‘Yoruba broadcasters should be flexible in the use of language’ – Ace Yoruba broadcaster, Damilola Banire

When talking of broadcasting in the broadcasting world in Nigeria, Damilola Banire will surely be on a front role, especially amongst the Yoruba broadcasters! Saharaweekly magazine and Sahara online reporter got hooked with the versatile full breasted  screen Goddess and had an exclusive chat with her which prompted her briefing on the dos and don’ts of broadcasting.

Excerpts                           

    Basically ‘iya afin oni Miliki’ grew from the TV show Miliki Express on Orisun TV startimes cable showing every Wednesday and Friday. About November last year in Ibadan I met a young lady make-up artist, she actually did my make up, we were gisting and I had a reason to pick a call in her presence, it was a client, so I just concentrated on my call, and after the call she said I never knew you speak good English I watch your program a lot, and she went further to say she never believed most Yoruba presenters are this learned , now that got me dazed and I looked at her and said “I’m very literate I don’t know about others”… Now returning to Lagos this got me really thinking about our yourba content provision on radio and TV. Now I found out that most presenters /OAP have boxed themselves to the indigenous core Yoruba without flexibility, see I understand so much the meaning of broadcasting which is from a narrow place to a bigger picture that even your legs might never even take you.

I realized that we have a lot of viewers and listeners that are not Yoruba but they love the language so much and they want to learn and understand it, which makes them tune to a Yoruba speaking station, radio or TV, but when this language is even taking too seriously by the presenter, how do you carry the non Yorubas along?  They make the Yoruba presentation stiff and rigid am not saying don’t do the indigenous thing but give your listener’s a blend they can flow with.

This is urban times with so much civilization flying around, I believe we shouldn’t confuse our audience leaving them unravel what the OAP mentioned during the show E.g tabili, takada, iife, ferese! (table, paper, cup, window) in our homes here in Lagos and everywhere, in the Yoruba families cup is cup, biro is biro, window is window, that urbanization should also flow into our radio and TV presentation style, of course exempting news. We can be left with some programs that the audience will understand and know such program is a core Yoruba speaking program, considering the world of Internet and digitalization where TV is even mobile, the least we can do is open our arms and embrace the digital world and amend or fashion out old style of presentation that even make some OAP sound like they are singing nursery rhymes…

On changing my Instagram and bbm handle names, that came as a result of rebranding and accessibility, most people don’t even know how to pronounce “Iya Afin Onimiliki” to start with especially those of the other tribe, and with the nature of my profession and occupation I meet with a lot of people, as a TV/radio presenter, event anchor (MC), Engagement orator (Alaga Iduro and ijoko) event planner/director, Publicists etc, so I just said to myself it’s high time “Damilola Banire” came out from where she’d been hiding and since Jan 1st that the rebranding officially started I have felt more easy in dealing with people with my name.

But above all Yoruba is beautiful, it’s the easiest language to understand and learn. I am Yoruba, I am proudly Yoruba & I’ll love to come back as a Yoruba girl again to the world. Yoruba is a complete language when you hear a word of it you will know it’s a Yoruba word. God bless broadcast and entertainment, God bless Lagos & God bless Nigeria.

My name is Damilola Banire and this is my rebranding story.

CULLED FROM SAHARA WEEKLY