‘The reason the hunter is always victorious is that the lion does not have a storyteller,’ Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe wrote in one of his books.
This aptly describes the plight of Ghanaian radio presenters, who in a quest for greener pastures in Europe and the States, end up in jobs different from radio presenting yet return home with fake smiles on their faces just to keep up appearances.
Though many of them, after returning home, do not open up about the realities of hustling abroad, one of such accomplished radio presenters, Fiifi Aikins, who left Ghana in search of greener pastures abroad, has said he wants to return home.
In what can pass for a confession, Fiifi explains why his days as a radio presenter in Ghana were far better than what he is currently doing to earn a living in the United States of America, specifically New York.
Fiifi Aikins, for the over ten years he worked as a radio presenter in Ghana, enjoyed good working relationships with his colleagues and superiors at Peace FM in Accra, Hello FM in Kumasi, Life FM in Nkawkaw and as a programmes manager for Virgin City Radio in Konongo.
He also worked with Mighty FM in Ashanti Mampong and Volta Power in the Volta Region.
Currently, he is working as a DJ at Radio Bronx in New York, where he is the toast of listeners when it comes to serving them with songs from Ghana.
‘There is no way one can compare working on radio in Ghana to working on radio abroad. There are so many things involved which include assured audience in Ghana because people even listen to radio whilst working in Ghana but it is not like that abroad. People are too busy and under pressure to listen to radio so there is always a limited audience. When it happens like that it also affects audience participation like phone calls and whatsapp messages, so virtually it’s communicating with a non-existent radio audience [sic],’ Fiifi Aikins noted in an interview.
He continued: ‘The other thing is also that radio does not operate fully here, especially if it has not been licensed; so what it means is that there are specific times that the radio is active. The airwaves are also limited because you cannot break barriers so it takes the fun of radio away from the job. Due to some of these reasons, I wish to come back and continue with my radio profession so all my fans should expect me soon as I am expected to bounce back on your radio in the next few months.’
When asked which network his fans are likely to hear him on, he responded that he had several offers on his table but he wanted to touch base finally to settle on which one would be beneficial to him.
He was grateful to some of his fans who still communicate with him on facebook and other social media platforms for keeping faith in him all this while.
Pix in newsone as Fiifi Aikins
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