HOW CHIEF ANTHONY ENAHORO INITIATED WESTERN NIGERIA TELEVISION

                                                                              

                              Late Chief Anthony Enahoro

As Minister for Home and Mid-West Affairs, late Chief Anthony Enahoro in an interview revealed how he conceived the idea to build the first television in Western Nigeria. In that interview Chief Enahoro said, "Television was very much the coming medium, I could see it coming. I think it was in 1955, I was in London. That was the first time I had really took notice of television and Mr. David Williams of West Africa (magazine) happened to be with me, we were having lunch.

And I told him I would like to take a look at this growing medium because I'd thought then that the potentials for education, for public enlightenment, for entertainment were tremendous. So David Williams and I went along to Pinewood studios in London. We spent the better part of the day there and then we visited the B.B.C. and other establishments. When I came back I put a proposal to the Western Government, Western Region Government in those days, which eventually was accepted."

The glory of establishing Western Nigeria Television as the first television station in Nigeria and first on the entire African Continent went to late Chief Obafemi Awolowo alone as the then premier of Western Nigeria. The lesson to learn here is: if leaders surround themselves with technocrats that are creative and make their governments to perform optimally, they will take all glory and praises. On the other hand, if they surround themselves with inept persons that cause their governments to fail, they will also take all the vilification and blames. I didn't know that late Chief Enahoro was the brain behind the establishment of the first television station in Nigeria and Africa until I stumbled on a book entitled: Television Broadcasting: The Nigerian Experience (1959-1992), authored by Obafemi Lasode. This is one of the benefits of reading; it exposes one to facts, knowledge, information and enlightenment. My pain here is that late Chief Anthony Enahoro was never given an iota of credit for his contribution towards the formation of the first television in Nigeria; all the praises and adoration went to late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

 I doff my cap for late Chief Anthony Enahoro for his great and wonderful contributions to the development of Nigeria. He also moved the famous motion for self-government in 1956! He was a great man indeed!