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My female crushers reduced after my marriage – Wilfred Mong

 

Wilfred Mong, popularly known as ‘DsilentG’ is the sports lead at City105.1FM, a radio station in Lagos. We caught up with the multi-lingual broadcast journalist and he shared his personality with us. Excerpts…

How did you come into sports journalism?

It is just pure love. I have always been an ardent lover of sports since the early 1990s. In primary school, I owned a small transistor radio where I always listened to BBC Sports and VOA Sports. Here in Nigeria, NTA Sports on Saturdays was my go to medium for visuals before private stations came on board.

After graduating with a degree in Mass Communication from the University of Nigeria, becoming a journalist was an easy decision. Specialising in sports was quite easy, though I do cover other beats.

Why electronics and not print?

I still write for print media till date, though electronics is my core. But in answering your question, I think print medium is not as interesting as its electronic counterpart despite being the most tasking. For all the hardwork put into producing the print we read, it needs to be more exciting than it currently is. I first tried my hands at print journalism. Right from the university, we were made write numerous news stories published in the school’s newspaper. I also interned at The Sun Newspaper where several articles of mine were published. I made the decision to settle for electronics after I interned at Minaj Broadcast International. Simply put, electronic media is more exciting. I hope my colleagues in the print media will not come after me.

How have you been managing home with the demands of your job?

This is the most challenging part. It became more challenging after my first child was born. I am now forced to work late into the early hours of the morning on a regular basis because my hands are usually full with domestic chores once I step into the house.

Overtime, I have learnt to reprioritise and I am much better at time management. I always remind myself that I am not the first to have a child, therefore I must accomplish each task I set out to do on a daily basis. It is basically about setting your priorities right.

How did you meet your wife?

I met her in 2006 during my second year as an undergraduate in the university. We were in the same department; she was a class below me. We were just friends throughout university. If I had placed a bet that we would be married today, that would have been wager lost.

Friends became lovers after school, thanks to living in the same neighbourhood. The rest they say is history and we have been married for four years.

How do you relax when not at work?

I spend most of my spare time on my phone, mostly reading news stories over the internet. If there is power, I watch CNN and Aljazeera. Boring, right? Well that is the life I am used to at the moment.

Occasionally, I join friends to clubs, visit friends at their homes or hangout with family.

I also read books in-between.

Tell us about the pressure of the job and family

The job is really tasking. Producing and anchoring a 30 minutes show in the morning means I will either stay awake late into the night, or wake up very early while others are still sleeping to prepare for work. It is even worse when there are major events being staged in American and Asia. I am regularly forced to stay awake almost all night just to catch the events live. This surely takes a toll on me. Most times at work, I am forced to take a nap by putting my head down on my desk. A 15 minute nap is a major reset for my brains at work. Family pressure is just money. Demands keep rising with the incessant inflation.

Your job exposes you to so many people, how do you manage your female crush

This is the best part of this job – meeting people and travelling the globe. For the female crushes, they were more before I got married. If I still have them, none that I am aware of. They flock around you a lot when you flirt with them. Not flirting with them keeps them far away from you, although I must admit some are damning. I have never seen this as a challenge.

What do you think are the negative side of your job

I would love to speak generally about the industry. Poor remuneration is a big issue. Salaries must improve. Most people in the profession have to do other things to make ends meet. This directly affects their productivity and in some cases, loyalty to their organisation.

Why the name ‘DsilentG’?

The ‘G’ in my surname ‘Mong’ is almost silent when pronounced. So I was on air at City FM in June 2012 with Chinasia Ibonye and Westybaba who both struggled pronouncing the surname. I explained to them that the ‘G’ was almost silent. Right there, they began calling me ‘DsilentG’. I simply adopted the name.

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