Sandra Sopuluchukwu Ezekwesili is a Nigerian broadcast journalist, radio host, brand communications executive, and media personality. She is the former anchor of "Hard Facts" on Nigeria Info FM Lagos. She resigned in August 2023, after advancing through the ranks at AIM Group (owners of Cool FM Nigeria, Wazobia FM and Nigeria Info), to the position of Group Brand Manager, Nigeria Info FM stations nationwide. For her exceptional advocacy to women and women issues, she is the recipient of Her Network Woman of the Year in Journalism- 2021.
Sandra Ezekwesili | |
|---|---|
 Sandra at the I Beg To Differ Student Tournaments, 2023 | |
| Other names | Sopuluchukwu |
| Education | University of Port Harcourt (M.A Communications) |
| Alma mater | Enugu State University of Science and Technology |
| Occupation | Broadcast Journalist / Media Personality |
| Years active | 2009 - present |
| Known for | Hosting "Hard Facts" on Nigeria Info FM Lagos Cool FM, Port Harcourt's Breakfast show Good Morning Nigeria on Cool FM, Port Harcourt |
| Website | sandrasezekwesili |
Sandra Ezekwesili identifies as a feminist.
Early life and career
editBorn in Port Harcourt, Sandra is from Nara-Unateze, Nkanu-East Local Government Area, Nigeria. Sandra spent the first seven years of her life in Enugu where she attended NAOWA Nursery and Primary School Enugu. In 1997, she moved with her family to Port Harcourt, when the Nigeria Bottling Company moved her father there.
While living in Port Harcourt, she attended Holy Rosary College, a boarding school in Enugu. She later attended Enugu State University of Science and Technology, where she received a bachelor's degree in mass communication.
While at the University, there was a long lecturer's strike. During this time, she got an intern position at the Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS). Although the internship was intended to cover only production assistant duties, she impressed the management enough to give her an opportunity to be a presenter. It went so well that when she left the station at the end of the strike, the Head of Station at ESBS asked her to come back after she got her degree.[1]
After graduation, she went on to work for Katsina State TV during her Service Year, before moving back south to work for Radio Bayelsa and Ray Power FM Yenogoa.
Cool FM
edit
Sandra came to the attention of Cool FM Port Harcourt when she recorded an audition tape on her smartphone.[2] She was invited to audition properly and was hired in March 2013.
She quickly became a popular on-air personality. Winning and being nominated for a variety of awards in her first year at Cool FM. These include the Female On-Air Personality of the Year in August 2014 by Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo.[3] She was also given an award by the Stefano Piotti Foundation in 2015.[4]
Nigeria Info FM
editIn November 2018, Sandra moved from Cool FM Port Harcourt to its sister station in Lagos, Nigeria Info 99.3FM Lagos, a news and current affairs talk radio station. She became the host of "Hard Facts", the station's evening prime time (3pm to 7pm) talk program. This show was highly rated during its time slot, garnering more than 1,015,714 daily listeners as of February 2021. [2]
Sandra Ezekwesili has openly talked about her struggle at the beginning of her time in Nigeria Info Lagos; because of how she had to transition from an entertainment talk radio host- on Cool Fm Port-Harcourt to anchoring the most rated political show on Nigerian radio.
Notable Interviews
editIn the course of her active accomplished career on radio, Sandra Ezekwesili has interviewed a number of high-profile guests and political figures. Some of them are;
- Dr. Bukola Saraki, President of Nigeria's 8th Senate. Interview aired April 18, 2022.[5]
- Franck Riester, France's Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economics.
- Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Vice-president of the World Bank. Interview aired June 24,2021[6].
- Ajuri Ngelale, former Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Public Affairs and Senior Special Advisor to President Tinubu on Media and Publicity. Interview aired November 11, 2019.[7]
- Claire Pierangelo, former U.S Consul General in Nigeria. Interview aired September 5, 2019.[8]
Other Activities
editSandra is an accomplished event host and MC. She is also a Public Speaker and gave a TEDx Youth talk in 2014.[5]
Sandra hosted the foremost series of the I Beg to Differ Debate Tournament [4]for students on the prime-time slot of Hard Facts on Nigerian Info FM.
Twice, she has convened the "Glass Ceiling Conference[3]" in commemoration of International Women's Day; with a focus on identifying problems affecting the equity and inclusion of women across Nigerian socio-economic and political ecosystem.
Following the sexual assault of one of the participants while she slept by another participant on Big Brother Nigeria, Sandra has become a fierce advocate for Consent Education in Nigeria and a growing voice against sexual harassment[6]
Themes
editFeminism
editThe overriding theme of Sandra Ezekwesili's work as a broadcast journalist is feminism. This is evident in how she fosters conversation around cultural identity, personal identity, workplace environment, social, economic and political power of women and often explores the intersection of gender, class and religion. Especially how these play a predominant part in human conditioning. Sandra Ezekwesili often puts a contrast between the Nigerian traditional ideas and perceived westernization. This helped deliver her message thousands of intergenerational listeners.
Awards and Nominations
edit| Year | Event | Prize | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | HER Network | Woman of The Year
Journalism |
Won | .[9] |
| 2021 | Women In Journalism
Africa |
25 Most Powerful Women
in Journalism Nigeria |
Honorable Mention | .[10] |
| 2021 | 9to5 Chicks | Top 100 Career Women
in Nigeria |
Honorable Mention | .[11] |
| 2019 | Avance Media | 100 Most Influential
Young Nigerians |
Honorable Mention | .[8] |
| 2019 | The Future Awards | Prize for OAP(Audio &
Visual) |
Nominated | .[7] |
| 2018 | ELOY | OAP- of the year (Radio) | Nominated | .[1] |
References
edit- ^ a b "You know their voices…but how well do you know these OAPs (Sandra Ezekwesili)?". 26 February 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ a b Wikina, Ebenezar (3 December 2014). "TEDxYouth@OrdinanceRoad: How We Put West Africa on the Map". HuffPost. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ a b https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-ezekwesili-0b17567a/ [self-published source]
- ^ a b "Steph Foundation - Team". www.stephfoundation.com. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ a b TEDx Talks (14 April 2015). "It Starts With You - Sandra Ezekwesili - TEDxYouth@OrdinanceRoad". Retrieved 11 September 2017 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b Stephanie Busari; Flourish Chukwurah. "'Big Brother' has Nigerians talking about sexual consent". CNN. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ a b Special interview with Ajuri Ngelale, President Buhari's Senior Special Assistant for Public Affairs. Retrieved 2024-07-24 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ a b US Consul General, Claire Pierangelo Live on #HardFacts. Retrieved 2024-07-24 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ BellaNaija.com (2021-12-31). "Rinu Oduala, Osas Ighodaro & Sandra Ezekwesili Among 2021 Recipients of Her Network's Woman of the Year Awards". BellaNaija. Retrieved 2024-07-25.
- ^ Olabimtan, Bolanle (2021-10-02). "Ijeoma Nwogwugwu, Stella Din, Kadaria Ahmed named among 25 most powerful Nigerian female journalists". TheCable. Retrieved 2024-07-25.
- ^ BellaNaija.com (2021-03-11). "Here's the 2021 List of 9to5Chick's Top 100 Career Women in Nigeria". BellaNaija. Retrieved 2024-07-25.