Momoh's this is John Momoh." the news bulletin, were quite familiar with OHN MOMOH WAS at the height of a successful broadcasting arcer when he took the biggest risk of his life. Without a dime to set up a television station. At the time, the Nigerian Television Authority where Momoh worked as a broadcaster, dominated the country's airwaves, leaving only a fraction of the market share to s puny competitors, the state-owned television stations. Only the federal and state governments owned television stations; private velevision stations didn't exist. The NTA was the most popular TV station in the country, not only because it was a monopoly, but because of the breadth and popularity of its network programmes. Nigerians who grew up and lived within the country in the 70s, 80s ind 90s often wax nostalgic when they recall the soap operas and TV shows which enlivened many evenings and weekends in that era. Staples of the time include Village Headmaster, Tales by Moonlight, Cock Crow at Dawn, Mirror in the Sun, Behind the Clouds, Basi and Company, Samanja and Ripples. The NTA was also the repository of the nation's biggest broadcasting stars: Sola Omole, Ronke Ayuba, Cyril Stober, Frank Olise, Abike Dabiri, Bimbo Oloyede, Ruth Opia, Stenne Allwell- Brown and, of course, John Momoh. These star broadcasters were household names with almost extensive name recognition, direct access to the rich and powerful, and tremendous staying power. Momoh was one of the biggest newscasters in the Nigeria of is cra. Millions of nightly viewers of the late evening newscast, " was an era when thousands of eager, ambitious television hopefuls begged to work at the NTA, and not a time when any serious would have away from the broadcasting behemoth. But John did and as as he did, he into trouble. He a from the in June 1993, and a frequency was allotted to his station, but his efforts to raire al necessary funds to begin full operations were abortive. The broadcasting regulator had assigned a specified time within which his station must commence transmisSion, or else his frequeney would become dormant, and his licence withdrawn. Momoh was forced to race against time, and it was a rough and bumpy ride. "We didn't have money to set up operation. I couldn't start, I had nothing except the post-production studio. I looked for money everywhere." For almost two years, the broadcaster could not make any headway. He had succeeded in getting a bank loan (about $35,000), but it wasn't enough to get started. In order not to lose his licence, Momoh approached a contact at the British High Commission and requested for a grant from one of the British development agencies active in Nigeria. The Commission facilitated a modest grant with which he bought a small transmitter, the size of a briefcase. The transmitter secured him a brief respite from his troubles. Momoh installed the transmitter on the rooftop of the building which housed Channels and commenced limited transmission, and as he recalls, "People were laughing at us. To put Channels' humble beginning in proper perspective, Momoh borrows an analogy from Nigeria's transport sector. Imagine, he says, a road transport sector with giant transporters, like ABC Transport, Young Shall Grow and others with fleets of big luxurious vehicles, and along came this new upstart with a three- passenger tricycle bragging "We are going to give them a run for their money." THERE ARE CONFLICTING claims regarding which television station was the first private station to hit the airwaves in Nigeria. Desmims Broadcast, a broadcaster based in Nigeria's North Western state of Kaduna, which runs DITV and Alheri Radio: Independent Television based in Benin, in the South-South; and Galaxy lelevision based in Ibadan, in the South-West, are some of the stations that have laid claims to being the first private broadcaster in Nigeria. What is unarguable however is that by 1996, four years after the broadcasting regulator, National Broadcasting Commission, was established, 15 private television stations had been licensed and seven had started broadcasting. Channels Television was one of them. The hrst programme it aired was a news bulletin read by Momolh on July 1, 1995. The difference between Channels and the private stations that had started broadcasting at the time couldn't have been more stark. While the other private stations had deep pockets, Channels barely survived on a shoestring. Some of these private stations had 30kw-40kw transmitters. Channels could only manage a 100watts transmitter, a single camera, one editing suite and 15 staff, including John and his wife, Olusola, a successful television executive in her own right and John's staunchest ally in the early days. Friends and colleagues who watched