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Tag: Raymond Dokpesi

  • How would Dokpesi have responded to AI? – By Okoh Aihe

    How would Dokpesi have responded to AI? – By Okoh Aihe

    On a day that Dr Raymond Dokpesi should have been 73 penultimate week, he wasn’t around because he has gone on a long trip. But his friends still came in his absence to speak some kind words as befitting reminiscences for the life of a good man whose memory should be kept alive in perpetuity.

    In a most ingenious coincidence, the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), in collaboration with Daar Communications Plc, inaugurated a lecture in honour of a man who was not only a Fellow but actually did enormous work and made generous provisions to promote the Public Relations profession. At a time, the profession needed channels of trade to ventilate their wares and help create a welcoming environment for trade and country. The coming of Raypower and AIT on the platform of Daar Communications was a veritable opportunity and it created a legacy that can hardly be diminished by time and season.

    Aptly titled the Annual Raymond Dokpesi Diamond Lecture,  the inaugural theme focused on Media in Stewardship of Democracy: Conversations on Communications and Development. Mr Dapo Olorunyomi, publisher of Premium Times, enjoyed the privilege of speaking to a specially selected live studio audience at the company’s broadcast headquarters in Kpaduma Hills, Abuja, while thousands, if not millions, watched across the world. It was a first grade lecture and the content was caustic but healing if accepted in good faith.

    President Goodluck Jonathan narrated for the umpteenth time how only Dokpesi, amongst a few, opened his arms to receive him after he lost elections in 2015 and he felt lonely, orphaned and abandoned. He thought it was the end of the world because African leaders hardly lose elections as incumbents, and willingly relinquish power. Ever the show stopper, Dokpesi put together a big Reception to welcome him back home.

    President Jonathan wrote the Foreword, to Dokpesi’s authorised Biography, The Handkerchief, and therefore may be in a vantage position to know a few things about his friend. Dokpesi suffered bouts of loneliness all his life. When he had health challenges as a child, his father’s friend advised that he be allowed to die quietly since  nobody expected him to live anyway. He heard the man he sometimes called Daddy, and, early in his life, felt that the world wasn’t a good place but, nevertheless, vowed to live and become the handkerchief that would wipe his parents’ tears.

    When the banks fought a war against him in early 2000, to take over his broadcast organisation because of a default on loan repayment, Dokpesi knew the depth of loneliness as he felt betrayed and abandoned by close friends who wanted to see him go down with all his investments. He felt betrayed by friends who were in a position to do something but completely refused. He was always a Lagos boy but that depth of loneliness and trauma drove him to think more about his part of the country, and that marked the beginning of the South South Peoples Assembly (SSPA).

    When the Nigerian Government, in 2015,  moved against Dokpesi and Daar Communications, saying they profited from a business that was not properly procured and collected morning from the National Security Adviser (NSA), Dokpesi was again abandoned by his friends who didn’t want  the government to see them as enemies by association. It was a most trying time for him but he won that case, thankfully.

    Dokpesi knew the awful taste of loneliness and only offered President Jonathan a hand to redeem him from a world that is not the best place to be. Jonathan was surprised people ran away from him and simply shifted allegiance to the next man on the throne. Dokpesi was used to that type of treatment, yet never really carried any grievance against anybody. He forgave all.

    After the lecture, I got across to Dapo to thank him for his kind words for a man that will remain a friend and a brother. His response was stirring and I quote him here with apologies. “It was such an honour to reward a trail blazer and imaginative outlier. The High Chief was such an institutional builder and our prayers must remain that the soul of the departed continue to earn eternal glory,” he wrote.

    Dapo was not shy in his paper nor afraid to throw some little but friendly punches. What he said about the media in helping to promote democracy, good governance and its function in galvanising the people into holding leaders accountable and responsible in the democratic process, would have enjoyed immediate imprimatur from Dokpesi.  No matter how close he was to the leaders and was indeed close to so many of them, Dokpesi stood on the side of the ordinary people because he wanted a good life for them. Dokpesi fought from their corner.

    I particularly like Dapo’s cautionary position on Artificial Intelligence (AI). He raised questions on AI capacity to cause job displacement and influence key decisions, among others.

    Dokpesi was a tech geek and would long have declared his position on AI. In the era of Cyber Sets for studio presentations, he was one of the first media promoters to introduce Cyber Set to Nigeria at AIT studios. His efforts were hailed by former ITU Secretary General, Hamadoun Toure. Before his apotheosis, he had nearly completed a new studio that could as well be planted in any developed country of the world. The studio, which is now more of a parting gift, is simply breathtaking.

    “I am not one for conspiracy theories or alarmist predictions, but I ask: how many of us here today, in this age of Artificial Intelligence, truly believe that 2027 elections will be easy to manage, or even possible? With AI at its current level of development and deployment – where it can convincingly imitate voices and create deepfake videos – why should it be inconceivable that we might soon see fake electoral officials,falsified results, and rapid dissemination of these falsehoods across the country through powerful digital devices,” he asked.

    AI is the gilt-edge of technology at the moment, an apogee candidate of human invention that even creators are unable to manifestly explain AI capacity and safety beyond its relevance. Some countries are setting strict guidelines for the development and deployment of AI because they dread the rogue attributes.

    I can only hazard a guess that Dokpesi would have responded in a very pragmatic way that would be clear to all eyes, a response that would have laid so many myths to rest and challenge the younger generation to embrace AI challenges and opportunities.

    Dapo warns that “while we rightfully embrace the transformative potential of AI, we must also prepare ourselves for the reality that technological innovation often benefits elites, corporations, or those in power. The concentration of benefits can exacerbate inequality and limit the broader gains to society unless deliberate efforts are made to align technological change with inclusive growth.”

