The Man Clinton Thompson
A thorough bred journalist and communications professional, Clinton Thompson was born by his sailor father, Thompson Amalah and Mother Owoubode on February 12, 1952 at Amasoma, a popular town in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
He endured as an infant, constant movements and dislocations, given his father’s job as a sailor, and consequently attended several schools all over Nigeria, principally which were Okoloba Catholic School, Okoloba, AJEROMI CENTRAL SCHOOL, APAPA, Lagos, for the primary school education, where he sat for the FIRST SCHOOL LEAVING CERTIFICATE EXAMINATON in 1965 and came out in MERIT.
He gravitated to Port Harcourt, upon his father’s transfer and enrolled in ENITONNA HIGH SCHOOL from where he switched over to Government Sea School all in Port Harcourt, where he wrote the West African School Certificate
Examination (WASC) and came out in Grade 2.
He worked with the Rivers State Ministry of Information (MOI) as script writer Grade 3 in 1976 and moved over to the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) now Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) in 1977 where he operated as a reporter till 1978, when he transferred his service to Rivers State Broadcasting Corporation, Port Harcourt from where he went on training to the FRCN training school and consequently proceeded abroad on sponsored training in 1979.
The training took him to the College of Journalism, London and Darlington College of Technology, Durham, all in England. After it all, he acquired a Higher National Diploma and Post Graduate Diploma all in Journalism, sat for and passed the National Council for Training of Journalists (NCTJ), which solely qualifies Journalists to practice in Britain in 1982.
Not bowled over by the fact that he had job opportunities in Britain, he hearkened to the call of patriotism to return home and did his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in 1982 and Passed out with wining the chairman’s state’s award for meritorious services 1982-1983 in Calabar, Cross River State.
He served in Cross River State with the State Paper, “THE CHRONICLE” and pioneered the writing of THE WEEKS LEAD FEATURES” His effectiveness made the authorities to retain him after the service for one year, after which he returned to Port Harcourt to get absorbed by the Radio Rivers as Editor in 1983.
From then, he never looked back and rose to the position of Controller News and Deputy Director of News with Radio Bayelsa, where he transferred his services when Bayelsa was created in 1996, before his appointment as General Manager in December, 2008.
Clinton is a quintessential Journalist knowledgeable in all the genies of Journalism.
He won several awards in sports and commentary among the Best Commentary Writer Award sponsored by SHELL in 2004. He was also honoured by the Government of Col. Komo of Rivers State as the Best Influence in Commentary Education.
He was pioneer founding member of River SWAN and was national SWAN – Vice Chairman for two terms. He later founded A1RA SWAN an acronym for SWAN Councils embracing the former Cross River, Anambra, Imo, Rivers and Abia States.
He has attended all the known editorial and journalism professional courses at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN). He has attended countless workshops in and out of the country, His professional travels and education include several in Britain, Europe and the US. On several occasions, he has participated in exchange programmes of professionals to and fro Britain, Germany, Belgium, US, Australia etc.
He is married with four children.
The veteran sports journalist is now retired from active service and is into consultancy work. He spoke on varieties of issues with The Newswriter.
Clinton Thompson is of the opinion that sports journalists should dress well and be retrained by their employers. This is because of what he witnessed at Lagos state in a function where a sports journalist was walked out because of indecent dressing adding that it is a shame to see a sports journalist dress so shabbily and be disgraced in a function where he had made name with the sports writing as his constituent in the journalism profession.
He urged the leadership of SWAN to package a training programme for sports journalists in the state. He also pointed out that many sports writers today do not know how Rivers State SWAN was founded stressing that when he was chairman of Rivers SWAN (pioneer chairman) legacy is what he and others worked towards, maintaining legacy and not to amass wealth for themselves as what is obtainable in today’s new entrance to sports journalism.
He appealed to sports journalists to be enterprising and creative in their reports and stop Go-Go-Ro journalism as it is called in local palace.
