MARYANN ( OAP Nigeriainfo92.3fm )
‘I didn’t start out wanting to be an On Air Personality. Far from it, I did know that I was going to end up on stage or maybe in the movies but not as a broadcaster ‘- MARYANN ( OAP Nigeriainfo92.3fm ) 

Like I said in my Instagram post, if there’s one lady that has paid her dues in broadcasting, Maryann Duke Okon is definitely one. For close to a decade I have witnessed this lady ply her trade passionately on television and radio. She has walked her way through the corridors of broadcasting accumulating knowledge and impacting lives. Maryann Duke Okon currently works with Nigeria Info 92.3 FM in Port Harcourt; we recently had a conversation with her.

How did broadcasting start for you?

I didn’t start out wanting to be an On Air Personality. Far from it, I did know that I was going to end up on stage or maybe in the movies but not as a broadcaster. As God would have it my life was somewhat fashioned to end up here. I was very aware of stuff that was on TV and radio, I knew names of shows and their hosts by heart as a little girl but still didn’t know that nature had programmed me for the mic and camera life. So after my diploma sometime in 2003, I was looking for a place to do my internship and in those days the banks were in vogue. Unfortunately they all said no to me cos I studied English. I was so frustrated and I was tired of searching then my Dad offered that I try his former place of work, NTA, but I declined and then he said, “You can try CRBC I have some old buddies there. They could help.” That’s how I got to CRBC and I was allowed to do my IT at the library. I was satisfied though but nature still wanted more from me. So one day I was going about my business and a fellow intern came on to me and asked if I wanted to be a traffic reporter I quickly said “Noooo! Abeg I don’t like TV” and she said “Don’t worry you would love it and you got the face for TV.” Long story short she convinced me and I started doing traffic report on TV for the morning show. This was the beginning of my journey to fame. And that Intern by the way is my bestie up till date.

I always have to remind her that she started all of this. After my years of internship the management decided to retain me and I started doing the night show on radio for year after year until one day out of the blues, I was offered the Saturday morning show on TV. It was mind blowing for me, scary but exciting and from there I moved to the weekly morning shows both on radio and TV. From there I was introduced to the government house press wing of CRS government, where I became the governor’s Master of Ceremonies for 5 years. And right after that I joined the group of super MCs for the Calabar festival and carnival. I spent 9 years with the CRS Broadcasting Corporation and then decided to spread my tentacles and see what the outside world had for me, hence my move to Nigeria Info FM Port Harcourt. It’s been 4 years and counting since I joined the CoolWazobiaInfo family. It’s been an interesting journey and I’m not tired. I am still exploring and reaching for the stars.

If you are not doing any broadcast related job, what else would you have done?

I love fashion and I love to dress people up on the side. I am like a personal shopper and I loved to piece things together and make people look good. I also sang professionally but not commercially. I’m a trained singer so I sing on the side for fun and also teach people how to sing.

You keep looking young, what’s the secret?
Hahahahaha… The secret to my looks? Well I got that from my dad, he’s got great genes. He gets younger by the day and I’m grateful to God that I got that from him.

– Sesan Adeniji

Culled from Mystreetz Magazine