Jimmy Atte: Saying goodbye to a legend

I came into direct contact with him on a Wednesday afternoon in the month of June 2002 when I came to Abuja for a General Manager of NTA Bauchi. Before then, I had known him from a distance as one of NTA’s top shots. On that fateful day, I was heading to the mosque within NTA’s premises in Area 11 Garki at the end of the conference when I ran into him. He was then the Executive Director News. I stopped, quickly paid my regards and was on my way again when he (apparently judging from my direction) asked if I was going for my prayers. Without waiting for my answer, he quickly added “See me in my office after your prayers.”
When I got to his office some twenty minutes later, I introduced myself to his secretary who told me he had been told to receive me and quickly ushered me into Atte’s inner office. One-on-one with him, he asked if I had prayed for him and again without waiting for an answer proceeded to ask whether or not I had lunch. That question was, in retrospect, a glimpse into the man’s defining character trait – his selfless concern with the welfare and wellbeing of others. I answered in the affirmative after with he wanted to know why I had not reported for duty as his deputy. I had no answer to the question because at that point in time I had not the faintest idea about my promotion and transfer to Abuja, having not received any correspondence to that effect. I told him so and he said not to worry, asked his secretary to furnish me with a copy of the letter that had somehow failed to reach me and instructed me to get back to Bauchi, hand over the station to the most senior manager and return to Abuja to assume duty as the Deputy Director News.
Mr. Atte wished me the best of luck and sent me on my way. That sunny Wednesday afternoon in June 2002 marked a very significant milestone in my 35-year-old NTA journey and the beginning of my relationship with Mr. Jimmy Atte, a friend, confidant, leader and above all a godly, good man. That first meeting with him, brief through it was, left me profoundly humbled on account of the man’s simplicity and selflessness.
Born on the 21st of January, 1949 in Ike-Bunu in the present Kogi State Mr. Jimmy Atte attended Government Secondary Dekina, Government College Bida and the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. On graduation in 1973 with a Bachelor’s degree in English he moved on to do his National Youth Service stint in Okitipupa in the present Ondo State as a member of the pioneer NYSC set. His working career started in August 1974 as a current affairs producer with the Broadcasting Company of Northern Nigeria (BCNN) and was by 1976 its chief area representative and correspondent in the then Eastern states of Anambra and Imo and the present Edo and Delta states. The glittering broadcasting career of Jimmy Atte continued in NTA Ilorin as its pioneer head of programmes, and later controller and manager programmes. In 1984 he moved to NTA headquarters Lagos as Chief Producer responsible for the supervision of all programme productions on the network service. By 1990 Mr. Jimmy Atte had risen to the position of an Assistant Director at NTA headquarters from where he was appointed General Manager and Chief Executive of the National Theatre Lagos in 1991. He returned to NTA in 1999 as Executive Director Prorammes, moved to news in 2002 and returned to programmes in 2007 before retiring in March 2009.
I worked with Mr. Atte for some five years first as his deputy and then as Director News when he was the Executive Director. He did not flinch from saying no to the ‘top’ when it was necessary and right to do so. This earned him their ears and respect. I remember one such incident when we were required (indeed, ordered) to use on the network news the story of the resignation of a South-Eastern state governor. A preview of the tape indicated to us that something was not right as the governor was seen “resigning” in a very undignified and manner whereupon we decided that the material was simply unusable and the story was dropped in spite of the order ‘from the top’.
On another occasion, a weekly programme from one arm of the National Assembly, was taken off the schedule on the orders of Mr. Jimmy Atte for a contractual faux-pas on the part of the independent producer. The principal officers of the chamber were piqued and ordered that it be reinstated without further delay. It was not and remained off the schedule until the independent producer rectified it.
Mr. Atte’s contributions to NTA’s Directorate of News are still evident today, many years after his departure from its helm, a lasting testimony to his professionalism. Programmes like News Extra, Weekend File and News Nationwide, conceptualized and developed under his watch, are still among NTA’s star attractions. Short in stature and lightly built, he radiated purpose rather than severity. He never had harsh words for his subordinates, not because we were infallible and therefore had no inadequacies, but simply because that was not his way. When he had to rebuke you, you would know you were listening to a gentle and thoughtful person who had your interest at heart. He helped multitudes, cheered several and guided many including this writer. Abraham Lincoln, the late American President once said while condoling with a bereaved family, “In this life of ours grief must come to all.” Grief has indeed come to us, Mr. Jimmy Atte’s immediate family and the larger NTA family with his passing on.
Mohammed wrote from Abuja.