AN XCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH TOOLZ OF THE BEAT 99.9 FM

ever-cheerful Beat FM OAP, Tolu Oniru is no newcomer to the business, having won several awards, including the 2011 Nigerian Broadcasters Award for ‘Sexiest female personality.’ Her success in the industry is no doubt an inspiration to many, who also love her sexy figure and voice. In this interview, Toolz, as she is popularly known, tells us about herself, her love life, including her relationship with producer, Don Jazzy, and what she plans to do with her life in the future.

What was life like when growing up?

I grew up mainly in the UK and I spent a lot of time in boarding school. It was interesting because when I look back now, I realise it was intense, and I’m saying that because then, my sister and I were the only black people in the whole of the boarding school. There were no black teachers or students, but then, I was a kid, so it didn’t feel different. I just felt like we were all kids, let’s just play. When I look back now, I kind of know there were different things going on, a lot of them hadn’t seen or interacted with black kids before. I was in Nigeria for like six years, from 1990 till 1996. I finished my primary school and continued with my secondary education, and that was also very interesting, because I was exposed to a new environment and I made a few friends. That’s where I learned a lot of stuff.

Tell us more about your family…

That I can’t tell you much about. I have got a large family, my parents are the two most entertaining people I know, I just hang out with them and let them talk, sometimes I watch TV with them and laugh, because it’s like a TV show on its own. I like hanging out with them and spending time with them.

Siblings?

Yes, loads of them, from my mum we are six; five girls, one boy. I love my siblings to bits, they have been very supportive, and instrumental to my success. They keep reminding me that ‘yes, you are Nigerian, but you haven’t been here for a long time. Everything was pretty new to you, you came to Nigeria and you did well, you didn’t have to beg anyone to take you through the hard work.’ They usually remind me of that and I’m like yeah, I am proud of myself.

When did you come back to Nigeria?

1990. I had spent lot of time in London and decided to return to Lagos in 1990 and stayed in Lagos till 1996, after which I went back to London and didn’t come back till 2007. I don’t know why I didn’t come back for even a visit. I got completely used to the things over there, but then I came back in 2007 for a quick holiday and it was lots of fun. I met lots of interesting people, the country had changed. It wasn’t like I remembered it back then in 1990. I realised it had lots to offer young adults, there were cinemas and all that, and at that stage, I had gotten pretty bored in London, because the media industry over there was over saturated and my parents had been pressuring me to move back for a very long time, and when I came back I decided to give it a shot, one thing led to another, and here I am.

Let’s talk about your education. What did you study?

Initially, I wanted to study medicine, but chemistry was not my thing. Everybody knows that if you want to do Medicine, you have to pass, at least get an A or B, and I wasn’t so good, I think I got like C or D, but I did well in Biology and Maths which was my favourite, so then I decided that I couldn’t do medicine and ended up doing Business and Communications, because I didn’t want to skip University. I [thought I would] start with it then switch later on, but that never happened because Business and Communication just seemed to explore different areas that I was interested in.

Was that what informed your decision to become an OAP?

The reason I became an OAP, I still don’t know. When I was thinking about moving to Nigeria, I  knew I was supposed to be part of the family business and all, which is obviously looking after property, being the landlord and all that which I am actually doing now, but when I moved back, I realized I didn’t know anybody other than my cousins, and my parents. Before I left London fully, someone told me about this young funky radio station that was going to be opening soon and I thought it was a good idea. I wasn’t sure if it was genuine, but the person that told me about it is someone that I actually respect. He told me about Beat FM, so before I left, I sent in my CV and they seemed quite keen to meet me, but I didn’t know it was real. When I came here I realized I knew absolutely no one, I thought working here would be nice because I would get to meet with people of my age. I reckoned it was going to be like a part time thing, maybe two or three hours a day, and I thought I could do that. I have had some level of experience within the media industry, I had worked with MTV and at Disney Motion Pictures, but I was always behind the scenes because I was never confident enough to be in front of the camera. I came here and had an audition, and when they were like’ we will like to take you,’ I [thought] I probably may not last for three months. I never thought it was going to happen like this or I was going to be at this level, so sometimes when I have someone asking how do you do it? I just don’t know what to say. It’s just very strange.

