Ifedayo Olarinde (born 6 May 1976), popularly known as Daddy Freeze, is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

-Romanian broadcaster and radio talk show host.

Early life

Ifedayo Olarinde was born in

Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

, Romania, to a

father and a Romanian mother. He spent most of his early years in

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...

, where he attended the

International School Ibadan The International School Ibadan (ISI) is located on the Campus of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria's oldest university. History The school was founded by German-British educator Kurt Hahn on 13 October 1963 with funding received from the USAID ...

. He has a degree in

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

from the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

, and is from Oyan Town,

Odo Otin Odo Otin is a local government area in Osun State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Okuku. It has an area of 294 km and a population of 134,110 as of the 2006 Nigerian census. The LGA takes its name from the Otin River The Ot ...

Osun State Osun (; ), is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states for 84 km and for 78 km respectively, to the north by Kwara State for 73 km, to the south by Ogun State for 84 km and to the wes ...

Career

Freeze commenced his radio career in 1996 with the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS), where he served as a correspondent on ''The World Chart Show''. He joined

Cool FM Cool FM is an Independent Local Radio station based in Newtownards, Northern Ireland. The station is owned and operated by Bauer and forms part of Bauer's Hits Radio Network. The station began broadcasting in 1990 when its parent station ...

in 2001 and worked in radio presenting, television and general entertainment. He later became a senior broadcaster at the Cool FM station in Lagos. Freeze is also an event compere and has hosted a number of musical concerts, comedy shows and

Nollywood Nollywood, a portmanteau of Nigeria and Hollywood, is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term goes back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history ...

premieres in Nigeria, Ghana and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He is the leader of the #FreeTheSheeple Movement. In 2017, he started the Free Nation Online Church and holds Sunday and weekday services. In 2020, Freeze announced his departure from Cool FM, where he had worked for over 20 years.

Blasting David Oyedepo

In 2018, Freeze abused

David Oyedepo David Olaniyi Oyedepo (born 27 September 1954) is a Nigerian preacher, the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, and Senior Pastor of the Faith Tabernacle in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. The church is also known as Winners' Chapel Inter ...

, the founder of

Living Faith Church Worldwide Living Faith Church Worldwide (also known as Winners' Chapel) is an international Evangelical charismatic Christian denomination. The headquarters is located in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. The organization has since become a global network of chur ...

, for having a bald head, accused him without proof that an accountant stole from him because he doesn't pay enough salaries, abused him for cursing

Fulani herdsmen Fulani herdsmen or Fulani pastoralists are nomadic or semi-nomadic Fulani people whose primary occupation is raising livestock. The Fulani herder, herdsmen are largely located in the Sahel and Semi-arid climate, semi-arid parts of West Africa, but d ...

, and mocked him for a lie. It was shown in a video that went viral recently two years later, in 2020. As a result, he had come under fire from several reputable clerics, including Senior Pastor,

Dunamis International Gospel Centre Dunamis International Gospel Centre (DIGC), is a church headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria, with Dr. Paul and Dr. Becky Enenche, as the senior pastors. History Dunamis International Gospel Centre was established on November 10, 1996. A church ser ...

, Dr Paul Enenche; the founder of Salvation Ministries, David Ibiyeomie, who threateningly warned and cursed him, and several others for verbally insulting Oyedepo. He apologized to the cleric on the 12th of September, 2020.

Accolades

Freeze has been nominated for various awards and has won several others like: *2011

Nigerian Broadcasters Merit Awards Nigerian Broadcasters Merit Awards are presented annually to recognize excellence of professionals in the African/Nigerian broadcast Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audienc ...

– ''Most Popular Radio Presenter'' *2012 Mode Men Awards – ''Radio Personality of the Year'' *2013

Nigeria Entertainment Awards The Nigerian Entertainment Awards were established in New York City in January 2006. The awards recognize the contributions of African entertainers with a special focus on Nigerians. Ceremonies * 2006 Nigeria Entertainment Awards * 2007 Nigeria ...

– ''Best Radio/TV Personality'' *2014

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice, is an American annual awards ceremony show produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in March or early April, the show honors the year's biggest in tel ...

– ''Favourite Nigerian On-Air Personality''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daddy Freeze 1976 births Nigerian Christians Nigerian radio presenters Nigerian television presenters Romanian radio presenters Romanian television presenters Living people Yoruba radio personalities University of Ibadan alumni International School, Ibadan alumni Romanian people of Nigerian descent People from Cluj-Napoca