Dan Foster: From A Rebellious Teenager To An Ace Broadcaster, The Drive Was To Grow

Daniel Foster known as Dan Foster for short was born in Washington DC, U.S.A in 1960 and lived with both parents and three siblings for 10 years before his mom died.
Childhood
Left with his father and siblings, Dan Foster moved to Baltimore to live with his grandmother, Nana and in his teenage years, as common with many teenagers, he was said to be rebellious.Dan Foster: From A Rebellious Teenager To An Ace Broadcaster, The Drive Was To Grow
Broadcasting
While in Baltimore, he got a role with the US Marines and after a little while, he attended Morgan State University, where he studied broadcasting and drama. That was a life changer for him and soon enough, he started work with some top media outlets in the US, including Cathy Hughes Radio One, Mix FM, Virgin Island-based WTBN and lastly Morning Radio. In 2000, he moved to Nigeria and joined Cool FM where he quickly becoming popular as he was constantly criticised for his constant use of the word Ikebe on radio. When he spoke on his relocation, Dan foster noted that he was simply following his dream for growth. “Well, I like to think it was God because I’m following a dream. I came from Morning Radio in the U.S., and there was a job offer on the Internet with a radio station in Nigeria on a two years contract. I went for it and the Island also fascinated me. I was used to the Virgin Islands in the U.S., but in Nigeria, it was Victoria Island and it sounded interesting even though the U.S. Embassy has Nigeria on the list of countries that aren’t safe for American citizens. It was so negative and crazy but I came by faith and I saw the sophistication of the equipments that Cool FM had. The boss told me that if I wasn’t down with it, I could leave after one month and the U.S. Embassy also told me the same thing, but I blended in. I was enthusiastic, happy and went to work like I was expected to, professionally. There is nothing like doing what you like to do and doing it right, while also getting paid for it. It was a dream come true for me, because it was what I had always wanted. A lot of people get paid for doing something they don’t really love doing“, he said.Dan Foster: From A Rebellious Teenager To An Ace Broadcaster, The Drive Was To Grow
There at Cool FM he was, doing his thing and a year after, he received an award for Best Radio Presenter of the year. He also won the 2003, 2004, and 2005 Nigeria Media Merit Awards for Best Radio Personality. In 2004 and 2005, again, he won City People’s Media Person of the year. He was also the creator and director of the Cool Fm Praise Jam concerts that have took place since 2004, with a total of over 22, 000 people in attendance.
In 2007, he was a judge on the one-off Idols West Africa series, alongside Nigerian Dede Mabiaku and Ghanaian Abrewa Nana. During the show’s run, Dan Foster was compared to American counterpart Randy Jackson, although he received some criticism for not attending the Ghana auditions. In 2009, he also was a judge on Nigeria’s Got Talent alongside actress Kate Henshaw and comedian Yibo Koko.
Read also: Dan Foster: Daddy Freeze, Dotun, Frank Edoho Pen Emotional Tribute
In September 2009, Foster left Cool FM for a new radio station which he co-built Inspiration FM. He had addressed the transition in an interview, saying he left Col FM because he wanted to grow. “I want to grow; to be able to set up a new radio station, a more inspirational radio station, which is something I have always wanted to do, and it’s something like running my own radio station one day after working for like 10 years for other people. It was time for a brother to grow up and the offer came to a brother to set up some other radio station, and that was really interesting for me to do. It’s like a dream and I had to leave to follow my dream and that’s why I appreciate the start, because I got trained in setting up Cool FM and doing things regarding programming, and now I got to spread my wings and train other presenters. Inspiration FM came as another great opportunity to show that I can do it and that we can do it together. lLearning how to set up a radio station for me has been creatively challenging and I love it. The team at Inspiration FM has been able to do it in less than four months.“, he said. He, however, left Inspiration FM in 2014 to join City FM and in May 2016, he left again for Classic FM 97.3 radio station where he worked until his death. Dan Foster also had a stint on television, having a cameo appearance in a Nollywood movie Face of a Liar in 2001.Dan Foster: From A Rebellious Teenager To An Ace Broadcaster, The Drive Was To Grow
Deportation and Scandal
Dan Foster travelled back to the US to see his son (11 at the time, from a former marriage) and family, staying till Easter, 2009, and then rumours went mill that he was deported because of certain immigration problems. Speculations further rose that his former boss at Cool FM facilitated his deportation as he was not happy that he left the station. While addressing the rumor in an interview, Dan foster revealed that it was a lie and he had only went on vacation to see his family. “Nothing extraordinary has been up with me. I have been cool and just returned from a trip to the United States where my family lives. I have been there for a while now, and was stunned to hear the rumours about my deportation. I went home on vacation after being away for six years and I don’t think that is too bad. I mean a brother needs a vacation! I have not seen my son, my father, sisters and brothers in the last six years, and finding time out to go have some fun with them isn’t something too much. I was having fun with my family and we had a very large cookout in my sister’s house in the U.S. All my relations were there to mark the occasion. I also took time out to rejuvenate since I have not been able to do that for six years.“, he said. When asked what could have sprouted the rumour, he said, “Well, I think it could just be ‘bad belly’ because the radio broadcast is now becoming a competitive market. All I could say is that it is ‘bad belly’ and the competitive market. So, the radio market is getting competitive about who is where or who is not. Would new radio stations make it or not? I think it’s just weird for anyone to write such things in their papers without getting the facts right or writing stories from a particular quarter without confirming it; and it could be from someone with bad intentions. One of the things I read was that I was deported and was never coming back! I think that was really false and people should be more responsible when writing anything in newspapers.Dan Foster: From A Rebellious Teenager To An Ace Broadcaster, The Drive Was To Grow
Family and Love
Dan Foster had a broken marriage which gave him his first son Joshua (22 now) and after a few relationships here and there, including one with celebrity blogger and then model Linda Ikeji, he decided to settle down with Lovina Okpara, a Nigerian woman of Igbo tribe. He had taken for granted and dumped Linda Ikeji, despite she was so serous about him. “She is a nice kid. I hope she is able to find someone but she has to find the right person. She is really into what she is doing. She is an honest kid. I thought I wasn’t good enough for her. I kept asking her why me. But she was really into me. I couldn’t believe it. I took her for granted. I felt she could always find a fine model on the runway. But she was so really serious about me. She was in love with me. But it didn’t work out. I took her for granted and I was dating another person while I was dating her. I tried to keep a relationship in Abuja, another in Warri while she was in Lagos. Ah! It was a nightmare. I wouldn’t want to go through that again. I remember Linda asking me what she did wrong. She went on and on. My wife always tries to delete her number no matter how I tag it on my phone. She would always figure the number out and she would find out what I use to code it. My wife is so strong and she is the right woman“, he addressed his thing with Linda Ikeji in an interview. In 2008, he and Lovina welcomed their first child Daniella. They have 2 more kids together Kayla and Somtochukwu.
Death
Dan Foster passed on on Wednesday 17th June, 2020 at the Yaba Isolation Centre, Lagos. Close colleagues confirmed that he had been off work for some time as he was ill. His wife, in a recent chat confirmed to Channels Television that he was tested for the COVID-19, the result came back positive on Tuesday and he died on Wednesday.
Dan Foster: From A Rebellious Teenager To An Ace Broadcaster, The Drive Was To Grow
The deceased Dan Foster
Photos Credit: Instagram/Getty

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