    He delivers a clincher to the effect that “t is imperative that we approach AI’s advancement with commitment to ensuring that its benefits are shared equally”

    I totally agree with Dapo. Whether in government or in whatever profession, there is the need to admit that AI is making a most stubborn intrusion into our lives, all we need do is to act speedingly and responsibly to manage and mitigate the harsh consequences of AI while harvesting the opportunities to benefit the society at large. Let the nation leave nobody behind in the age of AI.

  • For a broadcast czar, it’s 365 days into eternity – By Okoh Aihe

    For a broadcast czar, it’s 365 days into eternity – By Okoh Aihe

    In the evening of May 29, 2023, I found myself paying tributes to Dr Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi. “They didn’t know you and they never will,” I wrote.

    The broadcast czar and unrepentant exponent had just undergone a most unexpected apotheosis and emotion was very thick in the air. He had completed his final episode of life which awaits every human and had departed in a most heroic way.

    Progressively, the tribute has come to mean even more to me as the nation didn’t really understand the man who seemed to have come our way before his time. Now more in retrospect apropos reality, there is overwhelming evidence strewn our way.

    On the night the nation gathered to celebrate you at the International Conference Centre in Abuja, I was invited to the studio to run some commentary. As a mark of befitting honour to your legacy, AIT News 24 was called into action for the first time. It was my first time in that studio. I knew you had something cooking on the fire but I never asked for details.

    I stood in that studio completely lost. I could have been in one of those studios owned by any of the international broadcasters in Abu Dhabi or Doha or even at the National Association of Broadcasters Conference (NAB) in Las Vegas where new broadcast technologies are introduced to industry professionals and regulators. But this is Nigeria; you transformed the world with your final act so much beyond our human imagination. I was looking at the video wall round the expansive studio and your huge image literally leaping at me perhaps with a taunting message that they knew very little of what you carried. For the first time, I got openly overwhelmed and really just cried bitterly. At that time, I realised this is the only way you would be speaking to us henceforth, with pictures and  actions, and more with your manifest enterprises spread across the nation, and with your good that is interred in the hearts of men.

    AIT News 24 is the final act of a man who saw well into the future; oh, is that what they call futuristic? It is the product of a large heart who wouldn’t spare any cost to achieve a dream. Those who maligned you had no idea how complicated your mind was, the rate of work and how you could throw a last dice for the ultimate result. I am sure you were building AIT News 24 as a game changer. Even now I can say your dream is not misplaced.

    Oh, you came ahead of your time? I will recall the story of the  solar farm very close to the Daar gate at Kpaduma Hills. Long ago, perhaps when you were putting finishing touches to your house at Kpaduma Hills, you went to China, and one of the things you returned with was a container load of solar panels. The container was out there untouched until one day, after you reviewed the Electricity bills being sent to your  residence in millions of Naira, you asked Madam Tosin, are you happy paying all these bills? When are you going to install the solar panels, after my death?

    The solar farm was born. Long before the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) would increase electricity tariff by as much as over 231 percent and introduce discriminatory tariffs they call ‘bands’ which Nigerians are still unable to understand. Even more difficult to understand is increasing the price of a product they hardly have. But you saw the future and built a solar farm!

    You spoke of death so lightly, like it had no power over you. In your apotheosis, a lot of Nigerians saw the kind of passing they would love to enjoy but which they can’t because of the wickedness of their hearts. It was a moment of exceeding glory, of tributes across tribes, nationalities and even party lines.

    They were united in speaking of your goodness, your kindness and your readiness to help the rich and the poor, and above all, the bridge builder whose patriotism underlined every of your actions. You were a rare germ who hardly had enemies even in politics. I was there looking at their faces on television, those who would come to you in the cool of the evening or dead of night to seek advice or direct media interventions. In the Bible, they call that Nicodemus relationship; you had so many of them. Thankfully, some top politicians, including some former and present state governors, confessed the help you rendered them at no cost. In your apotheosis, your  image got much bigger and achieved that national status which politics couldn’t offer you. Please, let me add that you were much appreciated by the ordinary folks for whom you fought a life-long battle.

    You always told me that Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, now President,  was your friend in spite of some brushes deriving from political differences; the social life you enjoyed together and the political battles jointly fought even subterraneously to make Nigeria a better place. Your friend wanted to start his tenure with the speed of a Formula 1 car by announcing the removal of fuel subsidy in his inaugural speech. This was soon followed by the floating of the Naira. I am told life and politics don’t go with such speed. The country went into a tailspin, the effects of which may not have been properly communicated to him by those whose perennial ambition is to be ensconced in political offices.

    But your friend may have found out and is fighting to stabilise the nation with both hands. It has to be a long fight, however. My youth corper friend once told me an Ibo proverb in those days when we served in Port Harcourt, that as you try to patch life, life continues to leak everywhere. Headline inflation is 33.2 percent while food inflation which strikes at the heart of families stands perilously at 40.5 percent.

    There are some positives without doubt. For instance, the coastal road from Lagos to Calabar. Although its introduction was badly mismanaged, the road comes with many positives that cannot be drowned in politics. Your friend needs more fire in him and the capacity to listen to the complete story – from his party and others, including the cries of the people – to enable him give this nation a befitting leadership.

    Your contributions to broadcasting have been duly acknowledged, but much more is your political activism which a significant number hardly knew until your apotheosis. Have you seen your former boss, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, former governor of Anambra State? Both of you acknowledged each other’s brilliance in your biography, The Handkerchief. He departed on December 14, 2023.

    There is so much to say in 365 days but let’s put a break here. Your presence at our corner is sadly missed but the araba still continues to provide a great shelter, and Raymond Dokpesi Jr is lacing the shoes quite boldly. For me, it’s always an apotheosis and your good will never be interred.

    You Are Always There for Me

    After over three decades in the pen profession, I still find myself asking the same questions: what does it take to write a good line, a good verse or beautiful lyrics? Does it look like the good blend of the apothecary, the perfumer at his best, producing a perfect blend with its beautiful odoriferous details to distinguish its wearer?

