Television has never been my thing. Radio i didn’t have a choice but love, because i had a father who had and still has at least four sets at any given point in his life. So before the advent of newspaper headlines pervading the airwaves and breakfast shows fighting for attention, i woke up every Saturday morning with “funwonton ti de o; e da kun e dide” blasting through the radio on Radio Lagos.

As for TV, my mum had a phobia about us learning the wrong values form the television, that heaven bless you if you switched on the TV before instructional television (ITV), or kept it on for the 30 mins interlude before the coloured bar came on for with music before the children belt.

I however was not totally deprived of watching good programming on television, or listen to good music at home. Yes the bulk of music i listened to or was exposed to, was from my father’s library, say about 70% the rest came from TV, radio and parties.

You might be wondering where this is leading to? This is a cry for a rebirth of our media content. No, i am not campaigning for programming that has gone with a century, but those that will reflect present day innovations and technologies.

I stand to be corrected, but one will think the NTA was fashioned to operate as the BBC operates, and would have if it had not been politicised like everything in Nigeria. Quality programming has always been the prerogative of the Nigerian media. Don’t ask me when it started its decline, because i don’t  have the answer, but i can give a little chronology of what i remember of how i grew up on the media. And i sincerely hope that the nostalgia we will feel will challenge us to influence media content providers to give us something original, fresh and contextual, as against what is currently running. We can use all the social networks available to us, to raise our placards, and ask for content in our media. Especially these days when the television is more a babysitter than an entertainment tool.

So here goes, Soap Operas: village headmaster; cock crow at dawn; “maigana ja riche”; behind the clouds, ripples; mirror in the sun. More recent soaps and family shows; checkmate; fuji house of commotion; palace; after the storm

Comedies: the new masquerade; iche okwu, the Jab Adu family series (i don’t think that is the title though)

Horrors: jimi odumosu’s ‘Evil Encounter’ and Heritage (the disciples of Natas).

Then the advent of home videos, which i must confess i spent a great deal of my allowance on, i was a Nigerian movie buff!!! My favourite until date is Amaka Igwe’s violated, i related to it in such a personal way…., then we had Ameze Imariagbe, you remember her! The crying lady of all Nigerian movies, did that beautiful movie ‘flesh and blood’ the social satire ‘domitilla’ Omotola’s breakout movie, ‘mortal inheritance’ which garnered,18 nominations and ten wins in one night. Oh where is Zeb Ejiro…..

I could go on and on, and as i write this my eye is welling up, because it’s at time like this i am tempted to liken the average Nigerian-indeed the ones who have had the opportunity to make a difference- to the Raven. ‘Versatile, opportunistic, yet, showing considerable devotion to their young’.

Let me hear your nostalgic moments with the media.

I rest my case.

Knowledge puffs up; love covers all; love yourself; love your neighbour; love this country; above all love God; He is the essence of your being.

Tdk- ‘black by divine design’.