Many wouldn’t believe that Frank Edoho started off as a rapper before he transitioned into a celebrity broadcaster. In this no-holds-barred interview with Olaitan Ganiu, the host of ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Series 2 – The Rebirth’ speaks on how he was fortunate to remain the face of the popular educational show, his sacrifices, among other topical issues.
‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ (WWTBAM) is one of the most impactful educational TV shows in Nigeria, how do you feel being the host since its inception in 2004?
That was almost 20 years ago. At that time many doyens were vying for the job because it was supposed to be a more experienced broadcaster handling the show but the mantle fell on my lap. I think the producers recognized some particular qualities in me, so they took the risk and went with me.
I felt excited that I was given the opportunity of being the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Over the years, I have always learned that to have a role like this, you don’t take it for granted. So, I’m always learning, relearning and acting as if I am new to broadcasting so that I can grow with the job. Trust me, it was a great responsibility that I’m very proud of and I worked tirelessly to maintain the character that the job demanded.
In 2017, the show went on hiatus for about four years. Do you think the rebirth of WWTBAM would regain its audience?
In broadcasting, every programme has its segment and followers. So, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is not a show that was built to compete with other shows because it’s a complete and unique game show that has its shine, viewership and attraction.
Of course, there are other shows that the masses love but WWTBAM is a show that rewards and have a subliminal message of ‘if you work, you will earn’ and that is what the new sponsors are trying to do. We are trying to push Nigerians back to the reading culture. The youth must continue to learn about facts, figures and events – happening around us – and go back to being that knowledgeable nation.
And again, you know when you are at an event and the Disc Jockey is playing some latest songs by Davido, Wizkid, Burna Boy or Olamide and all of a suddenly the DJ played old school songs by King Sunny Ade, Christy Essien-Igbokwe, Ebenezer Obey, Onyeka Onwenu, and others – everybody would stand up and go crazy – that is the thing about this classic show.
How do you feel about returning as the host of the quiz show?
Funny enough, I didn’t know that the show had come back until somebody called me that the new sponsors want to meet me. I was shocked. When they introduced themselves as the new owner of the license and they want me to anchor it. I was left dazed before asking: ‘Why do you want me back?’ They told me they’ve done 76 auditions for people before they came back to me.
So, what is your understanding of the new and additional features of the programme?
Some of the lifelines are 50/50, where the computer eliminates two random wrong options, leaving the right option. Phone a Friend, where the contestant has 30 seconds to call one of their friends, Ask the Audience, where audience members use touchpads to designate what they believe the correct option to be and the percentage of the audience choosing each specific option is displayed to the contestant as well as Ask the Host where the contestant will have the opportunity to seek my opinion regarding the question. And, because of COVID-19, we are not recording with the audience but in some of the specials including the Children’s special, Christmas special etc we are going to be welcoming the audience back. Also, I must confess our new studio is marvellous.
You featured in singer Teni’s Billionaire music visual, tell us about it?
Teniola just called me on the phone that she has this concept for her new song, explaining that she wants to make it look like ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ but her version is going to be ‘Who wants to be a Billionaire’ that she wants me to be the host. So, I accepted the offer without charging a dime. I went to the set, I did my thing for free and when the video was released it went viral on social media. People started clamouring for ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ to comeback. So, I think those things helped a bit in renewing my contract with the new sponsors – Unified Payment (UP) group, and BLK Hut.
You started as a rapper, how did you switch to broadcasting?
Back then, I was well-known as MC Frank during my years at the University of Calabar. I’m a hip-hop head because I used to listen to a lot of rap music. One day, in school, I did a rap to an instrument that was playing during a show I was anchoring on campus. I was like ‘Hey, I can flow on the beat’ and the audience said, ‘I can’t’. So, the DJ hit the instrument and I started freestyling until the crowd started shouting. I thought the shouting was to tell me that I was doing badly – I didn’t know it was an ovation. So after the show, I felt I should maximize the skill but there was no money in rap back then, and that was how I abandoned it.