    As I listen to Dr Paul Enenche’s acoustic version of You Are Always There For Me, the questions return. Except that this time, it’s not just about good lyrics but good lyrics with perfect rendition, some little chant, escorted by restrained acoustic guitar infusion, to release a soothing, mellifluous music that serves more significantly as spiritual elixir to the soul.

    Unlike the product of the apothecary that vanishes mysteriously with a swipe of coffee bowl across the nose, the music by the Senior Pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Church, remains, melting into the body to lift the spirit above every momentary worries.

    A former boss once told me, when you prepare for an international trip, the first thing you put in your bag is the Bible. Permit me the latitude to modify this. When you prepare for a trip or even your day, the first download you should have on your phone or iPAD is You Are Always There For Me. You need it as a perfect escort to regulate your mood, sweeten your spirit and attract audacity to confront challenges, knowing that God is always there for you.

    This is what I do now. I put on my Beat headsets, connected to my iPAD with continuous play of You Are Always There For Me, and go to sleep. It’s pure bliss, pure heaven. Really.

  • With Daar Communications in Port Harcourt, history suffers jeopardy – By Okoh Aihe

    With Daar Communications in Port Harcourt, history suffers jeopardy – By Okoh Aihe

    News coming out of Port Harcourt concerning the decommissioning of Daar Communications broadcast facilities is not good at all, especially following the recent apotheosis of founder and Chairman Emeritus, High Chief Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi. In the immediate, both AIT and Raypower have been knocked off the air by the activities of the Rivers State government. 

    Even before the sudden departure of Dokpesi, there were skirmishes between the State government and Daar Communications which some may have mistakenly attributed to the political differences between former governor of the State, and now minister of the Federal Capital Territoty (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, and Dokpesi.  But the matter goes beyond that. Dokpesi did not have time to carry grudges against people, except those who tried to kill him directly, and I am not sure Wike was one of them. 

    What is playing out in Rivers State is the story of the man who holds the yam and the knife, and enjoys the beneficial responsibility of slicing out pieces for those waiting for crumbs from the master’s table. Otherwise, how does a layman, not learned at all, interpret a case that is in court and a party to the case taking what seems conclusive decisions and actions? But let’s leave that to the court and the interventions of good men.

    The first thing I want to say here is that my friend and brother, Raymond Dokpesi, was not a land grabber at all. He wasn’t also a troublemaker. He fought very good fights on behalf of the ordinary folks of this nation and, at times, also to protect himself and family. His stations were burnt down a number of times and he dodged fatal bullets, losing his head driver, Danladi, in one of those attacks. I have had to state this because it is possible for people to recall his several brushes with governments and not imagine that some of those brushes were carefully orchestrated as smokescreen to silence him. 

    Dokpesi was a first class marine engineer who pioneered private broadcasting after his first foray into politics in the old Gongola State as Chief of Staff to Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, was abrogated by a military coup on December 31, 1983, of which former President Muhammadu Buhari, was the head. He had a dream to provide an alternative voice for Nigerians to speak or enjoy an escape from their sorrows through entertainment, and Daar has provided that, at least from the testimonies of so many Nigerians. 

    I don’t know why the stations in Port Harcourt should be off the air except that there can be quite some people without respect for yesterday or would not devote scant time for the ephemerality of power. 

    My friend is not a land grabber. Those whipping up the sentiments at play in Rivers State may have their reasons beyond the scope of our immediate understanding. I have had to look at a couple of materials in the past few days to confirm my understanding of the story playing out there. 

    Let me make a confession here. I love Rivers State. I did my National Youth Service in the state and had some great fun there. Professor Ola Rotimi, of blessed memory, who presided at the Crab Theatre in the University of Port Harcourt, was my friend and mentor. It was such a great honour to watch the rehearsals and performances of The Gods are not to Blame and Hopes of the Living Dead. He was one of the very best in theatre productions. So my memory of Port Harcourt remains fresh and understandably enviable. 

    I was in Port Harcourt in May 2007 when the stations were launched and was fully aware of the sentiments behind the station but didn’t know of the subterranean interplay, until recently. In the process of working on The Handkerchief, the authorized biography of Dokpesi, along with a couple of my friends, Adebayo Bodurin and I had approached Dr Peter Odili, former governor of Rivers State, for an interview which he kindly granted. 

    The relationship between Odili and Dokpesi is well known and perhaps documented. With a cocktail of licenses in his bag, Odili was one of the early converts of the broadcaster who had the ambition to build a network that would dwarf the nation’s public broadcaster. In Port Harcourt, the governor, who was well known and was also doing great things for his people, quickly found confluence in the plan of a South South man who wanted to rule the nation’s airwaves, and hatched his own plans to lure him to the state. 

     ‘’Seeing how much ground he had broken, it wasn’t difficult encouraging him to come closer home and expand this magic that he had put in place. As they say charity begins at home. It’s not my words but we grew up to learn that charity begins from home, because just as family is the nucleus of the society, the home is the nucleus of the state, region and the nation. So, it was not difficult assisting him to come to the area, inviting him to come and make this magic happen,’’ Odili told us. 

    Odili dreamt development always and could see from afar a man who personified his dreams and that understanding nurtured a relationship that was painfully severed only recently. 

    It may seem now that part of that encouragement was to provide a conducive environment for Daar’s operations in form of land. Dr Shadrach Akalokwu, the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Communications, was given the challenging responsibility of smoothening the process. A communications expert who was at the time also thinking of the new world economic order, which also includes a new information order, It was Shadrach who facilitated the 43 hectares of land that was given to Daar Communications somewhere in Choba, a location not too far from the University of Port Harcourt. This writer is aware that a hefty amount in several tens of millions was paid for the certificate of occupancy nearly two years ago. 

