I had not written a CV in all my life-Steve Onu
By Oliver Onuoha
Rave of the moment radio broadcaster, Steve Onu popularly known as Yaw, came to lime light when he first hit the screens in a TV drama titled Flat mates. His popular slang, ‘Uwa bu paw-paw’ was what shot him to fame and fortune. The 95.1 FM presenter, disclosed to Lagos Weekend, when he paid a courtesy visit to Daily Times of Nigeria, how it took him 5months to prepare a resume saying, it was as a result of his not having worked for anyone all his life. The Theatre Arts graduate from the Lagos State University, in this interview, said if he wasn’t into entertainment; he would have been a frustrated person.
How did you start as a broadcaster?
It started way back when I was doing stuffs with BBC, there’s a radio drama called Story, Story, owned by the BBC, I acted with them and all that. But apart from that basically, WAZOBIA FM, all started with a friend of mine telling me to follow him to go see Mr. Ibrahim in Cool FM. Mr. Ibrahim told him “we are coming up with a pidgin radio station, do you think you have materials you can give to us”? I later told my friend that I don’t mind maybe just come here and do my stuff and all that and he said I should talk to Mr. Ibrahim and I did. I had not written CV in all my life so; it took me like five months to actually get a CV written because I don’t know how to prepare one.
So you haven’t applied for a job before?
No, I’ve never worked for anybody like say I am wearing shirt a tie or go for an interview. The day I came for the WAZOBIA interview, I was just sitting in the hall looking at all the people in shirt and trousers tucked in, I was the only person in jeans, face cap and ear-ring and I said ‘oh God, yes they wont give me this job at all but surprisingly, I was given the job maybe they saw that I could do it.
Tell me about yourself.
My name is Steve Onu but people call me Yaw, I am just a simple person, I read theatre arts and I studied drama, I graduated from Lagos State University, basically, that’s just me. I’m an actor, master of ceremonies, radio presenter, entertainer, I’m an all rounder.
You have a unique voice, how did you develop it?
I don’t really know everybody just keep talking about my voice but believe you me, I know nothing about my voice. People will just call on radio and say, Yaw, your voice and yet, the truth of the matter is that, when I listen to my voice, I go like ‘wetin dey this voice sef wey people dey talk about? I don’t know I just want to say its God because who God has blessed, no man can cause.
People mistake you for as a Yoruba guy.
Maybe because I speak Yoruba a lot too; there was one day on the radio, when they were talking about the helmet thing, a man called me and said ‘this thing they said we should be wearing, ‘ ko yemi, e me koleshe nko konpkai and I was like, what, se akoto? Some few minutes later, I got a call and a woman was arguing that it’s a lie that I’m Yoruba but I am an Ibo man from Anambra State to be specific but I was born in Lagos and grew up in Lawanson.
After your show Po, you bought a jeep.
That’s a heavy lie, don’t mind all those people. I bought that jeep since last year August and I have been using it since October and I moved into Victoria Island in March so, it has nothing to do with my show.
It’s obvious you have made a lot of money now.
For where, where the money dey? But we thank God.
Are you rich?
I won’t say that I am rich, but if you say I am rich, what will you say about Ronaldo and the likes of him? I am not rich but I thank God all the same because He says in everything give thanks.
Did your parents give approval when you decided to study theatre arts?
You know it’s not possible. Mine was that bad, I had to leave my house because I want to do what I believed in so I was moved in with friends.
It was that bad that after my diploma, my mother didn’t have the time to come to the school that she sent my sister to tell the school authority not to give me admission to go for degree so, it was that bad.
Why did you choose theatre arts?
I tried to do petroleum economics and I actually got admission to into PTI Efuru, one of this their Satellite campus in Lagos, Yaba, I got admission to do diploma but it was not in me. I don do Jamb oh, I try do Jamb.
How many times did you write it?
E bi like say I do three, I try though dem no send me free form later, because dem go send you free biro, T-shirt and face cap if you do like five six time, the following year, dem go dash you form. But I didn’t do up to that number of times but it was not easy for me wanting to do jamb. I started going out with Vivian Meche for auditions so, I met RMD who now advised me and he said “I think you’ll be a better person when you study theatre arts, go study theatre arts and you’ll be a good actor”.
