UNILAG Radio

The Journey of campus broadcasting in Nigeria dates back to 1982, when Professor Ralph A. Akinfeleye called for the establishment of an educational radio station for the University of Lagos. The then Head of Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, Professor Alfred Opubor (R.I.P) took up the challenge and wrote to the Federal Ministry of Information and Communication for a Radio License.

The University of Lagos did not get a Radio License until the eventual Media Deregulation Policy of 1992. The Licensewas eventually granted in February 2002, twenty years after the University applied for one. The frequency of 103.1FM was assigned to the University in July 2003 and the station was officially commissioned on the 14th of December, 2004 by former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Unilag Radio is therefore the First Campus station to receive a license and the first campus station to go on
air in 2004.


And, based on Unilag Radio's credible performance, the stage was set for other campus stations to receive their licenses. At the last count, 27 institutions of higher learning in Nigeria have received licenses for campus radio stations.

The National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), the body that regulates the broadcast industry in Nigeria, stipulates that among other things, campus stations should be the broadcast laboratory for students of mass communication, that they must remain professional and educational, and adhere strictly to the objectives for which they are licensed.

To this end, Unilag 103.1FM is conscious of her responsibility towards her community which is, first her audience on campus and secondly the audience all over the country.

Objectives of Unilag Radio 103.1Fm
1. To optimize instructional and educational opportunities available to Nigerians in order to facilitate sustainable human development in Nigeria.

2. To serve as an authoritative channel of instructional and educational programmes for tertiary level students and other adults seeking knowledge in order to improve themselves,

3. To provide opportunities for schools to engage in appropriate research that can advance the knowledge and practice of Radio Broadcasting and communication.

It is worthy of note that every effort is made to meet the objectives for which Unilag Radio was established. Most people working with Unilag Radio are experienced hands who ensure that quality programmes are broadcast on the station. Apart from this, they willingly give hands-on training to students of the University and other tertiary institutions who come to the station for industrial attachment. Their interest in impacting practical knowledge on the students they work with is one of the driving forces keeping the station going.

Apart from the station’s quality staff, the academic staff of the university participates fully in the stations various programmes. Unilag 103.1 fm listeners are therefore able to tap from their vast knowledge. In addition, an important fact is that students from the Department of Mass Communication and other departments participate in the daily broadcast of Programmes in such as News Reporting and writing, presentation, production and marketing.

These students have their own privilege of being the first tertiary institution in Nigeria to have hands-on training in their of higher learning are also given the opportunity of receiving their compulsory industrial Training at the Station.

Unilag Radio also makes every effort to provide training for her staff. This is necessary because broadcasting is dynamic with new technologies springing up daily. Training is therefore vital in media organization to keep abreast with current broadcast trend.

Campus stations are here to stay. They are playing vital role in community development and social change. With the success of these stations, the next stage is the licensing of community stations across the country.