BEFORE AKBC BECOMES EXTINCT

By Ofonime Honesty

For about 135 million years, Dinosaurs ruled the world. For their sheer size, diversity, and longevity, the dinosaurs overshadowed other living creatures. As beasts, they preyed on other animals and plants with reckless abandon. They are believed to be the largest animals ever to live on planet earth. Till roughly 66 million years ago, dinosaurs’ supremacy was unchallenged.

Interestingly, as years rolled, their position became threatened by prevailing circumstances. Though the accurate cause of their extinction is still shrouded in mystery, climatic changes, diseases and changes in habitat are believed to have played a major role. Also, a good number of scientists are of the opinion that a firestorm which accompanied an asteroid from outer space contributed to the annihilation of the once dreaded dinosaurs.

Dear readers, irrespective of the school of thought you choose to believe, the bottom-line is that the demise of the beastly dinosaurs was triggered by a failure to cope with some conditions. Today, Hollywood movie makers use digitally animated dinosaurs in horror movies. Fossils (skeletons) of dinosaurs can also be seen at laboratories and museums.

Enter Akwa Ibom Broadcasting Corporation (AKBC). The station which is an agency of the Akwa Ibom State Government consists of Radio and Television units. Established in April 1988, AKBC bestrode the airwaves like a colossus by churning out quality programmes and parading legendary broadcasters. The station became a darling to millions of people.

And the excellent status-quo remained unperturbed till things started falling apart. Either because of over-confidence or poor managerial decisions or government’s negligence or a combination of all mentioned factors, wholesale problems began brewing at AKBC.

AKBC’s problems were worsened during the days of Chief Godswill Akpabio as Governor – several programmes were yanked-off the air because their presenters “dared” to air thoughts and interviews granted by perceived opposition politicians. The producers and presenters of the affected programmes left with a great chunk of listeners to other stations.

For a start, Heaven has not fallen because the corporate head office of AKBC located at Udo Udoma Avenue in Uyo metropolis is a dilapidated rented edifice fit only for rodents, not government employed professionals. Disheartening is the fact that successive administrations have not deemed it necessary to rehabilitate that structure nor relocate AKBC to an ultra modern edifice built by government.

If a trip to the head office isn’t appalling enough, then the broadcast station at Ntak-Inyang offers a more heart-wrenching experience. In 2011, my late friend, Ubong Patrick (May God bless his soul), took me there to meet his mentor (name withheld). We had the privilege of entering the studio where we met him reading the state news bulletin.

And several things struck me in there: A plastic bucket was placed at a corner to collect rain trickling from the studio’s roof, the studio had an offensive smell courtesy of the rain-soaked rug carpet and the DVD players being faulty made the broadcasters to curse and complain bitterly off microphone. My recent visits to the station show that nothing has changed. Heaven knows that my intention is not to malign AKBC but to drive home my points without mincing words.

And these are the days of digitalization. Apart from the fact that AKBC TV is on cable platform Startimes, there is no other sign to convince yours truly that the station has embraced digitalization. In this era of email, news stories are still written and compiled at Udo Udoma Avenue before being sent by bus to Ntak-Inyang. Woe betides anyone who stands in the way of AKBC bus during the desperate dash to Ntak-Inyang to submit news. Sometimes, because of the late arrival of news, you’ll hear the news presenter firstly apologizing “for bringing the news bulletin behind schedule due to circumstances beyond our control” before wobbling through the script.

Listening to AKBC Radio or watching AKBC TV make an unpleasant experience especially when it rains. Any keen observer can hear the pitter-pattering of rain on the studio’s roof from the comfort of his home or office.

The picture quality of AKBC TV is nothing to write home about. I once tuned in to a sports programme and was shocked to see the presenters appearing as if they are covered by a rainbow-coloured blanket. Blurred images! Also, AKBC's website is not updated regularly.

In terms of reportage, the station's reporters deserve hard knocks. Where are the ambassadors of phonetics like the legendary Eddy Ekpenyong, Margaret Eshiet, Comfort Umanah, Itoro Lawrence, Eunice Egharevgba, name them? It is disheartening to hear AKBC reporters pronouncing words like government as /kovinment/. What a dying breed of excellence!

Also, the citizenry are tired of hearing tales of sabotage at the station. In November 2015, Governor Emmanuel was billed to appear on a live programme there. Before anyone could say Jack Robinson, the transmitter malfunctioned. Efforts to revive the transmitter proved abortive. Confirming the occurrence as an act of sabotage, the DG Pastor Anietie Ukpe said thus: “I began to piece together snippets of report I had from some of the workers. It was unbelievable to contemplate such unethical behavior by someone employed by the same Governor and Government he is sabotaging.”

You see, the problems of the station are self inflicted. Little wonder why the station sometimes shuts down for several months.

A station that refuses to rebrand by creating content that are of interest to the masses will continue lagging behind. Other Radio stations in the state, in realization that the mass media have long become an interactive platform have introduced phone-in programmes where listeners air their views on critical issues. You can’t try that at AKBC because if issues about government are discussed, the government and her agents who hate dissenting voices may be irked.

Presenting breakfast sports programme is a taboo on AKBC. They still adhere to the archaic style of airing sports programme only on evenings of Wednesdays and Saturdays. See, any station that refuses to rebrand risk being retrogressive.

To worsen matters, controversial deaths are now a norm at AKBC. The station is where several employees can die in one fell swoop. Adhoc-staffs, staffs and independent producers are not spared. Yes, death is inevitable to mortals but when it happens controversially, questions ought to be asked. Dear readers, name them because I have lost count.
Few days ago, three employees died on several instances within 24 hours. Why always AKBC?
To link the myriad mishaps at AKBC to the devil will amount to glorifying Satan. The immediate past and present DGs of the station in the persons of Messrs Praise Okon and Anietie Ukpe are Pastors. Pastors should pray and cast out any demon or demons wrecking havoc there.

AKBC cannot afford to be a modern-day dinosaur. It won’t augur well for the tag ‘defunct’ to be attached to AKBC. Far from it! The needful should be done.

As I pen this piece up here in the VIP Section of the Uyo Township Stadium, AKBC Radio Soccer Team has just defeated Federated Chapel to clinch the gold trophy in the final encounter of the SWAN Media Games 2016. This is surely a good omen for AKBC.
Earlier, Consolidated Chapel parading pen pushers including yours truly defeated State Information Chapel by two goals to one in the bronze trophy match.

(Ofonime Honesty is a journalist and general affairs analyst. +2348025286082 honestyofonime@yahoo.com)