Monday, 15 December 2014

Trending campus radio stations

Entertainment is most students’ fascination. Consequently, the birth of institution-owned radio stations is on the increase. DOYIN ADEOYE relates with some student On-Air Personalities (OAP) and shares their passion.
UNILAG 103.1FM (University of Lagos)
Trust the University of Lagos (UNILAG), when it comes to entertainment, they do it well.
The frequency of 103.1FM was assigned to the institution in July 2003 and the station was officially commissioned on December 14, 2004. Serving as an channel of instructional and educational programmes for the students, the station’s motto is to inform, educate and entertain.

While speaking with Campusbeats, Omoniyi Wilson, a 400-level student at the Department of Mass Communication and a presenter on UNILAG FM, said being an OAP and reaching out to other students was exciting.
“It is about bringing the news people want to hear to them, especially, when they need to hear it. Most of our programmes are educational and informative, which also involves constitutional programmes, current affairs and sports.”
Wilson, who has been a part of the crew for two years, anchors Windows on the Wall on Mondays, where he talks about current affairs; Science World on Wednesdays and Morning Train on Fridays.
Speaking on what is trending at the station at the moment, he said, “We are coming up with a remake of Pharell Williams’ record breaking song, ‘Happy’. Our fans want something different from us, and what better way to do that than having a video which identifies their most popular on-air personalities in crazy-hilarious video.”
Great 94.5FM (Obafemi Awolowo University)
For breaking and trending news within the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) community, the first stop for many students is Great FM. Launched on December 20, 2008, the station has seen then been a good source of first hand information for many students of the institution.
Speaking with Campusbeats, the coordinator, OAU Great FM, Professor Oluwafunmilade Adeyanju, said the mission of the station was for excellence in educational broadcasting.
“It is a platform for many of the student to develop themselves, especially for those that have flare for the media. It is avenue to educate, inform, while also entertaining the students,” he said.
Many of the programmes are anchored by students. These include shout out segments, pep talks on trending issues and recorded drama presentations, among others.
UNILORIN 89.3FM (University of Ilrorin)
Initially transmitting from the university Senate Building in 2009, the Unilorin FM station was commissioned in October 2011 when a new building to house the station was put up.
Although the station is licensed as a community/campus radio station, its signals go beyond Kwara State. 
Tunji Oyeleke, a 400-level student at the Department of Mass Communication and a presenter on the station, said, “there is a good feeling behind being able to reach out to so many people all at once.”
Students are very much involved in the production, as they constitute over 98 per cent of the work force. “Students work based on volunteering. Their roles range from presenters to producers, as well as audio editors, technicians and other aspects of radio productions,” Tunji said.
Trending on the station is the distribution of PC tablets to first year students of the university, which was done last week Thursday, when the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala visited the institution, during the flag-off of the University of Ilorin Oil Palm Plantation. 
Running on a 24-hour basis with three time belts, its achievements include the 2012 Campus Radio Project of the Year and the Community Radio of the Year in 2012 and 2013.


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