Ernest Okonkwo was born in 1936 as Chidokwe to the family of Mazi and Iyom Okonkwo of Ubarunisioye Nando in the old Anambra Division. Nando (oje na mmuo) is a rural town in today’s Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State. It shares borders with Awkuzu, Aguleri, Igbariam and Anaku, the headquarters of Ayamelum Local Government Area.
Ernest (Earnest) went to the famous Government College, Umuahia in present day Abia State, passed out in 1957 and was employed in the then NBC(FRCN) as a Studio Manager/Program Operator as it was then called. He later switched over to Announcing and then experimented with commentary.
In a bid to keep his head above water, the story was told of how Ernest was seen all the time doing a dry rehearsal, learning to describe common events and actions before him, and he succeeded. He would have clocked 89 this year, he did not, because he died on August 7, 1990, at the very young age of 54 years.
Ernest was captured by the allure of commentary as represented in his early years in NBC by Ishola Folorunsho, Sir Lawrence Emeka, Funso Adeolu, Emmanuel Omatshola and a host of other pioneers in the rare field of Sports and Outside Broadcasts. Ernest joined the fold after passing the rigorous auditions as was customary in the NBC/FRCN.
Commentary being a new but exciting genre of broadcasting was more challenging than the normal broadcast chores of Presentation, Announcing, Reporting, Editing and Producing. The Legislatures in the regional houses required that legislative businesses be carried live from the assemblies particularly when there was going to be some new appointments or budget presentations by the Governors or Heads of Government.
Other events that needed OB coverage were springing up as those in government liked the concept. This elicited a new but tasking challenge to NBC and so the Head of Programs decided to set up a core Outside Broadcast Unit, the management had to draw staff from various regions so they could be given core training in OB.
One great broadcaster that people still remember today was Richard Dimblebey who carved out the Outside Broadcast from the normal news and programming in the BBC. Mr. Dimbleby suggested to his employers in the BBC that it would be nice to send reporters to events to describe what was happening. His employers agreed and appointed him to lead the way. Dimblebey made a great career out of OB. So intense was his research and so good was he that there was an occasion that the queen was to open an exhibition of Royal Jewelries, unlike her, she was late.
In her excuse, the Queen said she was sorry for being late that she was listening to Richard Dimblebey’s description of the event at home to understand what she was coming to do.
Ernest Okonkwo left no one in doubt that he could be greater than Dimblebey in commentary. He read anything written, books, quotes and wise sayings from philosophers and great minds, articles, magazines, poetry on any issue and any topic. Ernest Okonkwo told us (his students) that any good saying or write up was in his words “commentarable” – that is, that it may be of value during your commentary and if you were not fully convinced, he would say” you never can tell” and that “your university degree was not a degree centigrade” that you needed to continue reading and researching.
Ernest could recite any of the speeches by The Great Zik, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Shakespeare, Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and any other from anywhere in the world at any time. We lost a “great man of words”, the” ijee” of our time, the “Aristotle”, “the Ernest that was Honest”. In fact, anytime he spoke polysyllabic words, he would say “ijee” and we respond “ijee”. He loved it!
Many people outside Radio Nigeria referred to him as ICBM – Inter Continental Ballistic Missile, the wordsmith. I referred to him as the Encyclopedia “Globacana”. Globacana here meant that he was beyond Africa or Europe. He was of the globe! Till his death, we had not reconciled what the “correct” spelling of his name would be.
He preferred his name to be written as ERNEST and not the other version EARNEST, but occasionally that “mistake” occurred when his mails came and he would turn to me and say, “nwokem, ndia amaro afam ede” (this people don’t know how to write my name). He had a penchant for keeping records. If you fold a piece of paper and gave it to Ernest, he would return it intact after many months.
Ernest Okonkwo had two large exercise books where he put down memories. He went about with them and kept them so tightly to himself. He called the bigger one “Ernescopaedea”, everything inside it was written by him, and therefore completely reflecting his personal thoughts in life while the second he named “Commentators’ Companion,” everything in there according to him encompasses the history of his many travels, dates, the occasion and memories. He equally nicknamed it “The Principles and Practices of Sports and Outside Broadcasts.
He had one recorder made by Panasonic, which I nicknamed “ancient marina” he used to record even his MCs of major occasions, his commentaries, both sports and ceremonial since I was with him for over 8 years. If the family kept those records, they would have a large commentary resource for humanity. He believed that as a broadcaster, one should build his statistics, do personal research, build up your information bank and stack them up somewhere. As he would ask, what makes you think that the stadium or the arena you used today could not be used for another event another day? Or cannot even be rebuilt, renamed or removed?