He further emphasized that sports journalists should strive to lay legacy for themselves rather than paltry benefit, saying that that is why mediocrity is found in journalistic family (sports).
He maintained that the dream of the founding fathers of Rivers SWAN is legacy, to them, legacy is more important than amassing or accumulating wealth.
How many sports journalists could write sports with the requisite
Language?
CT as he is fondly called by his loyalists and admirers in the sports journalism family, queried.
Today’s sports journalists, how many could report sports with the requisite language in sports reporting in the 40-45 sports available?
He therefore call on employers and the leadership of Rivers SWAN to train and retrain sports journalists at interval as a matter of seriousness.
He recount how Rivers State SWAN was vibrate in his days as chairman of Rivers SWAN, pointing out that aside from Lagos SWAN no SWAN was as vibrate as Rivers State SWAN.
Therefore, he wants respect and regard to be accorded to old sports writers.
According to him, he wants the leadership of Rivers State SWAN to honour some of these journalists, people like him who is the pioneer chairman and founding father of Rivers State SWAN, and others.
What happened To Annual SWAN Games?
The pioneer chairman of Rivers State SWAN querried the present leadership of Rivers State SWAN, what had happened to the annual SWAN media Games?
He narrated how he single handedly worked to sustained the annual SWAN media Games. He asked why is it that the media game is not sustained. He said because of his vibrancy and hard work today, he is the first sports journalist that had raised to the position of General Manager in a radio station apart from Celestine Ogolo who is General Manager in Tide.
He encourage sports journalists to develop themselves and work their best and the sky will be their stepping stone, adding that many sports journalists are complacent with themselves.
Stressing that for that reason the leadership of Rivers SWAN should vigorously pursue training and retraining of sports journalists in her fold, and also dress well when covering functions.
Swan Can Engage The Government on Development
“The leadership of Rivers State SWAN could engage the government on it sports development and plans “For instance, the next national sports festival is coming up later November in Calabar, SWAN (sports writers could engage the Rivers State council to know what plans and preparation the government is having or putting in place. What is the budget meant for the festival? All these are the areas the sports writers could engage the government to awaken the government to strive well. Sports writers are stakeholders to sports. Ours is to engage the sport council, the government so that we could report back to the public whose interest the government is serving, without asking or engaging the sports council and the government constructively what facts and activities will the sports writers report back to the public?
Therefore, the sports writers should embark on developmental sports journalism by getting involved in asking question how the preparation and plans of the next national sports festival is going on”.
According to the pioneer chairman of Rivers State SWAN, there is a new thinking that SWAN as a beat should be scrabbled and that is because of the behaviour of some sports journalists receiving money before publishing their reports. This has to be checkmated says the veteran sports journalist.
Employer of sports journalists should pay remuneration.
Sadly enough the sports journalist is thrown to the field without remuneration, this has caused many sports journalists embarrassment as well as the sports journalism as a family, as the sports journalists have a wife and children and they ought to be provided by the sports journalist, hence he will always wanting to be paid before publishing each story, for him also to survive.
He urged employers of sports journalists not to give only the identification card but mark out salary scale for the sports journalist before sending him to the field.
SWAN Can Fund It Programmes
The Rivers State SWAN could fund it programmes and activities says, Mr. Clinton Thompson, according to him, when he was pioneer chairman of Rivers State SWAN, he did not beg money from people or the government to run swan programmes, neither did he beg money from individual to survive in reporting sports.
“SWAN was vibrate then, because I was creative and enterprising, I will create a program,, and approach either Shell, Agip or Elf with a proposal and since what I proposed is something interesting to society development it was carried, and that is how SWAN got enough money under my leadership. At a point the NUJ was even envy of SWAN because, SWAN has so much money”.
The veteran sports journalist shall be 62 years come 12th February as he retired back to the society, though not tired as he is still actively involved in media consultancy work as a media sports guru.
Happy birthday in advance as you turned 62 come 12 February, may God see you through and fulfill all your dreams. ######