Why did you appear semi naked in your play Po?
To start with, I read theatre arts; I’m not a home video actor, I studied drama, drama is your whole being. So whether you like it or not, even in home videos, some people do it when they tell them to cut their hair. Ernest Obi did a movie, Till Death, where he was actually naked. So if I, being a stage actor, decide I want to do this to portray what ever I want to portray, why not? The whole story line was all about lets all start afresh, it’s a new day, and lets start from the beginning.
What if you had fallen when you ran back stage?
It has happened to me before; I think that was when I was in Ife to do a performance. I fell down, we were on tour of a place and I fainted because I was feeling so tired. I was revived, I acted by beat and by the time I came back I fainted again. The doctor had to revive me and they came to meet me that it’s my turn again. First and foremost, you have to go and do it; you can come and die later. If it’s in home video, the lead actor might just come and say he has catarrh and he’s not acting. It’s not somebody that knows what theatre is all about, the person will go first to do it because that is more important than every other thing.
How much were you paid in PO!
I was just paid a little money, we can’t disclose all that.
How did you coin the slogan ‘Uwabu Paw Paw”?
Actually the TV thing that you see on flat mates recording, I think it was Anie Macaulay that said what was that thing that you said, say it again, it sounds funny; then I didn’t even remembered what I said, we had to rewind the tape and I got it again. When that episode went, everybody was like who’s that stupid guy that does the Uwabu Paw paw thing? And that was just it, it got stocked.
What inspired the ‘make una wake up’ show on WAZOBIA?
To start with, I’m employed to work for the radio station, its not as if I’m an independent producer, I’m paid working as an on-air personality and they just asked us during the screening a few questions and I answered them and they were like ‘this guy should be able to come out with something that’s should hold the audience on and that was just how it started. So series of meetings with my boss and also with the help of Dan Foster too; yes, I’m doing all thing through God. Dan Foster put me through a lot of things. He told me to just be myself, say what ever I need to say but be careful of things you shouldn’t say. Definitely you don’t expect me to say fuck you or bull shit on air. Avoid religious problems, avoid sexual problems, whether you are gay or lesbian, avoid such talks. When he just told me these things, I said okay. Any mistake you make on radio, use it as an advantage, say something to cover up for yourself. There was a day I was on-air, I had actually forgotten the name of somebody that sang a song, it’s normal, and you can forget it and I said it that I forgot it. Immediately I finished the programme, somebody called my phone and said what she liked about my programme was that I said I forgot it, it means that I am human but some of these people want you to believe that they have everything in their head but forget it, they are all human beings. I think that is what is working for me because a lot of people see and think or hear that Yaw on WAZOBIA is just himself and they can easily identify with WAZOBIA because first and foremost, na pidgin we dey speak. Because it is pidgin, they flow and that’s what everyone understands. Fela said it and now I’m accepting it.
Are you married?
The marital status now, halleluiah! Maybe sometimes later, the truth of the matter is that the wedding bell will soon ring, I know the year and I have even paid for the hall but the girl, I don’t know yet. I have even printed invitations; I will use biro to write the girl’s name.
What’s your kind of woman?
First of all, someone that will support me, someone that is creative; as I’m talking A, she’s talking Z. when I am saying I think it will be better to do it this way, you are also saying we do it this way and merge it up with this and this is the end result. Somebody that is a helper not somebody that is looking for somebody that she’ll depend on, I think that’s a perfect woman for me.
You seem not to get angry when on air why?
When some people think I’m tribalistic, it gets at me and when they think I’m that I’m religiously biased, it gets at me because I always try to strike a balance since I’m on radio, I respect everybody’s view. Off radio, my turn off is when people lie so much and when people don’t believe me, it gets at me a lot. I’m not saying I don’t tell lies but if you ratio me on the level I tell lies, maybe 85% of me don’t tell lies because I see no reason to tell lies, you won’t beat me even if I do.
