....celebrates five years of compassion and benevolence with Street Voices with Kasnaty.
Kolawole Adejojo a.k.a Kasnaty Sugar, the Chief Executive Officer of Sugerlink Media is a household name when it comes to the Freelance Media genre in Ogun State. In the last five years, he has been running a scintillating show on the social media devoted to helping the downtrodden have expressions in their lives, as so many people have been positively blessed with their lives transformed through the programme. Street Voices with Kasnaty which debut during the Covid-19 era has not only earned Adejojo an enviable position in the society, it has has also served as a savings grace for many.
Leaning on the success of Street Voices with Kastnaty, Adejoo switched to another innovative idea entitled " Alangere ", through which he brings life back to the forgotten especially Music acts and entertainers generally through special interviews. In this encounter with The Business Package, Kolawole Adejojo shared some of the experiences garnered in the course of the programme and how the programme has succeeded in elevating the people as well as the new kid on the block " Alangere". Excerpts.
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Q: What inspired you to start Street Voices with Kasnaty, and what was the initial vision for the program?
A: There is no other reason than the fact that I like to do things differently. Street Voices with Kasnaty actually started during the Covid- 19 era . I actually felt that although people are listening to Radio, but radio may not be enough to understand everything happenings around the state. I reasoned that there are people abroad who are actually from the state who may not have access to the radio and they also wish to know what is happening to our people during the Covid- 19 pamdemic from one area to another. Even before then, I had done similar thing but in a different form. It is on record that I was the first presenter to stage a live radio presentation on stage. That happened few years back, when I gathered people in a hall to show them how we do what we do on radio. The usual practice is that people are not allowed to enter the studio, especially if they have no business there, but through my programme coined " A evening with Kastnaty and friends ", I was able to demistify the whole process. We were staging different segments of programmes on the show. Unfortunately, while we were doing that, people were abusing me for exposing the secret of radio. But, as God would have it,what we were doing then, most radio stations now expose it just as we did. This is in line with the saying by one of my bosses that the vision that I had seen then, most people do not actually see it.
Q: How did you come up with the idea of using social media to highlight the struggles of the downtrodden?
A: Like I actually said, it started during the Covid-19 pandemic. When I first came out, some of the people that i met,elderly women were worried about what they would be eating while the lockdown was in effecta and ongoing. And, someone from abroad decided tosend some money to them The first woman to gave us money on the programme is Mrs. Wuraola Adenike. In the same vein, the first man to give us money on the programne is Barrister Mutiu Agboke who decided to assist those who were at home without any hope about what to eat. So, by April 10,2020, on a Friday, I went to another area in Abeokuta. I met a woman who said if he gets anyone that would give her mere N500 naira,she would be ready to allow them to sleep and have intercourse with her, just to be able to feed. The story went viral. Her name was " Iya Saheed Oniroba". It was that programme that gave us our first major boost as people from different parts of the country began to follow the programme and they started contributing money to assist the people. We had very prominent people like Don Jassy among others who personally called me to assist the people. We also had big wigs in the theatre industry who also come to the aid of the people at that time. It was at that point that I decide to take the programme from one street to another. The irony of the matter however was the fact that at that time that they were giving the women money, I had issues with my car and I needed money badly. The woman seeing what I was going through with my car then decided to give me a sum of N100,000 naira, but I returned her money to her, letting her realise that what I did was not for the love of money, but for the sake of God. So, I returned the money and looked for means to move about executing the task. Could you belive that it was during that time we were doing the good show that within three months that God provided for me a car that is worth N10 million naira.So, that was it.
Q: Why did you chose the social media over radio for the idea ?
A: I'm still on radio, but not like the what it used to be before now. I still run programmes on radio but ibonly have one programme on Radio. The stark reality is that, the social media is faster and wider than radio in terms of reach and speed. Also, on the social media, one can express himself or herself more. But,on radio, there are too many rules and restrictions. Social media also presented the visual element which is complimentary. For instance, someone that we met and he or she is suffering, if we bring up the case on radio, people may not easily see the person and appreciate his or her situation, but on the social media, people can easily relate and feel the plight of such person. Although, some radio now do feature their programmes on the social media but there are limitations to what you can showcase on radio or television to what the social media could accommodate or tolerate.
Q: Can you share some of the most memorable or impactful stories that have come out of Street Voices with Kasnaty?
