After retirement, paying rent was so difficult my landlady gave me hell – Dr Adaba, pioneer NBC D-G
What was your experience as the pioneer Director -General of the National Broadcasting Commission?Starting the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) was a challenging experience. There was nothing to fall back on; there was nothing to work on as a guide. When in 1992 the Ibrahim Babangida decided to liberalize the broadcast media and allow private broadcasters […]
What was your experience as the pioneer Director -General of the National Broadcasting Commission?
Starting the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) was a challenging experience. There was nothing to fall back on; there was nothing to work on as a guide. When in 1992 the Ibrahim Babangida decided to liberalize the broadcast media and allow private broadcasters to practise, it was not particularly an easy task to be saddled with the responsibility.
It wasn’t easy to align new broadcast stations with the status quo, as the existing broadcast stations then were all government-owned; it wasn’t easy to have a harmonized mode of operation for all of them. There was also some kind of resistance from the older generation of broadcast stations which erroneously believed that the NBC did not have any authority to regulate them. But they eventually realised that they had no choice but to subject themselves to the authority of the Commission.
Bringing into the system new private stations also meant some kind of midwifing and that, too, wasn’t easy, but fortunately, things went well. When the private stations came on board, their presence made all the difference and, indeed, changed the broadcast outlook, practice and business in this country for good.
One, they (the private broadcast stations) came with sophisticated equipment and innovative ideas on broadcasting. They were courageous enough to dare quite a number of circumstances. Before then, television broadcast, for example, ran from 5 a.m. to about midnight, but private TV stations introduced 24-hour programming. They not only began to do what was hitherto deemed unthinkable, they made a success of it.
As a result, federal government Nigeria Television Authority and state-owned television stations had to follow suit, and the viewers have been the better for it today because viewers have choices to make among the numerous stations that are available.
How do you view today’s NBC, the broadcast regulatory body (NBC) whose affairs you once directed?
I believe there has been quite some progress. The way we started the broadcast industry would not be the same thing in the next phase. The next phase should be what the content would be like. The demand for broadcast stations was high and sieving applicants and ensuring that those who got the licences were the right people with the required ability in terms of high standard and complying with broadcast regulations was enough challenge to tackle.
But times have really changed. Today, we are talking of digitalization, so to compare one with the other might be a little bit difficult. Each stage has its own challenges and if whoever is there is confronting the challenges successfully, you would call it a success story.
Are you saying that you are satisfied with what is going on at the NBC?
Yes, I would say I am. Where I have misgivings are the areas I pointed out recently. We are now in a political dispensation and a campaign period. Good a thing the NBC summoned stakeholders to a meeting penultimate Tuesday and the Director-General read out his riot act. To me, that was quite apt and, indeed, overdue. It is good he came out with that move for broadcast stations to brace up, to shape up or ship out.
This is not the first time the NBC is rolling out directives to the broadcast stations on what is expected of them at this political period. It appears these directives were ignored. Do you think the agency has the capability to enforce its directives?
The good thing now is that following up on the summit of the stakeholders recently, the Chief Executive of the Advertising Practitioners Council Of Nigeria (APCON) was there and declared that any advertisement, especially political advertisement, that is taken to any broadcast station without an APCON certificate of clearance should not be accepted.
This, to me, is a welcome development in the sense that there are now two institutions taking care of this. It is not just an NBC affair alone anymore; there is APCON saying no broadcast station should take any political advert without APCON certification. I think this is a very healthy development. The type of rubbish we see sometimes on the screen are despicable. With these NBC and APCON moves, I think that would stop.
What year did you start your journalism career?
That should be, practically, 1968 when I got involved in a Closed Circuit Educational Television Station in Kano at the Advanced Teachers College (ATC) where I was then. Fortunately, I was able to make a success out of that experiment. I got a United States scholarship to go to the US in 1969 to study Mass Communication. That, I could say, was my starting point. In terms of interest, it was a long time before then.
As a broadcaster, what was your first day in the studio like?
Again, it was at the Closed Circuit Educational Television Station in Kano. When I came back from the US, I went back there. Actually, what happened was that I was the Director of Socials in the school and we organized a send-forth party for the Americans who had come to Kano. The school was a gift to the then Northern region government so they brought some Americans to start the place. Some of them who had been there were leaving; this was in 1968 and we said it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give them a send-forth.
