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On 31st October, 1959, Africa’s first television station, the Western Nigeria Television (WNTV) in Ibadan, present Oyo State of Nigeria went on air after the formal commissioning by the then Premier of the now defunct Western Region of Nigeria, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. The defunct Western Region constituted the present day Oyo,Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Edo, Delta and parts of Lagos Sate. Present at that commissioning, among other dignitaries, were the late Chief Anthony Enahoro, who was then Western Nigeria’s Minister of Home and Mid-West Affairs, the colonial Governor – General, Chief M.S. Kolawole who spoke on behalf of WNTV’s Board of Directors and Mr. Noel Sabine, representative of Overseas Rediffusion Limited, the technical partner of WNTV Mrs. Anike Agbaje – Williams and Otunba Kunle Olasope made history also as the first African, nay Nigerian female and male to appear on television in Africa.
WNTV and her sister (radio) station, Western Nigeria Broadcasting Service (WNBS) gave high quality programming (vision and sound) to their millions of viewers and listeners. Indeed, the two stations were the dreamland of journalists, broadcasters, programmers, artistes and many other professionals. WNTV and WNBS became mother and father to very many television and radio stations in Nigeria. With the creation of the twelve states structure in Nigeria, many iconic landmarks in Nigeria and indeed Africa, created by the governments and the good people of Western Region of Nigeria, were nationalized by the Federal Military Government. Such institutions taken over by military fiat, particularly when retired General Olusegun Obasanjo was military head of state, included the School of Survey in Oyo, Cooperative College, the Liberty Stadium (now called Obafemi Awolowo Stadium) both in Ibadan.
Under Decree Number 24 of 1977, the Federal Military Government of General Obasanjo took over WNTV and some other states television stations under the umbrella of Nigerian Television (NTV) and later Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) as the sole authority for television broadcasting in Nigeria. Two former military heads of state of Nigeria, retired General Ibrahim Babangida and the late General Sani Abacha, subsequently liberalised television/radio broadcasting / ownership among other enterprises such as banking, insurance, telecommunication, airlines etc. In 2009, the management of NTA celebrated the golden anniversary of television service in Africa, nay Nigeria. I, as a former staff of NTA, Ibadan was honoured with an (50th) anniversary award. Other deserving pioneers / former staff were equally recognised. On Thursday, 29th October, this year the management of NTA, under Mr. Sola Omole, its Director – General, remembered history and organised a befitting 55th Anniversary of Television in Africa. The ceremony was held at Africa’s television home of birth, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Present at the occasion were Engineer Vincent Maduka, a former General Manager of the defunct WNTV – WNBS, who later became NTA’s first Director – General, Mrs. Anike Agbaje Williams, Princess Okonkwo, a Board Director of NTA, Alhaji Adegboyega Arulogun, a former staff of WNTV – WNBS, who retired from NTA as a general manager of NTA channel 7, many former stars of WNTV – WNBS and NTA, Ibadan and Mr. Emeka Mba, Director – General of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commision. The host was the Zonal Director of NTA, Ibadan Network Centre, Mrs. Pauline Igbanor. Kabiyesi the Olubadan of Ibadanland, His Imperial Majesty Oba (Dr.) Samuel Odulana, CFR, MHR, JP, Odugade 1st, was the royal father of the day at the anniversary celebration. But, Kabiyesi honoured me by delegating my humbleself to represent him at the ceremony. I thus wore two caps to the event – one, as Olubadan’s representative and secondly, as a former reporter / presenter / producer at the station. In my speech, I conveyed Kabiyesi’s royal congratulations to Africa’s first television station, the Board, Management and staff of NTA Network and Ibadan Network Centre in particular. I cited two memorable experiences, of mine while at the television station between 1978 and 1982. My comments were taken from my article, “The Newsroom, the Museroom” published by most national dailies (for ease of reference, The Sunday Vanguard of February 17, 2002 (page 19) I quote from the said/article.
