When I was uprooted in mid-2002 from my “comfort zone” in Bauchi to NTA Headquarters to function as Deputy Director of News, I was, in a manner of speaking, caught between the attraction and certainty of familiarity on one hand and the unplumbed promises of the unknown.
Let me explain. By 2002, I had spent some 15 years in NTA Bauchi; 7 of them as Manager News and Current Affairs and 8 as General Manager. I had thus developed some kind of affinity to the station, the town and its people. Away from the office I was neck deep in sports (particularly football) administration having once chaired the State Football Association and was at the time of my transfer a member of the Management Board of the State-owned Wikki Tourists Football Club. I was therefore very involved in and out of the office.
On the other side of the coin was the professional advancement the transfer brought in its wake. I was going to Abuja as a Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of NTA’s Directorate of News, a position of influence and visibility. I weighed my options and the choice was clear – Abuja was my next destination.
There, I had to work with and supervise a galaxy of star newscasters, producers and reporters whose roll call was very intimidating. These ranged from Eugenia Abu, Cyril Stober, Nansel Nimyel, Aisha Bello, Emma Okondo, Mohammed Labbo and Sarah Sanda. Others included Ibrahim Isma’ila Ahmed, Muslima Solebo, Modele Sharafa-Yusuf and of course Blossom Ubani, arguably the most intimidating and awesome name in terms of reputation and pedigree at that point in time. Was I numbed by the prospects of being in charge of such a bunch? Not exactly but I was a wee bit apprehensive of the enormity of the challenge before me. After all, apart from leading sports crews to some international engagements, the turf in headquarters was for me an uncharted territory. In Abuja, I quickly settled in but not before I was unnerved by the ‘brazen’ manner of my first encounter with the amazon that was Blossom Ubani.
My first encounter with Blossom happened on my second day in Abuja before my official unveiling as “the new sheriff in town.” I was sitting alongside some Assistant Directors in the staff canteen when Blossom breezed in, grabbed a chair and sat next to me saying “I hope you have not paid for your food sir, because I want to be the first to give you a treat. By the way sir, my name is Blossom Ubani, a reporter.” I told her I had not, whereupon she went across to the cashier, settled the bill, bid us goodbye and left as majestically as she had come in, saying she had an assignment to cover.
This short encounter with Blossom revealed to me two of her defining character traits – confidence and generosity. She exhibited these traits throughout my stint in Abuja first as Deputy Director and later as Director News. These endeared her to bosses, colleagues and subordinates. Add these traits to her boisterous and ever-smiling nature and you will understand why everybody was comfortable around Blossom, lending further credence to the words of Les Brown who said “Your smile will give you a positive countenance that will make people feel comfortable round you.”
To say that Blossom was successful as a journalist will amount to stating the obvious because she was. And she was because as Swami Sivananda said “once you put your heart, mind and soul into what you do success is assured.” Blossom did just that. One testimony to that was her special report on the River Niger Bridge – It was both crisp and laconic.
I am still trying to come to terms with her death – the inevitable transition of all mortals – especially when I remember that I sat next to her to pay tributes to our late boss and friend Mr Jimmy Atte in a special production of ‘Bridges’ with Moji Makanjuola. I know the reality will eventually hit me. Until then, continue to rest in perfect bliss.
