Experienced broadcaster and gentleman, Deji Balogun, is no longer with the Lagos State Government.
Mr. Balogun, according to the information he shared on his Facebook page, is now with the John Momoh-led Channels Television, as the Station Manager, for Abuja.
Here’s how he broke the news:
Stepping Unto Higher Grounds…
A Time for Everything
The Book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 says:
“3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.”
I wish to start this by admitting the fact that I ruminated over many headings for this piece. For a very long time, I settled for “Change of Address” taken in part from My Disengagement And Importance Of Alternative Address by Dr. Muiz Banire, a lawyer who served as three-term Commissioner in Lagos State, former National Legal Adviser of the All Progressive Congress and former Chairman of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria published on December 12, 2019 by The Sun Newspaper.
I also recall the piece by Dr. Reuben Abati, Newspaper Columnist and TV Anchor after his tenure as Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria in 2015. The piece he titled: My phones have stopped ringing published by the Daily Post on July 26, 2015.
Truly, there is a time for everything.
The journey which began on Tuesday, March 15 1994 spanning 9,575 days = 1,367 weeks 6 days (1 day short of 1,368 weeks) = 314 months 2 weeks ends officially this glorious day, Monday June 1, 2020 to the glory of God.
I am not here to pour out the Memoirs of my sojourn in the Lagos State Public Service (I reserve the details for my book.
I remember that it all started way back in July, 1981 but the narrative in focus actually began in December 1993 when I walked into the sprawling LTV Complex for an audition. I was invited for Oral Interview in January but took my time to complete all Medical formalities and Official documentation.
The real journey, therefore started on Tuesday, March 15, 1994 (the Ides of March) through an adventurous (sometimes tortuous and sometimes pleasurable) labyrinth of professionalism laced with red tape bureaucracy usually associated with the Public Service. To the glory of God, I waltzed through 26 years 2 months 17 days of Service in the employment of Lagos State – from Lagos Television to the Lagos State House of Assembly, back to Lagos Television where I rose through the ranks and enjoyed the rare privilege of becoming the General Manager from Monday, August 3, 2015 – Thursday, January 26, 2017 before I was catapulted to head the Social Media Department at the State Ministry of Information & Strategy.
As I indicated earlier, I am not here to regale you with tales of my journey through the Lagos State Service but to give credit and honour to some of those who made my journey very memorable. However, before I embark on the dangerous adventure, permit me to apologise in advance to those whose names I might omit during the exercise. Pardon my memory – 26 years-plus no be moin-moin or kose n doya (bean cake & fried yam).
My first and biggest gratitude goes to the Almighty – the Omnipotent & Omniscient God, the One who knew the end from the beginning. The Author and Finisher of my Faith. He, it was who lit my path and guided my footsteps all through the journey “behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” – Psalms 121:4.
Next on my list is the man whom God used as the Torch Bearer to light my path and the Path-Finder to show the way. A man, who at different times stood as the biblical Comforter whom Jesus promised to send to His Disciples as their Guide. Stand up and take a bow, Mr. Olalekan Adeleke Ogunbanwo – my unparalleled Leader and Path-finder. When I came for the audition in 1993, he was there. When assumed duties in 1994, Lekan was the Controller Programmes and made me his Deputy.
When he moved to Radio Lagos (and established Eko FM) first as General Manager and later the Permanent Secretary, he gave me the opportunity to Head the Presentation Unit of LTV. On my return from my Public Service Siberia (if you know, you know), Lekan Ogunbanwo was the vessel that God used to lift me from a bottomless pit to a very high pedestal of professional reckoning.
He saddled me with the responsibility of running the LTV Sports Unit and later Head of Amuludun Telly, a subsidiary of LTV that broadcast wholly indigenous content on the defunct HiTV platform.
When I ran the show at Amuludun Telly from 2010 to 2011 with minimal interference from the parent Brand, little did I know that God was, through Lekan Ogunbanwo, preparing me for a greater task because 4 years after, I became the General Manager of Lagos Television.
Even my emergence as the General Manager was not without his behind-the-scene push as many people eyed the seat, especially with a change in government. He it was, who stuck out his neck to convince everyone that he had my back! And he never sought nor received any reward for all he did.
Mr. Lekan Ogunbanwo, when I write my Memoirs, tales of how you helped shape my career would fill at least two chapters. My family and I cannot thank you enough.
I met beautiful and good-natured people along the way, just as I met those who could not stick my guts!
… to be continued.