"Don't Die Until You Become a Positive Part of Someone's Success Story."

The Community's Eye Appreciates Mass Comm's Legends, Tasks those Alive to Reflect and Do Better

🖋️ Enaholo J.K.

auchiblog@gmail.com

+2348069055018

When Thomas Aquinas opined that "Charity brings to life again those who are spiritually dead" he must have had a vision of my life and how it would pan out but then I came across John Rockefeller's quote where he asserted that "Charity is injurious unless it helps the recipient to become independent of it."

First we must understand that Charity is anything given to someone with the intent of easing the life of the recipient but then what's given must be good enough to help the recipient become better to the point that s/he may have no recurrent need to given what's given to keep living with ease.

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With this preamble, allow me take you on a ride through the charity I received as an undergraduate studying the numerous literature of communication and communications within the academic walls of the noble citadel of higher learning, Auchi Polytechnic _my Alma Matta.

Mr. Nasiru Ikhazuagbe was the first amongst those who did not die until they fueled me with the energy necessary for driving my pen and wielding the power that comes with it.

Late Sir Nasiru Ikhazuagbe

What did he give me? He brought upon me the value of time and the need to beat deadlines no matter the quantum heaps of assignments at hand.

At the time, me and my league of 'stupid' ND Students' saw him as an overbearing individual who pride himself in watching students suffer while struggling to source, process and submit assignments on Intro to News Writing, Intermediate News Gathering and Writing and the lot of other News Oriented Courses plus the famous Inter-Cultural Communication Course where we first heard the term 'Culture Shock.' 

Ikhazuagbe was stern, expressive, business minded with lectures and indeed he was very self aware hence his neat appearance always. Baba was never caught un-fresh and one of our woes then was that he was always on the timetable and never missed a class.

My very first depressive moment was borne from the heap of assignments he gave in addition to the weekly stories that were to be submitted 12noon on Fridays. I remember vividly how I threw away my school file under the cashew tree beside Broadcast House (BH) screaming, "weytin self!? abeg I don tire jor!"

I'd reach my breaking point and frustration was palpable on me entirety. it was obvious I was done. "To Hell with School Abeg!" I vented. something seem to have been stuck in my throat and in my me-time it all came out as tears, catarrh and inaudible sobs.

Somehow, the universe seem to have been on my side and that day (being a Friday), it was announced that Ikhazuagbe would not take our assignments as he wasn't on seat as at the time of submission.

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The joy that came at me was like the feeling felt when one enters a fully air-conditioned office from the rays of a scorching sun. That day I rallied round others who had done their assignments, taking one or two to complete mine in preparation for Monday.

Thereon, I told myself I'd never put myself in such pitiable situation of hopelessness. I resolved that I'd get my stories ready days before submission and today, it's easy.

Next is Sir Gambo Ibrahim. Tall, dark complexioned and Lanky Gambo was our Advert Lecturer. He had a unique style of highlighting his points and driving home the message. It was always a show of socials when Gambo's lectures where in progress. His classes were fun-filled as most times, laughter rented the air.

Late Sir Gambo Ibrahim

He had a way of using the physiognomy of ladies to showcase the Unique Selling Points of Products and Services.

What did I gain from this Comedian turned Lecturer? The importance of attaching value to what you do whether as a producer or service provider.

Gambo made us understand that it was not enough to have a solution to problems. The question is, since there are so many products/services out there that have been fathomed as solutions to problems, why should anyone exchange their hard earned money for your offer?

The answer lies in what makes your offer better than the rest and that's the value therein.

"Some men like them (ladies) big with heavy chests, others want their women slim with weighty behind, some prefer the hour glass physic. Whatever it is that appeals to you in a woman to the point that you are moved to take the action of wooing her is her USP _every product and or service has these USPs.

However, some USPs are deceptive. Some Chests my appear heavy and firm but when it's time for intercommunication between client and product/service bought, the Chest which in this case is the seemingly firm breast (USP) may now appear to be flat when unveiled.

Here he'd say, DON'T MAKE UNREALISTIC PROMISES when packaging your products/services as when the truth comes up, it will hurt your business really bad."

That's Mr. Gambo Ibrahim using familiar/down to Earth terms to drive home Principles of Advertising to young lads who just became sexually active.

He knew how our minds worked and so even though it wasn't professional in the eyes of many, he was a professional in driving us through his thought processes, deliver the details and this helped us a great deal in times when we were expected to reproduce knowledge gained or in times when it was necessary for us to apply that knowledge.

