Funmi Odubekun was last on air as a newscaster about 32 years ago. The former journalist who is now into construction started her journalism career from Western Nigeria Television (WNTV), Western Nigeria Broadcasting Service (WNBS) from there to Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation (OGBC) where she was a pioneer before moving to the University of Lagos and then the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA). She was recently invited by the NTA to cast the news for a week as part of its 40 years anniversary. She speaks on her experience back on air three decades after.
How do you feel that NTA is 40?
We thank God for where they are now. Yes, there is a lot of room for improvements but we are all different in our ways. Some will say this station is different from the others, I will say no. We are all unique in our ways. I will not compare those stations with NTA.
When precisely did you join NTA and how far has NTA gone from when you were there?
I joined NTA 1976, and things were different then and I can say they have come a long way. There is room for improvement and I think they are trying.
How did NTA impact on your career?
You know because it is federal station, the exposure you get cannot be compared. The exposure they gave me was awesome and when you have the right publicity, it gets you far. NTA did that for us.
How do you feel now that you are back on air?
‘You really want to know?’ Very nervous. Some days have been good, some have been bad. It is not easy coming back 32 years after, especially when I had not been in the field since I left, I just think God is on my side that I am able to read the news and people don’t see the nervousness and what you put into news reading. This is the power of the media, what you see is ‘she is not smiling, what she wore is not colourful, she made a lot of mistakes.’ But, we have been trained to accommodate and appreciate such comments.
I am into construction, I deal more with labourers, over the years, I can particularly say my vocabulary has gone down the drain. I speak a lot of Yoruba now.
What memories did your coming back on air bring?
Memories of my old colleagues, it is nice to see everyone gossiping together to celebrate NTA. We are a family. That is one thing you can’t take away from us, nobody can come between us. It is the way we relate with each other. If somebody goes we still keep in touch, if somebody comes also we keep in touch, we attend parties together and it is just a bond I cannot say exists in any other organization. When you work at NTA, you can work anywhere.
It has been a wonderful experience to come back again. It reminds me of the exposure. The power of the media because the last couple of days has reminded me that we need to take it easy with the exposure, so hang on to that.
