Goodwill Message at the Inauguration of the Komla Dumor Centre for Broadcast Journalism
This is a speech I composed as I sat down at the programme at AUCC to honour my little brother Komla Aphelik3 Duwormo. I had to hurriedly script this on a phone, which was losing power because I could not trust myself not to become an emotional reck if I was going to do an extempore delivery. The S6 almost gave up on me during the delivery, it was losing power so fast and auto dimming. But thank God I was able to deliver something. You are the judges, does this pass as a goodwill message
The Deputy Ministers of Education & Communication, Prof Dumor & Mawuana, the Founder of AUCC and your faculty. All Members of the Komla Dumor Memorial Foundation and all dignitaries here present. I truly mean all of us here present are dignitaries.
At Graphic Communications Group Limited our vision is “To be a dominant Multi-Media Organizational in West Africa telling the African story”
Komla lived and achieved this vision – He was a multimedia global brand. I dare say a love mark. He has lived a full life, a life of impact and left an enduring legacy that will survive the test of time.
We have produced a lot of great journalists, as a country. I dare say without having done an empirical research that Komla to date will be the best or among the top 5 we have produced.
The tribute that we all can pay to Komla is to produce more Komlas who can also affect and infect the world positively. We need to produce more leaders in journalism that will be better than KD, the Boss Player.
It is my fervent hope that the Komla Dumor Centre for Broadcast Journalism will do just that. Produce not just great broadcast journalists but great Multi-Media journalists. Since that was what Komla did, transitioning from Radio to TV and he used the digital media to great effect. He was a great writer and he wrote some great pieces for us in Graphic.
At the BBC we worked with his team and published some great pieces in the Daily Graphic. We were planning for how he will have contributed stories to the Graphic from the World Cup in Brazil. But alas that did not happen.
So l urge the Komla Dumor Centre for Broadcast Journalism to produce courageous journalist who will be able to tell it as it is. For that was what Komla stood for and did. We need to produce journalists who will have and up the game for what KD stood for and did:
- Relate very well with all classes of people
- Focus on the plight of the underprivileged
- Concentrate on telling the African story, an endeavor he started, sadly since he died there is nobody playing that role of the global stage.
- Strive hard to give Africa a voice
Most importantly produce journalists who will not be afraid of failure but strive to fail forward, rising up when they fall. Komla took inspiration from King David’s story in 1 Samuel 30:6b “… David encouraged himself in the Lord God” . It will require your own effort as a journalist to pull yourself up knowing that God is there for you.
To be a great journalist like Komla you should be a great believer in my school’s motor Omnia Vincit Labor – meaning “perseverance conquers all”
Additional one of the secrets of Komla was that he was an avid reader, he will read everything and anything and that gave him depth as well as breadth in any subject he handled. He has a great worldview of issues. Another trait of Komla we should instill in all the students, researchers and faculty who will come to the center is preparation. Komla spent 75% of the time preparing for the 4 hours Super Morning Show and he took that to the BBC as well.
We at Graphic commit to support the Komla Dumor Centre for Broadcast Journalism. Permit me to wish Komla Aphelike Duwormor a happy Birthday. NGO Man, say hi to my Dad with whom you share this birthday today, the 3rd of October, with my felicitation to all of you in the bosom of Abraham. May your soul and that of my father Manfred Orison Kwaku Ashigbey rest in perfect peace.
God bless us all
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