A: There are many my brother. For instance, there was this woman named " Iya Saheed Oniroba" that said if she could get anyone to give her mere N500, she would allow the person to have intercourse with her and she later became someone who was living fine or should we talk about the story of Taye Tapa who had a serious defects with his eyes and our fans later helped him to get married and they established a business for him. There was also the story of a church in Akure which they were yet to even built to an advanced stage and through the Street Voices with Kasnaty, the project was completed. We also had the story of Baba Olatunbosun popularly called "Baba Amoye", who was gifted a brand new car by our fans. Even the story of a woman selling Alubosa wo is now a landlord. We also worked on the issue of prophet Israel Oladele who while he had a case that took hin to the prison, was presented a vehicle worth N60 million naira. There are many people that we even opened shops for. The cases are endless. Also, there was one woman whom I featured sometimes back who said if she could get one dollar, she would take it to the site and invite all her children over and also be able to send her children to school. She actually didn't know how big one dollar is. She thought it was a big money. It was at that pint that D Bang, the popular musician watched the programme, he called me and gave the woman N2 million naira.
Q: Is there any way that this programme reminded you of your childhood and the fact that you actually came from a humble background?
A:It was actually not what I intended that way, but God just ordered my step and made it a success.
Q: How do feel personally feel that you are putting smiles on the faces of the downtrodden in the society who are getting help, here and there?
A: The irony of the matter is that, at times personally, I would be hungry and I would be asked to give money to some people. I feel particularly happy about that. I also have people who are in need. I have for instance a younger sister who is a widow and when i was called to give money to widows, i would not divert it. So, personally, I'm happy that people are getting hopes and assistance through my programme. But, today there are so many people who are now doing what we are doing.
Q.: What have been some of the biggest challenges you've faced in running Street Voices with Kasnaty, and how have you overcome them?
A: if I must talk about this, there are lots of challenges being faced on this show but I must tell you, God has been faithful.God has always been there for us and we are very grateful and elated about it.
A: Is there any other initiatives that you are thinking of, any other plans on the offing ?
Q: Thank you . Street Voices with Kasnaty has been repackaged already. Sometimes, during the first year we also go to Lepers Colony to present gifts. We were able to facilitate a borehole project to the place. During the second year, we visited no less than 44 villaes in the South West. We visited places such as Ekiti, Osun, Kwara, Ondo among other places. When we were four years, we visited the Beach and we met a woman there whose life was also turned around. At a point, I thought about it, is it compulsory that we must put everything we do on the social media. I was going to find out if some people are actually being good as a result of doing God's will or if they are really doing it for the show- off. So, by the time we reached four years on the show, I decided to change the pattern and we were now featuring musicians and entertainers generally. So, I was just sending it directly to the people. So, ever since, i realised that majority of those who were hitherto calling me while we were more feasible on the social media were no longer calling me. But, nevertheless, there are some people who are still calling me and I still extend their goodwill and gifts to the people.
Q: What is the name and idea behind the new concept ?
A: The new concept is called "Alangere" and it is to beam the searchlight on the musicians, majority of whom are forgotten and entertainers generally. The fear is that so many people are now replicating the concept of Street Voices and there are lots of issues and some people hardly knows the differences. But, truth is that despite having many people switching to the programme those who are our fans still know the difference. The differences are still clear. So, we decided to diverify. Ideally, the idea behind the " Alangere" , is meeting people's need and bringing people back into reckoning. For instance, some people whom the world had literally forgotten were being brought back to reckoning through the programme. For instance, not many people knows that "Kamulansa " is the one under whom Pasuma had tutelage as a musician, but thorough our expose, many people got to know. Again, through the channel, people are getting to know about what happened at a particular period of time; through my channel, people got to know the cause of Ayinla Omowura's death and so on. Like I said the concept is basically for entertainers generally, musicians, gospel singers etc and those who are l into theatre, but we focus more on Fuji because Fuji is life. The new programme " Alangere" has only existed for barely one year and sooner than later it would be as popular as Street Voices with Kasnaty. Alangere has been a good concept through which we interview musicians. For instance, there was a man called "Mojidi Ajani". He was contemporary of Ayinla Omowura. We have interviewed a number of notable musicians. Please note, we are still doing Street Voices with Kasnaty which would be five years this Friday, 4th of April, 2025.
Q: How are you celebrating the 5th anniversary of Street Voices with Kasnaty?
A: It is not a big party. We are not throwing a lavish party, but we would do it in a low key format, we would support people and extend a hand to them as usual.
Q: What lessons have you learned about the importance of empathy, compassion, and understanding in addressing social issues?
A: I have learnt a lot of lessons running this programmes. For instance, when I consider my experiences with " Alangere", I wish to state that personally I learnt that people should focus on God. People should forget about the notion that there are unseen hands in their matters. Some people actually are the root cause of whatever fate befall them. Some people do not know how to think or reason beyond what is obtainable within their circle of friends or profession. They could not dare the odds to be different. Also, we cannot rule out the place of education. Having good education is also a necessity and something we can not take for granted.
Thank you.
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