By Prof Abubakar Abba Tahir (KaaKaaKey Fombina I)
@ NUJ Press Center, Yola, On 22nd September, 2022
- In 1983, soon after leaving Teachers College, I hardly ever came across this exemplary icon.
- Until I tried to cut my infant teeth into the unfamiliar terrain of broadcasting.
- I suddenly met one of the most charismatic of men in physical frame, in voice and in demeanor.
- Even though Mr. Jibrilla engaged me at NTA, I had suddenly found an alternate role model in uncle Tim.
- On his exploits, my eyes have remained glued, my ears were stuck, and my professional hopes and aspirations for mentorship have continued to stay put.
- This was a man I admired lavishly, I cherished extravagantly, and adored without blinking.
- He was a rare gift not only to broadcasting and journalism but to Nigeria, to humanity and to the wider world.
- His demise closes a golden era in broadcasting, not only here at home, but his wider constituency across the north, and his limping country at large.
- Chief Mathias was among the early generation of broadcasters who always defined the path and showed the way.
- His professional path was the one he bequeathed to younger professionals like you and I to follow, now and in generations ahead.
- It is doubtless that the foundation pillars in the broadcast industry were laid by his own generation.
- Chief Mathis has been a broadcaster per excellence who was into reportorial, editorial, production, management, training and a broad variety of communication consultancy engagements.
- These roles have directly and remotely affected virtually every modern broadcaster in our dear country.
- As a top flight consultant, he was largely instrumental towards the founding and management of countless broadcast outlets across Nigeria.
- As a teenager, I recall with nostalgia how he successfully midwifed the production and delivery of VERDICT 83 TV program, which conveyed the results of Nigeria’s national elections, ushering in the second term of the Shagari presidency.
- Soon after, I also reminisced about how I served under his tenure as General Manager of NTA Yola.
- I was equally privileged to have worked with this unequalled reporter and gentleman on the board of Gotel Communications.
- I am sure that if the road map suggested by uncle Tim for Gotel was ever followed, the story of this first private broadcaster in the region would have become fundamentally different for good.
- Chief Mathias will be remembered for his profound humility, unblemished integrity, remarkable discipline and high sense of professionalism in all his actions, inactions, activities, affairs and engagements.
- Whenever the history of radio and television in Nigeria is to be crafted, his name will surely be among the great ones to be boldly imprinted on the sandstones of time, in GOLD.
- Above all, the world will continue to revere and remember him for being one of the most highly detribalized Nigerians.
- At Konngol SilverTongue, the modest media Institute, which one of us here was privileged to found, we cannot forget in a hurry, how uncle Tim played a pivotal role with advisement and guidance in the foundation years.
- In 2017, he was one of the only three recipients of Konngol’s earliest awards, and eminently chaired the graduation ceremony for the Class of 2017-A, to which our dear NUJ Chairman is a distinguished alumnus.
- Incidentally, he held this award so close and so dear to his velvety heart, always pointing that it was one of the earliest professional recognitions he ever received at the Homefront.
- Chief Mathias remains a timeless icon of journalism and community service, whose value and valor will continue to shine across the media landscape, many generations after his sudden and sad demise.
- His service and sacrifice to human prosperity can hardly be quantified or qualified.
- In a world dominated by shrinking jobs and tough economies, uncle Tim had long foreseen why our schools should shift away from producing mere job seekers, to training job creators with the mind frame, the skills and the competence to stand as entrepreneurs and business leaders.
- This is why his children have hardly veered into the cumbersome arena of government bureaucracy.
- All of them have been prepared to stand on their feet, to earn requisite and sustainable incomes, to lead more meaningful lives.
- That is why today, even before his demise, his offspring’s have since stepped into his larger than life shoes.
- While he lived his exemplary life of service to mankind, uncle Tim remains a timeless man of men and a tireless leader of leaders anytime, any day.
- The simple abbreviation of his name – TM – easily comes as one of the most enduring resources of life and living, which is TIME.
- Let me close by praying that this historic day of glory in his name and for his sake, will also be a milestone moment of Recognition for one of the very best to have traversed our lives.
34.Beyond naming of the NTA house after uncle Tim, let me also request that this NUJ Press Center should also be renamed in his honor!
- Yours Sincerely!