Joy FM has had and does still have some very interesting regional correspondents who tell those in the capital city and beyond things happening around the country. Elton Jon Brobbey, Efua Djansi Asamoah, Agbeko Ben Coffie, Mahama Shaibu and a host of others readily come to mind as those who properly represented their regions as correspondents for Joy News. But none of these regional correspondents has been so accepted by the listening public in Accra as their current Upper West regional correspondent Abdul-Salam Abdul-Rafiq Troare. The two reasons that may have accounted for this acceptability are his unique intonation and signing off. Being a morning show presenter at a radio station in the Upper West regional capital means he is a very popular person in the region but that cannot be compared with the popularity he has attained across the nation for the way in which he signs off whenever he presents a news story from the Upper East Region. The manner by which he drags the city or town where he is reporting from is very interesting and some listeners of Joy News have always looked forward to hearing his report and his legendary signature sign-off. Showbiz went looking and has discovered that what many who listen to him outside of the Upper West Region would not know is that there is more to Rafiq than just reporting on social and political issues. He had for a long time been a sports presenter and analyst on mass media for development, Radio Progress a station that operates from the regional capital. Or that he entered the media industry about 10 years ago having started his journalism career with Radio Progress and has since not looked back. Better still, the fact that he is the current morning show presenter of the station. He started as a sports presenter at Radio Progress and a contributor as a panel member on sports programmes for some time until he had a lucky break one fateful day. He had the opportunity to sit in for a morning show host who failed to turn up for the day's programme and he was stuck with the show as the management of the radio station found him quite suitable for the programme. In no time, Rafiq Salam, became the toast of the region. His morning shows which alternates in English and the local language of Dagare/Wale is a must listen to programme for many. He says that "perhaps it is the dexterity, with which I handle morning shows and the natural flair that come with my presentations that have truly endeared me to the listening public of the Upper West Region." He also handles other programmes on the station such as Big Issues, a purely political programme that takes a critical look at the political issue of the week. "This programme has come to stay as the entire region will be glued to their sets when the programme is on air," he added. Rafiq Salam's is a typical, case study of how to learn on the job. He started working in broadcasting and journalism without any formal training but not wanting to be left out in the changing world of the media and the dynamism that comes with it, he enrolled at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) for the intensive refresher courses a training he says "has added a bite to my journalism practice." Born in the mid 70s to Mallam AbdullSalam Issahaku, an imam of the Ahmadyya central mosque in Wa and Hajia Alimata Sandia Abdul-Salam, a market queen in Wa, Rafiq attended T.I. Ahmadyya primary and JSS and had his basic education certificate examination before pursuing general science at the Wa Secondary School. Rafiq says he picked up the desire to be a journalist during his secondary schools days. "At Wa secondary school, I was a member of the press and current affairs club (PACAS), which was headed by Mr. Calistus Baniyele popularly known as PACAS master and we had the responsibility of covering and presenting news at morning assembly sessions." Rafiq has a tough job schedule as the man in charge of current affairs programmes at Radio Progress, host of the morning show and other programmes as well as being the regional correspondent for Joy News and yet he has added schooling on top of all these. "I still believe that what I have done with my life so far is not enough and would therefore like to climb further the educational ladder. My dream is to become a legal practitioner in the not too distant future," he intimated. It is in view of t.bis that he is currently pursuing an HND programme at Wa Polytechnic. Rafiq is yet to marry and in his spare times he loves to read and watch tennis or football matches. His favourite local football club is (you guessed right) Wa All Stars and the foreign club he loves most is Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga. Henceforth when you tune in to Joy FM and you hear the parting words,"for Joy News Rafiq Salam, Waaaa" you can put a face to the voice and a character to the face as one of the most popular regional correspondents in the country today. Credit: Graphic Showbiz