Did you quit rap solely because it’s not profitable or discouragement from your peers?
Those days, I remember how my coursemate used to mock me for rolling with broadcasters. They didn’t understand why an animal scientist would be lobbying with Theatre Art practitioners, so they see me as an unserious student. They were shocked when they started hearing my voice on the radio that was how they knew that I was on to something.
Tell us about your journey into broadcasting?
The journey began in 1990/1991 while in school. I just walked into one of the offices at the Cross River Broadcasting Corporation, and asked the producer, if I could be granted an audition to be a radio presenter. The person stood up asking what makes me think I can just stroll into his office to get a job. I did my best to confuse him and he decided to give me some lines to read. As I started to read the lines, he banged on the glass door and told me to come out. I was so ashamed of myself but he surprisingly said, ‘you can start tomorrow’.
That’s how I abandoned emceeing and ventured fully into broadcasting. I was on the radio for a one hour program every Thursday from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm on Cross River Broadcasting Corporation. So, after school, I relocated to Lagos intending to become a columnist, radio presenter and TV host. I wanted CoolFM or RayPower but their offices were far, so I did an audition at DBN and further went to Encomium Magazine’s office to submit articles. I worked with DBN Television for one year and learned to be a jack of all trades – cameraman, news writer, editor, production and everything before I left them. I went to do another audition in RadioNigeria and they hired me the next day but before I started work, they sent me on two-month training. I think that was when my career got pivotal because I was taught how to articulate and present properly.
I served the station for four years. I was the one anchoring a programme called, ‘Win a Million’. The show is like an adaptation of the British version of ‘Who wants to be a Million’. Our Director-General saw the programme in the United Kingdom and he decided to adopt it on our station. When he was looking for a presenter to bring the idea to life, my colleagues pointed at me. That was how I started the programme and I added suspense and tension to the delivery and that was how the show garnered an audience. I didn’t know the show was preparing me for the original of ‘Who wants to be a Million.’ For me, it’s like getting prepared for the job of your life. It just came at the right time and I was given the opportunity.
How did you hear about the WWTBAM audition?
A friend came to hint me about the audition. When he told me about the date of the audition, I told him I can’t be there because it was clashing with a project I was doing for the ‘Close Up’ brand. Luckily, he came back to tell me that they are doing another audition for the show as they have not found the perfect host for it. So, I prepared myself for the next audition. Getting to the venue, I was scared to see many veteran broadcasters and some popular Nollywood actors trooping in and out of the hall. I was like there’s no way for me to be picked among the genius.
I was like, let me just go in and have fun. I remember I was the last person to be auditioned that year. The judges were already tired. They just snatched the script from me and asked me to just freestyle. So I used my experience as a radio presenter combined with what I watched on television to deliver my presentation.
When I got stuttering during the presentation, someone seated at the back cheered me on shouting: Continue… continue! I finished and walked out, believing they will never reach out to me because of my poor performance but to my surprise, they started calling me asking different questions. One day, I got tired of their calls and told them, you know what next time you call me give me the job, if not, don’t call me again. The next day they called me that they will be considering me for the job. That was when I knew that it is a big responsibility, so I started doing a lot of research and planning on how I would fit into the character but I decided to do me and we did it for 14 years before it went off.
Who are your role models?
Jamie Clarkson, is the one anchoring Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in the UK now. He is a fantastic broadcaster because I love the way he presents. He’s very intelligent. I have many iconic broadcasters that I looked up to in Nigeria including Cyril Stober, Yinka Craig, Patrick Oke, Sony Irabor, Femi Sowolu, Frank Olize, Razak Lawal, Ronke Ayuba, John Momoh, and over 30 of them that I still learn from till today. But, these days, I could not listen to many of the new generation broadcasters. I think pop culture and the internet have affected the way the new Gen Z presents programmes. There are so many untrained broadcasters on the airwaves. Those days, we used to refer to ourselves as Duty Continuity Announcers (DCA) but, now they say it is On-Air Personalities. It is funny, right?
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