    Dokpesi’s dream was to build a broadcast hub in Port Harcourt in the mode of Alagbado in Lagos and Kpaduma Hills in Abuja, which feat was realized immediately. So, when the AIT operations from the Lagos headquarters were crippled on the day of the 2007 governorship elections by a massive fire, which followed a massive explosion, the transmissions were moved seamlessly to Port Harcourt and Abuja. The viewers hardly noticed anything and the broadcaster hardly lost its capacity to perform optimally.  

    One good thing about broadcasting is that it takes development to any environment it operates in. The coming of Raypower to Alagbado changed the property value in that part of Lagos; this has also happened around Kpaduma Hills, Abuja, where property value hit rooftops overnight. Sources in Port Harcourt told this writer that what is happening in Port Harcourt is about land, and nothing to do with propriety in politics or concerns for the people. The Daar land has since been shared among politicians and close friends, leaving only about three plots for the broadcaster. 

    Those with a little knowledge in broadcasting will confess that three plots will not even provide enough space for the guy wires supporting the mast, not to talk of other facilities. As it is, new owners of a land in dispute have taken possession while the entire community of new owners with the prompting of government collectively took down the Daar broadcast facilities.

    In executing such plans, nobody thought of the investment, nobody thought of what happens to the workers or the right of the people to be informed and entertained. At inception, about 80 per cent of the workforce was sourced from the local environment, and by now some of them have received high profile industry training. Nobody thought of what signals are being sent out to the investing public. As it is, politics is the big thing, the politician is the new king, and the world should revolve around him in a country where poverty has been weaponized. 

    This was not the spirit in 2007. Such action doesn’t interpret the kind of enviable relationship Dokpesi had with Odili. It does not feed the spirit that nurtured the South South Peoples Assembly and created a voice for the South South people. There is a calamitous blunder here that should be righted immediately and the new lords of Rivers State should realize that the beauty of tomorrow is about the ingredients of yesterday and today being applied in good measure. 

    Dokpesi has been apotheosized. History has him in a good place. What about you?

  • Dokpesi: A broadcast exponent stages a final show – By Okoh Aihe

    Dokpesi: A broadcast exponent stages a final show – By Okoh Aihe

    Today, Dr Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi will return to Agenebode with his friends. The big boys who have been with him most of his life, the crème de la crème  of the society with the incandescent stars, the ordinary folks of the society for whom he had so much love, having struggled up from extreme poverty himself, his professional colleagues – the marine engineers and broadcasters, who cheered him on as he broke new grounds for their industries, and the Dokpesi family, which is quite large; they will gather in Agenebode for a grand exit party that will do their son good.

    I don’t know whether Sunny Ade will be there, the grand musician with electric feet and even electric fingers as he commands the guitar into entertaining obedience. He loves Jimmy Cliff too and remains one of his early friends as well. Agenebode will receive big people from government, businesses and even the entertainment industry, such as had never been witnessed in the history of that beautiful town by the River Niger,  in honour of a son that has planted their name firmly on the global map.

    Dokpesi is a city boy with a voluminous appetite for hard work, big parties and beautiful women. Except that after this particular party, he will not be returning to the city with his friends. Reason: he has been apotheosised and now lives in a different realm of the cosmos.

    The auguries made a mistake in failing to announce the birth of a son that would change the world. Although Ibadan was already growing into a big city when he was born on October 25, 1951, the mother, Aishetu didn’t have the privilege of running to a hospital but at the back of their small home where she had had most of her other children, all female. It was a very lowly birth but which came with a lot of joy for the family.

    Perhaps that is the way they come, the children that will change the world. Over two thousand years ago, when Jesus came into the world through Bethlehem, Judea, there was no place for him in the inn but had to be properly wrapped and placed in a manger, or a sheep hold, for convenient explanation. Yet, his doctrine changed the world.

    Dokpesi had the mind to change the world. Growing up was painful. The small body was wracked by a mysterious ailment and tomorrow was kept in forlorness. His mother Aishetu ate pain and sorrow as daily meals. Watching her very closely and the pain his birth had imposed on the family, Dokpesi chose hope  very early in life, hope painted in colours that elicit great pictures for a better tomorrow. He offered to be The Handkerchief that will wipe the sweat of the sorrowing and eventually grew to become the Araba that shelters all.

    It was a great choice that has helped him conquer fear and several heights in various fields of endeavour. That is why his star friends are accompanying him home today because there is an opportunity for one last party, for the galaxy to flaunt its stars.

    Dokpesi’s background did not deter his determination, instead it is his determination that came through very forcefully as a testament to the sterner stuff ingrained in him. Good grades in the secondary school in Nigeria, academic records from graduate to doctoral level in Poland, funded through a government scholarship. And the world at his feet. He was in a hurry to live life and achieve results.

    Those who don’t know him say, he is lucky. Others envy his success and try to persecute him, according to the people’s lawyer, Prof Mike Ozekhome (SAN), in Dokpesi’s authorised biography, The Handkerchief.

    But Dokpesi fought for everything in his life and gave the very picture of a man who perhaps may not feel pain even if you use his head to break a coconut, as they say in   my part of the world. Everyday of his life, he behaved like a stunt man in a movie, except that his actions were deliberate and very calculated to achieve expected outcomes.

    Until his biography was published over a year ago,  when he was 70, so many people didn’t know how old he was, because Dokpesi has been part of the nation’s narrative for a very long time. He had built a perfect strategy matched with street sense in relating with the authorities, including the big boys in the society, without forgetting the ordinary folks.

    Dokpesi had a mind for all,  and the humility to relate with people irrespective of class and age. The other day, my son placed a call to me and I told him I was at a meeting with Chairman Emeritus. Who? Mr Dokpesi? Let me talk to him. That is how they called him, all my children; for them not the niceties or the anachronism of High Chief. No. Simply Mr. And he enjoyed it all, speaking to a young man in his early twenties like his age mate or business partner. And he gave very candid advise that the boy will live with all the days of his life.

