Danladi Bako: Garlands for the ‘Morning Rider’ at 60

Ace broadcaster and former Director general of the National Broadcasting Commission, Mallam Nasir Danladi Bako, turned 60 earlier this month. Samuel Ajayi pays tribute to the Sokoto-born administrator.

Mallam Nasir Danladi Bako, Kogunan Sakwatto, the radio broadcasting prodigy that had ruled the airwaves of then Rima Radio, Sokoto with his masterly delivery of news and different programmes in Hausa and English languages, needs no introduction.

The Birth of Morning Ride

When Bako approached his bosses at the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, late in 1987 that he wanted to do a live talk show with a phone-in segment, they plainly told him he was crazy. And his bosses had their reasons. This was 30 years ago with the NTA the only television station, apart from state-owned ones that were not transmitting beyond their boundaries. Besides, Nigeria was under a full blown military dictatorship with freedom of speech only on paper.

“You want someone to call in and be abusing Babangida? No way sir. I won’t allow that,” Bako was told by one of his bosses at the NTA headquarters in Lagos. But he was not a man to give up. He gave them assurances that all would be well managed and that the red line would not be crossed. Grudgingly, they gave him the go-ahead and the first television talkshow in the country, Morning Ride, was born. This was in 1988.

Danladi went head to make the programme a talk-show nobody wanted to miss. Getting celebrities to come on the programme was not always difficult.

“It was interesting then,” Bako said. “I made the then assistant Inspector-General of police, Ahmadu Seidu, to admit on air that the police force was indeed corrupt. This was what was considered impossible then. But that was the influence and power of Morning Ride as a talk show at that time.”

Later, Bako moved on and started Mastersports, another talkshow but this time focusing on sports. This did not only change the face of sports reporting in the country, it paved the way for many others to follow suit, especially independent producers.

The NBC Years 

Out of the blues, the news came in July 1999 that Bako had been named as the director-general of the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC. He was initially appointed in acting capacity before he was later confirmed as the substantive chief executive of the broadcasting regulatory agency. At less than 42, many thought the “shoes might be too big for him.”  Perhaps, those who had this notion were considering the man he was succeeding at the commission.

He was no other person than Dr. Tom Adaba. Besides, Bako was just a zonal director with the NBC before he was seconded to the office of then Minister of Sports, Jim Nwobodo, as his special assistant.

While he met some career officers in the commission who ordinarily, were his seniors, ace broadcaster did not allow that to intimidate him. He set about revolutionalising the operations of the body and changed it from a passive, laid-back agency to one that could bark and bite. Bako inherited a NBC that hardly knew the reason it was set up in the first place. He changed that mentality.

The first thing he did was to re-condition the mindset of the staff. He changed their attitude to work from that of a governmental bureaucracy to a corporate outfit where tasks were carried out with dispatch and things got done without unnecessary bottle-necks. During his time, any visitor to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja might be forgiven if he didn’t know he was in a government office. Such was the effect of Bako’s positive changes.

To enhance performance and productivity, Bako sent senior staff of the commission abroad for training. This not only sharpened their knowledge, it also a sense of belonging in them.

Training the Broadcaster

The next move Bako made was to make the Commission more relevant in the area of training of broadcasters. Within months of assuming office, he organised a training workshop for broadcasters in the country, both in public and private stations, to keep them abreast of new developments in the industry. He brought resource persons from within and outside the country who gave tips on modern trends in broadcasting. He also brought in veterans to share their experiences.

The training was beneficial to the broadcasters.