How do you combine acting and radio?
Good thing the management I work with understands this is what I was doing and my boss will tell me so far it does not disturb your work. When I finished my show, the next morning I was on air.
Are you nursing any plans to go into music?
No but I have done stuffs, I did something with Niga Raw, Koffi, Rugged man and 2shots.
If you were not into entertainment, what other thing would you have done?
Maybe I’d have been a frustrated person maybe if it’s a profession I’m sure that’s it; frustration would have been my profession.
How would you describe your working experience at WAZOBIA FM?
My brother whether you like it or not, it is wonderful, you can’t rule that out. I do act on TV and everybody is like Yaw here and there but with radio, it is more, everybody listens to me. There’s one thing that makes me happy and it’s the people out there. I had some issues and I had to call my mother and she said ‘have you considered the people out there that listen to, have you considered those that are happy just because they hear your voice?
Consider them before you do anything. So it’s WAZOBIA and others are following.
What is your opinion on Nollywood?
It’s growing very fast and it’s changing, even the equipments but it just still gets at me when I still watch some of our films they show on Africa Magic, it pains me. I watched one recently and they showed the office of the inspector general of police, it was a sitting room with curtains, normal sitting room; they just placed a table there. Are we fools, are those watching it fools, they should grow. They were showing a news scene in the film, I think they shot the stuff in the toilet or in a kitchen because you could see the white wall tiles and the film was done in 2007; they also used cardboard with red marker to write NBC news. Most of the good Nigerian films are not shown on Africa Magic. The likes of Tade Ogidan’s films, Amaka Igwe’s films and Tunde Kelani’s films, but are trying and I know they’ll get better.
What were some of the challenges you encountered as a radio person?
I had lots of them but thank God for Dan Foster who told me to use those things as advantages and I thank God that the management just allow you to be you. It’s not as if they don’t check us but listeners think they don’t because they allow you to be you and they know that’s when the best in you comes out. I thank God because I‘ve won three to four different awards being the best radio presenter and City People also nominated me for an award coming up very soon amongst top people who have long been there like Wild Child, Femi Sowolu and Shola Thompson. Others I’ve won, I was also nominated alongside Dan Foster, Wild Child and I thank God where I am.
Who are your role models?
The truth is I don’t know much about the media, maybe when I was much younger, the people I used to like maybe that’s what I’ll use. Dan Foster is one for me but major, Seneowo Brown, Ruth Banamecia, all those people we grew up with, watching them on TV and then Yinka Craig of blessed memory; I love his style of presentation.
What’s the difference between Steve Onu and Yaw?
Steve Onu is an actor, Yaw is strictly a radio person, Steve Onu is shy, and Yaw is not when he is on radio. Steve Onu is in-doors, Yaw does not mind going out because definitely, people want to meet Yaw.
Is there any plan to re-stage Po?
Whether you like it or not, a lot of people believe that life theatre is dead but some of us believe that it can still get better, it’s not until we wait for government. Entertainment is changing, so what kind of entertainment are you giving to people now. That’s why I did the show, I am going to redo the play basically because I have apologized to a lot of people who say they came and couldn’t get sits. Yes but you won’t blame me, truth is sponsors were not there. Thanks to HiTV and Dana air but if I had the show sponsored; I would have collected a bigger hall or ran the show for two days.
When are we expecting the next show?
The return of Po! I still want to do Po! Maybe sometimes in June or July.
When will you retire from radio?
I take now as it is and leave tomorrow for where the Lord leads me to. I never for once believed I’ll be on radio but I know I’ll be on it for a long time if given the opportunity.
Are you nursing any plans for a foundation?
Yes, a lot of people have been telling to start up a Yaw fan club, secondly I’m trying to do something but I’ve not given it a name. Last year I did my birthday and I went to the motherless baby’s home and this year, my birthday which is August 23rd, will be celebrated for the blind. Call them together; few musicians will perform for them and all that. I just want to try in my own little way to touch souls; it will be like a concert for the blind, I call it sight for the blind. Next year, I’ll do for the disabled, for the crippled.
