By Muhammed Shaeed
September 24th, 2024
Anytime a person talks about Kwara State Television, I think of the tremendous efforts put in place by the immediate past general manager to revamp and give the station a new face and life.
At the time he took the baton of order and directives at the station, it was still stuck in the past — operating on an analog broadcast system and could only be accessed through FreeTv.
The station was basking in the cesspit of camera shortages and inadequate production equipment that caused its inability to effectively transmit. Power outage was also a bottleneck, and the overall condition of the office building was not so encouraging.
It wasn’t under the control of any general manager but functioned with an ad-hoc team that did its best to maintain production with limited resources.
The story of the station set to wear a new toga the day Olatunde Michaels was appointed the general manager. That was on the 30th of April 2021. Upon resumption on the 12th of May, 2021, he knew the task at hand. He was ready to give his all and move the station forward.
Within a year, the station via the leadership of Olatunde has witnessed significant growth and emerged stronger in strength, stability, and trustworthiness with the unending support of Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s led administration.
It was not that no challenges were hindering the progress of the work, but Olatunde’s leadership preserved against all odds to achieve remarkable milestones.
This was evident in phases of achievements recorded by the administration. On February 1, 2022, history was made by Olatunde’s crew at Kwara TV — for the first time (starting from 1994 when the station began test transmission), the station achieved uninterrupted 24-hour transmission.
To celebrate this, Gov Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq was at the station to commission it and dubbed it as the rebirth of the station.
Olatunde, in his quest to ensure the station is transformed and achieves its revitalization goal, several crucial strategies and initiatives were put in place, which include staff reorientation, redefined roles, partnership with industry experts, and staff welfare, among others. All of these greatly helped in revamping the fading image of the state-owned television.
The initiatives and strategies paid off as the station achieved jaw-dropping milestones ranging from 24/7 broadcasting – ensuring round-the-clock coverage for the audience, implementing a 24-hour power supply to guarantee seamless operations, upgrading the equipment to high definition (HD) cameras — enhancing the visual quality of the broadcast, introduced five distinct programs focusing on journalism, activism, and political discourse, enhanced newsrooms’ capacity and resources through strategic investment in finance and human capital development to foster content partnership with esteemed organizations such as AriseTv, Afro Sports, and Independent Producers, elevating the quality and relevance of the station’s programs.
The above are a few of the numerous but remarkable milestones achieved during his time as the general manager of Kwara Television.
The act of his selfless service to the state has etched his name on the book of history. The legacy he forged will continue to be a barge of honor and an extraordinary service he’ll be remembered for till eternity.
And as far as the world trudges on and Kwara sits comfortably on the map of the country, Olatunde Michaels will remain the father of modern Kwara Television.