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Broadcasting is Like Bathing in Public... Anike-Agbaje Williams(AllAfrica.com English Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Lagos, Nov 28, 2006 (This Day/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) --She was young, beautiful and talented. She was an outstanding authority in television presentation. She had a distinguished career as a newscaster, producer, presenter and administrator. Her voice ruled airwaves for more than three decades. When she stepped into the studio she ruled by divine right. The cubicle became a throne and the microphone a loyal subject from 1950s down to the mid 1980s before she retired. Now 70, Mrs. Anike Agbaje-Williams, one of the few female Nigerian broadcasters born with the royal blood, joined the former Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, Lagos in 1955 and became known as Africa's First Lady of the tube. She later moved to the then WNTV/WNBS in 1959 shortly before the inauguration of Africa's first television station. Though the opportunity to start something from scratch, which the company at that time wanted, was appealing, she later found out that television audience, unlike radio which she was accustomed to, had to be convinced. But as soon as she was signed on and made her maiden television broadcast on October 31, 1959, the sky became her limit. While at the television house, Agbaje-Williams held various positions and rose through the ladder. She started as a trainee announcer/operator and retired as director of programmes in 1986. At the serene neighbourhood of her Ibadan, Oyo state home, Agbaje-Williams spoke to Funke Olaode about her sojourn in the world of broadcasting and more. You were once referred to as Africa's first lady of the tube. What was your first day on screen like? Well, we had received a lot of training. But I was really tensed up on the official opening night of October 31st, 1959. Tension was high due to anxiety and everybody was at alert to see how things would work out. It was a charged atmosphere, in spite of the fact that we had had a lot of test transmissions. So, I was tensed up because it was the D-day. And as soon as I finished the announcement, the head of programmes, Mr. Chambers, an European jumped up and screamed "we have broadcast". Honestly, everybody was excited. Television station wasn't really my only first landmark. When commercial radio was starting, my voice was also the first to sign on the first commercial radio station in Africa in May after we started television. What was your parent's position considering your exposure to the world at such a tender age? They didn't mind at all and to show their support, when we closed late at night, they would be waiting for me at the end of the road to take me home. They were also very proud of me when people stopped them on the road and asked "are you the mother of that lady on screen?" Do you have any embarrassing moment on screen? Not really, though broadcasting is a very challenging job. It's like having a bath in the public because you are more exposed. I would not say embarrassing moment but trying times. There was an occasion when I was about eight months pregnant and we had to collate election results and we were broadcasting all night. In fact, my husband came and waited for me till about 12.30 am. You see, the job takes priority over everything else. It is a very demanding and dangerous job too. When there was curfew you just had to go out to work. There was a time I had to read the news at 6 o clock. We didn't have water in the house. And when the tanker came I was excited that I was busy storing water. I suddenly remembered that I had to read the news. I jumped into the car and my husband was driving at top speed through the market. You can imagine the danger if anything had happened. And even if your child is sick, you can't abandon your live show. So, the job takes priority. I used to tell people that the only emergency I know in broadcasting is death because when you die you can't go on again. You made a mark as the first woman to appear on screen in Africa. And since you quit limelight you have somehow withdrawn. Why? I am a very shy person by nature. Even though I earned my living by broadcasting, by nature I like to keep quiet except when it is necessary to talk. I worked for 32 years as a broadcaster and I retired 20 years ago. So, you can't accuse me of withdrawing from the public glare. Although after I had retired I was still engaged with the organization with some old members of staff. You started out as a broadcaster at a very early age. What influenced you into the profession? It was providence. God designed it. When I was leaving school my principal looked at me and said "you would be a good radiographer". He gave me a letter to the school of radiography in Lagos. I was interviewed and after everybody had been interviewed they said they would put me first on the waiting list. I came home to have a nice Christmas. I was shopping along Lebanon Street when my father's friend asked me what I had been doing. I told him that I went for an interview in Lagos. He asked me whether I would like to work as a broadcaster. Prior to that, I had been singing at a local radio station in Abeokuta with one Mrs. Bassey Edet. I came to Lagos to meet one Mr. Bora and a few white officials for an interview. I remember one of the questions