An unobtrusive peculiarity and a rather quiet mien, have combined to make Dotun an exceptional journalist. It is easy to take him for granted at first look and many subjects of interviews and news stories have done just that, to their own peril.
His very unassuming nature puts his news sources or interview subjects at great ease, opening the door to great disclosures and revelations that have obviously formed a rich bank of journalistic excellence for him over the years.
How did I meet this outstanding journalist? I was recruited into the services of Nigerian Television Ibadan in 1977. I was immediately deployed to its Lagos Office as Editor in that office. This prevented me from any meaningful interaction with my colleagues in Ibadan. It was not until the advent of NTA in 1978 and my redeployment to Ibadan that I met in depth the wonderful men that ran the news operations of NTV Ibadan, transformed to NTA Ibadan.
Dotun was one of the first persons I noticed at the daily reportorial conferences. The robust exchange of ideas at the conference, which formed the bedrock of the news bulletins for the day, was memorable. How did Dotun stand out in this process? A quiet listener who will take in all of your ideas as expressed and in fact help you marshal one or two more arguments in your favour; but don’t be deceived that you have carried the day, for just as you are about to begin celebrating the acceptance of your ideas for the coverage of an event, Dotun will begin a quiet methodical demolition of the arguments you have made including the ones he raised to support you. But all of that process was not for vain glory, it was just a step further to ensure that the news output of the station was unbeatable. If NTA Ibadan excelled in its news production in those years of the late 70s and early 80s, Dotun was indeed an invaluable part of that achievement.
Perhaps no one is better qualified to talk about Dotun’s prowess as a television reporter, than I am, because for many years as I was up against him both as managers of reportorial units and as reporters on the field. With the creation of the Television Service of Oyo State TSOS, Dotun left NTA to head the reportorial team in the Oyo state outfit. I remained at NTA Ibadan also at the head of the reportorial team.
TSOS had started offering a serious challenge to the dominance of NTA eersin Ibadan and environs. We had very challenging assignments. A bad reportorial output meant a bad news bulletin for that day. So the leadership and management of reportorial units was very crucial.
Dotun’s leadership of that unit in the new station was testament to his competence in news management.
The competition between the two stations was so stiff that daily news bulletins of the other party was closely monitored. This competition bred a rich imagination and excellence in television news coverage that is difficult to come about these days.
Ordinary news conferences had to be enriched to beat the other station. If TSOS excelled NTA in its bulletin today, there must be a return of fire from NTA tomorrow. Hitherto mundane events like Governor’s tours became grounds of proving command of the turf. How can I forget a report that Dotun did about the temperament and disposition of then Colonel Oladayo Popoola, Governor of Oyo State at that time. Rather than reporting mundane speeches, Dotun directed his attention to the governor’s use of his swagger stick. With each provocation by an incompetent or corrupt official, the governor’s swagger stick spoke. The patterns that the swagger stick drew directly correlated with the provocation that the governor faced. That report, aired on TSOS, is unarguably one of the best reports ever on Nigerian television.
How many of such reports shall we count, produced by this giant of a television news reporter. To Dotun there are no hours of work. Hours of work end only when the day’s task has been successfully accomplished and all competing bulletins successfully monitored. Always keen and alert, Dotun is not one to miss a useful news hint, even in the midst of pleasure. A sharp straining ear, a wonderful journalistic tool is fully in his kitty. An analytical mind that sifts the wheat from the chaff in television reporting is a gift he has generously received from God.
When Dotun pursues a story, it does not end pedestrian. His instincts never fail him on what is important and what is not. Sometimes I wonder how glorious and satisfying it would be if people like Dotun could take on to the air waves of television news reporting for just one week, for the people and the current operators to see how in-depth and exciting television news bulletins can be.
It is however unfortunate how the television industry loses its best to other spheres of human endeavour. Talented persons like Dotun are soon lost to other sectors. I remember how we tried at the Nigeria Tribune to bring Dotun to the Editorial Board of the newspaper where Ayo Fasoro, a seasoned television programmes manager and Tunde Laniyan, had already found accommodation. Dotun later moved on to Publishing to the great loss of television news reporting.
Biodun Oduwole, former NTA Senior Editor MD Tribune Titles, MD, Daily Sketch and Compass newspaper