from the sidelines as Momoh battled against these overwhelming odds wondered if the suave, soft-spoken, debonair newscaster would survive the rounds. Unknown to them, Momoh was a veteran of many battles, chief of which was his struggle to escape poverty's firm stranglehold as a dweller of Lagos' largest and most famous ghetto, Ajegunle, where he was born on July 1, 1957. "I grew up in a tamily of seven living in a one-room apartment, not a room and parlour, but one room. When it rained, water seeped in. The only thing we had which was constant was the bed, the curtain and the double wooden chair. We all had to sleep on the bare floor." Before he became a star broadcaster, life seemed to have toughened him for the challenges ahead. However, when he refle on those early business years, he admitted that though he was fulls hope, his optimism was tempered by some measure of fear. "We had hope that we would do things differently, we would be able to impart con lives, we would be able to challenge the curiosity of our viewers such that whatever information we serve can help them to think and impart their lives," he reflects. "Of course, as with all Nigeria entrepreneurs then, and even now, the dread of epileptic electricity supply...the bane of industries in the country...was one of our biggest fears." As events have shown, those who doubted John's capacity to survive Channels' humble beginnings were terribly wrong. Over two decades after he embarked on that fateful journey, Momoh is unarguably Nigeria's most successful broadcast businessman, He is the poster boy for successful broadcasting enterprise in Nigeria. Across Nigeria and within the Nigerian Diaspora, Channels is the first point of reference for breaking news stories. The station's stories are regularly referenced by global broadcasters like the British Broadcasting Corporation, the Cable News Network and Al Jazeera. It also has what its website describes as 'strong, unique relationships with international organisations such as the United Nations (UN), Voice of America (VOA) and Germany's international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle (DW) which allows it to provide its viewers with prompt access to information around the world. A 2006 BBC/Reuters survey rated the news-centric station as the 'most reliable and trusted source of information in Nigeria. The station also bagged the 'Best Television Station of the Year award, endowed by the Nigerian Media Merit Award Trust, twelve whopping times in fourteen years-from 2000 to 2016. It has also been adjudged as Nigeria's 'station of the decade.' It is said to reach an audience of 20 million daily, and its 400-strong workforce include some of the country's brightest broadcast journalists, many of whom have bagged national and international awards. MOMOH FOUND HIS passion early in life, thanks to one of the tew tamily assets his parents owned. It was a small transistor radio set which occupied a place of pride in the cramped room where he spent his formative years as the first child in a family of seven. His father, Momoh Ikiebe, was a cook. "When I was growing up, I used to listen to a lot of radio. My father loved listening to the radio. So it rubbed off on me. And 1 loved current affairs," he says, explaining how his lifelong passion for broadcasting began. He started his carcer during his A-levels in Abeokuta when he got a radio job at the Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation. He was there for two years. When he returned to Lagos, he went straight to the Voice of Nigeria (VON) for an audition and got another job. After five to television where he spent the next ten years as a newscaster. years as a oipes presenter, he crossed over Trends in Momoh's backstory indicated that he was bound for the top. Eight months after joining the NTA, he won the NTA Newscaster of the Year Award. "It was something that came out of the blues," he recounts. "While it was holding at the National Arts Theatre, I was on the air; I couldn't go there to collect the award. I didn't know. Somebody collected it on my behalf." He would later go on to bag more awards, He was 'News Anchor of the Year,' of the maiden edition of the Nigerian Media Merit Award and also won the Nigerian Union of Journalists Awvard for the 'Newscaster of the Year." Momoh's voice and looks are made for television, but he says his record of excellence is not so much about these natural advantages as it is his effort to do things differently and right. For example, at NTA, Momoh went against the norm when he pushed a newscasting style that was the opposite of the acceptable model at the national network. In the NTA, a government-oriented TV station, government stories and public officials get reported first.
