aired the programme, but as it was a hotel, the noise would always disturb and I had to move to Baba Adebisi Akande’s house at Felele.

Question: What are the chances of retirement after all these years in service?

Answer: Well, I was not a civil servant, the only time I was in service was when I worked as the Special Adviser on broadcasting to the former Oyo state Governor, Late Isiaac Abiola Ajimobi between 2011 and 2015. At Fresh FM, I make documentaries. I made one to commemorate the GCI anniversary and another to the late Olalekan Are, and I’m still planning to do more.

Question: Was it from your days in GCI that you had the dream of becoming a broadcaster?

Answer: As I mentioned earlier, back then in GCI, I was a shy boy, very very shy and being able to act during the schools theatre auditions was somewhat a problem but later the wife to Derek John Bullock (the then school principal) summoned me and encouraged me, telling me to play the role without looking at the face of the audience but their heads, so I got encouraged and it worked for me and after I dropped out of school I got my way into different job opportunities so as to make ends meet and as God would have it, I got to where I am today.

Question: Can you ascribe your success in your chosen career to destiny or hardwork?

Answer: Right from childhood, I had to struggle to go to school. And after I lost my father at age 13 when I was still in form one and in the boarding house at GCI, I had very few provisions to live on while others had theirs filled. So, to put it simply, I was from a poor background and destiny positioned me to be nominated for the intermediate announcer course, and hard work comes in when I had to make sure that I put everything I had in place so as to sustain my work and my self. In summary, my success is both ascribed to destiny and hardwork.

Question: Sir, why have we not been seeing you in the school?

Answer: I do come to the school, I could remember I was at the school's 90^th anniversary but most people might not know, but I promise, you will see me around more often.