Benson Idonije (born 13 June 1936) is a Nigerian broadcaster and music critic popularly known for being the first band manager of Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti.
[6] In 1957, he began his career as an Engineering Assistant at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (now Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria) before he moved into mainstream broadcasting in 1960, presenting and anchoring popular on-air programmes such as The Big Beat and Stereo Jazz Club.
Upon his retirement, he began to write and contribute critiques, opinions and articles to several art-related media houses in Nigeria before he got a job as a writer for The Guardian in 1996 where he wrote columns including "Evergreen", "Sound and Screen" and "All That Jazz".
[8] Idonije is the grandfather of Nigerian singer Burna Boy[9] and the father of Bose Ogulu.
[10] To celebrate his 80th birthday, a week-long event featuring paper presentations and musical performances was organized by the Committee of Relevant Arts and Culture Advocates Caucus in several parts of Lagos including the Ojo campus of the Lagos State University, Freedom Park, Broad Street and the MUSON Centre.