Remembering Tokunbo Ajai: 16 years onOlatokunbo Fehintola Ajai lives on. Seasoned broadcaster and consummate professional, it is very difficult to forget her. It is not unusual to recall her rich voice and her unusual tomboyish simplicity on the Network News of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). Her memory has refused to fade, her contribution to broadcasting and news casting still fresh in our memory. She read the news with gait and a golden voice. Tokunbo was unique and highly unforgettable. Tokunbo worked hard and played hard.She joined the pantheon of revered newscasters and broadcasters on her own merit at the NTA Network News Headquarters in Lagos before the group was moved to Abuja. She earned her respect among the notable newscasters of the time. The group had the velvet voice of Cyril Stober, the sandpaper sharp Siene Allwell Brown, the sweet and solemn voices of Ruth Benemesia Opiah, Lola Ogunbambi and Eugenia Abu, and the soulful John Momoh. It was an enviable cast and the best in a very long time. It was always a luxury to have two of them read the news at 9:00 p.m. which made many to still stay tuned even when the NTA has lost its credibility and daily dole out lies and propaganda for the dictatorship of Ibrahim Babangida. The group put a brave face to the work and many of them showed their displeasure in their attitude to the lies and worthless information Ibrahim Babangida was getting out through them at the Network News.Tokunbo Ajai died in London, England on August 18, 2000. The news of her death caught many by surprise. The shock and suddenness of Tokunbo's demise has left many wondering about what really happened to her. She was said to have been on holiday in the United Kingdom when she died. An unnamed source at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) only said Tokunbo died in her sleep. It was said that she arrived in London just a few days before her death after going through a traumatic experience in her home in Abuja. The facts of that Abuja experience have never been made public but many have said they resulted indirectly in her death. Tokunbo was 37 years old when she died. She had dreams and hopes that died with her. Her death left a vacuum in her family and her three brothers miss her a lot. Her aged parents are at a loss of word about their loss, the loss of a daughter with huge promise and future. Tokunbo attended Queens College in Yaba, Lagos and the Department of Mass Communication at the University of Lagos where she obtained a Diploma in Mass Communication.Tokunbo loved broadcasting and news casting was her major forte. She loved it and enjoyed it. She gave it her all and was determined to leave her mark. One of her friends and colleague at the NTA Network News service those days, Eugenia Abu felt the loss personally. In an interview with The Street Hawker, a Nigerian Magazine, Eugenia said:"We miss Tokunbo Ajayi very much. She was a very special broadcaster with very special skills and very professional to the core. Tokunbo my friend, and when she died I was totally shattered, partly because, today in broadcasting you are not likely to see such professional. At the top, yes, but at the bottom, it is an all comers affair. You see a lot of people who think they are pretty, but fail to understand that beauty is not synonymous with professionalism."How do you account for the loss of such a talented news personality and presenter' How do you deal with the way she was said to have been humiliated and her life cut shot, which resulted in her death' Tokunbo devoted her entire life to broadcasting and news casting and she was simple and selfless. How could a society like ours continue to waste lives and annihilate dreams' The loss of Tokunbo Fehintola Ajai is just one of many in Nigeria but for those who have lost loved ones and friends in such grueling manner, this is just senseless, painful and unforgettable. We will never forget that lively, bright and consummate broadcaster who held so much promise and was determined to do very well among the pantheon of news casting gods at the NTA. How can we ever forget her and her rich voice that daily bring news to us, a face and a strong voice that we often look forward to seeing and hearing'http://nigeriaworld.com/feature/publication/babsajayi/101909.htmlPersonally, she inspired me to go into broadcasting. Because of her, at the age of 8, I was always listening to Network News.Photo: Tokunbo with Samson Lipuka and another friend during a journalistic trip at the Dead Sea, Israel (From the file of Samson Lipuka)
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