Matse Uwatse (born 10 May, 1981), popularly known by her

first name First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

Matse, is a Nigerian on-air personality and food blogger.

Early life and education

Uwatse was born on 10 May 1981 in Warri, Delta State in the southern parts of Nigeria. She is the daughter of John Uwatse (an engineer) and Pat Omare (a businesswoman). The first of seven siblings, she has four brothers and three sisters. She attended John F. Kennedy International school and Our Lady's High School both in

Effurun Effurun is a town and the headquarters of Uvwie Local Government Area in Delta State, Nigeria. It is an Urban center, densely populated with different infrastructural development. it borders it's twin city Warri, also serves as an entranc ...

. She then proceeded to Federal Government College Warri. She is an alumnus of

Delta State University, Abraka The Delta State University, Abraka - popularly known as DELSU - is a State government-owned university in Nigeria with the main campus located at Abraka, Delta State and it's sub campus at Oleh. The Oleh campus was established with the 1995 ...

, and had a course abroad in French studies at Village du Benin,

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

Career

2008 - 2011: "Coolele Zone" on Wazobia FM

Matse became associated with

Wazobia FM Wazobia 95.1 FM Lagos is a Nigerian Pidgin English radio station in Lagos state. It was founded in 2007 and belongs to Globe Communications Limited. Wazobia Fm Lagos is known for its humorous approach to broadcasting. The radio station airs a ...

, after a successful audition in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

in 2008. She hosted the midday show called ''Coolele Zone'', on the Pidgin English-speaking radio station established in 2007. Her increased popularity due to her ingenuity to the broadcasting profession led her to win numerous awards including,

Nigerian Broadcasters Merit Awards Nigerian Broadcasters Merit Awards are presented annually to recognize excellence of professionals in the African/Nigerian broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass ...

Best of Nollywood Awards Best of Nollywood Awards (stylised as BON Awards) is an annual film event presented by ''Best of Nollywood Magazine,'' honouring outstanding achievement in the Nigerian Movie Industry. The first edition was held on 6 December 2009, in Ikeja, Lag ...

and The Future Awards. She was also listed as one of the top ten most powerful young Nigerians in the media.

2011 - 2013: "Head of News" on Nigeria Info

In 2011, she announced her departure from

through social media. In an interview with ''Encomium Magazine'', she explained that the reason she left Wazobia FM for Nigeria Info was because she wanted to challenge herself with something "tougher, that would broaden her horizon". She described her transition in broadcasting from

Pidgin English Pidgin English is a non-specific name used to refer to any of the many pidgin languages derived from English. Pidgins that are spoken as first languages become creoles. English-based pidgins that became stable contact languages, and which have ...

to formal English as her biggest challenge during her time in Nigeria Info F.M. In September 2013, Matse was sacked by Nigeria Info, a decision she deemed as insensitive and ungrateful on the path of her former employers.

2013 to present: Transition to blogging

In 2014, Sola Filani of

YNaija ''YNaija'' is a Nigerian online content publishing platform, founded by Chude Jideonwo and Adebola Williams of RED Africa media group. ''YNaija'' launched in May 2010 with columnists and various news sources. It offers news, original content an ...

described her impact of Nigerian radio as one that continues to "linger on" years after she quit being an on air personality. She described her decision to leave radio as a way of reevaluating her life and being closer to her new family. She now runs a food blog www.matsecooks.com . In March 2014, she explained that "Matse Cooks" will provide insightful information on foods and drinks that are culturally significant to Africans. Media personality,

Linda Ikeji Linda Ifeoma Ikeji (born 19 September 1980) is a Nigerian blogger, writer, entrepreneur and former model. She is known for her blog and controversial publications online. Early life and education Ikeji was born and raised in a Catholic family fr ...

reported that Matse also makes food spice and seasoning in commercial quantities. In 2016, she was listed as one of 100 most inspiring women in Nigeria by

. In 2020, she was listed as one of the top 121 food bloggers in the world b
Social Animal

Awards and recognition

Personal life

In July 2013, she married Ekemelu Bertran Nnoli. In 2014, she gave birth to her first child. Matse is fluent in English, French and

pidgin A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...

languages. She also speaks a bit of German. In 2015, she announced on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

, that

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

is now her place of residence.

References

121 Best Food Bloggers To Follow In 2020
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uwatse, Matse Living people People from Warri Nigerian radio presenters Nigerian women radio presenters Nigerian bloggers Nigerian women bloggers 1981 births Delta State University, Abraka alumni