As an OB man or woman, he insisted you must have copious notes on virtually every human endeavor, circumstances and happenstances. Those two big notes of Ernest contained, poems about life and death, about religion, war, miliary, sports and great motivational speeches. Apart from being written down, Ernest Okonkwo embodied them. He could virtually talk on any topic therein, that was the man, Ernest.
One day we were in the studio to record our normal jingle soliciting for sponsorship for the coverage of FIFA U21 World cup, Chile’87. He listened a little bit and asked us why we were always saying the same thing repeatedly for every coverage and every championship? We told him that it was written by the Marketing Department. He went into the studio, without a script and said, now start recording: “This is Ernest Okonkwo, I bring you good tidings. I will be in Chile, with some of my colleagues, God willing, to bring you ball to ball description of the matches of the FIFA U21 World Cup. While in Chile we will transverse all venues and stadiums from the Andes Mountains to the Pacific Coast, from La Serena to Antofagasta to Concepcion and finally to Santiago……. Join us on the network service of Radio Nigeria from October 10 to 25th 1987. We need you the listener.” And pronto, the jingle was done by Ernest without a script. Amazing!
While I was getting set for my white wedding in December 1989, Ernest was busy planning for his “lifesaving” treatment as he was beginning to feel some discomfort in his body system. He did attend the wedding in his characteristic manner, ceasing the microphone at some points from the MCs – Sam Okolo, Soni Irabor and Bisi Olatilo to the great delight of guests, some of whom came to see Ernest physically.
At the end of the wedding ceremony, he confided in me that he would take a long leave so he could take adequate care of himself. He with some other colleagues such as Ikenna Ndaguba and Kevin Ejiofor who was the Chairman, provided the real tonic for the reception. In fact, the President General of our town Chief Ugwu C. Nzekwe who moved the vote of thanks dubbed the wedding the most hilarious and “freshivating” in his living memory. He said the Igbariam people (my town people) were enjoying the grammar being spoken without understanding what was being spoken.
On the account of his illness, Ernest missed going to the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy which would have been his first world cup coverage, that was a big minus in his career as it meant he never ever covered the FIFA World Cup. That’s the way of all mortals -Man proposes, God disposes! When I returned from the Italia ’90 world cup, I went to see him but there were real fears for his life. He had emaciated so fast that you would marvel at life and living. He had no inclinations anymore. Even the gift I brought to him meant little or nothing. He kept telling me not to relent, that my journey in broadcasting was great ……and that my university degree is not a ‘Degree Centigrade’. I looked into his eyes and told him that he would recover and return to finish his unfinished business which was that he “Must Write a Book on Commentary and the Art of Commentating”. I offered to co-author it with him, if necessary, to achieve the objective, but as I looked deep into his eyes, I knew that “mmanwu, the masquerade, was gone”.
When he eventually passed on, on the 7th of August 1990, I knew I had got my hands full.
He once told me a story about the Super Eagles player, Uche Okechukwu, how tall and gentle he is and he nicknamed him, “Gentle Giant”. That was how he nick-named most of the Eagles players, just on his observatory and on the spur of the moment.
I wrote two Special 30 minutes Features on Ernest when he died. One was entitled, “The Man Ernest” and the other “Ernest Okonkwo Goes Home”. The third, a 15 minute feature after the burial titled, “The Mourners Have All Gone Home”. Those programs are today domiciled in the archives of Radio Nigeria, I hope they are still there in Lagos. I will end this write up by quoting a few lines from my kindergarten poem.
The mourners have gone home
The birds of the night have sung their songs
And have gone to roost
Their meanings and life’s essence resonate and reverberate
In the sands of time as the world is not our everlasting abode
We are all sojourners
We must therefore be mindful of our present.
And be careful about tomorrow!
He was gone and was reunited with his ancestors on the 13th of October 1990 after a lengthy homily and commentary. I want to cease this opportunity to remember our gallant commentators in Radio Nigeria who are now resting in the bosom of the Lord.
They include:
Ikenna Ndaguba. Ishola Folorunsho Lawrence Emeka. Yinka Craig. Umar Farouk Musa. Buno Uwabor. Walter Batowei. Sebastien Ofurum. Allen Agbo. Joe Lartey. May their souls and the soul of Ernest Chidokwe Okonkwo, through the mercy of God continue to rest in peace
