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One name which is often associated with the birth of Nigerian television is that of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Two other names that had a hand in television's glorious debut are Chief Anthony Eromosele Enahoro, and Awolowo passed on in 1987; Williams in 2005 and Enahoro December 15, 2010. While Awolowo as premier of Western Region had the honour of presiding over the administration that gave birth to Africa's first television station, Enahoro as home affairs minister supervised broadcasting, and Williams was the minister of justice and attorney general, whose forensic persuasive skills came in handy in convincing Awolowo to embrace television broadcasting.
As Chief Enahoro reminisced on December 22, 1993 at the second presentation of the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (D.A.M.E.) television was seen as a medium of entertainment, which would be difficult to sell to Awo, who detested frivolity. So, between the two men, emphasis was placed on television's capacity to boost the Western Regional government's free education programme.
A persuaded Awolowo acknowledged this educational thrust of television when he declared on November 1, 1959: “Television will serve as teacher and entertainer and as a stimulus to us all to transform Nigeria into a modern and prosperous nation. You will all gain much from this great medium of mass information and instruction. It is a powerful influence for good”.
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