SolidFm is a radio station in Enugu state owned by Late Dora Akunyili, that is categorically living in it's shadows and few left past glories. It's that bad that the station which was competing with Dreamfm when both stations opened in the state, has fallen to the bottom of the ladder and has now been forgotten and replaced by Urban Radio, a new station that came in to town few months back!
According to an article written by Christain Okoli for Blueprintafric, which I agree with, Supersam Ajufo; who was a presenter at the station is all the station needs to reclaim it's rightful position. Below is why and how.
During the days of wonderful competition, Dreamfm and Solidfm seemed like they cut Enugu listeners into two.you were either a DREAMFM fan or you supported SOLIDFM, some folks were torn in between both. But even between both radio stations there were just a few OAPs that you would associate the station with. Infact at a point, when you mentioned DREAMFM, you thought of Didi Nnamen, Tobe. Jude and Vanessa in that order and when you heard of SOLIDFM, you first thought about Supersam, Clare, Mama T, Viva &; Bigbrother. Even though everyone had his/her uniqueness and off-the- mic roles, there was one fact that we who loved listening to radio knew, especially those who liked SOLIDFM. We loved Supersam.
His radio presence was very wide and vast and all encompassing. His creativity, intelligence and humour were the biggest things that attracted a whole lot of listeners to his shows and overall he knew how to hold his audience. There is no way you will hear his booming American voice and not fall in love immediately. That is if you are female of course. One thing many people loved that brought him popularity was the popular morning show called The Morning Crow which he anchored with Clare. The hilarious, romantic and yet educative style they showed had many of us think they were dating when they actually were not. It was a superb collaboration of both sexes with Supersam playing the Big Daddy role and Clare playing the innocent young princess character. Everybody loved it, the same way we loved the way Tobe & Jude mixed on The Morning Ride on DREAM FM.
Over time, Supersam was known to anchor the most shows on SOLIDFM and all of them were sold out shows which brought him many fans and much more enemies within and outside.
They included – 1. The Morning Crow with Supersam and Clare, later when Clare left it was just with Supersam 2. Adam’s Bar – The third most popular show then on SOLIDFM after Morning Crow and Otigba Junction 3. The View Point – Political & Human Interest programme 4. Mid-Morning Hustle 5. Friday Roadshow 6. Friday House Party 7. Saturday Night LIVE8. Jazzmatazz 9. Super Saturday Show 3 10. One Show Naija 11. Saturday Night Fever as the G.O &; His Excellency 12. Guess Whose Coming to Dinner Behind the Microphone.
Supersam (Sammy Ajufo) was the pioneer Programmes Manager & Executive Producer of SOLIDFM. From the start of the station in 2012, Supersam has been the brains behind all the programmes that made SOLIDFM popular, according to reliable sources, it was he who drafted the first Programmes Schedule in use today at the station and currently in use in other stations within and outside Enugu. Supersam was also known to have personally and directly influenced the recruitment of all the hottest OAPs of the time and it was an established fact that he trained them all. His mastery of Programming and deep knowledge of the art of broadcasting stood him out firmly among his contemporaries and with the accolades and commendations also came a lot of envy, hatred and jealously which eventually led to his unceremonious exit. Love him or hate him, for those who had close contact with him at SOLIDFM and for those who knew him, the same story would be told about him and that is. He is not the man he was painted negatively to be. As a boss, we learnt he was a dual natured person with a hard side and an even greater soft side and this attribute endeared him to many broadcasters in the industry today where he still maintains a hugely respectable figure. During his time in SOLIDFM, the station grew in popularity and more importantly CONTENT.
SOLIDFM then was the station to tune to when you needed to hear something meaningful or enjoy real entertainment from morning till night. From what we learnt, that happened mainly because of the kind of boss he was to the programmes team. He was known to personally draft topics for all presenters, walk them through their scripts and scold them where need be. Some took the scolding with a good mind, others nursed it deeply. However bad Supersam was known to be, it’s a fact that all his trainees and former staff today are doing exceptionally well in their respective fields – not one is a failure. Sadly, nobody seems to note that. Supersam is known to have been the man behind most of the then outdoor events that SOLIDFM was a part of in its early days like the Corpers Rock party at the NYSC Camp which was copied by urban radio when they first came to Enugu that brought now famous musicians like YemiAlade and Solidstar to Enugu among other things. As I said before, Supersam was undoubtedly the Face or Voice of SOLIDFM and apparently that wasn’t good news especially from a number of people he worked with. According to reports, after a long and very tense relationship between Supersam and his then boss and General Manager of SOLIDFM, a post on his personal Instagram page was the final straw that broke the camels back and led to his humiliating exit from the radio station and afterwards a series of spirited efforts to run him out of town was sponsored. In that period till this moment, even though he has been requested to by many people, Supersam chose not to disclose the true reasons for his exit, leaving a lot of suspicions and rumors to fly about. Since his exit along with some of his staff members, all has not been well with the radio stationThe duo of Clare and Viva suddenly vanished and then MC Franchez and Skimpy followed, IK &; Richy of the sports team left for Aba & Benin respectively and then all of a sudden Supersam, Amazing Grace, GSON & Dikin were removed (illegally we hear) and soon enough Mama T left for Ibadan, Big Brother left for Urban Radio and most recently was the sack of over 10 staff. Melle & Tuvia have reportedly left for Umuahia leaving frontline actress and OAP Christy Ijele Ejiofor as the most popular presenter and one of the few left worth listening to.Today, when people count radio stations, they mention DREAMFM and URBAN RADIO If SOLIDFM wants to bounce back, then Supersam is the person to make it happen.
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