Momoh recalls one of the several instances when he tried to buek this trend. "Like when (former) President Shehu Shagari was to embark on a forcign trip to India and the NET building was on fire. This was during the civilian administration (of Shagari), and the first story (on the network news) was that President Shagari was off to India, felt this wasn't right when there was more important news. "I was to go on air, so I read the news: 'Good evening, this is John Momoh. The President, Shehu Shagari is off to India but first, let's look at the NET fire'. This had everyone running for cover. The kind of boldness I had at that time, you could feel it in the news, What was driving me was that I wanted to do things differently. I just came from radio. I tried using different methods to present the news, even though they boxed me in." His frustration with the stifling atmosphere at the NTA was one of the reasons he finally left. "I left NTA because I thought I was boxed into a corner. I could not soar anymore, "he told YES International magazine during a 2015 interview. "I could not fly the way I wanted to fly, and I thought the only way for me to have fresh air and soar in the industry was for me to leave and practise the things I thought I should be practising." During his time at NTA, Momoh held on tightly to a dream: his desire to own a television station. He didn't only dream; he also took concrete steps towards the realisation of his vision. "I used to watch a lot of ABC News, ITN News, BBC News. There was no satellite television (in Nigeria) then. I used to go to the American embassy to watch these news stations and improve myselt. At every given opportunity, I would write to these television stations that I wanted to come and observe their anchors for one or two days. They would make arrangements for me, and the American embassy Pinom give me the opportunity to travel and visit five states to study the different aspects of broadcasting. "After my career in NTA, I studied more, the different kinds of TV stations they have abroad-small stations, medium stations and big stations. I did this to prepare myself for that eventuality when the industry would be deregulated and I'd apply for a license." From the British High Commission, he regularly obtained recorded tapes from the BBC and binged on them from morning till evening. "My wife and I consumed the tapes and learnt not only about news but styles of presentation and every other detail. We noted all." His wife, Olusola, was a colleague at the NTA, where they met, fell in love and got married. Olusola's contributions to the formation and growth of Channels are phenomenal. She's played several key roles critical to the evolution of the company, including the company's positively reviewed staff enhancement initiatives. As at 2018, she is the company's executive vice chairman in charge of the commercial, administrative, legal and other support departments. Channels started out as a post-production studio that provided professional support for international TV producers who flew into Nigeria on reportorial assignments. Momoh was in the post- production business from September 1992 to May 1993 before the June 12 political crisis threw the country into chaos. The crisis paralysed economic activities for a while, and some of the private television stations of that era did not survive. Against all odds, Channels flourished, waxing stronger by the day, exemplifying the maxim 'Great oaks from little acorns grow. Momoh insists there was no magic formula to the feat. "What we did in Channels was to grow the business. We started grew little by little," he says, "Things we couldn't afford, (when) pue we started affording them, we ploughed back into the business. We grew organically and we are still growing organically." Secondly, in the TV rush of that era when the floodgate of private broadcasting was thrown open and several stations aimed for do Momoh knew he needed a differential.
Before the advent and successes of Channels TV, the prevailine wisdom in Nigerian broadcasting was that Entertainment w television's joker for winning and retaining audience. At inception Channels chose the hard way, to operate strictly as an all-news TV station, althongh it was hard persuading advertisers to do business with them. "In most of the offices we visited seeking for adverts, we were turned back and told we were not serious, that we did not have the reach," he told London's Financial Times in 2015. "Then we visited the office of Cadbury Nigeria, we just told Cadbury that...we would be reporting news credibly and objectively and they would like what they see. It took about six months before we got an advert from them." The station also adopted a strategic approach to its news operation. Drawing from his extensive experience in broadcasting, Momoh stressed the importance of editorial integrity to the business of newsgathering and enforced strict adherence to the essential tenets of the profession: balance, objectivity, fairness and reporting all sides to an issue. "That (editorial integrity) endeared us to our viewers and our advertisers and all those who wanted to do business with us. Over the years, we have been able to sustain those values," he says, as he lists other innovative initiatives that have helped his station to sustain its market leadership. "We