To TV viewers, radio listeners, and music fans in Nigeria, ace broadcaster and founder of Kennis Music, Mr. Kenny 'Keke' Ogungbe, needs no introduction. He shares his experience with CHUX OHAI
Kenny Ogungbe
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From the Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation to RayPower 100.5 FM, Kennis Music, and now Rainbow 94.1 FM, how would you describe your life as a broadcaster?
My entertainment and broadcasting life didn't even start with the OGBC. Many people don't know this. I started my career with NTA Abeokuta. That was in the early 1980s when the NTA first came to Ogun State, precisely 30 years ago. I recall starting work with Yemi Shodimu. We both started work at NTA Abeokuta on the same day. From there, I travelled to the US for higher education in New Orleans. I got a master's in Mass Communications. But my first degree is in accounting. I'm an accountant. I'm a CPA candidate. CPA stands for Chartered Public Accountant of California. People don't know about this. They just think that Kenny likes to count figures and numbers. All the time I was in the business school, I knew I would be going into the media. So, my minor was in the media. When I got to postgraduate school, I branched into the media. I took my second degree in radio, television, and film. I didn't enter into this business out of nowhere. I was prepared. I worked in OGBC when I returned to Nigeria. That was where people knew me. From there I went into politics briefly. I was the campaign manager for Dr. Raymond Dokpesi when he was running for the Senate during the Social Democratic Party/National Republican Convention days. We were in the NRC then and he contested the Edo North Senatorial seat. It was after this that we established RayPower FM radio station.
Was it your idea to start RayPower FM?
I don't like to say it.
Your enthusiasm for that radio station makes it look like it was your own idea.
It was because I was allowed to express myself, to do what had never been done before in Nigeria. The station turned out to be the pioneer of privately-owned media in the country. Today, it has given birth to many other radio and TV stations. We brought a lot of razzmatazz from Hollywood because I grew up in Hollywood. After my college degrees, I went to California and I worked in the media. So, that was what fetched all that live coverage of entertainment events across the world, such as the Grammy Awards and Soul Train Awards.
What did you set out to achieve as a broadcaster?
It was the 24-hour broadcast. I started it in Nigeria with the help of my boss (Dokpesi). The first radio station to ever embark on a 24-hour broadcast is RayPower. Also, the first satellite TV station in Nigeria to go on the air for 24 hours is the Africa Independent Television. When we started this, there were all kinds of criticisms. People asked why we decided to broadcast for 24 hours. Some said we would never be able to add commercials to our programmes with the new arrangement. But today, the story is different.
Sourcing electric power must have posed a serious challenge to you initially at RayPower. How did you cope with it?
When we started RayPower, electricity was a serious problem, really. For several months, the National Electric Power Authority didn't provide us with power. It was after we had spent 18 months that Dokpesi decided to buy poles and electric cables, buy transformers, and drill a borehole because there was no water supply there. Before he did this, we were virtually operating on a power generator. Yet, people were asking how come we never, even once, punctuated our programmes with the phrase, 'due to power failure, we're sorry...' At the time, we were having five sets of different high-calibre power generators.
Apart from providing entertainment, did you also set out to make profit?
Of course, RayPower wasn't a public enterprise. It was a private enterprise and that was what even gave birth to AIT. In the long run, that also took it to the level of a public liability company. RayPower opened doors to other radio stations, such as Rhythm 93.7 FM and Star FM. It was after the success story of RayPower that Rhythm came up. Today, everybody is on air and the whole frequency in Lagos is almost taken.
Do you enjoy being in the limelight?
It gives me joy. It's the passion for the job that we do that really counts, not the cash returns that one gets. If you don't have passion, you won't be able to do it. Instead, you will be left by the wayside. The moment I switch on the microphone, I'm high. Naturally, I derive joy from the knowledge that anytime I speak into the microphone, millions of people out there will be listening to me.
How do you cope with your female fans?
Why should female fans bother me? I'm neither a singer nor a rapper. I'm not a sex symbol either. I know I'm seen in that light, but I don't even think about it. I'm just polite to ladies. If any lady walks in here and says 'hello' to me, I say 'hi' to her and even put on a smile. I'm a very accessible person. I would shake hands and talk with you. But if you decide to behave in a funny way, I won't take it. My friends know me. They know that I can be very blunt.
Apart from broadcasting, what other dreams did you have when you were growing up?
To be honest with you, my dream was to have one united Nigeria in which everybody would be respected and live as one family. I had hopes that there would be constant supply of electricity and water in this country and enough amenities for everybody, especially when I left Nigeria. I left Nigeria in 1981 and I got my first degree two-and-a-half years later. In America, I had a car and lived in an apartment of my own. I was in my teens. I didn't go to school in buses or trains. In my first day in the university, I bought a car: a yellow Nissan B210. It was like having a yellow Hummer jeep in school. I owe everything to the family I come from.
You haven't answered my question.
I dreamed of a better country and that was why when I completed my education in America, I came back home. I saw America as a very organised country and I felt that Nigeria could also be like that. Actually, I dreamed that Nigeria could be like that.
You sound as if you had an exciting experience in America.
Yes, I had a wonderful experience in America. A lot of people studying in America at the time had to work in order to pay their fees. They had to do odd jobs. But I never had to do that. I lived well as a student. Of course, as soon as I got my first degree, I jumped into the master's degree programme, which took me nine months to complete. That also gave me enough inspiration.
Does it mean you had no challenges in America?
