BON at 45

THE Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) was established in 1973, with the Nigerian Television Service NTS (now NTA Channel 10), Victoria Island, Lagos, as its seat and the star broadcaster of the then Radio Television Kaduna (BCNN) who later became a Senator, late Adamu Augie, as the pioneer Executive Secretary. This followed a recommendation of the heads of Commercial Services of the existing broadcasting stations in the country who had met in Kaduna to form a body to control advertising on radio and television in Nigeria. The concerned stations were the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (Radio Nigeria), Ikoyi, Lagos, the Nigerian Television Service (NTS) Victoria Island, Lagos, the Western Nigeria Government Broadcasting Corporation (WNTV-WNBS) Ibadan, the Broadcasting Company of Northern Nigeria (BCNN) Kaduna and the Eastern Nigeria Broadcasting Service (ENBS) Enugu.

The meeting, held at my initiative as Director of Commercial Services for   WNTV-WNBS, Ibadan, had recommended the formation of what we called Radio and Television Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, like the Newspapers Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN) for newspapers, magazines and journals in Nigeria, which had been existing before then. Our Chief Executives, who included Dr. Christopher Kolade (NTS) and Engineer Teju Oyeleye (WNTV-WNBTS), in their wisdom, decided to extend the scope and to form the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria with committees for the various sections of the profession – Programmes, News and Current Affairs, Commercials, Engineering, Finance and Administration.       I had earlier in 1969, after overseas attachments I did at the BBC, ITN and Redifusion International in London, United Kingdom, ABC, NBC and CBS in the United States of America and at Malta Radio and Television, written a report which incorporated what were later extracted and adopted as Commercial Codes of Ethics and Practice for radio and television in Nigeria.

The first major assignment which BON undertook was the coverage of the second All-Africa Games at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos in 1973. It is not true as claimed in some quarters that BON was formed to cover the games. Later BON covered the first West African or ECOWAS Games also at the National Stadium, Lagos in 1977, the 2nd World Black Festival of Arts and Culture (Festac 77) in Lagos in 1977 and the various national sports festivals in the country. Those of us who were commentators at the games included Isola Folorunso, Ernest Okonkwo, Pete Edochie, Yemi Fadipe, Funso Adeolu, Kere Ahmed, Fabio Lanipekun, Khalifa Baba Ahmed, Sebastin Ofurum, Yinka Craig, Tolu Fatoyinbo, Mike Enahoro. I congratulate BON on its 45th year of existence and its 69th Assembly recently held in Lagos. I was particularly delighted that one of my most prominent and successful mentees John Momoh, Proprietor/Chairman Channels TV, is the current Chairman. I first met John in Abeokuta in 1980 when he attended one of the weekly auditions I was conducting as Head of Presentation of OGBC to discover new talents. John was a student at the Oyewole twin brothers Centre when he and his friend Manny Onumonu came for the voice test. Others were Sam Odion Bello, Ayinde Soaga, Bola Makinde, Gboyega Adeseye, and Ola Ayeola.

It was very thoughtful of BON to induct into its Hall of Fame fifteen of us they consider worthy of the honour for our contributions to broadcasting. This will certainly serve as an inspiration to present day and future broadcasters to put in their best in the performance of their duties, under any circumstance. The National Broadcasting Commission, (NBC), had similarly in 2000 conferred on 18 of us the award of Distinguished Veteran Broadcasters as the first set. Other sets followed at the biennial Conference of African Broadcasters. Also that same year, the Federal Government gave six of us broadcasters, national honours with which we were decorated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Abuja on November 16, of that year. The six of us included in the list of the country’s 340 recipients for that year were Mohamed Ibrahim and Patrick Itoghen from the North, Ralph Okpara and Ikenna Ndaguba from the East, Dr. Christopher Kolade and my humble self from the West.

I cannot conclude this write-up without some words of advice to owners and practitioners of broadcasting. First of all, proprietors, government or private entrepreneurs should provide adequate funds for needed infrastructures, equipment, salaries, programme production and training, among others. Those looking for quick profits have no business being in broadcasting. The proprietors must allow the stations to be run with a degree of indepence without undue interference and to be guided only by the best of professional ethics. The Codes can be reviewed with the National Broadcasting Commission at about ten years intervals as may be dictated by current realities. But under no circumstance must the Codes be bent or broken. Training must be a regular feature, formal and informal, in reputable institutions and in the stations. Fortunately apart from educational institutions like Universities and Polytechnics, NTA has a Television College in Jos, Plateau State, and Radio Nigeria has a Training School in Sogunle, Lagos. These are open to all stations and prima facie qualified individuals. Managers should monitor their stations adequately and put in place regular  post-mortem sessions to effect corrections.

Broadcasting is more of a talent industry where a good liberal education which major may not be a degree, should be an adequate springboard and advancement should be based on job knowledge and performance. There should be no room for any discrimination between graduates and non-graduates. Many of Nigeria’s best known broadcasters were non-graduates, the likes of Michael Olumide, Emmanuel Omatsola, Sam Nwaneri, Joe Atuona, Isola Folorunso, Ernest Okonkwo, Christopher Emden, Horatio Agedah, Segun Olusola, Nelson Ipaye, Anike Agbaje-Williams, Toun Adedoyin, Enoh Irukwu, Abba Zoru, to mention a few. Even Victor Badejo the first Nigerian Director General of Radio Nigeria took a degree in Chemistry at the University College, Ibadan but he rose to the top by way of Programmes Department where the humanities were more directly relevant. I also like to see BON members exchange programmes and arrange staff attachments among themselves for cross fertilisation of ideas and knowledge.

In conclusion, as elections are fast approaching, let broadcasters respect themselves, be professional, objective and fair to all political parties. They should realise that sycophancy does not pay. Politicians will only respect them if they are honourable and maintain integrity and firmness. They will lie on their beds the way they lay them. The parties in control of states should know that they are holding state stations in trust for the people while in office. If they abuse the privilege, if and when they come into opposition (for no condition is permanent) they too will be at the receiving end of the stick. Once again congratulations BON, keep shooting.

• Dr. Olasope, a veteran broadcaster, lives in Efon Alaaye, Ekiti State.