By Oliver Onuoha
Rave of the moment radio broadcaster, Steve Onu popularly known as Yaw, came to lime light when he first hit the screens in a TV drama titled Flat mates. His popular slang, ‘Uwa bu paw-paw’ was what shot him to fame and fortune. The 95.1 FM presenter, disclosed to Lagos Weekend, when he paid a courtesy visit to Daily Times of Nigeria, how it took him 5months to prepare a resume saying, it was as a result of his not having worked for anyone all his life. The Theatre Arts graduate from the Lagos State University, in this interview, said if he wasn’t into entertainment; he would have been a frustrated person.
How did you start as a broadcaster?
It started way back when I was doing stuffs with BBC, there’s a radio drama called Story, Story, owned by the BBC, I acted with them and all that. But apart from that basically, WAZOBIA FM, all started with a friend of mine telling me to follow him to go see Mr. Ibrahim in Cool FM. Mr. Ibrahim told him “we are coming up with a pidgin radio station, do you think you have materials you can give to us”? I later told my friend that I don’t mind maybe just come here and do my stuff and all that and he said I should talk to Mr. Ibrahim and I did. I had not written CV in all my life so; it took me like five months to actually get a CV written because I don’t know how to prepare one.
So you haven’t applied for a job before?
No, I’ve never worked for anybody like say I am wearing shirt a tie or go for an interview. The day I came for the WAZOBIA interview, I was just sitting in the hall looking at all the people in shirt and trousers tucked in, I was the only person in jeans, face cap and ear-ring and I said ‘oh God, yes they wont give me this job at all but surprisingly, I was given the job maybe they saw that I could do it.
Tell me about yourself.
My name is Steve Onu but people call me Yaw, I am just a simple person, I read theatre arts and I studied drama, I graduated from Lagos State University, basically, that’s just me. I’m an actor, master of ceremonies, radio presenter, entertainer, I’m an all rounder.
You have a unique voice, how did you develop it?
I don’t really know everybody just keep talking about my voice but believe you me, I know nothing about my voice. People will just call on radio and say, Yaw, your voice and yet, the truth of the matter is that, when I listen to my voice, I go like ‘wetin dey this voice sef wey people dey talk about? I don’t know I just want to say its God because who God has blessed, no man can cause.
People mistake you for as a Yoruba guy.
Maybe because I speak Yoruba a lot too; there was one day on the radio, when they were talking about the helmet thing, a man called me and said ‘this thing they said we should be wearing, ‘ ko yemi, e me koleshe nko konpkai and I was like, what, se akoto? Some few minutes later, I got a call and a woman was arguing that it’s a lie that I’m Yoruba but I am an Ibo man from Anambra State to be specific but I was born in Lagos and grew up in Lawanson.
After your show Po, you bought a jeep.
That’s a heavy lie, don’t mind all those people. I bought that jeep since last year August and I have been using it since October and I moved into Victoria Island in March so, it has nothing to do with my show.
It’s obvious you have made a lot of money now.
For where, where the money dey? But we thank God.
Are you rich?
I won’t say that I am rich, but if you say I am rich, what will you say about Ronaldo and the likes of him? I am not rich but I thank God all the same because He says in everything give thanks.
Did your parents give approval when you decided to study theatre arts?
You know it’s not possible. Mine was that bad, I had to leave my house because I want to do what I believed in so I was moved in with friends.
It was that bad that after my diploma, my mother didn’t have the time to come to the school that she sent my sister to tell the school authority not to give me admission to go for degree so, it was that bad.
Why did you choose theatre arts?
I tried to do petroleum economics and I actually got admission to into PTI Efuru, one of this their Satellite campus in Lagos, Yaba, I got admission to do diploma but it was not in me. I don do Jamb oh, I try do Jamb.
How many times did you write it?
E bi like say I do three, I try though dem no send me free form later, because dem go send you free biro, T-shirt and face cap if you do like five six time, the following year, dem go dash you form. But I didn’t do up to that number of times but it was not easy for me wanting to do jamb. I started going out with Vivian Meche for auditions so, I met RMD who now advised me and he said “I think you’ll be a better person when you study theatre arts, go study theatre arts and you’ll be a good actor”.
