The aim of the Tube Awards is to recognise outstanding television programmes and behind-the-scenes personnel in Nigeria.

While numerous awards only recognise on-screen performances, the Tube Awards is the pioneer award that recognises, celebrates, and rewards television excellence in Nigeria TV broadcasting.

Unveiled on Sunday at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos State, the Tube Awards seeks to recognise outstanding television programmes and behind-the-scenes personnel.

The event, which was tagged “love in the box,” is an initiative of Tube Afrique, the brainchild of Niran Adedokun, alongside a team of directors, including Temitope Duker Fidelis Duker and Kingsley James.

The event was hosted by Nollywood actor Segun Arinze and had several television personalities like Sunday Ododo, Bimbo Oloyede, Toni Kan, Ada Ameh, Kingsley James, Bakky Adeoye, and Fidelis Duker.

Others are Tope Duker, Yemi solace, Lancelot Imasuen, Charles Novia, Madam Kofo, Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, Emeka Ossai, Francis Onochie, and several others.

Inspiration
Mr Adedokun, an entertainment journalist cum author, PR practitioner, and lawyer, who hatched the idea 20 years ago, explained the strong influence television broadcasting plays in shaping lifestyles and the need to celebrate TV’s finest contributors.

“We have got all that is needed to make television in Africa the best in the world, and that’s the mission to which we have committed ourselves. The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. As they say, we solicit that you join us on this journey to celebrate excellence in television in the African continent. Ultimately, what we watch on TV affects us,” he said in his welcome address.

“When television has transcended from that tube in a box which we return to every night into tablets and phones that we hold in our palm, we must then be concerned about the medium that it feeds us. If we are concerned about the content that we consume from television, we must also consider the people who produce that content for us.”

He also noted that Nigeria now has over 150 channels. And as the number of outlets increases, so as the number of practitioners. The Tube Awards, he said, will ensure that those who provide us with content on television have the best of encouragement and build the best of capacity.”

The theatre professional received praise from the GM/CEO, National Theatre, Sunday Ododo, who expressed optimism towards the goals Tube Awards set out to achieve.

Calling for partnership, Mr Adedokun said: “We recognise that as important as these tasks are, and as committed as we are to them, they are neither possible nor meant for us to be accomplished by ourselves, this, therefore, presents an opportunity for us to seek partnership.”

Similarly, veteran televisión actor Abiola Atanda, aka Madam Kofo, lauded the effort to use meritocracy as a benchmark to project creatives who have excelled in their careers successfully.

Award
The award show, which positions itself as an accelerator for innovation and growth in the television space, listed 27 categories to honour creatives and professionals. It ranges from actors to producers to broadcasters.

With a provisional date set for the award ceremony in December, all programmes are expected to meet the requirements of being via cable, terrestrial, or digital platforms.

Compulsorily, entries must have been conceptualised, developed, filmed, and broadcast in one of the regions in Africa.

The organisers said the award has 27 categories and is open to all programs broadcast in Africa between January 1 and December 31 of the preceding year under review.

They added that a diverse jury body made up of professionals across all fields it concerns has been assembled to oversee the shortlisting of entries to activate its initiatives.

It also plans on organising events targeted at building the capacity of practitioners for optimal performance and proper monetisation.

History
Speaking at the event, a veteran journalist, Bimbo Oloyede, said the golden days of Nigerian television where people rushed home to sit and watch television programs are gone.

She said: “It’s time for us to change the narrative. We should remember people who conceptualised great ideas and brought them to reality like programs like ‘for better for worse, we should recognise them, not just us exhibiting our boobs and our bums.”

“We can recreate our nation by what we see on television, by the ideas we generate, we should be looking to change the thinking of people in Nigeria.”

According to the veteran, the award comes timely to resuscitate and recognise television programmes.

A documentary on television history in Nigeria was screened at the event. The piece narrated the 63-year journey of television in Nigeria and the key players.

Television started in Nigeria with the first television station in Nigeria, the Western Nigerian Government Broadcasting Corporation (WNTV) in Ibadan, Oyo State, created by Obafemi Awolowo and began broadcasting on October 31, 1959.

Shortly after, the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) was later inaugurated in 1977, which was initially called NTV.

The major television programmes predominant in the early 80s were Moses Olaiya’sAlawada, Village Headmaster, Hotel de Jordan, Tales by Moonlight, Cockcrow at Dawn, and Mirror in the Sun Moment of Truth, Acadia Campus, Things Fall Apart, and Super stories amongst others.

Rtn. Victor Ojelabi

Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.