Ikenna Ndaguba – A tribute

All roads led to the commercial city of Onitsha, Anambra State as Nigerians from far and near travel to the ancient town to bid farewell to one of the greatest broadcasters in the nation’s history, Ikenna Ndaguba who died recently in Abuja at the age of 76. The burial was the climax of series of […]

All roads led to the commercial city of Onitsha, Anambra State as Nigerians from far and near travel to the ancient town to bid farewell to one of the greatest broadcasters in the nation’s history, Ikenna Ndaguba who died recently in Abuja at the age of 76. The burial was the climax of series of events put in place by the national burial committee to create opportunities for Nigerians to pay respect to Chief Ndaguba  and commensurate with his family.

Ikenna Ndaguba’s long meritorious career in broadcasting began at the dawn of Nigeria’s independence when he joined the then Eastern Nigeria Broadcasting Service, Enugu, in 1960. He was the first trained voice to establish the regional station in the minds of the people on air as a presenter. His voice commanded so much authority in the ENBS news and programmes that within a short time, Ikenna Ndaguba became a household name throughout the Eastern region. It was therefore not surprising when he was selected as one of the best voices in the country to commence the External Service of the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation in 1963 when the country required aggressive media campaign to sell her post foreign policy to the world.  For his exploits in the media industry for over four decades, the name Ikenna Ndaguba could easily be compared with such names like Rotimi Williams in the legal profession.  For instance, while in service from 1960 to 1995, he held several high ranking positions   from the era of Nigerian Broadcasting Service through the period of Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation until the time when the national radio became the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria.

The climax was when he rose to become the Managing Director, FRCN Lagos in the early 90s. During this period, he pioneered the introduction of FM broadcasting in Nigeria and served as the first General Manager of the first FM Radio Station in Nigeria, Radio Nigeria 2 (RN2), at 45 Martins Street, Lagos.  RN 2 was the darling of Lagosians as Ikenna carefully assembled the best and brightest to give the station an image and that took the Lagos market and audience by storm. He took the same professional skill to establish the language channel, RN 3 at the Broadcasting House, Ikoyi, later as Executive Director of the Lagos national of FRCN.

While in service, he received several trainings in reputable radio and television stations around the world including the BBC and the VOA, served on the Boards of several media organizations and belonged to many professional associations including the Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria.  It was Ikenna Ndaguba’s generation of broadcasters who developed and institutionalized the basic ethics, code of conduct and rules of engagement for the broadcasting profession in the country.

During their time, training and retraining of staff was a law no one in the profession ever attempted to ignore because it was strictly tied to staff career progression. The FRCN Staff Training School at Sogunle, Lagos, became the NIPPS for broadcasters from national and state levels. In view of the importance attached to training, mistakes such as errors either in the news or programmes while on air was regarded as taboo and attracted severe punishments in the FRCN of Ikenna Ndaguba generation.  For instance, a presenter must have a vetted script with great concept and structure reach in content and comprehension.  In fact, during their era, broadcasting was a noble profession built on discipline, competence, creativity, innovation and knowledge. To this end, listeners on radio believe that any news from radio is the truth and nothing but the truth. The listening public used the radio and television to learn how to speak English and even local languages without mistakes. Broadcasting was a source of public confidence, trust, knowledge, entertainment, information, education on public affairs arising from the level of professionalism put in place at those glorious era. Besides, broadcasters were trained to be jack of all trades and master of all.  The poor quality of news and programmes in the Nigerian radio stations today clearly indicate the vacuum created by the exit of mentors like Ikenna Ndaguba.

In appreciation of his valuable contributions to national development, he was conferred with a national honour of Member of the Federal Republic, MFR.  But if Ikenna Ndaguba made impact while in service, such impact was better appreciated when he retired from active service. He became a known face and   known voice in virtually all presidential functions as Master of Ceremony to the extent that his presence defined the dignity of many state functions.

But the difference between Ikenna Ndaguba and other national celebrities was his exceptional passion to make contributions to the development of his native community.  In appreciation, he   was inducted into the prestigious Agbalanze Society of Onitsha and conferred with the famous Ozo title of “Onwa”. This probably explains why the Onitsha Traditional Council has openly indicated that Ikenna Ndaguba’s burial will witness a traditional and cultural celebration of an illustrious son.

As his casket is lowered, the broadcast industry and the entertainment world in Nigeria have lost a great talent, orator, writer and mentor.  However, the  challenge   before  the industry is  to   ensure  that  the virtues and legacies which people like Ikenna Ndaguba left  behind  such as  using the media  to uplift the people and unite the nation are nurtured and sustained.

Ogbonnaya Orji, Director, Communications (NEITI), is formerly of Federal Radio Corp. of Nigeria (FRCN)