    Please, forgive the digression. Dokpesi loved the scent of history. After an historical participation in politics in the old Gongola State in 1983, where he was Chief of Staff to Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, the first ever for a non native anywhere in the country, he put together a stellar cast of characters in the persons of Late Major Gen. Musa Yar’Adua, MKO Abiola and Bamanga Tukur, the only living of the daring quartet, to float the first indigenous shipping company in Nigeria, the African Ocean Line, which was very successful until the economy of the nation started to go burst.

    However what seems to be his payoff line now is his frontline role in promoting private broadcasting enterprise in the country. Never one to witness any relapse or dull moment in his life, when broadcasting was deregulated in 1992 by the military government under Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Dokpesi became one of the first licensees and by September 1, 1994, launched what many would recall as the most beautiful broadcast signals in the country. Raypower 100.5, with Raypower eventually becoming his moniker,  was launched. Twenty Four hour broadcasting was born. History confirmed and cemented. Since then, it was one man competing against himself, breaking all available records. Africa Independent Television (AIT) followed, and then FAAJI Fm. AIT International was launched in New York in the first tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, where both Dokpesi and the Nigerian President boasted at the venue, Grand Hyatt, that time had come for the world to hear from Nigeria in a reordering of a new information order that will radiate from the African continent.

    Dokpesi was a bold and courageous man, moving with the strength of a raging bull and crushing everything on his part. He never held anything back from the people, but instead, spread his investments across the nation, from east to west and from north to south. Whether in Gombe, Katsina, Oshogbo, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Bayelsa, Edo, his native state, Dokpesi maintained a point of presence, ingratiating himself to the people with his audacious investments.

    He built Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja to be the hub of his operations and, my God, the power of broadcasting transformed those immediate environments, with Alagbado in Lagos and Kpaduma Hills in Abuja as clear evidence of property value.

    There is a story we know. President Goodluck Jonathan who handed over to President Buhari reaffirmed that story at the Day of Tributes for Dokpesi in Abuja on Monday. He told the gathering that when Nigeria, under President Musa Yar’Adua buckled from hosting the FIFA Age World Cup in 2009 because of cost, Dokpesi came to him with an alternative proposal which saved the nation from global opprobrium.

    Daar Communications hosted the FIFA World Cup for Nigeria, for which the previous administration would nearly demolish him for collecting money from the government without procurement. The Buhari government lost the case in court.

    Dokpesi’s boldness brought him trouble. He was always marked for demolition for his beliefs, his politics and audacity. His stations were burnt many times. He dodged assassins’ bullets and, in one of those attempts, his head driver, Danladi, was killed in a hail of bullets at Alagbado, Lagos. Some say Dokpesi was a cat with nine lives, but almost every day, he mocked death. Only a few years back when he was to undergo a major surgery in the United Kingdom for an ailment related to cancer, the surgery was halted because the Nigerian government under Buhari had seized the money he transferred to the UK hospital. The money was resting in Emefiele’s Central Bank while Dokpesi was primed for death.

    But God always comes true for the poor and the harassed. An Angel came in the form of a Good Samaritan who made immediate alternative arrangements in Dubai. Dokpesi survived the conspiracy to kill him in the hospital and much later would also frustrate their conspiracy to jail him. Thanks to good lawyers and a bold judiciary.

    I can say now with every information at my disposal that those who hate him are few, very few. Since his apotheosis, there  has been an overwhelming flow of love from within Nigeria and across the nations of the world, even across party lines, if you were to measure the way that some Nigerians bury their lives in politics.

    The National Burial Committee headed by Senator Ben Obi has demonstrated overwhelming love and commitment to a friend and brother. Nigerians who came to the International Conference Centre in Abuja for the Day of Tributes, have also poured out their love for a patriot whose transition to glory is only a promotion to a supervisory position in the spirit realm.

    Dokpesi left us a stunning parting gift. I was fortunate to be the first guest in News 24 Studio on Monday during the tributes. Sitting at a corner of that massive studio, with the entire surrounding wall cybernised and smart, except for the entrance door, and his bold pictures bearing down on me all around from the video walls, I wondered at the vision of a man who lived ahead  of his time, and I simply melted. News 24 Studio is a befitting and lasting testimony to the beauty of deregulated broadcasting.

    Dokpesi dreamed too big. Whether in shipping, broadcasting, business, politics and social commitment to the people, he was generations ahead of us all. In our smallness and inability to understand him, we bore  him a grudge and hated him to the extent of putting him on demolition line. May God forgive us and keep his voice and peace in perpetuity.

    Okoh Aihe is a coauthor of the authorised biography of Chief Raymond Dokpesi, The Handkerchief.

  • Dokpesi: The big Masquerade leaves the stage – By Okhiria Agbonsuremi

    Dokpesi: The big Masquerade leaves the stage – By Okhiria Agbonsuremi

    By Okhiria Agbonsuremi

    My first encounter with Chief Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi was in 1994 when he graciously gave me an opportunity to move over to his new radio station, Raypower FM, Lagos, as a Stringer, following the closure of Rutam House and the proscription of The Guardian Newspapers Group, where I worked as a reporter.

    The then Director of News, Ladi Lawal, of blessed memory, had accepted the recommendation of Kelly Elisha, my senior colleague on the judiciary beat, for me to be considered on the list of “distressed journalists” of the 18 media organizations shut down by iron man, General Sani Abacha.

    The following 25 years were packed with a stretch of professional accomplishments I derived through the massive and, arguably, the most influential broadcast group in Nigeria supervised directly by this colossus.

    You can’t work closely with High Chief without being infected by his passion for hard work.
    He was a leader who had unique relationships with each one who worked with him. Everyone had an incredible positive encounter with this Superman.

    He taught us not to take a no for an answer. We knew through him and the late GMD, Ladi Lawal (whom he said understood his vision more than any other person), not to postpone, till later or tomorrow, any duty that can be performed today.

    He was a workaholic.