they asked me was: If you hold a gramophone record, how can you tell whether the music is soft or loud? And I said you couldn't tell until you played it. They said 'when would you like to start? Since Christmas and New Year was approaching, I said I would start on the 5th of January. That was how I began a career in broadcasting at Nigerian Broadcasting Service, Ikoyi, Lagos on the 5th of January, 1955. As a young, glamorous girl, how were you able to manage male admirers? Well, it is a man's position to admire a woman and talk to her and it is a woman's position to say no and keep her head. Whenever I do a programme and they say that is a good programme, I always say to myself that I can do better. So, you must keep your head low as a woman and don't get carried away by comments. Can you recall your most memorable occasion as a broadcaster? I had just finished interviewing all the Obas in Oyo State and when we came back my boss commended me for a job well done. Though, while we were coming back from that job, we met a hunter who warned us never to work on the road at such an hour of the day. If anything had happened, the reverse would have been the case. But I won't forget an unfortunate incident which almost put me out of my career. I still refer to it as "Cuba Episode". I was very ill that I couldn't go to the office that day. And as a producer, before a tape is put on air, you have to listen to it and certify it good for the air. But due to sheer laziness and carelessness of this library assistant, he slotted in a wrong tape about Americans living in Cuba. It was a 15-minute programme. This happened in 1976. Although, I wasn't responsible for the act, I was given the boot as an executive producer. My boss summoned me the following day that he had been asked to retire me. I felt embarrassed because I was not given an opportunity of fair hearing. After this my house was like a market place because people were coming to sympatise with me. After a gentle protest, I was recalled to my duty post even to a higher position by the then Military Governor of the State, Brigadier (David) Jemibewon. This again exemplifies the importance of team spirit in broadcasting. It seems that professional touch of your days is no more in today's broadcasting. What is actually the problem? Standard has fallen. The reason is not far fetched. It is the proliferation of broadcasting stations. Mind you this is not peculiar to broadcasting alone; it affects every sphere of the society. The dedication is no longer there. I remember during my days, even if you were sick you must go and do the work. There was a day I forgot to collect my two children at school because we were holding meeting. By the time I got there, there was nobody around. I met both of them shivering and crying. There was a time my daughter was sick and I left a note on her chest in the hospital. There was another time my only boy was sick and I took him to the Jericho Nursing home. I had to leave him in the hospital while my mother stayed back. Many years later I saw this doctor who told me that when I brought my baby years ago, he had lost hope. So, it is the grace of God. That is what the job does to you. I was dedicated to the job until I retired in 1986 after 32 years in service. So, I always tell my people that you are either born a broadcaster or train to become one. If you are talented, fine. And if you are not you have to work very hard because the whole world is watching you because being in the broadcast puts you in the limelight. You started out as a radio broadcaster why the switch into the television? I didn't switch. It was providence again. I worked for four and half years in the radio until I had my first child. After that I realized that I would not be able to cope with working as a broadcaster and taking care of the home front. I resigned and wanted to be a full time housewife. I was at home when the television wanted to start in 1959. I was at home on a Sunday morning when the then Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Western region, Mr. Ojemirin Ojehonmon phoned me and drew my attention to an advertisement in the national newspapers for the post of Trainee Announcer. By that time my second baby was on the way. I was reluctant but he persuaded me to apply. Again, I applied and at the end of the long interview they asked me when I would want to start. I gave them 15th of September, 1959. And that was the day I started work. And before I left the panel I asked them whether they had another question for me they said 'no'. We were having an intensive training behind those heavy lights in the studio. And one day I collapsed. That was when my colleagues let the rats out of the bag that I was pregnant. Of course, the general manager was very annoyed with me. But I told them there was a lady at the reception who I could train. The name is Miss Julie Coker. She was brought in and that was how I saved the situation. How do you feel attaining the age of 70? I feel very grateful to the Almighty God because when I look back at my life, I can see the hand of God on me throughout ever since I was born into this universe on the 23rd of October 1936. I only spent seven months in my mother's womb and everybody felt I would not survive. They even said anyway she is a girl who would end up behind the kitchen pots and pans. You know I am number three and the third girl. So, everybody discouraged