Reel Life is a masterpiece on Nigeria's broadcasting history, bold and transparent public leadership, governance and finance of a public organisation. It is about deploying television content as a tool for forging national unity and as a catalyst for national mass mobilisation and social change.
This memoir captures the chequered and rollercoaster evolution of ownership of broadcasting organisations from a mix of public private partnership to full government ownership and now distinct government and private ownership. It is replete with instances of the conflict between board oversight in public organisations and interference in management issues. The narrative shows that one can continue to be a public servant without being in public office.
The evolution or development of any country requires an understanding of history in order to appreciate what is feasible in the creation of an informed vision for the future that can inspire evolution to greatness. As aptly captured in Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy; The Axes of Leadership, “Leaders think and act at the intersection of two axes: the first, between the past and the future: the second, between the abiding values and aspirations of those they lead. Their first challenge is analysis, which begins with a realistic assessment of their society based on its history, mores, and capacities. Then they must balance what they know, which is necessarily drawn from the past, with what they intuit about the future, which is inherently conjectural and uncertain.”
Reel Life chronicles the history of public broadcasting service in Africa. There is hardly anyone better to do so than Engineer Vincent Maduka the first Director General of the Nigerian Television Authority. It is a must read for all followers and students of mass communication, history, politics and leadership in Nigeria.