    High Chief Raymond Dokpesi had a character typical to many highly cerebral and intelligent individuals. I call it “Intelligence Malaise “ – the Propensity of brilliant individuals to want to stay guiding and supervising all tasks to be performed. They always want to do it here and now by themselves and in their presence or under their supervision.

    We saw him at sites with headpans carrying concrete mix on his head in Alagbado, and he was physically at the outside broadcast locations with the teams to ensure everything ran smoothly at the beginning of AIT.

    He was a restless leader who craved perfection in all assignments.

    Though “a bloody (marine) engineer,” as he would often refer to himself, he owned the original concepts of many programmes on radio and television. Anytime he calls the news and programmes management teams for a meeting, it is always certain that it would be an ideation meeting over a programme concept.

    He was the quality control person behind major programmes on the air.

    His relationship with staff was more than that of a worker and an owner of the business. He gave everyone the opportunity of access to him.

    High Chief was a very informal person, and he could have a meeting with staff on very serious assignments on the spot at any time. Oftentimes, he moves to our offices for meetings. He believes in positive results. He loves you extra if you are result-oriented.

    I had a very close and personal relationship with him.

    Perhaps he concluded that I took this relationship for granted in my push to get things done correctly.

    And when I told him during a meeting with top management staff to get serious about how he runs DAAR, he fired me from the company. It was the second time I accused him of unseriousness within two weeks. I was tired of the work environment made toxic by the unwillingness of management to attend to the legitimate needs of staff, including payment of salaries.

    The audacity was loud, but I owed him the truth. He knew I was very vocal, and he tolerated me for years, but this time, I drew out his anger, and he gave me the boots.

    That was in February 2018, when staff morale was very low, with a backlog of several months of salaries.

    I knew it was a hard one, but I also knew it would take a friend to tell him the truth. The outcome was, expectedly, disastrous for our warm and cordial relationship. It was the wrong cap on a blossoming friendship of over 25 years.

    During these years, I had phenomenal professional growth and exposure due to his uncommon love, care and support.

    For our outspoken and bold interventions in the handling of political programs on the air, we needed his support to do our job well. He gave us support without interfering with the content.

    “You will not even spare my friends,” he once told me.

    “Chairman, tell your friends to stay on the path of honour,” I responded. And he offered me a handshake, with both of us laughing loud.

    There were three occasions he singled me out for unqualified favour. I will tell just one of them.

    Sometimes in 1996, just before AIT was launched, and barely a year after I was formally integrated as a staff of DAAR, the newsroom management decided to reorganize operations.

    I was Head Reportorial, despite my junior-level position in the newsroom. This supervisory position was artificial because I never really supervised senior reporters. There were senior colleagues supervising all of us. Still, I was experienced enough to put their reports together for Raypower’s flagship news magazine program in the afternoon, Metro Despatch.

    The proposal before him from the newsroom management was, among others, to replace me as Head Reportorial with another very hardworking and experienced colleague from the Concord Stable, Bayo Adeyinka.

    He sighted me in the premises through his glass office, opened the window and called my attention. I rushed up to his office, where he told me that I was being replaced as Head, Reportorial and requested to know what the problem was.

    I told him nothing was wrong, and he asked me to go.
    It was the first time I entered his office alone, besides the few occasions I attended meetings with others.

    But he had met me in the newsroom on many occasions working alone in the dead of the night when I faced the task of preparing reports for “CASE FILE,” a segment of judicial reports on the Ultimate Morning Show (UMS). On each occasion, he would bang on the Newsroom door, and when I opened the door, he would give me jovial salutations and move on to his regular night inspections of the offices and the live studio.

    I was still thinking of the information he gave me in his office when he came to the newsroom. Unknown to me, he had his plans. He came into the newsroom with approvals for all the recommended appointments, including my removal.

    But he looked up to everyone and asked jokingly what they now wanted to do with “this man,” pointing in my direction.

    Before anyone could answer, he announced that because of the transition program by the military and the emerging political development towards civil rule, he was recommending the setting up of the Political Desk.

    He also immediately announced that, based on my experience, having studied my file, I was best suited to head and nurture that desk. He also elevated me to Assistant Manager, jumping three ranks above my peers.

    From Assistant Manager, Political Desk, I rose through the ranks in over 20 years to the group’s Director in charge of Politics. I served as the Director of AIT Parliamentary Channel on DAARSat, the still-born Direct Broadcast Satellite Services of DAAR Plc.

    High Chief Raymond Dokpesi stood by me like a rock to succeed in my office, helping me with contacts, resources and ideas.

    He approved my posting to the Presidential Villa as a State House correspondent 1999. He sent me to Portharcourt as Assistant General Manager/Bureau Chief to run two radio stations – Raypower 1 and 2 – and AIT, the TV station. I had pieces of training at BBC in London and at Cologn and Berlin at Deutsche Welle, Germany.

    High Chief Dokpesi watched over our shoulders and protected some of us from being eliminated by military agents during the dark Abacha days. The “NADECO 2” in the newsroom – Adebayo Bodunrin and I (we were political reporters, and we were tagged supporters of the National Democratic Coalition) regularly came under threat because of our work. Still, Chairman would ask us to go under until we were safe again. Ambrose Somide, though not in the newsroom, was also under the same threat because of his voice on radio.

    After I was sent on “Compulsory Retirement,” I wrote a letter of appreciation to him, thanking him for my opportunity to use his media platforms to blossom in my broadcast and journalism career. He didn’t acknowledge my letter.

    Before I left for Canada in 2020 to stay with my ailing wife, I also visited him with a bottle of champagne and wines along with Dr. Adaobi Obiabunmuo, Program Manager at PRIMORG, to renew my loyalty and appreciation to him despite the manner of my departure from DAAR. It was my little way to say “thank you” to this great man who provided me with the platform and unqualified friendship for my 25 years in the broadcast arena.