introduced texts (in Nigeria)-what we call in TV Teletext. TV used to use a flat background; we introduced graphics (in Nigeria). We introduced news scrolls, a lot of graphics and illustrations. We had a departure from traditional dressing. We made it very corporate. While I was in NTA, I wore traditional dresses. In Channels, everyone dresses in suits. MOMOH IS QUITE popular on the Nigerian and African lecture circuits. He gets invitations from within and outside the media to share his experience and expertise. A mentor to many budding and established entrepreneurs, he is quite generous with his time, knowledge and experience. On the lecture circuit, the knowledge that Momoh shares are oft two kinds. While he shares general business principles with budding and established entrepreneurs, he is quite specific with media and television businesspersons. The first bus stop on the road to entrepreneurial success, he says, is a good plan. A good plan must incorporate the idea that is driving the vision; sets a clear mission, incorporates a clear-cut strategy, assess the market and make definite revenue and other critical projections. "Secondly, you must have very good staff. That is your human resource and your greatest capital, especially your wingmen. These are people who will flag you at the right and left [and] when things seem to go bad; they will stand by you. They will always be the ones that will be there for you, "Then, don't think about money first. Think about the value that you are giving before you think about money. You must think about satisfying your customer, your consumer or your viewer first and pray that they are right. The money will follow suit. That is one important factor. We are not focussed on money. We work with integrity. We take our work and the ethics of our profession seriously. We must report fairly, truthfully and correctly, 99 per cent. We must be on the side of truth." Momoh's attitude towards money draws its strength from the Holy Writ's admonition that the love of money is the root ofall evils. But he is aware that many a entrepreneur may dismiss this scripture as a relic with few useful applications in modern times. However, he insists that "Money always follows value. It is a by-product of value-added services. Most people do it the other way round. You must think about service. Do the right thing and money will follow you. God still multiplies fishes."
One of Momoh's firstrules for the young television entreprene might come across as strange. It is important, he says, to look f good place to rent. A good place, he adds, is a location that is not only suitable for the business but one that is peaceful. "You must look very well and pray that you have a good landlord. The location that we were when we started was a location that aided our signals. But the relationships in the two locations that we were before we moved to our own location were not very palatable. For the young ones who want to set up a business, where do you want to set up? Do you know the people? Are they focussed on money? Are they the kind of people that will help you? Can you start out from your garage?" He also echoes the ancient cardinal principle of knowing a business you want to invest in. In his own case, he has an understanding of the different aspects of broadcasting, including the engineering part. "I knew you needed good signals to get good audio. You need good scripts. You need creative talents. You need good presenters. You need to dress well. You need to have believability, a concept of newscasting and news presentation. I needed to look for those with some of these qualities." Within the media, Channels Television has a stellar workplace reputation. It is widely seen as a friendly and rewarding place to work. The credit for this reputation goes to both John and his wife, Olusola. Both are reputed to be quite passionate about workplace ethics and staff welfare. "While on duty and inside the complex, our workers do not worry about their meals: the company takes care of staff's meals. We have installed a table tennis board for the people to relax. We are putting up a crèche so that mothers can put their children there and worry less while on duty. We update our handbook from time to time We have other incentives like health insurance and an opportunity to travel for vacations during their annual leave." syne with global labour best practices of equal opPportunity equity in the workplace, Channels is a gender-friendly corporate pur space where women are concerned. Unlike most Nigerian companics, temales are very well represented in Channels' workforce. The company's website gives the staff's female to male ratio as 6:4, for the entire workforce and 4:6 in management. "We try to make their packages attractive," he says of Channels' temale employees. "When thcy go on maternity, we give them four months with full pay; even new fathers go on one-week leave." There are few lessons for entrepreneurs in Momoh's approach to human resources management or what he describes as his Law of Staff Motivation: "Always make your staff happy. Let them be free. Let them know what the rules are (the dos and don't's) and they their best. I don't like firing people because I believe that in everyone lies a Lion. When we started, we had as staff a crop of give young gentlemen and ladies who were