We had cultural activities, but unfortunately some of them could not attend, including the Chief of the American group. That was on a Saturday. On Monday, I saw on the notice board that I was wanted by the Chief. I went to his office and introduced myself. He said he learnt I did a fantastic job on Saturday but it was a pity they could not attend. He asked if it would be possible to have a video recording of it. I said yes, it could be done. He said ok and sent me to the Head of Studios.
I went there. I had never met the Head and in his office, I didn’t realise I was speaking with the man the Chief had directed me to meet. He got us into talking, not knowing he was somehow interviewing me. Later, he asked me if I could run a programme for students on a weekly basis. I told him I would try but didn’t know if my best would be good enough for him. He asked me to go and think about it and bring up an idea.
Fortunately, the Friday of that week was the Students Election Day. I suggested to him we could bring the students who were vying for positions in the election to the studio for each of them to discuss his manifesto for about two minutes on what he intends to do in what capacity and how if he is voted into office. He said I should go ahead to do that once I was sure I could it.
I put up a notice on the notice board for everybody to meet me at the TV studio the following day. Before I got there in the morning, they were all there. I told them what we wanted to do and each contesting student should write down something pertaining to the office he was contesting, which could help to convince the students to vote for him.
They were all excited because that meant they would be featured on television. On Wednesday morning, they were all there in their best attires and we took them on one by one. The Head of Studios virtually left everything to me. We did it for all of them and when I was through, the white man came and carried me up. He said, ‘Tom, you were just wonderful.’ He asked if I had practised at any TV station before but I told him I had never even handled a microphone. He said that was impossible.
I think that was what impressed him so much that he committed me more to the students programme and I ran it all through the period I was there. Meanwhile, he was working out a scholarship for me in the US. The rule then was that anybody who did an NCE programme must teach for three years before going for a degree course. But I got a waiver; I finished in July and by September of the same year, I was in the US to read Mass Communication.
By 1971, I was back home and was absorbed in the same institution, ATC, so I became a staffer of the college which was under the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. I was there until 1974 when I was moved from Kano to Zaria, its main campus, where I was lecturing. Then the Benue-Plateau Television was just taking off and my good friend Mr Salama who was a lecturer in the university was appointed the General Manager of the station.
One evening, we were playing tennis when he came round to the Staff Club and met me there. I asked where he had been for a long time that we had not met. He told me he was in Jos, that the Benue-Plateau TV was just opening a new station there. I asked if he could give me a job there and he told me that was why he came to see if he could recruit me. I was later invited for an interview and I was successful.
In September that year, I moved to Jos to be part of the pioneer staff of the Benue-Plateau TV. It was an exciting experience; the environment was such that any worker would want to give his best in creativity. Nobody was bothered about time; most times we worked late into the night. That was why so many beautiful programmes came out of the station then. The station was also the first to go colour in the country and in Africa. Its drama production was just fantastic and in high demand everywhere. This was how I got myself into the broadcasting industry.
How would you describe your years in broadcasting?
They were just simply wonderful. It was something one looked forward to everyday; there were no boring moments. They were very exciting years. We did not limit ourselves to ourselves in terms of our programmes. We called in other producers to assess our programmes and contribute inputs, and as a result, the quality of our programmes was high. We would be there till about midnight with the producer of the drama, doing just rehearsals. He was the producer, we didn’t have anything to do with him, but he wanted our inputs. At the end of the day, the production became a wholesome thing and a beautiful thing to behold.
That was how we worked. We operated as a family and it was simply beautiful. I am not sure that is how it is today with the TV stations. I was handling about five programmes in a week. I was either directing or producing, presenting or casting news, but I enjoyed every bit of it.
You retired from journalism some years ago. How would you describe life in retirement?
It is quite challenging. We are in a nation where only when you are in service matters. You are irrelevant once you are out. This is how I will say it is. With my service to the country even as the pioneer Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission, I expected that the nation would have extended a gratitude to me in form of an appointment, but I have never got anything up till now.
As I said, once you are out, you don’t mean anything to them. This is a sad commentary on the nation because we are losing so much on human capital. It is very sad that once you are out of the public sector in Nigeria, you are considered to have no place there anymore except you decide to go to the political arena.
