Toks Odebunmi, veteran broadcaster, tells ‘NONYE BEN-NWANKWO about growing up and how he set up Obalende Suya, London
Why did you leave your broadcasting job in Nigeria here to go to the UK?
Whilst I was here, I had realised early enough I wasn’t going to last on the job. It wasn’t as if I didn’t like it. After all the razzmatazz that comes with the job – a whole lot of girls running after you, you are so popular – and all the other stuff; but then, the reality is how much was I earning then? I started with the likes of John Momoh and the rest. When I decided to go to the UK, I had had three options and they were either I chose federal (NTA) or I worked in an advertising company or travelled abroad.
So you chose travelling abroad?
Yes. I didn’t really know anybody there though I had a friend. I looked into the future and I felt the job as a broadcaster might not deliver the aspiration I had looked forward to as a kid. I had always wanted to get into advertising. I decided it was the best time for me to travel abroad and study something on advertising. I started a course in advertising but then, I have always been an entrepreneur. I just felt I could set up a suya spot. We always go out to buy Suya in Nigeria. So I decided to get into it and it caught fire.
Suya business in Nigeria is usually believed to be meant for ‘abokis,’ didn’t you feel somehow getting into a business that so many people look down on in Nigeria?
I grew up with my mother who was a seasoned trader. She always told me to be proud of whatever I am doing as long as it is legitimate. It doesn’t matter at all. You have educated guys cleaning toilets and doing other odd jobs in the UK. I didn’t have an issue with the suya business at all. I have always been close to the ground. I am a level-headed person. I have never really seen myself as a big celebrity who must be driven in a Rolls Royce. I am a natural person. I don’t arrogate any level of class to whatever I do.
How did you get into broadcasting?
I actually went straight into broadcasting from high school. I went to Abeokuta Continuing Education Centre after leaving secondary school because I needed to retake some papers. It was there that I got into radio. I discovered I had a fantastic voice. My dad was a chorister and he had a fantastic voice that you could pick out. My father gave me a note to give his friend, Bisi Lawrence, at Radio Lagos. I did and my dad’s friend asked me to go to the News Department. I was proof-reading in that department. Eventually, I was moved to the Current Affairs department where I worked with Segun Babatope, Dele Alake (they were my seniors). Eventually, I found myself on radio. That was how I got into broadcasting. When Lagos Television was set up, I worked in the TV and radio. I was one of the first newscasters in LTV.
How did you feel back then when people longed to meet you because of your voice?
It was great! They were days of ‘airmail’ when people would write letters and post them and it would take about one or two weeks before you got the letters. It was fun. I had a lot of admirers and of course, they were all girls. A man is always excited when a woman is crazy about him. It was a thrill for me then.
How do you see today’s OAPs who fake their accent in order to sound American?
For you to come near a broadcasting house during our time, you needed to go to the ‘clinic’ which is the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria. All the old school broadcasters including Soni Irabor, myself, John Momoh, we all passed through the school. We were taught Queen’s English. If I take a look at the flavour of broadcasting we have now from a business angle, I would say the stations are giving the audience what would excite them. Marketing is about what sells. Professionally, I would choose the Queen’s English.
Would you remember if you committed blunder while on air?
It was a live broadcast. I was reading the news and I tried to get rid of a mosquito that perched on my skin. The mosquito was so stubborn. I kept trying but it wasn’t moving. I just had to brush it off and pretend as if nothing happened while I continued reading the news. When you are on radio, it is a different ball game. You can place your two legs on the table and read the news, nobody is watching you. You can get away with anything.
So have you left broadcasting entirely?
I do voice over. I have not read news in the last three years. I use the voice over to support my charity. I have always loved to support charity. Every time you do things unconditionally and you try to help the less privileged, God pays you back more than five folds. I may not be a typical church goer but I know I get my blessings from giving to charity. God has blessed me with a good voice. It is not a talent. The talent is that I use the voice well. And since He blessed me with this good voice, I think it is proper for me to do something in return by helping the needy.
Can you tell us a bit about growing up?