teachable. Even though we brought people from other stations, they had to conform to our own style. We created our own style. "I could go into any department and find someone who will be good for broadcast and bring him down here. There are people from our marketing department who are into the broadcast. And I could find someone who is in broadcast and take the person and move him or her into the marketing section. "Creative people never worked for another person. They want to work for themselves, and you can tap into that. So I give my staff the freedom to explore their creativity, 100 per cent independence. I made them be themselves." LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY AND emerging platforms have been Channels' X Factor. In many respects, Channels has been a pacesetter at the cutting edge of contemporary broadcasting, With many firsts. It is the first Nigerian media organisation to stream its news and programmes live on the Internet since 2004. It is the Nigerian TV company to interface with followers via Twitter. J also the first Nigerian TV station to incorporate the use of Skype and Google hangouts in its news and programmes. So far, it remains the first and only TV station in Nigeria with over two million followers fans, and subscribers on social media. "We always knew that the digital era was upon us, so we never left any stone unturned. We did as much as we could to be digitally compliant and ahead of our competitors. We had to create a separate company entirely to take care of our ICT needs. In setting up this subsidiary of Channels, we brought in some of the brightest geeks. We tasked them. "We are operating digitally in Abuja, Jos and Kaduna and of course on DSTV. We have also invested in technology. We have our own applications and ODTV appliances." For the true entrepreneur, the race does not end. After dominating the Nigerian broadcast scene for close to two decades, Momoh Channels Televisions still has a long way to go. "We are just starting out. For every segment and development that we want Channels to go with, we are always starting afresh. It is like a new chapter being opened for us now and then. We are vigorously working to make sure we are in that arena. And we are doing a lot of things. For example at the Social Media Week, we were spurred by the need for Artificial Intelligence. I have told my staff to get cracking on that. To make it fit into our work system." Television remains a popular mass medium in Nigeria, and this is not likely to change anytime soon. A 2013 survey conducted by the global consulting firm, McKinsey, though dated, shows that the future of TV is bright in Nigeria. Ninety-cight per cent of the people surveyed said they had watched television in the last week and 65 per cent said they trust the tube as a good source of information. But Momoh believes that broadcasters will need to guide against complacency as they prepare for a future that will become increasingly digital. "The future is before us, and we need to prepare for it. Television is changing rapidly, with the use of mobile systems, and even the next generation can get to that point that we are more interactive with linear television. I believe that we have to invest in the future and that is what we are doing in Channels. "Innovation is very key. We have to find new ways of doing things. Where are the consumers? What do they want? We have to involve all that data analytics in our workload. The value added to the consumers must be improved upon and each day must leave the consumers with something better."
BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 Nigerian Television Authority. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian Television Authority Channelstv.com. Olusola Toyin Momoh. Executive Director. 2. https://www.channclsrv.com/olusola-toyin-momohexecutive director/ Ismail Adebayo. Daily Trust. (April 26, 2015). "How we started the 3. first private television in Nigeria - Dr Baba-Ahmed". https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/sunday/index.php/media- media/20480-how-we-started-the-first-private-television-in- nigeria-dr-baba-ahmed 4. Ojonelu Okolo. IPS. (April 12, 1996). "NIGERIA-MEDIA: Private Broadcasting's Shaky Take-off". http://www.ipsnews.net/1996/04/nigeria-media-private- broadcastings-shaky-take-off/ 5. Independent Television and Radio. "History". http://itvradionigeria. com/ng/sample-pagel 6. Galaxy. "About us." http://www.galaxytvonline.com/ 7. Simon. Channels TV. "John Momoh Wants FG To Review Digital Switchover Process". (October 28, 2017). https://www.channclstv.com/2017/10/28/john-momoh-wants-fg- review-digital-switchover-process/amp/ 9. Maggie Flick. Financial Times. "A Network Built on Trust". (July 14, 2015). https://www.ft.com/content/f4604d5c-0dd5-11e5-aa7b- 00144feabde0 10. Yes International! Magazine. (December 2, 2015). "15 Secrets many don't know about John Momoh, owner of Channels Television". http://theyesng.com/2015/12/02/15-secrets-many-dont-know-about- john-momoh-owner-of-channels-television/ 11. Reinaldo Fiorini, Damian Hattingh, Ally Maclaren, Bill Russo, and Ade Sun-Basorun. Mckinsey & Company. (December 2013). "Africa's growing giant: Nigeria's new retail economy". https:/l www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our- insights/africas-growing-giant-nigerias-new-retail-economy