- By Sam O’Femi Fasetire
Listening to radio commentaries of the FIFA World Cup qualifier between Nigeria and Lesotho on Friday left me deflated … not because of the result, but due to a lot of drab deliveries, grammatical errors and mispronounced names by ‘broadcasters’ on a cross section of Lagos-based stations.
The high-rate of errors and drab deliveries left me wondering if quality checks are no longer undertaken by owners and managers of radio stations. I pondered over that issue for a while, then gave myself the most likely answer: Top quality broadcasters would surely have to be paid heavily.
Sadly, in these days of overbearing economic realities, the average radio owner would prefer to cut costs by employing rookies who they would not need to pay heavy salaries. So, as standards are dropping on the field of play with the Super Eagles and clubs in the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL), delivery on radio is also falling at an plummeting rate.
Gone are the good old days of smooth and resounding deliveries on radio. Not just from the like of Ernest Okonkwo et al, but many others like Larry Izamoje, Bimbo Adeola, Mitchel Obi, Ralph Chidozie-George, Amar Ignis, Osondu Ngwude, China Acheru and Deji Omotoyinbo also made analyses, commentaries, news and presentation of programmes delectable on radio. These are the forgotten heroes of sports broadcasting who made listening to radio a thing to relish in the good old days.
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Conversely, on Friday, I heard many commentators pronounce LESOTHO instead of LESUTHU, forgetting that not all words are pronounced the way they are spelt. I heard many say, ‘Ademola Lookman has been awarded a yellow card,’ instead of ‘has been shown a yellow card.’ After William Ekong scored the first goal, some of the commentators kept on repeating ‘The result is 1-0 in favour of Nigeria.’ It should have been ‘the scoreline is 1-0…”
There were many other errors which space cannot accommodate in this write up. Listening to them simply took me back to my days at Brila FM, and I recalled how we always drilled ourselves in the correct way to pronounce names and make expressions.
We did that every Thursday, with a white board placed permanently for that purpose on a wall in the newsroom. Do the radio stations of today have such, and do the managers take their staff ‘back to school’ every week in order for them to maintain high standards on air?
But, this script is not just about nostalgia that I have for laudable radio broadcasters from the days of yore. Standards have also dropped in the quality of deliveries that are seen on television. So, we can only lament over memories of sweet values that came from the like of Yinka Craig, Tolu Omotoyinbo, Paul Ogazi, Hameed Adio, Chuka Momah, Ejiro Omonode, Sam John, Jenkins Alumona, Tayo Balogun, Godwin Dudu-Orumen, et al.
Sadly, while some are late, it’s so pathetic that even the living ones have been forgotten. That’s why their legacies have not been given due recognition.
Amazingly, the same retrogressive delivery we now see on TV and hear on radio is also permeating the print media. Gone are the days of quality writing in news reports, features and analytical articles. Nowadays, the rote is bad grammar, misplaced vocabulary and short scripts that seem to suggest that writers are told to ‘just fill the space and let’s go to bed’ or simply ‘garbage in garbage out.’
Today, I lament. O, where have Nigeria’s top-notch writers gone? My pain is similar to what the fans feel from their own perspective. Such it was that, while I listened to one of the radio stations on Friday, a caller said, “Let’s beg Austin Okocha to come back and play for the Super Eagles!”
It might appear to be jocular, comical or absured, but memories of the good old days would always make the sound mind whimper over the squallor we are being fed with nowadays.
So, for me, the refrain is: Where have our quality sports writers gone? Step out for recognition – Mumini Alao, Onochie Anibeze, Samm Audu, Kazeem Tijani, Vincent Alumona, Mark Ogagan, Afolabi Gambari, Simon Kolawole, Jack Moses Ekwe Ekwe, Morakinyo Abodunrin, Tony Ubani, Patrick Omorodion, Fan Ndubuoke, Adekunle Salami, Desmond Ekwueme et al. These are the real juggernauts of sports writing…
I remember the good old days of Complete Football magazine, with catchy headlines for reports and memorable nicknames for players. I remember how Mumini Alao once cast a headline that stirred awe among us all … ‘Katakata In Qatar!’ Wow, we all learnt so much working under the originator of ‘Soccer Talk.’
Such it was that Pius Ayinor (Mr Basketball) originated the national team’s nickname (D’Tigers), not because he planned it deliberately, but he did not want to use an article ‘the,’ which we learnt during our days should not appear in headlines. That was another iconic move that is still holding sway up till this day.
Sadly, gone are the days of creativity and flare on the pages of our dailies, mostly because the craze for social media content prefers the flexibility and ease of ‘garbage in garbage out’ via the internet.
As for me, three remarkable interviews that I remember doing during my days of writing for Complete Football, Complete Football Extra and Complete Sports were waiting until 3am at Sheraton Hotel (alongside my then right hand man, Dare Joseph) to interview Chidi Nwanu, interviewing Austin Okocha in his car while he drove himself for an appointment at Victoria Island and recalling words from a chat with Tijani Babangida at Ikeja Airport to fill two pages though I did not make any jottings nor hold a recorder (because it was just a chance encounter). How many of today’s sports writers have such exciting stories to share?
Nonetheless, as I get ready to drop my pen, I gladly chip in some names of the present generation who keep providing a glitter of hope that top quality on radio, TV and newspaper pages has not been confined to the graveyard altogether. Step out for apt recognition … Chidozie Okoroji (Overdose), Anthony Bekederemo (The Militant), Mohammed Sulaiman (Mowiz), Lekan Okusan (Sporting Life), Emmanuel Etim (Nigeria Info FM), Miyen Akiri (TVC) and Solomon Onu (Owerri). They are the rare new gems struggling to glow in the midst of several dull rocks of coal….
*SWAN’s Living All Stars 11
- Bimbo Adeola
- Toyin Ibitoye
- Tony Ubani
- Larry Izamoje
- Callistus Ibare
- Desmond Ekwueme
- Deji Omotoyinbo
- Morakinyo Abodunrin
- Mumini Alao
- Ralph Chidozie-George
- Kazeem Tijani
Subs:
- Godwin Enakhena
- Jack Moses Ekwe Ekwe
- China Acheru
- Afolabi Gambari
- Patrick Omorodion
- Vincent Alumona
Coaches:
Godwin Dudu-Orumen, Mitchel Obi, Ade Ojeikere
Media Officer: Sam John