Today, I know that for a product, an idea, service, campaign or whatsoever to sell, it has to offer something of value as solution and must appeal to the end user or audience.

Thanks to Gambo Ibrahim I am able to appeal to a vast number of people I may never meet in real life and guess what? together, we are doing great things for the society in our little ways.

Pa Gentle Omoruyi had a microphone voice. The chubby buddy was a guyish dude who had a peculiar swagger to his person.

Late Sir Gentle Omoruyi

"Where is Jerry Boy? Ok, here he is, Boy, tell them why it's necessary to have a microphone voice as an announcer.?" He'd say.

I'm not sure I ever saw his eyes as they were often cased in special dark shades that made his chubby cheeks glitter but he had a knack for spotting students that had a 'voice'.

Once he knew you, he'd always call your name and make you say a thing or two and then tailor his lecture with the line of thought of the student before giving the notes he had intended for the lecture.

What did Sir Gentle give to me? the ability to jettison whatever hand (perceived or real) trying to cover my mouth or silence my voice.

"Speak up Boy!" he would order and to make sure I was heard, he'd always ask, "Can you hear him?"

"You cannot be shy and want to be a communicator. We are Communicators, not just communicators, we are mass communicators!" "we talk, talk and talk using all media available for talking!"

"You are the voice of the voiceless. How can you not talk?" "better still, go and buy change of course form!"

He taught me that though it was necessary to talk, it wasn't enough to just talk. "You must ensure that your voice is heard!"

In trying to achieve this, Sir Gentle would make us practice certain short speeches or lines just so we can project our voices with certain inflections that appealed to listeners.

He was a true OAP even though I never really knew him in his prime.

A jolly good fellow Sir Gentle Omoruyi was.

Going forward, Afenmai lost a great man in Ignis Ekwe when he passed on. He was many things but in all that he was, the best part of Ignis was that he was and still is the best story teller I've known.

Late Sir Ignis Ekwe

Although he appeared more like a troublemaker to us during the introductory part of our sojourn, as our lecturer-student relationship peaked we appreciated his many sides.

As one of the precusors to what has blossomed into Nollywood, Ignis Ekwe brought so much drama into lecturing broadcast oriented Courses and film production.

His passion was second to none at the time. He always had no fewer than three stories to follow up on topics of discourse and his lectures were conversational.

What did I learn from Him? The art of communicating LIFE into the consciousness of listeners, readers _my audiences.

"your words whether spoken or written must be alive." "you can't afford to be passive when communicating!" "add life to your voice." "speak life!" he'd say almost as if he was playing a dual role of a priest in a teacher's body.

Ignis wasn't easy to impress as a perfectionist. It took the extraordinary to get his attention, keep and maintain it. His friends as far as students were concerned where those who were truly creatively expressive.

He had this deep connection with creativity and I'm sure he was sapiosexual too. Forgive me.

The Thespian did not just teach, he made sure we acted what's taught and today, thanks to Ignis Ekwe, even though some of us may never get a role in Nollywood, we all stared in drama pieces, played production roles and formed indelible memories from the experience of planning programmes and executing same.

Though we seemed more like cat and rat as we had cause to argue (fight) a lot during my time as an undergraduate under his tutelage, Ignis Ekwe would always refer to my works when correcting others and in doing so, I learned that a father may beat his child for the sake of making him better and this is true love in its basic form.

Ignis loved his job, loved his students even though he carried a long face most times _beneath that askance look, was a man who saw and appreciated talents.

Madam Gender Equality, who was a one time Head of Department of Mass Communication offered useful tips as charity.

Late Mrs. Clara Azegbeni Ogbiti

Mrs Clara Azegbeni Ogbiti was a woman who knew the value of words and was not interested in communicating for the sake of it. Mama spoke when it was absolutely necessary and when she did speak, it was oftentimes straight to the point. 

"You can say a lot and mean less or make no sense yet, you can say so little and your words will be laced with so much wisdom." "the point of communication is to make sense and it is only when sense is made that we command the necessary action." "be precise!" the Precision Journalism lecturer would say.

She was a smallish elderly woman who was given a dashing smile as a compensation for her looks and what's more, she had so much power in her voice and nobody took her for granted on account of her size.

