You run three great brands, the Metropolitan Broadcasting Services (MBS), IATV (Impact Africa Television) and IBR (Impact Business Radio), what is the connection between these three brands?
They are not three. It’s just one branching out to some other things. MBS is the electronic arm, the media arm of the Impact Group. We have the education arm. Media arm has Impact Business Radio, the first business radio and so far the only business radio in Nigeria as at today. Then that gave birth to IATV, which again is the first direct satellite broadcast licence holder. So MBS is the mother of these two organisations, which we want to make unique as much as we can. It’s a deliberate effort, a deliberate intervention in the scheme of things.
The idea of a business radio is alien in this part of the globe. Since setting up IBR, what has the reception, from the public, been like?
What happened shortly after it took off will show you its level of acceptance. We came up October 1st, 2015, officially. Some organisations decided to look at those radio stations that came up around that time, in Oyo State they wanted the best radio station and we won. That award was given to us in March, 2016. They started their poll in December/January online. If within that short time, we became the best radio station in Oyo State, that will show you that people are listening. That will show you that it’s well received. For now, I believe we have not even started doing it exactly the way I would have wanted it. What Nigerians need today is to refocus the attention of everybody into how do I sustain my life first? How do I turn N10, into N15? Those are the type of information that we need now. Nobody will teach that student, out there in any classroom how to make money.
Unfortunately, when you come out, you find out that that thing which is critical to your living , money-making, you are not taught. Whether you are a doctor, a lawyer, an accountant or even a journalist, when you come out, the question is: how do you survive? If the economy could take one million, universities and the polytechnics are turning out ten million, what does this mean? It means that out of those fresh graduates, nine out of ten are unemployed. By the way are certificates supposed to be what you rely on for paid employment? No. education itself is supposed to broaden your knowledge as an engineer, as a journalist, as a doctor or in other field. Education should be able to give something, broaden your mind, so that your mind will on its own, attract ideas. Your mind will on its own be able to nurture ideas. We produce engineers in UK, we produce engineers in America, how come they are not working the streets? Now there is a need to refocus our people generally. When your child is coming out of school, the first thing that comes to your mind is: I know Uncle This who is a senator, I know Bro That, who works at the Secretariat. And let me confess to you, anybody that is relying on that can never prosper, unless you are stealing. I’m sorry. So there is the need to refocus our people. I know a lot of people will think government should do it, but I say no. government should make it conducive for you to think and nurture your idea. Government should make it easy, but you are to do your own thinking. So that’s the whole essence.
But why siting the stations in Ibadan?
People always think of the easy way out. They look at the cheapest means to get things done. I don’t measure success on how easy it is.
You are thinking it’s going to be easier in Lagos..
No, I’m thinking the message you are preaching, will be better felt in Lagos than Ibadan?.
What is the population of Lagos? What is the population of Nigeria? To birth an idea, you need to look at the environment. I agree such idea, perhaps will grow faster in Lagos, spread faster in Lagos. But it also started from Ibadan. Broadcast started from Ibadan, and the idea really is this: the Lagos that you are talking about is not only congested, it is becoming the home of hoodlums. Why do these people come here? There are no opportunities in the hinterland. The idea is to refocus and let them know that you can make it, irrespective of your location.
You sit atop a huge media group, despite not being a media practitioner. What prepared you for this?
Interestingly, I’m trained as an accountant, and I’m sure you know what that means. An accountant is somebody who is trained in the art and science of naira and kobo. You as a journalist, all you are working for is Naira and Kobo. So whatever is your profession, you will still need my skill otherwise your N10 may become N9 tomorrow, but I can tell you what you can do to make your N10 become N11 tomorrow. So I’m trained to function in any field I choose to. You don’t need to see me on the screen, it’s business. I hire the right people to do the job. So it’s a deliberate effort. What you are seeing is risk, but I know that if God is on your side, there is no risk. You can even walk on water.
The issue of fake news is becoming a serious challenge in the industry. What do you think is the way out?
You see the fact remains that where there is genuine news, there will be fake news. Now, where do fake news thrive most, it is where people have difficulty accessing the real news. If you want to talk about me now, and I refuse to make myself available, people might try to draw me out by putting some words in my mouth. We surely need to find a way of curbing fake news. We need to find a way of punishing purveyors and proponents of fake news, if it’s fake, it is fake, nobody should try to glamourize it. It’s damaging. But then it’s for the people to ask: is it true? They shouldn’t just take everything hook, line and sinker.
This is not the time for it. Fake news has always been there. It’s just being assisted by modern technology. From day one, people tell lies about others. People spread rumours about others. It has always been there. But now, you now have a duty to first of all find out whether it’s true before you believe. And that’s one of the values IATV has sworn to uphold. If we say it, don’t doubt it. If you find it on our channel, don’t doubt, it must have passed through so many checks that even if at the end of the day, you don’t like it, you can’t say you don’t like it, because that is the truth.
and then