By Olufemi Soneye
Family and friends of veteran broadcaster, journalist, prolific writer, professional public relations and advertising guru, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, will throng the Four Square Gospel Church, Asokoro this Sunday for a special thanksgiving service to mark his 60th birthday.
Reaching one’s 60th birthday is a significant milestone in any culture, none more so than in Nigeria. It is a moment to celebrate.
The church service would herald series of private engagements by family and friends to celebrate the public relations czar who was the former spokesman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
A renowned broadcaster, journalist and PR guru, Alegbe was born on 24 February, 1958, in Otuo, Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State, Ohi, as he is popularly called, graduated from the University of Benin, Benin City, in 1980, and cut his teeth in broadcasting in the then Bendel Broadcasting Service, after a stint in teaching.
He was the pioneer anchor of the popular One-on-One personality interview programme of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), as well as Master of Ceremonies/Compere of high profile events.
He was at various times Presenter- Masculine Line on the services of Radio Nigeria; Anchorman- One-on-One, the personality interview programme broadcast live weekdays on the network service of the NTA ( 1999 to 2004); Presenter – AIDS-On-Line, an interactive television enlightenment programme on HIV/AIDS on NTA 2, Lagos as well as a Presenter and Associate Producer – Voyage of Discovery, Footprints, Celebrity Night on the network service of the NTA.
For most Nigerians though, Alegbe’s penchant for asking prodding questions stand him out as one of the best anchors of the popular programme, The Presidential Media Chat.
He veered into print journalism where he rose to become a member of the Editorial Board of the African Guardian and Deputy Editor of African Concord.
Alegbe also worked as a Columnist for leading local and national publications such as Sunday Times, Eko, AM NEWS, Mister, The Guardian, National Concord etc.
He later moved into Public Relations and Advertising when he joined Quadrant (a subsidiary of Insight Communications Ltd) as Associate Director. He handled some of the most successful public relations and advertising campaigns in the late 1980s such as the Benson & Hedges Golden Tones and Family Health Services’ child spacing promotions.
Ohi went into private practice when he founded Quest Communications Ltd in 1993 where he was Head Consultant and Chief Executive Officer until he was appointed Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in 2014, and later moved to head the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Division of the Corporation.
Ohi is one of the few all-rounder communicators who succeeded in becoming a master of all.
Mr. Ohi Alegbe, will clock 60 on Saturday, 24 February, 2018.
Soneye is the publisher of Persecondnew.com
