Comrade Kris Enabulele, OAP, news reader and presenter, is a staff of Edo Broadcasting Service (EBS). A two-time chairman of the Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers’ Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU) at EBS, he is also a stand-up MC and is into entertainment video coverage, photography, and mastering and planning events. In this interview with Judith Andrew, Comrade Enabulele speaks on his journey into the world of radio/TV presenting, the recent partnership between EBS and The Nigerian Observer on ‘Party Time’, and the future of radio. Excerpts:
What inspired you to go into the radio/television industry?
It is a long story. It all started from my childhood. My father is a retired soldier, Sir Enabulele. While in the barracks then, I used to help him compile records, then it was records we played. There was what we called cartridges then, so I used to help him compile them when they had their town meetings, Benin meetings in the barracks then. I remember there was a young officer in the barracks then who loved entertainment and he drew me to it by doing the break dance way back then. He would gather students together to come and dance and after that I helped my dad to select some songs, I never knew I was going to be using it handy in the future. I wanted to be a lawyer, but things didn’t work as planned, so I had to go for Statistics and Political Science in the University of Benin because time was counting, but my passion for music just couldn’t let me be.
You present a musical programme on radio, could you tell us about the programme?
‘Party Time’ is a programme of Edo Broadcasting Service (EBS) and it has been on over the years. I came into the field in the early 2000s, but I was back scene at that time. I was tutored by Cordelia Okpe, Loveth Anthony Otoide, and others; those were my teachers then. So when they had served their time and left, the stage was now getting to me. Then the GM was Pastor Sidi and that particular Saturday night was vacant because the presenters were no longer there. Eugene Okoye who was handling the show had travelled to Lagos and there was a vacuum. The GM now then said, ‘Kris, can you fill in this position?’ That was how I started. I did the first edition and I wasn’t scrutinised the next week, and since then I have been handling the show.
What exactly do you do on the show?
The show is purely entertainment. I just play good music for the listening public after the day’s job, after the hustle and bustle, after the Saturday parties, ‘owambe’ and the rest of that. When you get home after all that you need to listen to good music. Back then when we were growing up, we listened to good music on radio. If you wanted to listen to good music, if you wanted to hear good grammar and, of course, the latest information, you tuned in to radio. So I got this feeling inside me. When I’m on radio there’s always this difference I want to make. I want to be different from other presenters. I can present the same line of programmes on the afternoon shift, but if I’m coming on the night shift I can use the same song but in different pattern and it will look as if it’s still new, by the time you feel it you would want more of it, and by the time you want more, we are signing out and you now wait for the next edition. Then inside that programme we try to involve the audience by asking questions and giving them winnings for those that can answer the questions. I was doing that with a couple of friends who wanted to sponsor the show until The Nigerian Observer came into the picture. I want to say a big thank you to the MD of The Nigerian Observer who actually brought light into the show. At some point I was packing up the show, but he came and said, ‘No, this can’t happen. Let’s move the show forward.’ I want to thank Adewale Amala Spot, and also Heineken Lounge and Bar for their support then. They are lovers of entertainment and they added colour to the programme.
You have a slogan, ‘Playing good music is my bad habit’. In a nutshell, what brought about that? And tell us about this MC Commissioner.
As I said, I love playing good music. ‘Playing good music is my bad habit’ is a slogan that developed from a slogan was in use back in the day, and I said that slogan should not just fade out. It was Irere and I that sat down. Irere chose ‘The don on radio’ and I chose ‘Playing good music’ because I love playing good music. Then we coined ‘Playing good music is my bad habit’ and that was how I picked it because, really, if you listen to me for just five minutes, you get maximum fun.
To your other question, MC Commissioner is a comedian from Edo State. I used to bring up young talented comedians. He is a young comedian that wants to grow too. He did a skit for me, that’s just it; we are together.
You made mention of your audience, do you take requests or you use other means to engage with them during the show?
When I’m presenting the show, for me it’s more or less spiritual because today I might have a pattern that I want to follow on my programme but getting to that studio, sitting on that chair, something else might just happen and I would just forget the script and go by the spirit. So I can take requests, I can take phone calls depending on how the spirit leads.
How do you choose the music you play on the show? Do you have a personal genre or just as the spirit directs?
I belong to the old school. I may play between the old and the new, but I play particularly more of the old school. When you play good music, it tends to take you back in time, you reminisce how life was then. When you play those kinds of music, they bring out those nostalgic feelings, and people like fathers out there dance to it. Even some of the youths do like old school. Sometimes, though, I crisscross to the new school, the ones without the vulgar words, because most of their songs these days, it’s either about alcohol, the four letter word, and the ladies.
What do you have to say about The Nigerian Observer partnership with EBS of the ‘Party Time’ programme?
The partnership is a very good one because the state government owns both Edo Broadcasting Service (EBS) and The Nigerian Observer. Before now The Nigerian Observer was almost gone, but now it has taken a different dimension. You can read The Observer online. The print is very clear and fine. I want to say thanks to the management of The Nigerian Observer. The partnership will bring a serious relationship business-wise, family-wise, and who knows? The sky is the limit. I know it’s a big thing because the last edition I did, I asked some questions on who read the headlines of The Nigerian Observer and I know people are waiting for Saturday to tell me how many headlines they read so far for the week. Last week someone said he read for Thursday and the person was the winner actually. It has now propelled them the more to read The Nigerian Observer.
Where do you see the future of radio, especially with the rise of streaming services?
Radio can never be over-emphasized because ab initio, radio has been used for propagation of information – government information, societal information, teaching of the people, getting to nooks and crannies of the community, whatever they are. But because of the advent of social media, most people tend to tilt to it, but if you want to get the actual information, you tune in to radio. During the Biafra War, radio played a very massive role. Even during the First World War, Second World War, radio played a massive role. Radio can never be overemphasized, so the future is bright for radio presenters.
Your organisation recently recruited some new people. What would be your message to new people who find themselves presenting on radio or television?
The process of recruiting these new people, I don’t question it, but recruiting presenters is a whole different ball game from administration. A professor cannot sit where I am sitting to present a programme because we have our own world, our own kingdom. When an announcer is speaking or presenting in the crowd, you will know that the person is trained. Just like when Cyril Stober is reading the news, you know that the guy is different from all others. So the new announcers or presenters need a whole lot of orientation, they also need to be mentored very well, they need to learn also. It took me over a year and some months before I could get to the mic. I was behind the mic learning. As I said before, Cordelia Okpe, Loveth Anthony Otoide, Peter Stevens, and few others, they were there and I would just be behind spinning records, learning because it was not the right time for me to go on air. If you go on air at that time when you are not mature, it can either make or mar you forever. You may just go on and speak rubbish, you don’t know who is listening to you at that time. The governor may just be listening and say, ‘Who is that person? Take that person off, I don’t want to hear that person’, and the GM will be in trouble. The person might also just come on air prepared and sound good and the governor can just say, ‘That voice is unique, I need that person’, and the sky is the limit for that person. So they need tutelage, not just this administrative one plus one is two, two plus two is four, no. It is a serious thing, it’s a whole ritual for them to learn, if they care to learn.