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She gifted me the ability to make clear my intentions. She preached precision more than she taught it and the beauty of this is that she practiced it to near perfection to the point that she became a model of precision in my mind.

My school father wasn't a senior Student. I've always had a knack for befriending older folks and that's the reason why I have no friends from within my age range nor do I flow with the younger generation. Call me old school _it's allowed (in M.I.'s voice).

I had the rare privilege of befriending Dr. John Edemode who was at the time the oldest serving staff of Auchi Polytechnic.

He was an aged man but his mind was in tune with generational trends and he was in the know about everything in vogue.

Late Dr. John Edemode

Dr. John was very self-aware and gave good treatment to body and soul to the awe of some of us who thought we had swag.

He was a Communication Theories Lecturer and helped in the organization of seminars for Mass Communication Finalists as a facilitator.

He was also a Financial Expert being the then Head, Board of directors of Afenmai Microfinance Bank.

What's more? he was a humble Farmer of various crops and livestock.

We were so close that he'd invite me to his office whether at the bank or in school to co-solve a problem (assignment), invite me to his home for a conversation over delicacies and would sometimes ask me to come if I was interested in taking a tour round his poultry or his vast yam farm in Afashio.

What did I learn from him? you'd ask. He taught me the wisdom behind patience. One Saturday, he called me to check on him very early in the morning and I came. While we were having breakfast (drinking tea, eating bread and sauced eggs) he revealed to me in the most unimaginable way how God Who has power to do all things patiently created the world bit by bit, one thing at a time instead of simply ordering all that we see today to come into existence.

He taught me this with the way he sipped his hot cup of tea. "If you gulp this hot tea in a hurry, the result is oftentimes counterproductive as you may end up in the hospital suffering internal burns, but if gently you sip it, you may begin to relish the taste and appreciate the entire meal." "...that's the wisdom behind the creation of the world by Allah. Even though He could order everything into existing with one quick command of 'Be', He patiently created one thing at a time so we His creatures can learn the beauty of careful planning and execution." he said.

Dr. John Edemode was a Christian, a Knight but he respected religious differences and never for once in all our interactions made me feel odd about my religious inclination as a Muslim. I was first and foremost a human being before anything else to him.

Next, Dr. Shola Eshiobo Samuel was the dean of Students' Affairs of Auchi Polytechnic. He was a busy but calculated man who had time for all matters pertaining to humans and as long as they crossed his path, he was never too busy to attend.

Late Dr. Shola Eshiobo

I was never a student under his tutelage nor did I know his person 'intoto' (in total) but as an OAP he never failed to grace my programmes with Mallam Braimah Jafar at HillSide 94.1fm, Auchi Polytechnic Radio.

His door was always open and his phone was always charged ready for our call.

What he taught me is to always be available, put myself in the picture and be present. 

The short time we interacted portrayed him as an intelligent man who was well travelled and quite empathic and considerate.

One thing Dr. Eshiobo hated more than anything else is noise.

He wore his smile like a new trend and was always ready to contribute his quota towards moving Auchi Polytechnic forward.

To end this, Sir Akhagbosu L. walked into our class like a Capon one hot afternoon with an aural of fear cast over our hearts as if we've been caught doing the abominable. 

It was one of those chatty afternoons when a class is postponed but we have to hang around because a later lecture would hold.

Can't remember the actual day but I was in ND 1 (1st semester) when this experience transpired.

Late Sir Akhagbosu L.

After rebuking us for being too loud to the point that our voices had become a distraction for those in Food Tech (behind Broadcast House) he set a quiz.

"Tear out a piece of paper, write your name and in 5 minutes, write out the 36states and their capitals in Nigeria." he said.

That day, I learnt that though it's easy to forget so much in a changing and ever busy world, it is dangerous to forget the simple and easy things.

What's the lesson in all these? you'd ask.

Though all those mentioned in this piece are dead, they live in my heart and courtesy of their charity I've been able to help myself push through the battles of life.

What's more? Just as I did not demand these priceless gifts from them when they offered same from freewill, I don't need to keep seeking a reoccurrence of the events that brought me these goodies nor do I need the givers to keep giving me to survive.

They gave without reserve to the point that I became independent of what I received and today, I have a lot to offer.

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Reflect over your life and think of what you've been able to contribute positively to helping people reach their goals.

Forgive me for taking your time as I live you with Samuel Jackson's quote.

"Bounty always receives its value from the manner in which it bestowed."