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Citi FM, one of Ghana’s most influential radio brands, has celebrated its 21st anniversary with a moving thanksgiving service that highlighted a journey of faith, resilience, and reinvention in Ghana’s dynamic media space.
The event, held on Wednesday, November 5, at the station’s premises in Accra, brought together management, staff, and well-wishers to reflect on Citi FM’s evolution from a daring startup in 2004 to a household name in broadcasting excellence.
General Manager Bernard Avle, who joined the station as a National Service personnel in its founding year, recounted Citi FM’s humble beginnings. He recalled how Managing Director Samuel Attah-Mensah (popularly known as Sammens) defied industry norms by recruiting young university graduates and service personnel to build an English-language station in a market then dominated by established networks.
“It didn’t make sense at the time,” Avle said. “But God has been good to us. The first morning show host was a national service person. That’s how it all began — with faith, passion, and a belief that excellence could come from anywhere.”
He described Citi FM’s 21-year journey as one marked by “many deaths and many resurrections.” From losing its newsroom to a rival in 2011 to gaining international recognition when the Citi Breakfast Show won the BBC’s Africa’s Best Interactive Programme Award in 2007, the station has repeatedly turned adversity into growth.
Avle cited the 2015 rebranding — from A Refreshing Lifestyle to Relevant Radio. Always. — as a defining moment. “Relevance, not reputation, keeps you alive,” he stated.
In a heartfelt reflection, Avle recounted the station’s most painful moment — the loss of his wife in 2022, and the passing of Head of Radio Programming Richard Mensah’s brother in the same period. “It was our valley moment,” he said. “But God turned our pain into purpose. Even then, this building was rising — from that sorrow came something beautiful.”
He urged staff to view the 21st anniversary as “three perfect sevens — a divine symbol of completion and renewal,” affirming that Citi FM’s success was “not our ambition; it is God’s vision.”
Managing Director Sammens echoed themes of divine grace and perseverance, quoting Ecclesiastes 9:11: “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong… but time and chance happen to them all.” He paid tribute to Uncle Nik Amarteifio, whose vision and investment birthed Citi FM; to his mentor, Seni Adetu of Coca-Cola; and to Kwesi Twum, founder of Multimedia Group, who first introduced him to radio broadcasting.
The thanksgiving service, filled with worship, testimonies, and gratitude, was both reflective and forward-looking. It celebrated the founders’ courage, the team’s endurance, and the divine guidance that has shaped Citi FM’s remarkable story.
As the event closed in worship, one message resonated deeply — Citi FM’s 21-year journey is not just a media success story, but a testimony to faith, perseverance, and purposeful relevance in service to God and country.
Source: Citinews
