Media Ownership Dictated By Unprofessionalism Create Bottleneck – OSBC Ex-DG
Media Ownership Dictated By Unprofessionalism Create Bottleneck – OSBC Ex-DG
How would you describe your tenure as the DG?
The journey was fantastic, though a little bit chaotic. Event preceding Nov 1 2016 when I was appointed were full of intrigues on whether I was going to be and whether there would be need to do some under hands dealing or whether there would be need to make consultations all of which I turned down completely because of my philosophy about life that what would be will eventually be. Hitting the ground running wasn’t difficult for me because, I have been part of the system over the years and I make bold to say that no leader or chief executive ever passed through since 1990 to 2016 without having Wale Idowu playing a major role. This can be ascribed to the pivotal role I have been playing over the years, that is, as a marketer handling key functions. I was at the heart of marketing functions. I was also there as the Lagos officer and I was there as the Lagos office manager which I did for 12 years.
This exposed me to the intricacies of the game. There was no department of the corporation that I didn’t function. Talking about production, I produced quite a number of programmes; I have been presenting since 1998; talk about the core aspect of marketing, I have marketed beyond what ordinary folks will imagine. Aside this I remain the major figure of APCON in this state. All these put together have exposed me as well endeared me to those in the game.
What can you describe as your landmark achievements during your tenure as the DG?
It’s far better for stakeholders to say this is my landmark achievement in the course of the journey. But without any fear of contradiction, let me say I took my time to study the situation of things when I came and I knew the expectations of staff members and that of the publics. The expectations were that Wale Idowu is coming with a world of difference. So, I started with what could motivate staff so that productivity can be enhanced. I looked at the operation itself. I looked at the challenges people faced using technical equipment and the level of public appreciation. I then combined all these to come up with a 3-point agenda which had the staffers at the center of them all. We started celebrating our staffs on their birthdays and we appreciated them in our own small way. This made staff to always look forward to this. As at the time I came in, we had issues with our flagship Radio 104.5 FM. There was also a carryover burden of limited coverage but 5, 6 days I came on board, it was settled. It must be noted that we had this problem for 2 years manifesting and the replacement has to do with millions. Don’t forget I said the radio was completely down and the governor then promised to help us secure a loan facility to resolve it. At that point, I assembled my technical team on ways to get a stop gap arrangement, we invested in a fairly used one and the service came back to life again.
An area I will acknowledge as a landmark achievement for me is the area of the debt burden. We had a huge debt but right from my inception till my retirement we never had anything purchased on credit by adopting the see and buy model which brought about efficiency and discipline on the part of workers.
How were you able to balance your profession and politics putting in where you worked?
When you talk about victim of political victimization in broadcast media around here, I think I will rank as one of those who were vilified at one time or the other, particularly during the electioneering between 2005 and probably 2009. I was made to leave my work place. I was push out of the state, push out of my table to go to Lagos, because according to those who authored that exercises, government will not be comfortable having somebody like me.
We were about six who were dragged out of the state during election of 2007 and so, I have to be excused to go and stay in Lagos. The reason was, simple, I was perceived to be harbouring political bias against the government which effectually came to naught because the whole idea as a marketer there was no mark on any currency, every currency is as good as the other.
So, when government now heard that the opposition was being allowed too much space on air space and there were complaints, my position was that, give us an official mandate not to entertain them, but nobody was ready to give the mandate fact that the regulatory authority represented by the Nigerian broadcasting commission said unknown account should we refused any political party.
I am happy to say that despite the challenges of those era when I became the numero uno in OSBC, the spirit of that give and take, the spirit of professional balancing was brought to the fore to the extent that during the last gubernatorial election, all manners of campaign were allowed on air, all shape of characters, all candidates were allowed to the extent that Nigerian Broadcasting Commission came to the state with commendation for OSBC as if OSBC was not a public corporation.
Hope this was taken in good fate by the powers that be?
Up to this hour, it has been commendation and commendation galore for OSBC. You will not believe that it has also led credence to the quality and then the quantity of support earned by the organisation and in fact that was also translating to the quantum of patronage that the organisation has experienced because once you are believed by the audience, the sky is the limit to such an organisation.
What do you make of the professionals you left behind in terms of their performance?
They need courage. The depth of professionalism is lacking in them in many respects and the problem between ownership and practitioner is the major cause of this. Ownership that is dictated by non-professionalism create bottleneck. The owners who are purely entrepreneurs with the motive of getting profit, often time find themselves at loggerheads with the professional that are bent on pursuing core professionalism. There will always be a lacuna but at the end of it, courageous professionals will rule the game, the challenge maybe there today but with your commitment to professionalism, with your commitment to deliverables, the professionals will tower at the end.
Your word of advice to your successor, and media practitioners at large
The first approach is to recognise the past leaders, those who have weathered the storm, pick one or two qualities from each of them and put them together to chart a new cause. Secondly, scout the environment and see where lies challenges, where you will be able to proceed ,what measure to take to confront those challenges and then staff welfare is very important, because motivation is very key and once you put such at the front burner you will be able to carry them along. Also, transparency is very important, let people know why certain things are carried out.
Above all, you need to show leadership. For instance, I was a marketing officer but I ended up running a current affairs programme which is called The Nation Today. I created it, I ran it throughout for closed to five years now and I never collected one kobo. Throughout those five years, I ensured that contemporary issues of national effect were always on the front burner. Also, my resource persons are always from the state and beyond the shores of the state. For all this period, I had no producer, no director, it was just a one man programme execution and what does it tell us? It shows that with real commitment and with the future just within your hands, you can do better on your own.
So, we should use the opportunity of service period to prepare ourselves for the future.
