A former FCT minister, Dr Aliyu Modibbo’s tenure was short-lived. Thus he couldn’t actualize some of his missions and visions. His Abuja Boulevard concept couldn’t see the light of the day, sadly and tragically.
But his mission and vision of other initiatives, such as Farmers Market, and for example, Aso Radio and Television stations have survived, despite facing enormous challenges, and the fact of the matter, was that his predecessors were not as passionate as Modibbo, who brought robust leadership and working hand in hand with the management of the stations through the board.
The good news is the two stations have another golden opportunity to reincarnate their glorious days while giving the BBC, VOA, NTA, CNN and Al Jazeera a run for their money, as competitors and a power to reckon with.
The new FCT Administration should salvage the stations, thus Abuja residents will begin to enjoy home-based radio and television under the Abuja Broadcasting Corporation conglomerate.
Aso Radio and Television (ASORTV), are the voices of the FCT Administration, and by extension the public and the federal government. Through advocacy journalism, the stations will immensely curtail insurgency and insecurity, and once again, build trust with programmes, excellent in content synonymous with the station brand that made the station a household name in the past.
The stations are now struggling to rescue their glorious number-one spots. This can happen with some innovation and new state-of-the-art facilities, considering the fact that some of the ones available at the stations might be obsolete. But new ones could help to resuscitate the stations’ glorious days, as king in the broadcasting space.
Ali Abdullahi is a former general manager Aso Radio
