Bisi Olatilo, a former broadcaster with
the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria and the anchor of Bisi Olatilo
Show in this interview with ’NONYE BEN-NWANKWO and TUNDE AJAJA, shares his life experiences
You speak the three major Nigerian languages fluently, how were you able to master them?
I grew up in Kano, in Sabon Gari
specifically, a place thickly populated by the Igbo. I was born in Kano
in 1953. The street where I grew up was called Gold Coast Road; it is
called Maitama Road now. Although it’s supposed to be in the North, it
could as well have passed for an Eastern settlement because of the
composition of those who lived there. So, the first language I spoke was
Igbo. I was able to speak Hausa as a second language because I helped
my mum in selling things seasonally – ceramic wares. Most of my friends
were Igbo.
Yoruba language is my mother tongue. Incidentally, I learnt
to speak the language when I was forced to go to a secondary school in
my father’s town, Igbajo, somewhere in Osun State. Thank God my father
insisted that I should go to school in my town because that also helped
me to get a little closer to my people and understand the nitty gritty
of the language itself. Today, I speak impeccable Yoruba. Before I left
Kano, I couldn’t speak anything but Igbo and Hausa.
Since you grew up in the North, how do you feel about the crisis there at the moment?
It is most unfortunate especially for
those of us who had the rare privilege of growing up in that very
special setting when you never bothered whose children you were. It
didn’t matter what language you spoke, we were all seen as one. I was
brought up by the Igbo and I say it proudly. It was not because my mum
didn’t have all it took to bring me up but children were living as one.
What is happening now is so saddening. If anybody had predicted that
this would happen, I wouldn’t have believed it.
Would you remember what made your father live in the North in the first place?
I only remember that my father was a
very successful tailor and my mother was engaged in buying and selling,
specifically selling dresses, wares, fabrics and so on. That’s all I
remember, we all grew up there. I am the last of my mother’s three
children. We just discovered that the North was the place for us; that’s
where we grew up.
You said you are the last of your mother’s children, was it that your father had other wives?
In those days, it was a taboo for you
not to have many wives as a man. All those things were status symbol.
Yes, he had about three wives and mum was one of them.
Since ‘prince’ is attached to your name, does it mean your father was a traditional ruler?
My grandfather was once a traditional
ruler. The traditional ruler that reigned before the current one in my
town was my uncle. He was of the same mother with my father. So, if I
really want to go back, I’m sure that at one point in time, it will also
get to us because it’s a rotational thing. But I don’t have that in
mind. A lot of my friends and family members call me Obalola (the king that would reign tomorrow) but I will never aspire to become a king, the same way I will never touch politics.
But you are in politics; so many people believe that you support the Peoples Democratic Party…
How can you say I’m into politics? Have you ever seen me carrying any card?
But most of your shows tend to support the PDP…
No. All I do is to help politicians to
achieve their ends. I’m a broadcaster. I’m a media entrepreneur. If any
of the parties brings business to me, I will wholeheartedly do it. Maybe
most people see me more as a PDP person just because I do stuff for
them. I go with whoever gives me work to do. Most people think the Bisi
Olatilo Show is all about events.
Is it not?
It is more than that. We conceptualise
public enlightenment programmes, develop image building ideas for state
governments, parastatals and businessmen, that’s all we do here. When
(Isa) Yuguda was still a member of the ANPP, we worked for him. We
worked for (Rochas) Okorocha in APGA, we worked for Anambra State
Government, which is also an APGA state. Even when the Nassarawa State
was still being ruled by CPC, we worked for the state too. We are not
aligned with anyone in particular. We also worked for Lagos State
Government for seven years; we followed the government everywhere
during campaigns, when the state was still ACN. That was the same way we
followed President Goodluck Jonathan during his campaign throughout the
36 states before he became President. We are just broadcasters doing
our job; we are media entrepreneurs. The party that brings business is
our friend; all of them are our friends.
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