How then did you manage to tune in into the job so much it has become a part of you?

It was one of those ‘I have got nothing to lose’ situations, so I think that’s why I didn’t get too nervous about it. I mean, I still have my moments but I just gave myself four months maximum, I [felt they would] realize that I had no experience, but maybe I would have made a few friends, so it’s a shock to me that I am still enjoying it. I love music and that was a plus, but then I had to imagine it was only two or three people listening to me because if I thought a lot more were, I’d get nervous and just mess up.

How was your first day in the studio?

My first day was a mess. I actually felt self-conscious about my accent because when I’d been here before, a lot of people [used to] look at me and ask what I said, because I speak very fast and [i have] the accent as well, so I just thought ‘If the people that I spoke with on the first day didn’t understand me, the same would happen on air,’ and people would be confused, so I got very self-conscious. I thought about it too much on the first day and I messed up. I can’t even remember what I said or what exactly went wrong. After that, I loosened up and I thought the best thing to do is just be me. I decided to be myself, play the kind of music that the people want to hear, tell them about interesting things I see on-line, on the street and that was my formula, and it kinda worked.

It wouldn’t be out of place to refer to you as a celebrity OAP, having won The Future Awards and NEA back to back. In that respect, what tip(s) or skill(s) would you say are important to become a successful OAP?

Although I won the NEA, Future Awards, FAB Award last year and the Nigerian Broadcaster’s Award, I still think of myself as someone who has been in the industry only for a while. This is my first ever radio job as a presenter and I still think I’m learning. All I can say is be yourself, because being on air, people have to get used to a certain something about you. They might get used to the tone of your voice or anything and if that’s not you, it is very hard to keep up. It’s easier to get close to people when you know it’s the person’s original self. I always find that comforting, if I listen to somebody, I know that if I meet them I feel very familiar with them. Those are the kind of things I like.

Speaking of which, who would you say is your favourite Nigerian OAP?

That’s a tough one. I learn from different people. I think in whatever you do, you should never be at that point where you [think you] know everything. I have more than one favourite and I am going to be biased, of course, [with] Beat FM. On my way home, I always find myself listening to Gbemi, she is very funny and I like the way she is just herself, she doesn’t care, if she wants you to shut up, she will just tell you to. Olisa has a very interesting sense of humour, he is very witty, he is incredible and he gets you laughing. A lot of what you hear on air is not rehearsed; it just happens. Oreka was a lot of fun before she left, I like the new guys too, Osi is mad and Segun is so easy to work with. I think that’s the way people get attached to the presenters. I [also] like Freeze, there is this game they play, where you can’t say yes or no, he is just so amazing at it .

 Why do you think you’ve become so successful in such a short time?

I really don’t know. It’s so surprising because I’m just me. I think it’s because I’m down to earth and when I do my show, that becomes obvious. If I make a mistake, I just laugh at myself. I think that is also quite important, if you are able to laugh at yourself, people will see that this person doesn’t take himself too seriously. It’s very good to have comic relief; that part is important to me in my show. Everybody needs a form of relaxation, maybe it’s because of the kind of work I do; I’m a property manager and most Nigerians work very hard and need to let their hair down and have fun, and it’s very important to me to infuse [that] in my show. I just help with the music, share interesting stuff to amuse you so you don’t feel like you are stuck in traffic, and it has worked.

What is an embarrassing moment you’ll never forget?

Being a radio presenter, you have to be very natural, but there are times when other factors affect your mood. If you get very stressed you have to know how to switch it off and that takes time. I was going through a very stressful time, and when I’m nervous I stutter a lot, some people know that. I was in that state of mind one morning, and I just got to work and realised I couldn’t pronounce words properly, the stuttering was so bad, I was tongue tied, and that was awful. Another one was last year when I had Olamide on the show. I was interviewing him, Tiwa Savage, and Wizkid. I didn’t know Olamide had dropped an album so I just asked ‘when will your album come out?’ and he said ‘my album dropped three months ago’ and there was complete silence in the studio. Sometimes you make mistakes and you can quickly rescue yourself, [but] that wasn’t the case. I just felt like I was in the middle of the sea with no life guard, nothing. I just had to apologise. It’s sometimes best to say ‘I’m sorry’ and just move on.