I haven't said that. I had many challenges in America. One of them was the fact that I was black in a country where everybody was supposed to be white. I faced the challenge of racial discrimination. I recall the day I wanted to buy a sofa in a shop and the owner looked at me in a funny way, as if he felt I couldn't afford it. I didn't like the reception I got, so I had to look elsewhere for the sofa. Even the way I talk and write posed some challenges to me. If, because I was taught to write in the English way, I wrote in a way that I felt was best, I would end up earning a dash of red ink across whatever I had written. The result was that at school, I learnt quickly to express myself in a simple and clear manner.
Like Siamese twins, you are practically everywhere with Dayo Adeneye and both of you do things together all the time. How did your friendship with him start?
We met in school.
Which school?
Southern University in New Orleans. Dayo was there as well. It was a scenario in which two youths far away from home, who went to the same school separately, now found about another Nigerian on campus who came from the same province back home and attended a neighbouring secondary school. Dayo and I are both Ijebu to boot. That was how we got to know each other.
What makes your relationship with him special?
It is because he is a special friend of mine. He is a special person and also treats me like a special person. When we have such scenario all the time, things will always work in Nigeria.
Did you drag Dayo into broadcasting or was it the reverse?
Actually it was Dokpesi who invited Dayo to join us when we started RayPower.
Now that you are involved with Rainbow FM, what happens to your pets, Kennis Music and Prime Time Entertainment?
Kennis Music has a general manager. Also, Prime Time Entertainment has its own GM. The GM for Kennis Music also runs the TV arm, the radio arm, and the audio production. The same thing applies to the GM of Prime Time Entertainment. Whenever they need me, especially when there is an important event, they call me. In about two or three weeks from now, Prime Time Africa will be going for the Grammy Awards and I will be there. On radio and TV for Prime Time Africa, I'm always there. So, the job is just getting bigger.
Is it true that at some point, Eedris AbdulKareem severed his contract with Kennis Music?
People just say all kinds of things. I try not to overemphasise anything because I'm a media person. I simply allow my hard work to speak for me. If I want to give out information, I write a press release, I call my publicist and get it out. Whenever we have anything with our artistes, some smart journalists will just start cooking something. The business we had with Eedris was very straight-forward and everything was fulfilled. He didn't jump the contract. He just felt he wanted to do his own thing with La Creme Entertainment. And now that he felt he needed to work with us again, he came back and we're working together. You know I was even featured on one of his records titled, My Calabar Girl.
Who was the Calabar girl that you sang about?
I'm still looking for her. We're even going to do a reality show on this.
Not too long ago, you were spotted leading a protest alongside Charly Boy against a matter involving the MCSN, COSON, and the Nigeria Copyrights Commission in Abuja. Have you also turned an activist?
To be honest with you, I've recorded more songs than anybody in Nigeria in the past 10 years. I've recorded over 71 music albums as a producer and owner of recordings. If you sign a contract with me, I'll record you and sponsor that album. That makes me the owner of the recording. The artiste is the owner of the voice. Whether he writes the song or hires somebody to write it for him, Kennis Music owns that particular recording because no one can start playing only your voice anywhere you go without the instruments. I've more of that particular type of recording than anybody in Nigeria right now. And each of the 71 albums I mentioned contains the average of 13 to 15 songs. If you multiply 15 songs by 71 albums, it equals over 1,000 songs. So if I've such a large amount of works in my possession, this makes me a stakeholder in the music industry. So I can't be pushed around when it comes to the issue of entertainment. In a situation where there are over 30 oil companies, over 20 banking institutions, over 20 insurance companies, and about 10 telecommunications companies, and they are all striving well, why should anybody wake up and say there should be one collecting society, when it comes to collecting money on recordings through radio or TV stations or other value-added services? I know where I belong: the MCSN. Internationally, I belong to EMI and Broadcast Media Incorporated Association of America. And in Nigeria, BMI is represented by MCSN. In fact, MCSN represents all international outfits in the world. Now, I'm saying if you register another company that I don't belong to and this company collects money from Rainbow FM, for instance, how do I now get paid, since I'm not a member of the society? Everybody can't be a member of one society. Whoever made the law that says there should be only one collecting society for everybody hasn't carried along all stakeholders. The law is faulty. It should be corrected because laws are not made forever. Laws are always updated according to the yearnings of the people. That was why we took the issue to the Attorney-General of the Federation and he said he would look into it to see how it could be amicably resolved. Second, as a broadcaster, I'm a user of recordings. Apart from the fact that I'm the highest recording person in this country, I'm also one of the highest users of audio and audio-visual recordings, I don't even want one person to be the governing body. I want to have a choice in how much I should pay for using recordings. In a situation where you don't have a choice, TV and radio stations will gang up and say your price is too high. If you say you don't want to listen to them and they refuse to play that person's record, who suffers? It is the artiste. I'm not a noise maker, but when an issue involves me and the livelihood of my children, I won't keep quiet about it.
What plans do you have for Rainbow FM?
As usual, my objective is to improve on the quality of radio broadcasting in Nigeria. I believe we're going to do better than any other station in the country. For example, I want to re-introduce live broadcasts on Rainbow FM. Part of it includes the Friday Night live jams that we used to host at RayPower in those days.
How do you combine your tight schedule with family life?
My wife, Bolajoko, has been a blessing to my life. She is the reason why I live and I'm called a family man today. I met her over 20 years ago before I even joined OGBC. She knew me when I just entered the university. I came home for holidays and I met her. Since then, it's been a fantastic relationship. She has always been there for me, giving me all the support I need from her.
How do you unwind?
I'm a lucky man. My job unwinds me. Working hard and getting paid for it is the only way I unwind.
