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A line in an Ebenezer Obey song, when translated to English, states , ” But for me, my friend would not have been able to feed himself.” The songwriter goes on to admonish such a person to desist from such boastful arrogance with these words, ” Please don’t say such anymore, It is only God our Lord that speaks and it is done”. This song that I first heard as a teenager resonates with me to this day.
Whenever I see “entertainment industry beefs” centring around who paved the way for who, I can’t help getting miffed. I will be the first to acknowledge that I have more than a few persons to thank for my trajectory in the media and entertainment industry.
At the unintended risk of mentioning some and leaving out some, let me publicly acknowledge the role of the following persons in my career beginning with Rev. Father Dennis Slattery, Mrs Duncan, and Mr. Aloysius Kpotie, my teachers at St.Finbarr’s College Akoka, all of whom have passed on, My bosses at my first place of employment , the Voice of Nigeria, Messers Martin Okoh and Marius Ugada, My colleagues at the Voice of Nigeria, , Osaze Iyamu John Momoh, Mani Onumonu, and Bisi Olatilo as well as a host of others. I can not fail to mention Aunty’s Julie Coker and Patrick Oke, who initiated me into the NTA fraternity where I had the good fortune of interacting with great broadcast legends like Chris Ebie, Danladi Bako, and a host of other great guys at NTA.. It would be inconceivable for me to fail to mention to mention Tony Okoroji, my friend, and moral compass in this very volatile entertainment industry environment.
Everyone I have mentioned and some who I haven’t been able to mention all played pivotal roles in the outcomes of my professional life. However, not once have I heard any of them ever boasting about the role they played in my life. In short, every single one of them has been nothing short of honourable and gracious, and for that, I salute them.
Fast forward to these days, hardly does a day pass without one entertainment industry personality or the other boasting about his or her self-importance and who they have paved the way for. I find this trend to be silly and vexatious in the extreme. I could be accused of not being “woke” for not appreciating the need to assert one’s “brand” in this age of social media, and quite frankly, I don’t care for such “wokeness.”
I belong to the school of thought that believes that a man’s work should speak for him. In my own little way, I have accomplished a number of feats, not least of which are the following .
1) Nigeria’s first late night TV entertainment show
“Friday Nite Live”
2) Nigeria’s first indepently produced TV.
specialized businees programme
“Real Estate This Week”
3) Nigeria’s first indepently produced syndicated
drama series that was broadcast on multiple
stations nationwide without being sponsored
by a multinational, “Jaded Options. ”
4) My movie “The Gardener” helped change the
thematic narrative of Nollywood movies from
rituals and occult themes.
All these feats can be traced to the grounding I received from my above-mentioned professional seniors.
In the cause of achieving these things, I also encountered a number of talented younger persons who today are quite literally legends in their own right. Rather than boast about the role I played in their lives, I should be thanking them for facilitating the success of my professional endeavours. If they were not good at what they did when we collaborated, I might not have any work to boast about today .
So, let me publicly salute my illustrious professional predecessors, my esteemed peers, and younger colleagues for the awesome role they have played in my life. I want to especially thank my younger professional colleagues for giving me the privilege of playing a part in the epic tales of their professional achievements.
I will be remiss if I fail to acknowledge the one person responsible for my current state of constant fulfilment in the person of my darling wife, Olufumilayo. The stability she has brought into my life is immeasurable.
Finally, permit me to ascribe all the glory for my modest achievements in life to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, whose I am and whom I serve.