“From the Sketch Newsroom, I beat newspaths with Folu Olamiti, Eric Teniola, Toye Akiyode, former Miss Ope Olukoya, Femi Olaniran (who opted out to be a banker), Rasheed Adegbenro, Soji Alakuro among others. My godmother at Sketch was Mrs Laitan Falase, while Alhaja Saratu Dupe Adesina’s purse was hotly “competed” for by me and Ope Olukoya in our search for “daily bread”. Oftentimes, the purse owner would appeal to Ope and I to share her lunch and spare her purse. “I should mention some of our seniors at Sketch who tutored us in the art of news writing, editing and page planning. They included the late Mr Philip B. Adedeji, Mr Biodun Famojuro and the editorial guru, the late Chief Labanji Bolaji. “By December 1978, I had moved over to the Television House, Agodi – the dreamland of journalists, presenters, announcers and artistes in the 1960s and 1970s. At Agodi, one was fortunate to meet some water still left in the fountain of Africa’s first television station where Dr (then Mr) Yemi Faroumbi was the general manager and Nigeria’s first television sports editor, Fabio Lanipekun, the News and Current Affairs Manager. “The duo of Faroumbi and Lanipekun, one day in 1979, volunteered to face the wrath of a former military administrator of old Oyo State who had sent his press secretary and some soldiers to bring me, “ the foolish reporter who failed to transmit His Excellency’s speech at Unife the previous night”.
“This is the story. I had gone to Ile - Ife to complete a special report, on the University of Ife water dam, when on our way out of the town, we saw the Military Administrator’s convoy drive into the university (now called Obafemi Awolowo University) campus. I instructed the driver to follow the convoy to the venue of a ceremony which was not on my schedule nor that of the station. I, on my own volition and in keeping with a tradition of Television House, covered the assignment and left for Ibadan just on time to make a live presentation of my special report during the evening major news(Views and Reports) produced that day by Folu Ogundimu, now a professor of Journalism in the United States of America, who was already on edge as I entered the studio in the nick of time. “The unscheduled military administrator’s report from Ife was therefore kept in the can for use the following day. It may be correct to assume now that the non-inclusion of the University of Ife’s news item in the previous night bulletin prompted the “go and bring the foolish reporter” order. Anyway, Mr Faroumbi and Fabio Lanipekun went, in my place, to face the fire. What team spirit could be more lifting than the one at the Television House, Agodi Newsroom with stars like the late Tunde Jawando, Femi Idowu, Biodun Oduwole, Biodun Ariyo, the late Segun Oyedele, Dotun Oyelade, the late Segun Soroye, Shade Haastrup, Tayo Balogun, Rasheed Adegbenro, Ade Adekanmbi, Mufu Akinloye, Funmilola Olorunnisola, Kayode Adedire etc.
“Does one refer to individual eagerness to complete assignments ahead of schedule or the voluntary assistance to colleagues on the desk, even while on leave, and those shared dinners of bread and akara, moinmoin and eko or home-cooked rice and dodo in flasks with brown and green bottles to wash them down after successful transmissions. What about those car swaps, the hilarity of youth. Oh, if only we can wound back the hand of time. “At the then (1982) newly-established Television Service of Oyo State (TSOS) now called BCOS – TV, the newsroom camaraderie was as jolly as it could be too. The bulk of TSOS newsteam was from the NTA, Ibadan with new hands in television industry providing the mix. The station’s philosophy of new day broadcasting guided news gathering, presentation and programme.
“And what a great time one had there until providence said it was time to move up with one’s secondment from the newsroom to the corridor of power at Agodi as a spokesman”. “The Second experience cited by me was the ban placed on us (Reportional Crew of NTA, Ibadan) In 1980 by the NTA Headquarters in Lagos from covering that year’s probe of the missing N2.8billion oil money by the Senate, then situated at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos. May I say here that our reports of the probe was deep balanced and most watched in prefrence to other NTA’s stations, including the Headquarters.
“When all our appeals that our professional (Journalism) etho demands truth and objectivity in news gathering and reportage fell on deaf ears, we, supported by the old Oyo State Councils of the NUJ took NTA Headquarter, Lagos to court. We joined our station, NTA, Ibadan as co – respondent. “Our civil suit was heard by the then Chief Judge of old Oyo State, the late Honourable Justice Emmanuel Fakayode, who in his Judgement likened we (NTA Ibadan reporters) to a disobedient driver of a rich man who had power to hire and fire. He dismissed our case, with costs, in favour of the NTA. Till today, we still feel satisfied that we challenged an obnoxious order in court.” I wish the Television House, Agodi Ibadan, from where television service in Africa started on 30th October, 1959 and NTA, the inheritor, as it were, more years of high grade transmission of news, entertainment and educative programmes. As we know, the horse that leads in a race is called the first and winner. That is what NTA Ibadan is forever.
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