Thompson Taiwo

Thompson Taiwo is a broadcast journalist and a community development wo. He has been working in the broadcast media industry for more than nine years. He was an outside contributor to the Guardian Newspaper writing on African developmental challenges and also functioned as a political analyst on Nigeria Speaks, a news and current affairs show, on Rainbow FM, Lagos. He has worked as a News Editor, Head of Programmes and Director of programmes with different radio stations in the southwestern part of Nigeria. He was the host of Thompson and the Gang on Rave 91.7FM, Osogbo. He was the Head of Station, Brave FM, Ogbomosho, Oyo State, Nigeria.

07/2022-01/2023 Head of Station
Brave 91.1FM | Nigeria | 
  • Was responsible for the overall health of the station
  • Helped the station to achieve the highest standards of     content
  production through creative leadership
  • Hired, trained, and supervised various employees
  • Identified financial goals and met them
01/2018-07/2022  Head of Current Affairs Programmes
Rave 91.7FM | Nigeria | 
• Oversaw the creation, production, management and  scheduling
of current affairs programmes
• Rave 91.7FM won the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ),  Osun State Council, Best Radio Station of the Year  award six  times in 2016,2017,2018,2019,2020 and 2021.
• Repositioned the station’s current affairs programmes, one  (Peoples’ Parliament) of which attracted sponsorship from the  United States  Consular General, Lagos, Nigeria in 2021
•Host of Thompson and the Gang
(A weekly 2-hour panel discussion on socio-political  and  economic issues  in Nigeria)
• Newsreader
05/2016-01/2018 Head of Programmes
M&C106.5FM| Nigeria |
•Created, managed & scheduled station’s programming
•Oversaw the programme’s department,  
making sure the station sounded its best
•Of the four radio stations in Ondo town, M&C 106.5 FM had  the largest   listenership base.
•Developed programming that reflected the socio-cultural  diversity of   the people
•Host of Insight (A socio-political discussion programme)
•Newsreader 
11/2015-3/2016      Director of Programmes
Parrot101.1FM| Nigeria | 
•Created, managed & scheduled station’s programming
• Oversaw the programme’s department,
making sure the station sounded its best
•Made Parrot 101.1 FM the-most-listened-to radio station 
in Ogbomosho town and its environments
•Developed programming that reflected 
the socio-cultural diversity of  the people
•Host of Glorious Dawn (A 2-hour early morning motivational  show)
•Newsreader
12/2014-11/2015     News Editor/Producer
Parrot101.1FM| Nigeria | 
• Assigned journalists to event news stories
• Reviewed stories and edited for factual accuracy
• Made judgment about relative importance of stories
•Generated and researched ideas for programmes
2013-2014  Social And Political Analyst
  Rainbow 94.1 FM and TopRadio 90.9 FM,
Lagos, Nigeria.
6/2011-6/2012  Teaching Assistant
 Taught English Language and Literature 
 at Federal Government Girls' College, Abaji, Abuja
2022-2022  Show Host
Watching the Vote Hour was sponsored by Yiaga Africa working with its technical partner National Democratic Institute (NDI) and support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the UKAID.
•It was a citizen’s platform for discussions on credible election. The program was dedicated to discussions on the 2022 Osun Governorship elections and the importance of informed citizens’ participation in the process. It was aired on Rave 91.7FM, Osun State, Nigeria.
2021-2022    Show Host,
Eyecare on Rave 91.7FM sponsored by Community Advancement Initiative for Self-Reliance (CAI4SR)
•It is an NGO based in Osogbo, Osun State, championing the cause of women, children, and persons with disabilities. 
•I volunteered with the organisation in the area of publicity and awareness by anchoring radio show creating awareness about its current project which is providing free and sustainable access to vision correction to targeted 200,000 children and contributing towards the elimination of poor vision. The project ran from January to December 2021. More than 15o000 children had their eyes screened. Children diagnosed with eye defects were given free corrective eyeglasses.
2021-2021 Show Host,
UNIOSUN Solutions Forum sponsored by Global Affairs and Sustainable Development Institute (GASDI), Osun State University, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria
•The discussion on the show centered on the solutions the ivory tower is proffering to societal challenges using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a guide. The show ran for six months on Rave 91.7FM, Nigeria.
2020-2021 I worked with Value Re-orientation for Community Enhancement (VARCE), Osogbo, to develop radio programmes to enlighten the audience about the medical and psychological consequences of female genital mutilation (FGM) and other forms of violence against women and girls.
2020-2020 Show Host,
Follow the Money sponsored by Connected Development (CODE), Nigeria 
•I worked for three months as an anchor of a radio show tagged Follow the Money which tracked how covid-19 response fund was spent by contacting donors and government agencies for detailed information on spending plans. The show aired from September to December 2020 on Rave 91.7FM, Osun State,Nigeria.
  Show Host,
Osun Youth Agenda sponsored by Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), Osogbo, Nigeria
•The radio show dissected and offered solutions to developmental challenges facing Osun youths. Relevant stakeholders in government, the private sector, and civil society were featured on the programme. About 3 million Osun citizens were reached. The show ran from May to August 2019.
•The discussion on the show and other notable efforts of the KDI culminated in a policy dialogue in 2019 where participants called for the establishment of the Osun Youth Development Commission. Consequently, in May 2020, the Osun State House of Assembly passed the Osun Youth Development Commission Est. Bill 2020, courtesy KDI’s effort.
2011-2014 Team Lead,
Developing the Girl Child through Literature Initiative, Abuja, Nigeria
(A not for profit founded in Abuja in 2011 and rested in 2014)
•In 2012, a-three day writing workshop was organized to train 45  students of  Federal Government Girls’ College, Abaji-Abuja.
•Under this initiative, the students became published authors. 
Literary works (poems) written by them were published in a book  entitled  “Portrait of a Poet as a Young Girl’’
• The publication of the book was financed 
by Federal Government Girls’ College, Abaji-Abuja, on behalf of
Federal Ministry of Education, Abuja, Nigeria
•The book was reviewed in The Nation.

 

01/2023-Till Date  Diploma in Caregiving (In view)
                                  Alison Online School
03/2016-10/2017 MA Communication and Language Arts
                                  University Of Ibadan , Ibadan, Nigeria
07/2012-07/2013 PGD Broadcast Journalism
                                  Nigerian Institute of Journalism ), Lagos, Nigeria
09/2006-12/2010 BA English Language 
                                Obafemi Awolowo University , Ile-Ife, Nigeria