Why did you appear semi naked in your play Po?
To start with, I read theatre arts; I’m not a home video actor, I studied drama, drama is your whole being. So whether you like it or not, even in home videos, some people do it when they tell them to cut their hair. Ernest Obi did a movie, Till Death, where he was actually naked. So if I, being a stage actor, decide I want to do this to portray what ever I want to portray, why not? The whole story line was all about lets all start afresh, it’s a new day, and lets start from the beginning.
What if you had fallen when you ran back stage?
It has happened to me before; I think that was when I was in Ife to do a performance. I fell down, we were on tour of a place and I fainted because I was feeling so tired. I was revived, I acted by beat and by the time I came back I fainted again. The doctor had to revive me and they came to meet me that it’s my turn again. First and foremost, you have to go and do it; you can come and die later. If it’s in home video, the lead actor might just come and say he has catarrh and he’s not acting. It’s not somebody that knows what theatre is all about, the person will go first to do it because that is more important than every other thing.
How much were you paid in PO!
I was just paid a little money, we can’t disclose all that.
How did you coin the slogan ‘Uwabu Paw Paw”?
Actually the TV thing that you see on flat mates recording, I think it was Anie Macaulay that said what was that thing that you said, say it again, it sounds funny; then I didn’t even remembered what I said, we had to rewind the tape and I got it again. When that episode went, everybody was like who’s that stupid guy that does the Uwabu Paw paw thing? And that was just it, it got stocked.
What inspired the ‘make una wake up’ show on WAZOBIA?
To start with, I’m employed to work for the radio station, its not as if I’m an independent producer, I’m paid working as an on-air personality and they just asked us during the screening a few questions and I answered them and they were like ‘this guy should be able to come out with something that’s should hold the audience on and that was just how it started. So series of meetings with my boss and also with the help of Dan Foster too; yes, I’m doing all thing through God. Dan Foster put me through a lot of things. He told me to just be myself, say what ever I need to say but be careful of things you shouldn’t say. Definitely you don’t expect me to say fuck you or bull shit on air. Avoid religious problems, avoid sexual problems, whether you are gay or lesbian, avoid such talks. When he just told me these things, I said okay. Any mistake you make on radio, use it as an advantage, say something to cover up for yourself. There was a day I was on-air, I had actually forgotten the name of somebody that sang a song, it’s normal, and you can forget it and I said it that I forgot it. Immediately I finished the programme, somebody called my phone and said what she liked about my programme was that I said I forgot it, it means that I am human but some of these people want you to believe that they have everything in their head but forget it, they are all human beings. I think that is what is working for me because a lot of people see and think or hear that Yaw on WAZOBIA is just himself and they can easily identify with WAZOBIA because first and foremost, na pidgin we dey speak. Because it is pidgin, they flow and that’s what everyone understands. Fela said it and now I’m accepting it.
Are you married?
The marital status now, halleluiah! Maybe sometimes later, the truth of the matter is that the wedding bell will soon ring, I know the year and I have even paid for the hall but the girl, I don’t know yet. I have even printed invitations; I will use biro to write the girl’s name.
What’s your kind of woman?
First of all, someone that will support me, someone that is creative; as I’m talking A, she’s talking Z. when I am saying I think it will be better to do it this way, you are also saying we do it this way and merge it up with this and this is the end result. Somebody that is a helper not somebody that is looking for somebody that she’ll depend on, I think that’s a perfect woman for me.
You seem not to get angry when on air why?
When some people think I’m tribalistic, it gets at me and when they think I’m that I’m religiously biased, it gets at me because I always try to strike a balance since I’m on radio, I respect everybody’s view. Off radio, my turn off is when people lie so much and when people don’t believe me, it gets at me a lot. I’m not saying I don’t tell lies but if you ratio me on the level I tell lies, maybe 85% of me don’t tell lies because I see no reason to tell lies, you won’t beat me even if I do.