I come from a humble background. There was the need for me to earn money to support my mother. When I left primary school, I needed to wait for two years before getting into secondary school because I had to wait for my other siblings who were already in secondary school to finish. My mother was a single parent. I grew up very quickly from a boy to a man. I used to sell stuff on the ground at Oyingbo (Lagos) market. I still drive past the exact spot sometimes. My mum used to run a canteen as well. I always helped her to sell at the canteen. I would even go to the shop on Sundays to help her prepare what she would use to cook the next day. I don’t know why people think I am an aje butter. I have tasted the real bottom side of life and I really enjoyed it because it prepared me for almost anything. I didn’t plan to go and do suya in London. I just went there and after a few days, I told my friend that this thing would sell and that was how Obalende Suya came about in the UK.
In those days of humble beginning, did you ever imagine you would one day become popular?
Of course, not. I couldn’t have thought about that when I was in primary and secondary school. But during my years in broadcasting, I knew it was bound to happen. My mum would always tell me not to get carried away with the fame. I still needed to go to the university, so I didn’t allow the fame to get into my head.
Oh, so you went to a university while on the job as a broadcaster?
Yes. I trained myself. I had started earning money even before I left secondary school. So when I started working, I had to further my education and I was able to take care of my mother as well. I was very close to her. That was why I bought a house for her. I thought that was the first thing I had to do when I became more successful. I had in planned to get two or three jobs in the UK and get my mother somewhere to live. She had always dreamt of leaving a rented apartment and moving into her own home. By God’s grace, I was able to fulfil her dream before she passed on.
How was it growing up without a father figure?
I lived with my sister when I was little before I lived with my mother and then, I lived with my brother. My mother had always imbibed in us to make the best out of every opportunity. My mum was very hard working. If you want a child to be fulfilled and quickly take on the challenges of life, then you must take them through it. I grew up with the idea that my mum was a single parent but I would go and visit my father once in a while. But I knew that I had my mum and my siblings.
How close are you to your father now?
He is late. He died before I left Nigeria. He used to drive a Mercedes Benz then. I will not say we were very close. It wasn’t as if I hated him. I wouldn’t say there was even a gap. You would realise there is a gap if you had something and it was taken from you. I grew up into something I believe was wholesome. The only thing we would miss about him then was when we had money issues and such things.
Didn’t your mother remarry?
She didn’t. She dedicated herself to her children.
At what point did you meet your wife and how easy was it for you to choose her among the number of admirers you had then?
We met at a party. I still drive past the venue of the party sometimes. She was wearing a red dress. I still call her ‘Lady in Red.’ She knows how to dance. She is from Lagos. She has a carnival spirit in her so she loves dancing a lot. She stood out at the party. It wasn’t as if I was ‘hunting.’ But she was just irresistible. I found her to be very special and original. I just knew when I met her that she was my wife.
Didn’t she give you tough time before she agreed to date you?
Tough time? Me? I am a handsome dude! I was in top demand then. I would even joke with her and tell her she was lucky I had time for her. When a guy loves a woman, she knows it. It was just smooth-sailing for us.
Was there any form of racism when you got to the UK?
When I got there in 1986, it wasn’t as bad as it was five years or so earlier. It wasn’t visible. I learnt it was bad before we came. But something we could call ‘institutionalised’ racism was still there. We could only do menial jobs. I considered myself as an economic refugee when I got to the UK. I was just there to study, make money and go back to my country. I actually went to the UK on a study leave. I felt I could go there and study and come back home. I had prepared my mind that I would come across racism. But the racism we suffer in the UK is not as heavy as the tribalism we suffer in Nigeria. I had my first suya spot at Elephant and Castle station in the UK. That place is the gateway to South East London where most Nigerians live even till now. I realised that for every 20 persons passing in front of our shop, there would be three blacks and only one of those three might be a Nigerian. I realised that if I had a good number of non Africans passing in front of my shop, I must do something to cater for their needs. There was no point sitting down there and waiting for Nigerians to come and buy suya, we might as well expand. Somebody would come to buy something and you just have boli and suya and you would need to translate what such meals meant. I decided we could be preparing chips as well, after all, everybody eats chips. I decided to employ an English guy. Obviously, we got busier, more people started coming. But some black students came from one university and asked why I should employ a white person when we suffer racism in the UK. I told them the sole purpose of the business was for it to survive. We had had a spate of failed black owned businesses that failed. I told them unless somebody was going to give me grant, I would do all I could to move the business forward, even if it meant using a white man to make money. If at the end, the business didn’t survive, it would have gone down in history that another black person owned a business that went down the drain. When I started, I couldn’t afford to get a shop; I took a caravan and turned it to a shop. We were operating from a make-shift porter cabin. It was from there we grew to afford a shop and restaurants
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