On Wednesday, 2 April 2003, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, Governor of Bayelsa State, had the singular honour of speaking to the citizenry at the formal commissioning ceremony of the first television station to come on air in Yenagoa, the state capital. A few weeks before, this new station had appeared on television screens in homes, identifying itself as the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Channel 28, Yenagoa. It often came on air late, and closed early. That was because it had been on test transmission.
‘From today, the station will start business early, and close late. In the intervening hours, we shall be watching the familiar sights of our land, and hearing the resonant sounds of our people’, Alamieyeseigha announced. The ovation can only be imagined. Here at last was a long-awaited dream come true. It was a historic ceremony that overwhelmed, not just Alamieyeseigha, but every son and daughter gathered under the colourful canopies of that bright sunny April afternoon.
It was easy to recall that, when he assumed office on 29 May 1999, the state was without any fully functional state-wide broadcasting outfit. With a severe problem of signal interference, the only radio station in the neighborhood gave epileptic services to a limited audience within Yenagoa and environs. Radio Bayelsa alone had since proven to be inadequate. Realising the need to reach out to the people in their various communities, it had become an urgent priority for government to find a way of supporting the FM radio station.
The initiative came from the Federal Government. A nation-wide expansion programme of the NTA was underway, and Bayelsa was on the map of that arrangement. Alamieyeseigha was so excited that he did not hesitate to commit funds to the project upfront. He would not wait for the government at the centre, with all its sluggish red-tapism, to act first. So much was happening under his belt, and he wanted to tell the world about his vision for the state he had been given, by the forces of providence, to govern.
In order for the station to come on stream in quick time, Alamieyesiegha undertook the construction of two buildings for the station where only one was proposed, and fenced off the site for good. He equally directed the purchase of a complete set of studio equipment and provided fully furnished portakabins for provisional operations. More than that, his government paid the cost of installing the television antenna on the high mast of the FM radio. Nine brand new air conditioners were also acquired to support the original four provided by NTA.
The governor was willing to give more than his fair share of inputs to ensure the early take-off of the station, knowing the important role of television, especially in a state with daunting environmental, socio-political and economic peculiarities. To reach the people at the grassroot level, and make the job of governing Bayelsa a lot easier, this had become imperative.
He was hoping that this would enable government harness the unique advantages of television broadcasting, to bring the sights and sounds of Glory Land into individual homes, harmonize the views of various people, mobilize them effectively, and bridge the gap between government and the governed. The rumour mill was growing wings, and it was time to do some clipping. The many mongers of unfounded stories were swiftly becoming the number one enemy of government. It was better to let the people see, and therefore to believe.
Alamieyeseigha had always felt let down that government’s sincere intentions for the people were often misinterpreted. He blamed it on lack of proper communication. The coming of NTA would definitely fill that obvious vacuum. It was important, at that crucial point in the political life of the young state, to keep the people well informed on the critical issues of the day, and Alamieyeseigha was willing to propel that process of enlightenment.
He enjoined the new management and staff of the station to see themselves as stakeholders in nation-building, and use the tools at their disposal to advance the interest of the people, if not that of government. Given the solid backing of government, as well as the investors and guests who dwelt and worked in Yenagoa, it was only to be expected that the NTA management would serve the best interest of unity, progress and development.
Alamieyeseigha gave assurance that the station would continue to enjoy the goodwill and support of government to enable it perform its role of information dissemination, education and entertainment, so long as it came up with a dynamic and credible programme-content that would highlight the cultural values of the people. Quite clearly, this was a station with a mission to redress the imbalance in information concerning the state, and the government was hopeful that the professional quality of staff would fulfil that mission with flair, style, and originality.
‘In order to achieve success, you must be prepared to make sacrifices and to use innovative techniques to build the station’s profile for it to impress audiences at home and abroad’, he said. ‘I believe that management will also make concerted efforts to strengthen the commercial network of NTA Yenagoa, and improve advert revenue to enable the station become self-sustaining in record time’.
Alamieyeseigha had cause to express gratitude to the far-sighted vision of the Director General of NTA, Ben Murray-Bruce, who had evidently transformed broadcasting in Nigeria with the acquisition of digital studio equipment and transmitters. Not only had he remained focused on executing the ambitious NTA nation-wide expansion programme; he had worked tirelessly to achieve it. This was also a good occasion to call on him, as a son of the soil, to ensure that a fair percentage of qualified Bayelsa indigenes were employed into NTA, both at the local and national levels.
Alamieyeseigha equally suggested that some staff of the fledging state television station, who had been redundant since their redeployment from Rivers State, be engaged temporarily by NTA Yenagoa until such a time when the state television station could take off in earnest. He extended felicitations to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Prof. Jerry Gana, who had given prompt approval to the expansion programme and stood firmly behind the NTA Director-General.
This was also a good opportunity to call on the Federal Government to make its presence felt in Bayelsa State, and Alamieyeseigha did not hesitate to do so. In particular, he enjoined the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to begin work on the federal secretariat complex in the state capital. He equally looked forward to the early completion of the project by the then Power Holding Company of Nigeria so that the state could be linked to the national grid.
‘So far, we have two Federal Government colleges, NITEL (Nigerian Telecommunications Limited), NIPOST (Nigerian Postal Service) and now NTA. Let it be that the slogan of this new television station — “Pioneering a New Partnership” — will define a fresh and fruitful relationship between the Federal Government and our long-deprived people’, the Governor-General said.
