Dr Timehin Saheed Olurotimi reviews FOOTPRINTS IN BROADCASTING: The Professional Odyssey of Aremo Taiwo Allimi by Qasim Akinreti, PhD.
In ‘Footprints in Broadcasting’, the author, in three short chapters, gives brief information about the background of Aremo Taiwo Allimi, his early years, and his appointments in the public service. The remaining seven chapters are dedicated to his professional career and achievements. The author, while recounting the various events that shaped the colossal image of Aremo Allimi, deflates the balloon of false assumptions about the destiny of man being sacrosanct leaving him in a proverbial cosmic ‘prison’ of fate where he neither knows his crime nor who he has offended. He asserts that man can indeed rewrite his destiny in accordance with his vision of himself.
This is captured in his account of how our protagonist’s mother wanted him to become a lawyer while had already fallen in love with the profession of his uncle, Ambassador Segun Olusola, who was then a renowned broadcaster. Despite his first foray into construction and its allied fields of study, and his subsequent employment in the Federal Ministry of Works, he kept alive his passion for journalism and when the opportunity presented itself, he went for it.
Akin to this is his decision to adopt the late monarch of Isara, Oba Samuel Akinsanya, as a father-figure, mentor and guardian angel. According to him, it was this royal father who taught him the secret of success in life. He recounts the monarch’s counsel: “to succeed in life, you must struggle on your own. Do not rely on anybody, even your parents. Be resolute, be serious and work hard, have self-discipline, my child’’. It was also this great monarch who advised him not to spend more than forty percent of his earnings on personal needs, and who recommended that he should save the remaining sixty percent for his educational career. He religiously followed this advice and was able to use a part of this saved money to fund his education in Ghana later. Most of the other signposts in this book are offshoots of the counsels received from this royal father.
Akinreti’s account of Aremo Allimi’s broadcasting career is very illuminating. From his national youth service experience at the NTA, the largest television network in Africa, where he was retained as a staff, to the various individuals who noted his creative genius and assisted him in nurturing it, to his introduction of new ideas at NTA, his invitation by Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the then executive governor of Lagos State, the birthing of the LTV concept, the transformation of that concept to reality, the conditions put forward by our protagonist to the governor, his refusal of the position of general manager and his nomination of someone else, we have an engaging and highly intriguing narrative on which volumes of analytical essays can be developed.
The book also documents Aremo Allimi’s broadcasting progamme’s philosophy at LTV as: a development-oriented programming concept representing culture, arts, the people, the government, politics, and cosmopolitan nature of Lagos State, its history and its development, as well as his rather weird goal at LTV, about which he humorously but firmly declared thus: the programme schedule was meant to scare NTA 10, compete with NTA Ibadan, and beat NTA Ikeja. The story of how LTV stood out and attracted NTA’s attack, and the legal battles that led to its change from Channel 5 on Very High Frequency (VHF) to Channel 8 VHF is also well captured in the book.
A rather painful story is also documented in this slim volume. That’s the story of how he had to resign from LTV because of pressures coming from some quarters claiming that he was an Ogun indigene, and not a Lagos State indigene. Though the governor rejected that resignation, it is very disheartening that in a nation that seeks to soar in the firmament of glory competence was sacrificed at the alter of mediocrity. This is particularly so because the same would have happened in every state in the country.
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According to Akinreti, Allimi’s exit from LTV later was inevitable as he was able to perform miracles in the information sector of his state of origin, Ogun State, as the Commissioner for Information, Youth, Sports and Culture. As a commissioner, he formalised the information management system through an initiative called “Ogun state Information Order”. Through his efforts, OGBC FM, which was an AM station under the name Ogun Radio was born. Yet, Allimi was
not meant to fish in local waters. He later became the director general of the Voice of Nigeria (VON).
This VON episode in Taiwo Allimi’s career is particularly captured in detail. This may be because Dr Akinreti is a staff of VON. According to him, our protagonist resumed at VON with a blueprint to reengineer, rebrand, and reposition the establishment as a truly international broadcasting radio station that could hold its own among international radio stations.
This book contains a detailed account of the steps taken by our protagonist in this task of repositioning VON. From reviewing the vision and mission of the organisation to developing strategic plan for the realisation of vision and mission, Akinreti has painstakingly documented for new media leaders and posterity the specific steps and approaches taken by Aremo Allimi at VON. In his words, “telling Nigerian stories to the global audience with adequate news and programmes” was the mantra Taiwo Allimi pursued in his five-year tenure in VON.”
This mantra, in reality, aligns with the newly crafted mission statement of VON which is: “reflecting Nigerian and African perspectives in our broadcasts… winning and sustaining the attention, respect and goodwill of listeners worldwide, particularly Nigerians and Africans in the Diaspora…. making Nigeria’s voice to be heard more positively in the shaping of our world.’’ While all of the policies adopted aligns with the vision which is:
“To become the international radio station of first choice for anyone genuinely interested in Nigeria and Africa.’’.
Akinreti also describes in details the significant contributions of Aremo Allimi at VON and the impact he made among international news organisations. He quotes Elizabeth Smith, the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA) from 1994 to 2010 as saying: “between 2003 and 2004, Taiwo Allimi used broadcasting as a formidable tool for international relations. He was the Chairman, plenary session, United Nations Economic Council of Africa (UNECA) conference on “Putting development at the heart of broadcasting,” in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in April, 2003. He also spoke on Broadcasting and HIV/AIDS at the world electronic media forum, Geneva, Switzerland, in 2003. Allimi’s performance as a founding member of the Global Media AIDS Initiative with Kofi Annan (UN Secretary General) as Chairman at the United Nations was most profound.
This book is, without doubt, an important resource material for students of mass communication and journalism as well as media practitioners who want a compact volume on some of the key happenings in Nigeria’s broadcasting history. It will also serve as a motivational volume for managers who seek inspiration, particularly in the areas of networking, policy formulation, talent hunting and self-discipline.
The book is however not without some infelicities which I believe would be taken care of in subsequent editions. Apart from typographical errors found in some pages, there are one or two instances of wrong captions for some pictures. The book is silent over some of the major political events in the 1990s. it would have been very refreshing to know how our protagonist responded to, or was affected by major upheavals such as the June 12 saga, its annulment and the Abacha years. Similarly, while the book contains the various steps taken by Aremo Taiwo Allimi in opening new frontiers in the broadcasting industry, it does not present the practical challenges he faced, particularly, in managing conflicts and crisis at the work space, and how he was able to surmount them.
Despite these, readers will find in the book, ample ethical signposts, motivations to loftier heights, and verifiable assurance that determination, diligence, and resilience pay. I therefore, in this light, recommend the book, “Footprints in Broadcasting: The Professional Odyssey of Aremo Taiwo Allimi.” Whatever your position is, you’ll surely find something that addresses your particular experience therein.
