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It was a Tuesday morning, just
some few minutes after The Bush House programme on NTA Uyo,
and the boss, as his enthusiastic workers call him, drove me
to the State Headquarters of the Nigerian Police at Ikot
Akpan Abia. At the gate, it was apparent that something was
happening inside the premises, judging by the number of cars
within. A cautious police officer stops the little black SUV
car and informed the occupants that there was no more
parking space inside. He pleaded we parked outside.
With a charming smile playing on his handsome face, the boss
informed the officer; “I am Michael Bush”. A sharp happy
salute followed by a smile of recognition took over. The
officer bellowed Michael Bushhh!. The gate was thrown open
and a parking space provide.
Recently at burial ceremony at Ndiya in Nsit Ubium Local
Government Area, an announcer was taking his time to
recognize the presence of some sympathizers. He recognized
the boss as he was making his way out of the arena. Despite
the solemn silent mood of mourning, a distinct murmur of
Bushhh, Twenty questions, etc, rent the air.
Those are just few instances to show the mystic and
cult-like followership Pastor Michael Bush has managed to
garner in his fifteen years of making people happy through
excellent broadcasting. He has managed to firmly hug the
limelight due to the fluidity and eloquence he has brought
to his presentations.
From the rain-soaked first day at the AKBC AM Station in
Abak fifteen years ago Mike has not looked back. He had
quite early in life dreamt about life as a broadcaster. His
intriguing story of life of grass to grace is a testimony to
the indomitability of the human mind when properly nurtured.
He tells a pathetic story of that typical African child
confronted by the vicissitudes of poverty, but striving
through the boot strings has made a mark far beyond what
life ordinarily had allotted to him.
Asked what drove him into broadcasting, he had told me that
his foray into the field emanated from “the deprivations of
my childhood. Growing up in the kind of environment, the
kind of fishing suburb in the Republic of Cameroon, that I
grew up, I came away with the fact that you needed to
bulldoze your way to make a name for yourself and contribute
to the society. I grew up where until I was 13, I didn't see
a motor car; until I was 20, I didn't see AC, I didn't know
about electricity, I didn't know about TV, colour TV. But I
grew up in all of that; I grew up in darkness. I told myself
look, because the only thing my father had, the only
indication of wealth, was a small four-battery radio. I told
myself, well when I grow up, since I used to hear great
Cameroonian journalists do their thing, I said well, why
don't I grow up and become one of them”
Great motivational story there, typical of the man Michael
Bush, he in the midst of the darkness of childhood still
managed to see some clear possibilities. Great lesson to all
other deprived youths that beyond the sordid present of
institutional and systemic neglect, lie vast pools of future
possibilities and opportunities; remembering as one
anonymous writer once wrote “opportunities multiply as they
are seized; they die when neglected”.
His bulldog ruggedity has stood him apart in times of great
setbacks. When he lost his AKBC job, for many it would have
been time to cry and blame village witches and wizards, but
to Michael Bush, it was time for fresh insight and an
opportunity to chart a new course. He stayed for a year; a
year of introspection, a year of focused dreaming. The
product of that visionsuffused one year was the birth of the
first independent production on television in this part of
the country. He saw opportunity where regretting not being
in Lagos to enjoy 24 hours television, he saw an opening. He
took advantage of the morning belt on TV that closes shortly
after the AM express by 9 am. TV watchers in the state were
eager to watch beyond 9, but that was all that NTA Uyo could
afford then. That gave birth to the AM express extra. It was
an instant hit! That pioneering effort has yielded
tremendous success, leading to what has become a complete
one-stop media shop, made up of TV, radio and print
productions.
Thanks to this pathfinder, there is today a glut of
independent productions, from the mediocre to the outrightly
ridiculous, both in content and presentation. It has become
an all comer field. That is consistent with our society
where creativity is sacrificed in the mad rush for instant
gain. After all, we are also catching up with kidnapping,
just because it is done in other places; street urchins are
now kidnapping beggars, perhaps to collect their earnings.
In the midst of choking mediocrity, the Bush House has
remained above board, due to the firmness of purpose.
Michael Bush has remained consistent in his pursuit of
excellence in his professional calling, realizing that
success, in the words of James Roche, “in any endeavor
demands more from an individual than most people are willing
to offer not more than they are capable of offering”.
His belief in God's benevolence has sharpened his vision and
expanded his views on what is possible. He believes that the
hands of God have firmly remained a source of hope. No
wonder he dreams of the possibility of owning a private
radio or TV house before the celebration of the tenth
anniversary of the Bush House. Why not? After all, he easily
flows with John Mason who said, “the surest way to happiness
is to lose yourself in a case greater than yourself”. With
God so surly standing by, he insists he will remain focused
in the pursuit of his dreams; after all, mason also urges us
that “if God is your partner, make your plans BIG!”
Apart from his complete trust in God, you could see the law
of nature at work in his life. He is one professional who
have had the privilege to give direction to so many youths
groping in the dark. He has mentored and continued to mentor
people in different fields. He is an incurable optimist who
infuses the spirit of optimism and confidence in whoever
crosses his path. He gives of his time and substance to
build up others in total agreement with the words of Pierre
de Chartin that “the most satisfying thing in life is to
have been able to give a large part of oneself to others”.
For him, true life is for “those who can give without
remembering and take without forgetting (Liza Bibesco).
Pastor Michael Bush in the cause of his career has built
lasting friendship across all ages, across all ethnic and
cultural divides. He believes in the ennobling virtue of
true friendship. Though a lion, he is a true believer of
Paul Harris, founder of Rotary International's words on
friendship. Harris says of friendship. “He who pays the
price of friendship by doing friendly services knows its
value and he would not barter one little spark of it for a
whole constellation of the other. The most permanent
friendships are born in service”.
It has not been easy all these years, but on he heads,
knowing that “A successful man will never see the day that
does not bring a fresh quota of problems, and the mark of
success is to deal with them effectively” (Lauris Norstad).
We have indeed not seen the last of this enigma, this
apostle of live and lets live, this philanthropist par
excellence, this trailblazer. In the years to come, we are
sure to see him with the same philosophy of excellence which
the sages say can be “attained if you … care more than
others think is wise, Risk more than others think is safe,
Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than
others think is possible”.
Read the full details of the Bush interview in our next
edition and get inspired. It's your world Pastor Bush!
Congratulation!
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