How To Become an OAP/ Radio Personality in Nigeria

Being an OAP in Nigeria comes with a lot of prestige and fame. No wonder, many aspiring OAPs are curious about how to become an OAP in Nigeria. They have a lot of unanswered questions like How do I start a career as a radio presenter? How do I become a radio personality without a degree? How to become a media personality?

Fortunately, this article addresses all questions that you may .have as an aspiring OAP whether with the skills, experience, or certificate or not. Just continue reading this article and learn how to be a successful OAP in Nigeria even without the certificate. Read Also: How to Set Up An Internet Radio Station,

What Does an OAP do?

What is OAP in Nigeria? What does an OAP do? Online-Air Personalities (OAP) are also referred to as media personalities or even radio personalities. They are the popular radio host or announcers we admire or crush for doing their job well. Mostly, they coordinate shows on TV and radio.

They play music, interview celebrities, bring gist and gossip as well as read news. Not limited to providing commentaries, they also create content for shows and programs.

Furthermore, On-Air Personalities (OAP) can also be referred to as Content creators because of their work. OAP generates new ideas and content for radio stations and interacts with event promoters, investors as well as their audiences.

Some are responsible for the creation of the station’s social media content. Also, they may place an advert for business owners by creating content for such.

Some of them coordinate activities outside radio and TV shows. They can be seen making appearances at programs, and events. Like being hired as MCs, hosts for high-caliber events, and so on. There is no limit to what an OAP can do, it only requires your creativity!

How To Become an OAP/ Radio Personality in Nigeria

What qualifications do I need to be a radio presenter? How to become a radio personality without a degree? Many aspiring OAP in Nigeria who feels inadequate or inexperienced can go on and on about what they are lacking.

They may state that having no degree, skills, or experience is a hindrance to achieving their dream goal. Even though these things are important, it doesn’t mean you can’t be a successful OAP in Nigeria without them.

Therefore, if you wish to become a successful radio personality irrespective of your experience, follow the below-listed tips.

1. Carry Out Research

To build a successful career as an OAP in Nigeria, you need to niche down. And without deep research, you won’t be able to do that.

There are many niches you can venture into as an OAP in Nigeria. Niches like entertainment, sports, relationships, comedy, gossip, motivational talks, music, and so on. Consider your passion in choosing your niche. It must be what you can talk about for a long and what gratifies you.

Apart from choosing a niche, you need to research different stations that specialize in what you want to do. You need to find the requirements of these stations in employing OAPs and other vital information about them.

2. Get Trained/ Earn a Degree

The most successful and popular OAPs in Nigeria are graduates of either Communication, Journalism, and other related courses. This is not a mere coincidence. Being an OAP requires you to have good communication, public speaking, writing, news reporting, and other vital skills. Hence, you must have a degree in any of these courses.

But in case you don’t, you can get trained physically on these skills. You can also take online courses on it or seek the guidance of an expert to develop skills.

3. Listen to Radio and TV Programs

Do you want to be a radio presenter or TV host? Watch radios and TV programs. After making research, you will have to find a favorite OAP in Nigeria or a radio presenter. Ensure you follow and listen to the station he/she hosts programs on.

Make it a routine to listen to different Radio Stations every day. This will give you insight into the type of program you will love to host. It will give you the knowledge of how different OAPs coordinate and communicate with their audience. You have a lot to gain from this including public speaking, confidence, and communication skills.

4. Be Creative and Start Small

With all these steps, you will have acquired some skills even if it’s in a rudimentary form. All you need to do is to start something. From all the ideas that you gathered from all the radio shows and programs that you have watched, you can create something.

Maybe an interview with a friend, hosting shows, or talking about a topic. You can create a Facebook page, YouTube, Vlog, or Podcast for it. This will go a long way in building a good reputation for you. You never can tell, it can bring you an opportunity you didn’t expect

5. Seek Opportunities

As an aspiring OAP in Nigeria, you have to actively seek out opportunities. You do not have any reputation, only a few or no one knows about you. So, you have to seek it yourself.

You can submit your applications to different stations to seek internships. Or put yourself under the tutelage of a popular OAP to learn the necessary skills. This is very important so that you will get practical experience and get familiar with the different equipment needed by an OAP.

Furthermore, you may need to drop your demo or have some years of experience to be granted an internship by some stations. As they will want to ensure you are serious about it. And if you are an undergraduate, volunteering as an intern in one of your on-campus radio stations will be a good decision.

Read Also: Top 10 Most-Watched TV Stations In The World

More on Becoming a Successful OAP in Nigeria

Radio Presenters and OAP are mostly admired and held in high esteem for their skills. Even though they are envied and booed by all sundry, it’s not easy to become one.

You have to start from scratch doing a minor entry job before you grow from there. It requires a lot of effort, time, energy, and skills.

To be a successful OAP in Nigeria is not a day job but these tips will surely help!