Somehow I got strangely excited when I learnt Sola has been appointed as NTA’s Director General. For some of us who have been in the business of broadcasting for a while and looking at what Sola is taking on, it really is not an enviable position to find oneself.
I have had the opportunity to observe my alma mater, NTA, from a comfortable distance for quite a while and I have been very upset at how the whole system has degenerated so badly. There has been so much of proliferation of stations, coming with nice sounding titles for many of the guys but the quality of output has been very appalling, to say the least.
It looks like the way we were brought up in the world of broadcasting, with strict adherence to code of practice has no bearing on this new crop of ‘broadcasters’. I have had to bury my head in shame most times as I have faithfully monitored NTA news from my base in the UK for quite some years now. It is too difficult for me to understand how some people have been allowed to cast the national news, which now goes international.
I am aware that all of that is part of the general decadence in our society where professionalism and fairness are sacrificed on the altar of political balancing. Granted that we should not disregard the need for support for special needs, there must always be proper training to ensure NTA staff get properly skilled -from dressing to diction and all that is in between.
Sola will need to shake off quite a lot for him to get good results in his assignment. I will be praying for him.
Pastor Femi Idowu (former Bureau Chief, NTA News, Ibadan Bureau),
United Kingdom