    Recently, I sensed that something was wrong somehow when the High Chief sent a message to me through a comment on my Facebook page to commiserate with me upon the passing of my wife, Mercy. He didn’t call or send a text message to my phone. I was curious but delighted to hear from him.
    He disclosed that he got the news when his “health was very bad.” That line got me worried.

    He wrote:

    “Austin,

    Tosin called to inform me about the passage of my your wife at a time when my health was very bad. We prayed for her and you with the surviving children. Be very strong as we pray that her soul should rest in perfect peace and perpetual light shine on her soul. May God grant you and the family the fortitude and grace to bear this irreparable loss at a time she is most needed. Be strong Austin. Take consolation in the fact that she fought a good fight, and you stood by her till the last minute. God bless you and all the kids you now have to father & mother.”

    I responded:

    “Thank you, my chairman, for your prayers and valuable counsel. May God strengthen you and grant you good health.”

    I contacted his wife, Madam Tosin, immediately, and she assured me he was fine and abiding by the Doctor’s instructions.

    I was earnestly looking forward to visiting him anytime I visit Nigeria.

    No matter what you think or say about him, Chairman, as we called him, positively impacted so much on everyone within his spheres.

    I was privileged to have an exceptional relationship with him. I was one of the few staff who exercised the opportunity to get to his bedroom whenever I needed to see him urgently, even when he was resting.

    He told me: “If it’s urgent and I am sleeping, wake me up.”

    As Director in charge of the Political Desk, I got tips and updates regularly from him because he was always a step ahead no matter how much I tried to get top political information.

    Writing about a life encounter with Chief Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi is like writing about the good dance of a masquerade after watching from the sidelines. What you write is what you can see from your corner of the big circle.

    And when the masquerade has thrilled everyone, a benevolent writer will not bother writing about the wrong steps and momentary falls.

    My chairman was a big masquerade. He had his adventures, controversial steps and style, which can not diminish his towering successes and accomplishments.

    As a big masquerade, he thrilled everyone. He had his head well above his peers.

    His departure leaves a big vacuum in the Nigerian media space that will be difficult to fill.

     

    Augustine Okhiria Agbonsuremi is the Executive Director of PRIMORG. He writes from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
    agbonsuremi@yahoo.com

  • Raymond Dokpesi’s family releases burial plan

    Raymond Dokpesi’s family releases burial plan

    The family of late Raymond Dokpesi has announced that the Founder of DAAR Communications, would be buried on 22nd June, 2023 at his residence in Agenebode, Edo State.

    Dokpesi, the owner of AIT and Ray Power FM radio, died on May 29, 2023.

    According to the burial arrangements released by the Dokpesi family of Agenebode, the funeral activities will commence on 19th June, 2023 with a day of tributes, to take place at the prestigious International Conference Centre in Abuja at 4:00 pm.

    In the statement, dignitaries, friends, and well-wishers are invited to pay their respects and honour the memory of the late DAAR Communication founder, Raymond Dokpesi.

    On the following day, the 20th June, a requiem mass will be held at the Church of the Assumption in Abuja at 12 noon.

    The religious service will be a solemn occasion to celebrate the life and legacy of the esteemed media mogul.

    After the requiem mass, a reception will be held at the DAAR Villa, located at 1 Ladi Lawal Drive, Asokoro, Abuja, providing an opportunity for attendees to offer condolences and support to the Dokpesi family.

    The funeral procession will then proceed to Agenebode, the ancestral home of the Dokpesi family, on the 21st of June. At 5: 00 pm, a Liturgy of Songs will be conducted at Ezomo’s Residence in Agenebode, allowing the local community to pay their final respects to the late Chief Dokpesi.

    The main funeral events will take place on the 22nd of June. A funeral mass and interment will be held at Ezomo’s Residence in Agenebode, starting at 11:00 am. Family members, friends, and dignitaries will gather to bid farewell to the visionary founder of Daar Communication.

    Entertainment for guests will hold after the interment at the Ezomo’s residence in Agenebode and St. Peter’s Secondary School, at 2:00 pm.

    And on 24th June, a thanksgiving mass will be held at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Agenebode at 9:00 am.

    The church service will be an occasion for gratitude, as the community offers prayers and thanks for the impactful life of the late Daar Communication founder.

     

  • Ambassador Wisdom extols late media Icon, Raymond Dokpesi

    Ambassador Wisdom extols late media Icon, Raymond Dokpesi

    A Nigerian diplomat and former Nigeria’s Principal Representative to the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS) Ambassador Aminu Wisdom has said that he was shocked upon hearing the news of the death of Raymond Dokpesi, the founder of DAAR Communications owner of AIT and Raypower radio across the country.

    Recall that  Dokpesi passed away on Monday, May 29th, 2023 after a brief illness.

    Wisdom added that Dokpesi paid his dues in the media industry with immeasurable qualities and virtues.

    He said “It was difficult to put into words the immeasurable qualities and virtues of our elder brother, who meant so much to so many.

    “He had a great sense of humor and paid close attention to every detail in conversations.”

    Wisdom added, “As a distinguished figure from Nigeria and the Etsako land, born into a noble family, he found immense joy in helping the less fortunate. He was a remarkable person, always the first to offer assistance in times of need. As he meets our creator, may he find mercy and forgiveness for any shortcomings.

    “In an extraordinary way, he surpassed everyone’s expectations. He embodied compassion, duty, responsibility, and loyalty. He provided quiet strength in difficult times and wise advice during uncertain moments.