How do you combine acting and radio?
Good thing the management I work with understands this is what I was doing and my boss will tell me so far it does not disturb your work. When I finished my show, the next morning I was on air.
Are you nursing any plans to go into music?
No but I have done stuffs, I did something with Niga Raw, Koffi, Rugged man and 2shots.
If you were not into entertainment, what other thing would you have done?
Maybe I’d have been a frustrated person maybe if it’s a profession I’m sure that’s it; frustration would have been my profession.
How would you describe your working experience at WAZOBIA FM?
My brother whether you like it or not, it is wonderful, you can’t rule that out. I do act on TV and everybody is like Yaw here and there but with radio, it is more, everybody listens to me. There’s one thing that makes me happy and it’s the people out there. I had some issues and I had to call my mother and she said ‘have you considered the people out there that listen to, have you considered those that are happy just because they hear your voice?
Consider them before you do anything. So it’s WAZOBIA and others are following.
What is your opinion on Nollywood?
It’s growing very fast and it’s changing, even the equipments but it just still gets at me when I still watch some of our films they show on Africa Magic, it pains me. I watched one recently and they showed the office of the inspector general of police, it was a sitting room with curtains, normal sitting room; they just placed a table there. Are we fools, are those watching it fools, they should grow. They were showing a news scene in the film, I think they shot the stuff in the toilet or in a kitchen because you could see the white wall tiles and the film was done in 2007; they also used cardboard with red marker to write NBC news. Most of the good Nigerian films are not shown on Africa Magic. The likes of Tade Ogidan’s films, Amaka Igwe’s films and Tunde Kelani’s films, but are trying and I know they’ll get better.
What were some of the challenges you encountered as a radio person?
I had lots of them but thank God for Dan Foster who told me to use those things as advantages and I thank God that the management just allow you to be you. It’s not as if they don’t check us but listeners think they don’t because they allow you to be you and they know that’s when the best in you comes out. I thank God because I‘ve won three to four different awards being the best radio presenter and City People also nominated me for an award coming up very soon amongst top people who have long been there like Wild Child, Femi Sowolu and Shola Thompson. Others I’ve won, I was also nominated alongside Dan Foster, Wild Child and I thank God where I am.
Who are your role models?
The truth is I don’t know much about the media, maybe when I was much younger, the people I used to like maybe that’s what I’ll use. Dan Foster is one for me but major, Seneowo Brown, Ruth Banamecia, all those people we grew up with, watching them on TV and then Yinka Craig of blessed memory; I love his style of presentation.
What’s the difference between Steve Onu and Yaw?
Steve Onu is an actor, Yaw is strictly a radio person, Steve Onu is shy, and Yaw is not when he is on radio. Steve Onu is in-doors, Yaw does not mind going out because definitely, people want to meet Yaw.
Is there any plan to re-stage Po?
Whether you like it or not, a lot of people believe that life theatre is dead but some of us believe that it can still get better, it’s not until we wait for government. Entertainment is changing, so what kind of entertainment are you giving to people now. That’s why I did the show, I am going to redo the play basically because I have apologized to a lot of people who say they came and couldn’t get sits. Yes but you won’t blame me, truth is sponsors were not there. Thanks to HiTV and Dana air but if I had the show sponsored; I would have collected a bigger hall or ran the show for two days.
When are we expecting the next show?
The return of Po! I still want to do Po! Maybe sometimes in June or July.
When will you retire from radio?
I take now as it is and leave tomorrow for where the Lord leads me to. I never for once believed I’ll be on radio but I know I’ll be on it for a long time if given the opportunity.
Are you nursing any plans for a foundation?
Yes, a lot of people have been telling to start up a Yaw fan club, secondly I’m trying to do something but I’ve not given it a name. Last year I did my birthday and I went to the motherless baby’s home and this year, my birthday which is August 23rd, will be celebrated for the blind. Call them together; few musicians will perform for them and all that. I just want to try in my own little way to touch souls; it will be like a concert for the blind, I call it sight for the blind. Next year, I’ll do for the disabled, for the crippled.
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