Ambassador Olusegun Olusola, television playwright,
seasoned broadcaster, diplomat and defender of African refugees, died yesterday
after years of meritorious service to home and country. However, the details of
his death remained sketchy at press time.
The former ambassador to Ethiopia
probably hit national prominence with his epic programme Village Headmaster,
which he created and directed on television. It was one of most popular
television sitcoms in the 70s and early 80s that ran for over a decade before
it was taken off the air. And not too long ago, his footages at public
forums were still being shown on national TV across the country.
Ambassador Olusola, who was born at
Iperu Remo, Ogun State, on March 18, 1935, apparently took to the arts, as a result
of his family background. As the son of a carpenter, his father had many
apprentices from different parts of the country.
From them, little Segun began to
ingest different cultures, including their songs, folklore, dance. Reflecting
on how all these affected his eventual choice of career, he narrated that it
influenced his interest in the arts when he got into secondary school, adding,
“The very last year I spent in that school (Remo Secondary School), I became
the secretary of the Literary and Debating Society. It enabled me to engage in
public speaking, singing, dancing and everything that had to do with cultural
activities.”
His love of the arts soon took him to
the then Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation where he produced some programmes
for radio and later moved on to Western Nigerian Television (WNTV) where
he started off as a participant in debates and later as a presenter. Before
this, he had worked briefly as an accounts assistant in the then Electricity
Corporation of Nigeria (ECN), now the precursor of Power Holding Company of
Nigeria (PHCN).
He eventually went to a higher
institution, having worked for a few years as a young broadcaster and presenter
of a programme, Take a Trip on Television, on the Nigerian Television Authority
(NTA). As a regional manager of NTA, at a time when the station was the
only television station nationwide, Olusola undoubtedly became a media maven
necessitating his interface with the powerful and mighty men of society.
He soon got nominated to go for a
course at the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), in
Kuru, near Jos. He graduated along with top-class decision makers of the
country, and even became the vice-chairman of the NIPSS alumni association.
That drew him nearer decision makers as he regularly held meetings with the
then military president, Gen Ibrahim Babangida. In no time, he got appointed
ambassador to Ethiopia at a time when Addis Ababa, the country’s capital, was
the headquarters of the then Organisation of African Union (OAU), now African
Union (AU).