But I think we should be beyond that. We should be looking at what the individual is worth and place him where he can continue to serve the nation meritoriously. Sixteen years after my retirement, I have not been honoured with any government appointment but the Lord keeps me going. I do some media consultancy and many other things. Wherever I can get something to keep life moving, I go into it.
At what particular period of your career did you start planning for your retirement?
I never did. I never prepared for my retirement because I knew I still had two more years to go. But when former president Olusegun Obasanjo assumed office, he whisked all of us out unceremoniously. If I had done anything wrong, it would have been a different thing, but I knew for sure that I gave my best to the nation. I wrote to Obasanjo expressing displeasure about my retirement but that I would not go to any court, though I knew if I went to court, I would win. I was not preparing at all for any retirement.
Did Obasanjo respond to your letter?
No. The only response I got sometime later was on my birthday when he sent me a letter congratulating me and quoting some of my works. Knowing him for what he is, no, there was no response to my letter.
When you were removed as the DG of NBC, what were the immediate things you went into?
The immediate responsibility before me was to make ends meet. I had no money, I had nothing. The benefits that I got I used to pay my house rent. Fortunately, they were giving me some N90,000-plus monthly gratuity which kept us going in the house. But paying rent was problematic. My landlady was so much uncompromising about the rent that she gave me hell.
This house we are in now was a miracle. One day I had to call my cousin who was in the ministry to ask whether she could help me get a two-bedroom apartment where we could just rest our heads. She told me there were houses that the ministry was putting up for sale. But I asked her where I would get the money to pay for a house purchase. She replied I should just get the form first.
That was what I did. I filled the form and when I realised I was to pay N14 million to buy it, I became depressed, wondering where I would get even N1 million. But as God Almighty would have it, somebody came and said he wanted to rent something that Chief Enahoro and I mutually owned. He said he wanted it for a period of time. He was very serious about it and from nowhere he just brought the money and made payment in dollars. After changing the money to naira, I was able to get about N11 million or so. I simply paid it immediately at the ministry. That was how I was able to get this house. I paid the balance over a long period of time. To God be the glory, the house is ours today. This is how God has been keeping us; it has not been easy, but we thank Him.
Would you say you regretted your appointment as the pioneer DG of NBC?
No. Why would I?
With all that you went through after leaving office?
But that is what anyone gets. If you are out you are out. There was, and is nothing to regret. I felt comfortable with it and I am proud of it. If the people there are not doing what they are supposed to do it is not my business. There is no reason to be disappointed at all. I enjoyed every bit of my appointment and I knew I gave everything to it to ensure it worked.
If I had been involved in collecting money from people to give them licences, I am not sure how it would have ended. I thank God I was able to hold my head high. All licence winners could say they got their licences because they deserved them, because they were qualified to get them and because they worked for them. I wonder what would have happened to me if I had collected bribes to give out licences. I wouldn’t have been able to control their operations and excesses. At the beginning it was very dicey and tough but everybody had to fall into line, and they did because I didn’t owe anybody anything and they did what we wanted them to do.
How did you find time to write your books?
I am still writing. I am writing now and hoping that by God’s grace when I will be 75 next year I will have some books for public presentation.
What inspired you to write the books you have written?
Circumstances around me. In my earlier days when I was with the African Council for Communication and l later became the president of the Nairobi-based organization, for some four years we had a lot of books that we gave out. I was also the Principal of the Television College, Jos. I had time to do some work and research; it wasn’t difficult at all.
What is your advice for the media industry?
The best thing is to work by the rules. What we see today, especially in this campaign period, is not the best for this nation at all. Why did I say this? We are throwing so much to the wind, we are flinging mud so much, and to redress the damage later will be very, very difficult. Even our local norms and values teach us to honour and respect our elders.
These people that are being rubbished on the screen today all in the name of politics are elders, they are leaders. There must be some decorum. If I were the General Manager of any of the TV stations, I would advise anybody bringing any unethical material for airing to go back and edit it, or just go away with it.
We are no longer professional. We should be the ones teaching the politicians what should come out on the screen. But unfortunately, they are now bringing to us whatever they want and they expect us to air them like that – and we do. There are so many libellous materials floating in the air. You will be surprised that many suits will come up after the elections, not in connection with the results but in connection with campaign adverts and documentaries aired on the screen. It is not the politicians that will be sued, it is the TV stations. Why should we subject ourselves to such litigations when we can free ourselves from them?