Boniface Okechukwu Offokaja (21 May 1940 - 10 November 2018) was a Nigerian broadcaster. He was one of the secondary school students who represented

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

in a 1957 High School debate. He became the first Nigerian to become the head of the news department, Nigerian Television Service (NTV) in 1963.

Life and education

Offokaja was born in the

Northern Nigeria Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the United Kingd ...

region (present-day

Kano State Kano State (Hausa: ''Jihar Kano''جىِهَر كَنوُ) (Fula: Leydi Kano 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤢𞤲𞤮𞥅 ) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. According to the national census done in ...

) on 21 May 1940. His parents were Thomas Igala Offokaja and Susanna Offokaja. He attended St. Gregory College,

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

. He subsequently enrolled into the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, where he studied history and economics. He then went over to the Sorbonne University in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

where he studied History of Ideas. He afterwards became a practicing broadcaster.

Career

Offokaja worked as a broadcaster. He was the first Nigerian to head the news department of the Nigerian Television service (NTV) beginning from June 1963. During the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

(1967-1970), he worked with AFP in the

East-Central State East Central State is a former administrative division of Nigeria. It was created on 27 May 1967 from parts of the Eastern Region and existed until 3 February 1976, when it was divided into two states - Anambra and Imo. The area now comprises fi ...

. He afterwards became director of news and current affairs. He retired from active service in 1984, as director general of Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS). The

Anambra State Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi State ...

government owed him part of his retirement gratuity, which got paid during the administration of governor

Willie Obiano Willie Obiano (born August 8, 1955) is a Nigerian politician, banker and technocrat. He served as the fourth democratically elected Governor of Anambra State from 17 March 2014 to 17 March 2022. Early life Governor Obiano was born at Aguleri, a ...

, in 2017, alongside a veteran

Nollywood Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there ...

actor, Pete Edochie, who worked at the same place and retired in 1998.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Offokaja, Boniface 1940 births 2018 deaths Nigerian broadcasters People from Kano State