my parents. My father said whether I was a girl or not he would do the best he could. But my mother kept on praying. In fact, she made her own incubator in the room with coal pot fire. And when I was a baby she kept on saying sweet things to me. And to the glory of God I survived. You still look beautiful at 70 what is the secret? It is God Almighty Himself. I don't have any special cream. I eat a lot of vegetables and fruits. And of course, I do some exercises and drink a lot of water. I believe in having a break when I am tired. Can we have an insight into your background? My parents were from Abeokuta in Ogun state. I was taken to Lagos at the age of five and actually grew up in the personage of the Cathedral Church of Christ in Lagos. That is why I always say God has a hand in my life. I remember that I missed my way home on my first day at school. Even the school was so near the house. But to the glory of God a lady selling chin-chin saw me and said 'little girl, we are you going? Innocently, I said I was going to Mrs. Phillips; the late Mrs. Phillips was the wife of the then minister of the Cathedral Church. This woman took me home and handed me to Mrs. Phillips. At that time so many things were happening to children. The personage also influenced because we were brought up in the way of God. And when I got married I imbibed the culture in my children. The environment really groomed me. Though my father was a humorous person and I got my sense of humour from him. And people used to say that there is no dull moment in my company. What were your parents' occupations at the time you were born? My father, Chief Daniel Jonathan Kuforiji was working under a produce buyer and my mother, Mrs. Faithful Efundola Kuforiji was trading in native Aso-Oke, Ankara and so on. And your educational background? I started school at CMS Girls' School situated on the broad Street, Lagos Island at at the age of five. The structure of the school then was that you could move from elementary to secondary school, which made the transition to upper class very smooth. I remember my first day at school, the then headmaster said I was too old for baby's class. So, I started in kindergarten one and gradually moved to primary class.The school was later transferred to Ibadan, Oyo State and became St. Annes located in Molete area of the anciety city. I eventually finished my secondary education from St. Annes in 1955 and started work. As I progressed in my broadcasting career, I tried to develop myself. I trained at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) training school in Lagos. I was also at BBC training school in England. I have been to Glasgow in Scotland and I have equally attended so many courses both home and abroad. I also did a certificate course in management studies at the University of Ife, Ibadan center. How old were you when you started being conscious of yourself? I think at the age of 12 (laugh). Who was then the first guy who made a pass at you? One thing about me in that area is that when I was a young girl and guys were approaching me, the moment I see the same young man approach another girl, I won't hesitate to kick you out. I didn't believe in fighting over anybody. And I can never fight over a man. And whenever my late husband came to my house, he found about five guys in my living room, chatting away. He would just say "Can I see you?" And the way in which we met and got married was funny. But to God be the glory. When did you get married? I got married on the 23rd of February, 1956 to my late husband Mr. Justice Samuel Agbaje-Williams, the former chief Judge of Oyo State. Like I said earlier, it was the Lord's doing. I closed from office and was looking for fruits near the Catholic Church at Oke-Padre Area in Ibadan. Suddenly, I had a woman's voice from the other side. She said if you want to make dresses I can make good dresses for you. She said she would like me to be her friend. Immediately, she took me to her apartment. Up till that moment I thought she was just being friendly until she said I should accompany her somewhere. I didn't know she was going to introduce me to the man I would marry. When we got there, the man asked after my name and I said "I am Anike Kuforiji". The man said you are a liar. I was upset. I just told him that I just closed from the office that I would like to go home. He said I would take you. Do you know the man came to my house and said he would like me to be his friend though he wasn't ready for marriage? And I told him that I wasn't looking for a husband either. That was how he was coming and going. Before I could say Jack Robinson, he had gone to give notice at the registry that he was going to get married. When he told me I was shocked and I asked him to tell my father. That was how God perfected the relationship. The marriage is blessed with five wonderful children of four daughters and a boy. And I and my husband enjoyed conjugal bliss until he passed on three years ago. Have your aspirations in life been fulfilled? I believe they have all been fulfilled. I had a good training and a good job. And when I retired in 1986, for a whole month something commendable was being said about me in television, radio and newspapers. Right now, I am fully involved in church activities. So, God has been kind. All in all, I have no regrets. Copyright 2006 This Day. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). |