Are you making any efforts to move on to TV?

Well, I’m doing bits and pieces for TV already. I’m very picky about things I do. I’m a TV addict and I have loads of ideas, and sometimes getting these ideas in isn’t easy. Now that I have found some success with radio, I think it’s best I plan my next steps carefully. I could be hosting every single show on the weekend, but that’s not what I want to do. I want to have a proper career, well laid out. The next TV thing I do won’t be because they are paying a particular amount of money, but because it’s something I want to do for six months or a year.  And yes, definitely, TV is part of my plan.

Do you see yourself quitting radio anytime soon?

No, I actually enjoy what I am doing. I am having fun doing it. I see myself adding to radio but I don’t see myself quitting. I play good music, I get to have people in my show who make me laugh, it’s been a lot of fun.

What are the things you don’t like about your job?

It’s basically the hours. If I had a desk job and I had a bad day, I could just be in my office with my computer and be in my bad mood, but with radio you can’t do that. You have to force yourself out of that mood or there’s no point in you being on air. Also, being a woman in the industry isn’t easy, I think to get recognition in this industry you have to work twice as hard unlike a guy. I feel most of the time that it’s an obstacle you need to kick out of the way.

Did you see yourself becoming this big when you first started?

Absolutely not.The first time someone recognised me, I ended up scaring the person away, I was at Shoprite and somebody came up to me and was like ‘are you Toolz?’  And I was like ‘you’re not supposed to know what I look like’ and the person [looked at me] like I was disturbed and walked away, I didn’t know what one of my favourite radio presenters in the UK looked like, but I knew his voice, so I thought it was going to be like that here, and that was one of the reasons I decided to do this. But now that I can be recognized it’s strange, because you have [people like] Tiwa Savage, Don Jazzy, D’banj, etc, I’m just a radio presenter.

Are you in a relationship?

No

What are you looking for in a man?

Everything, and I think that’s why I am very picky. I want somebody ambitious, caring and sensitive. It’s very important to me that the person is hopeful, I am a hopeless romantic. I want him to be God-fearing and respect me. The list is endless. Somebody that I’m comfortable enough to basically let them take charge when they need to. The person that will understand me, know which buttons to press. I want someone that will understand what a relationship entails, someone that will know it’s not just about having someone you call your girlfriend, never cheat on you, all those things.

There was this story making rounds about you and Don Jazzy becoming too close to comfort?

There was? Really, he’s someone that I’m close to. He’s quite special to me, and we talk well when he is not in the studio. He’s quite funny. One of the reasons I got to know him so well is because the impression I had before I got to know him was different. I used to think he was pompous. When I met him, I didn’t like him because I felt he thought he was big, but when I got to know him, I realised he is funny and extremely talented, but I didn’t know about that story.There have been other stories that I hear randomly and people call me to ask. [Usually] that’s how I hear about such stories; when a reporter calls to ask ‘are you dating this person’? But this story I never got any call about that.

Let’s talk about fashion. You are one person that seems to have brought ‘fabulousity’ to being plus sized. Does it ever bother you when people talk about your figure?

Well, when I first started and realized people were [noticing] me, [I felt the] need to be perfect, but then I’d end up over thinking these things so much that I would be uncomfortable. Now I know I can’t please everyone, so the most important thing is that if you feel good in something, wear it, and everyone will have their opinion. Sometimes I feel people take this fashion thing too seriously. Fashion is something you’re supposed to make mistakes with, because that’s how I think certain trends were discovered. For me, I don’t think it’s an issue, it’s not like the majority of ladies in Nigeria are a size 6 or size 8. A lot of women that are my size and shape won’t understand why it’s such a big deal. This is Africa; this is Nigeria. We’re known for having excess junk in the trunk, It’s a waste of time to me when people make an issue out of it, because if you go to a party, thousands are going to look more like me than those that are size 6 or 8, so if you feel good, and you know you’re healthy, then God bless you.