Dotun Adebayo is an accomplished Nigerian media professional who has lived in the United Kingdom for almost fifty years. Honoured by the Queen of England with the prestigious Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) award in 2009, Adebayo has published three bestseller novels, has been presenting the award-winning global news magazine programme All Night for BBC Radio 5 Live in the last 12 years and runs his own TV Channel, Colourtelly. In this interview with Editor Online of The Nation Newspapers , Lekan Otufodunrin, Adebayo shares his dream to return home to Nigeria
AFTER living in the United Kingdom for about fifty years, at what point did you start thinking of returning home?
It is incredible to think that I have been living in Britain for 47 years now. It seems like just yesterday that I left the comfort zone of my grandparent’s house on Oke-Ado Market Road in Ibadan to face the harsh winters and the frosty welcome of Britain and the British.
I have been thinking of returning home for most of that time. Since the first day I arrived. My father beat the desire out of me at the age of six. And before I know it I was 50 years old and time was slipping.
But when you have family (two daughters in my case) it becomes trickier and trickier to return home. Your desire is further complicated by the passing on of your relatives in Nigeria which makes a homecoming more and more distant, or at least the compulsion to return home becomes less and less imminent.
In short, I have been thinking of coming home for nearly fifty years.
What exactly would you say is your motivation for wanting to return to Nigeria?
My main motivation for returning home is to be part of the explosion of the media and in particular radio and television that is happening in Nigeria. And I want to be part of that. If it continues at this pace, Nigeria could quite easily be the world centre for television, just as we are the most prolific of all film industries, thanks to the enthusiasm and enterprise of our great Nollywood industry.
What is the right offer that will make you pack your bags and head for Nigeria?
The right offer has to match what the BBC is paying me, which is a LOT of money. I would consider several parties coming for me at a lower rate as long as it matches my BBC contract. I know what I’m worth and I am not worth a penny less than the BBC pays me. In fact, I’m worth more.
What have been the reactions to your decision by family, friends and colleagues at work?
My wife understands. My daughters understand. My brothers understand. No doubt my colleagues will give me their reaction when they read this article.
How much of the Nigerian media landscape do you know and what is your assessment of the organisations?
My father started out as features editor of the Daily Times in the 1950s. Then he went on to NBC as a broadcaster in the early 1960s. When I returned to Nigeria in 1977 as a teenager, I wrote several plays for Bendel Playhouse which was the Bendelites big drama production on Bendel State TV in those days.
I have freelanced for several Nigerian publications in the past and I keep abreast with particularly the newspapers online and the likes of Arise and BEN Television from the UK side on cable TV. I don’t get to hear as much Nigerian radio as I would like to. As far as the newspapers are concerned, Nigeria has one of the most vibrant press cultures in the world. Our columnists are second to none. I can’t wait to cross swords with them all.
As far as television presenters are concerned, I’ll give them 7/10 – see me after class. They could try harder.
Do you have any particular big new channel in mind?
Yes. I have had a couple of offers. One serious one with a channel that is due to launch in the summer. But, like I say, I’m open to offers.
What are the advantages of the media explosion Nigeria is experiencing and how best can we maximise it?
The media explosion can only be sustained if the people are lifted up and are able to shore it up with their buying power. The Nigerian explosion has to bypass the politicians and fight for and reflect the aims and aspirations of the Nigerian middle class so that everybody can have a goal to head for.
I don’t want to see negativity. We can’t afford that. That media explosion can not only make Nigeria great, it can make Nigerians great.
How did you accomplish so much in the print, book and broadcast industry in U.K?
I work very hard. I work harder than anyone else. If I see someone working harder than me, I lose sleep to catch up and overtake them.
Is it not arguable that you are the most successful Nigerian broadcaster in U.K?
It is without question. Who else would contend with me?
How have you coped with racism and prejudice being of Nigerian decent?
We are born strong. Racism is a weakness. We stand strong and fight it on a daily basis. Institutionalised racism is the trickier beast. For that we have to build our own infrastructure so that we don’t need to rely on anyone else.
Hence my self-sufficiency in publishing – my own publishing house, in media – my own internet television company and so on.
What is your background in terms of your family, education and other things Nigerians need to know about you?
I come from a family of accountants, the exception being my father. My grandparents were very good friends of Fela Kuti’s parents. Fela and my dad and my uncle were great friends. I went to school with the children of Tafawa Balewa (the original Corona School on Victoria Island). I am 100% Nigerian and will always be.
What do you mean that Nigeria is the future and Britain is the past?
Britain’s time has come and gone. Nigeria’s time is just head of us if we seize the time and make use of it. Yes, I can see a time in the next fifty years when we are sending aid to Britain.
Supposing you don’t get the kind of offer you want, will you still be interested in returning home?
I’m coming home, no matter what. Without that big transfer deal it might take time, but I long for my real pounded yam. I’m tired of the powdered stuff.
Many Nigerians will do anything to live in U.K. What is your advice for such people?
Do anything? That’s up to you. I have lived there so I won’t stop you. But don’t kill yourself to get there.
Are you bothered about the negative reports about life in Nigeria?
All I’m worried about is armed robbers. Boko Haram doesn’t worry me. Just armed robbers. The only thing that stops expatriates like myself from returning home is the lack of security which the state is supposed to be providing – not just for itself but for the rest of us.