  • High Chief Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi – The Great Pioneer is Gone

    High Chief Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi – The Great Pioneer is Gone

    It was with great shock that we learnt on Monday, May 29, 2023, of the passage of High Chief Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi, OFR, founding Chairman of the media behemoth, Daar Communications Plc . He was 71.
     Chief Dokpesi, a trained Marine Engineer and politician, pioneered private radio and television broadcating in the country with the establishment in 1994, of Ray Power, an Fm radio station and the Africa Independent Television (AIT), two years later.
    A seasoned politician, High Chief Dokpesi, held various strategic positions in the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) and acquitted himself. .
    Very unassuming and a philanthropist , he touched several lives, while also using the instrumentality of his media platform to give voice to the voiceless.
    While we commiserate with members of the media fraterniity, his immediate and political families , on this irreparable loss, we are consoled by the fact that he left behind an enduring legacy of hard work and selflessness.
    We encourage our youth to emulate his industry, modesty and passion for the people.
    The nation has lost a great pioneer, a patriot , an advocate of good governance /a free press and the right of people to know.
    KABIRU A. YUSUF
    PRESIDENT NIGERIA PRESS ORGANISATION /
    NEWSPAPER PROPRIETORS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA
  • Atiku, PDP mourn Raymond Dokpesi

    Atiku, PDP mourn Raymond Dokpesi

    Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has expressed shock at the passing of the founder of Africa Independent Television (AIT), High Chief Raymond Dokpesi.

    The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 general elections, in a statement signed by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, in Abuja on Monday described Dokpesi death as lost of a friend.

    He described Dokpesi, who died at age 71, as a trailblazer who reshaped the Nigerian business landscape in every sphere of his endeavour.

    “Ezemo, as we fondly called, was an enigmatic business personality, a news maker in life and, sadly, even in death.”

    Abubakar, who expressed shock about Dokpesi, said he entered the corporate landscape at a relatively young age, proving the merit of his creativity with distinction.

    “Ezemo was my friend, brother, counsellor, and associate, all rolled into one. He was honest, detribalised, loyal, and supremely hard working.

    “Once committed to a cause, he will see it to a conclusion,” he said.

    He prayed for Dokpesi immediate family to have the fortitude to bear the loss of a patriarch.

    He also expressed his deepest condolences to the management and staff of AIT, the PDP, Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, and the people and government of Edo State over the loss of an impactful patriot.

    PDP mourns Dokpesi

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday mourned the Founder of Daar Communications and African Independent Television (AIT), Chief Raymond Dokpesi, also known as Ezomo of Weppa-Wanno Kingdom.

    PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Debo Ologunagba, in a statement in Abuja, described Dokpesi as an exceptionally committed and courageous nationalist, an insightful and loyal party man; brilliant and resourceful entrepreneur.

    He said that the PDP family was devastated by the death of one of its leading lights, member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Executive Committee (NEC), media mogul, Statesman and Patriarch of the Dokpesi family.

    “Dokpesi was steadfast in his selfless contributions towards the unity, stability and development of our great Party and the nation at large.

    “As a patriotic Nigerian, Dokpesi deployed his media empire of AIT, Ray Power FM and Faaji FM to champion the course of national development, promoted greater and affordable access to information across the country.

    “He stimulated good governance, enhanced economic growth and development in all critical sectors and opened our nation to international limelight and opportunities.

    “He was a detribalized Nigerian, who put the interest and wellbeing of our nation above every other consideration and made numerous positive landmarks in our national political, economic and social landscapes,” he said.

    Ologunagba said that Dokpesi’s death was indeed a colossal national loss and a big blow to the PDP family.

    He condoled with the Dokpesi family, the Daar Communication Group, the government and people of Edo State, the Weppa-Wanno Kingdom and the Edo PDP family.

    Ologunagba prayed to the Almighty God to grant all the fortitude to bear the devastating loss and also grant Dokpesi, eternal rest in His bosom.

  • Controversy surrounds alleged arrest of Dokpesi at UK airport

    Controversy surrounds alleged arrest of Dokpesi at UK airport

    Controversy has surrounded the alleged arrest of the founder of DAAR Communications Plc, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, who was delayed by the Met Police at Heathrow Airport on Sunday for a few hours.

    Dokpesi had arrived via Frankfurt from Abuja on a Lufthansa airlines flight but was invited off the plane before other passengers disembarked.

    Confirming the development in a statement on Monday, the DAAR Communications management explained that Dokpesi was in the UK in connection with the invitation extended to the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, by the British government to speak on the 2023 presidential elections.

    The statement said he was delayed for some hours before his passport was subsequently stamped and he was cleared by British Immigration officials.

    It stated, ‘’Dokpesi arrived via Frankfurt from Abuja on a Lufthansa airlines flight and was invited off the plane before other passengers disembarked.

    “Dokpesi was delayed at the airport for some hours before his passport was stamped and he was cleared by British Immigration officials for entry into the country.

    “His visit to the United Kingdom is not unconnected to the invitation of the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar by the British government to share perspectives on issues around the 2023 presidential elections.

    “The media founder is the Deputy Director-General, Technical and Systems of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council. Chief Dokpesi wishes to thank all for their outpour of love, prayers and support following the news of the incident and to reassure them that he is hale and hearty.”

    Controversy surrounds alleged arrest of Dokpesi at UK airport

    But responding to inquiries about the reasons for Dokpesi’s arrest, the Met Police in an email did not mention the PDP chief’s name.

    The mail read, “On Sunday, 8 January, a 71-year-old man was arrested at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of rape. The arrest relates to an allegation of rape in August 2019. The man has been bailed, pending further enquiries, to a date in early April. Enquiries into the circumstances continue.

    “Please, note that we don’t confirm the identity of any person who has been arrested but not charged.”

    Dokpesi could not be reached for comment on the statement from the police.

    But a source in DAAR Communication stated, “Rape! It’s not possible. I am not in the UK and don’t have information on why Dokpesi was held and released. If it was a rape case, will they release him? It is the most unfair allegation against him. Where did the rape occur? Is it in Nigeria or UK?

    “If Nigeria didn’t fight, is it the UK that will fight him over rape? Those who are brandishing that false allegation should be able to say where the alleged rape took place. Those brandishing that nonsense are not fair to that man. Rape! At what age? Something that he didn’t do at a younger age, is it at over 70 years that he would do that?”