
The Savagery On Alifa Daniel
November – December 1992
Whichever way you asked the question, you get similar answers. What kind of person is Alifa Daniel? Oh, he is an okay fellow, straight, easy going. And what kind of a journalist is he? Again, the answer is positive: He is a very good journalist; married to his job, not compromising. But someone wants Alifa Daniel blind. Someone has unleashed savagery on National Concord’s chief correspondent in newly created Kogi State. Alifa, 25, at about 8pm on October 8, had hitched a ride from a yet-to-be identified person from his residence to his usual eatery – Mama’s Restaurant. It is a distance of less than five minutes – walking at a leisurely pace…..Read More

No Backchat Please
October 1992
Radio can be a powerful tool in the building of new nations. Such a tool needs honest workmen, who know how to use the tool well. “That simple and, by today’s standards, almost naive assertion appears as part of the introduction to Ralph Milton’s “Radio Programming.” The book itself, described as “basic training manual” for those in developing countries learning or about to learn to broadcast, was published in 1968…..Read More

The favourite Bank Ads
September 1992
One saturday in August. A fretful crowd hovers in front of the Universal Trust Bank (UTB) branch at Obalende, Lagos. Usually, the presence of such a crowd in front of any bank would announce that they were there to withdraw money from the bank. Not so on this day, August 15. The crowd was there to put their money in the bank, for it was the last day of the UTB “Save and Win” bonanza that promises a cash prize of N100,000 for any lucky depositor of the bank…..Read More

Window on the Transition
August 1992
The other day in Abuja, Information and Culture Minister Professor Sam Oyovbaire, gave kudos to the press for their coverage so far of the ongoing federal government programme of transition to civil rule. Speaking, July 15, on “The Press and The Stability of the Third Republic” at a national seminar for state legislators organised by the Ministry of Justice, The minister remarked that “the efforts in consciousness-building and publicity by the press during the trasition to civil rule process cannot be assumed as insignificant.”…..Read More

A New Voice for Nigeria
July 1992
“…We are not going toThe air was cold and dusty in Obalende on Lagos Island. A dry spell had just obstructed the rainy season, as usual, but vegetation was still lush. Inside the conference room of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) Headquarters, the mood was much more subdued than the weather. At the head of a circular table, the bespectacled director general was addressing 30 staff of the News programme departments…..Read More

APCON's First Outing
June 1992
If the name Olu Adekoya doesn’t grab you, then you are not familiar with the history of the Association of Advertising Practitioners of Nigeria (AAPN). Or, you have not been reading your newspapers lately. If you are familiar with AAPN’s history, then you would know that Adekoya was one of those who founded the assoiciation, in 1972…..Read More

Hitting Hard, Where It Hurts
May 1992
Drive the point home. That is the point of journalism. That exactly was what the African Concord edition of April 13, did. Take a second look at the photograph of President Ibrahim Babangida on the cover of that edition; if the image there has not already etched itself on your mind that is, what you see or remember is anguish – in full colour; That alone is news for readers who are used to the president’s toothy smiles and stern looks…..Read More

All The Fuss About Media Council
April 1992
As Minister of Information, Tony Momoh, a prince, veteran journalist and lawyer, raised letter-writing to an art. To him, the best way to propagate government policies was by writing letters to fellow Nigerians. In his tenure as minister, he wrote quite a number of what he called “Letter To My Countryman.” Whether or not his approach achieved its purpose is not the objective here. What seems not in doubt is Momoh’s admiration for letter writing…..Read More

The Doggedness of A Pro
March 1992
Adebimpe Afunku is the kind of man who would buy you a drink the first time he meets you. Lean and gaunt he does not look like one who is used to square meals. But appearance can be deceptive. Afunku is a man of good spirits. He holds no grudges whatsoever against the world. He believes strongly that “matter is never lost;” what-ever you do-good or bad-will come back to you…….Read More

The Politics of Private Broadcasting
February 1992
Politics has been the main, if not the sole, factor that has prevented the ownership and operation of radio and television stations by private bodies in Nigeria, and when private bodies come to own and operate radio and television stations, the major factor at stake will still be politics. The basis of that assertion is the dual axiom that the crux of politics is power, and that communication is power…..Read More

Paying More For ADS
January 1992
The Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) the interest group for broadcasting stations, is having its way: radio and television ad rates have gone up by 30 percent. But advertising agencies which have been doing business with the radio and television stations won’t say they were caught unawares: the notice came two years ago…..Read More