Ogunyemi(l), shares a joke with Wole Ogundele and Biodun Duro-Ladipo In Akure
Those at the opening ceremony of the fourth Festival of Indigenous African Language Films (FIAF), held in Akure, Ondo State, last month won’t forget veteran broadcaster and actor, Yemi Ogunyemi, in a hurry. He had all laughing to his witty comments in English and Yoruba languages while he remained poker faced. The Ibadan, Oyo State indigene confirmed his status as a master compere during that session and others he handled at the week-long festival.
That he was excellent in his handling of the session shouldn’t have come as a surprise, however. The talented Ogunyemi started the trade early. From acting in primary school, he graduated to leading the literary and debating society at Ibadan Grammar School where he also maintained a column called ‘Window on Biafra’ in the school magazine, ‘The Viper’. He also recited ewi on ‘Karo Ojire’ on WNTV/WNBS and featured in children’s programmes before he started freelancing, first with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria and then Nigerian Television. He was a pioneer freelance staff when the first NTV Theatre was established in 1977 before he became a full staff in 1979.
TV and I
The presenter of ‘En Balaya’ the first Yoruba quiz programme on TV recalls his journey. “I got into television through acting. I was acting and doing other things on a freelance basis. My journey into broadcasting started one day when the controller of news met me on the corridor and said: you will help me read the Yoruba news today. He gave me the script which I translated into Yoruba and I read it well that they were happy about it. The second day when they had a management meeting and a post mortem of the previous day, they said I should be given a commendation letter. The admin people told them I was a freelance artist, that how do we do it? They were surprised and said they should interview me and give me a letter of appointment. That was how I got into the news division.
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