I returned to Kaduna yesterday evening to the story of the passing of the venerable Dr. Christopher Kolade at the age of 93. He lived a very long life of devoted service to our dear country and to humanity. My professional life was literally created by and took the trajectory I speak about today, thanks to Dr Christopher Kolade. He was the one who offered the “special dispensation” that took me into Radio Nigeria (the old Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation). I resumed work as a studio manager (Trainee) on February 1st, 1977.
When I resumed work, I was 16 years and five months old. That was the issue. We had been interviewed in December 1976, and it was just three months after my 16th birthday. When I appeared for the interview, one of the panellists noted that I was underage and shouldn’t have appeared. But another one said that since I had been invited like others, I should be interviewed. Well, I knew everything about radio and answered correctly every question that I was asked.
Over 20 years later, in 1997, I had been appointed the pioneer GM of KWTV, and the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) was holding a conference in Ilorin. One of the remarkable guests was the late Hannatu Ibrahim from Gombe, who had been Head of Programmes, North, at Radio Nigeria, Kaduna, at the time of my recruitment, in 1977.
NAWOJ had given me an award for opening opportunities for women in broadcasting at KWTV. Hannatu Ibrahim used the occasion to tell the story of my recruitment by Radio Nigeria. I was underage, but I had performed excellently at the interview. She was the boss and had felt that age shouldn’t be a barrier for a young boy she felt was going to have a sterling career in broadcasting. She discussed with and got Dr Christopher Kolade’s approval. That was the basis of the “special dispensation” that opened up the apertures of a career in broadcasting and journalism that’s lasted a total of 48 years so far! That is my first point of eternal gratitude to Dr. Christopher Kolade.
With the benefit of hindsight now, it looked almost inevitable that I ended up in broadcasting in particular and the media, in general. It’s a story that I’ve told several times in the past, but it is permissible to retell on this occasion of a moment of tribute to the most incredible and unforgettable Dr. Christopher Kolade.
I was farmed out to live with my great uncle at the age of 8. My life revolved around helping with his daily chores, and that included cleaning in a very meticulous manner each morning, the Grundig radio set. Twice a day, in the morning and during the evening hours, he listened to the Hausa Service of the BBC. At other hours of the day, he was tuned to Radio Kaduna.
These were during the years of the Nigerian Civil War. He would literally drink in the descriptions of developments from the war front, nodding his head or just commenting aloud. I usually sat by a corner, just a remove from him. Clustered around him was a group of people who watched his every gesture and were waiting for a translation of the news from the Hausa to the Yoruba language (fasara daga Hausa zuwa Yarbanci).
I had the “much more important” reason of waiting to eat the leftover of his food that always contained at least two or three pieces of meat. There was an unannounced struggle over the leftover, that pitted me against a certain one-eyed, Kassum (Kassum mai ido daya). He had a “very bad habit” of arriving on time for the leftover food, and that meant that he took what I considered mine. I never liked him, and if he sent me on errands, I usually declined!
Those experiences of cleaning the Grundig radio, the Hausa Service of the BBC, and the translations, must have sown the seeds of my fascination with radio broadcasting.
There were three other related scenarios. We had the old Radio Nigeria rediffusion box at home piping the programming of the station into our home. We listened religiously. From my Primary Three, the same type of rediffusion box was in our class through which we learnt lessons from the educational service of Radio Nigeria.
It was in that class that I encountered the teacher who, more than others, shaped my attitude to and fondness for learning. That was the remarkable late Mister Gomez. I can still see him in my mind’s eye: short-sleeved shirts with two pens in the pocket; well-ironed shorts; long socks and thoroughly polished sandals or shoes.
The final piece of the jigsaw was my mother’s life as a broadcaster. She had belonged to the earliest generation of women who went to school in our corner of Northern Nigeria and had been a teacher before I was born. She would eventually be the first presenter of a women’s programme on radio (Radio Nigeria, Ilorin) in what became Kwara State.
This was the broadcasting backdrop against which Dr. Christopher Kolade gave me the opportunity to enter professional life in broadcasting from the age of 16. I would eventually become an announcer; newsreader; producer and presenter of programmes; sports and ceremonial commentator; and a news and current affairs analyst.
From that point of embarkation that Dr. Christopher Kolade opened up for me, I also got the opportunity to be a news reader on the national network service of Radio Nigeria and the African Independent Television network. I similarly reported for the Cooperation Service of Radio France International and the BBC World Service. I became pioneer GM of KWTV, and I was also DG of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). These were roles in broadcasting, without diminishing the other professional engagements in journalism.
My second note of gratitude to Dr. Christopher Kolade goes back to April 2004. When our twins were born, my wife wasn’t allowed to exit from the London Heathrow airport. She had entered Britain alone, she was reminded; and was now going out with two newborn kids!
I reached out to the late Remi Oyo, an old colleague from Radio Nigeria, who had also been born in Ilorin. She was President Obasanjo’s special adviser at the time. Without hesitation, Remi reminded me that: “Our old boss at Radio Nigeria is the High Commissioner in London. Call him!” She forwarded his number, and soon as I introduced myself as his old staffer from Radio Nigeria, and I explained my dilemma, he asked my wife to come to the Nigerian High Commission. He had also left a laissez passer from the gate right through to his office. The problem was solved, and mother and twins returned home safely!
Many decades later, as Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Dr. Christopher Kolade was being given one of several awards in Lagos. I sent him a message of gratitude for the role he played in the professional construction of my life story. He was delighted about that, and he answered that he was happy at how my professional life panned out.
I did not get the opportunity to meet with Dr. Christopher Kolade till he passed. But my life today has taken a route of professional development and most enriching fulfilment because of a simple decision that he took, which would have a tremendous impact on the professional that I eventually became. He was a human being of the old school in Nigeria: properly educated; cultured; decent; religious; professional; and a committed Nigerian patriot. He will be sorely missed. I feel an eternal gratitude to Dr. Christopher Kolade.
Is’haq Modibbo Kawu, Ph.D, FNGE, is a broadcaster, journalist, and political scientist
