Sport is a social affair and business organizations have seized this opportunity to promote themselves amongst the public. The major outreach medium to the masses has been television. When a sport can command a massive television audience then its practitioners are sure of excellent rewards. Chess has failed to connect to a massive television audience and this is why it has profited less than TV darlings like football or basketball.

Late last year, I learnt that chess had finally made it to TV in Nigeria. This is great news and ways should be designed to exploit and promote this.  The TV station is DBN on UHF 32 and the show time is Tuesdays 9.30 to 10.30am. The host is chess promoter and CEO of Fiji Ventures, Joachim Idada and he is ably supported by International Arbiter Obinna Ogbonnaya.

I have been on the show and I had to journey to Lekki from Ipaja which is at the opposite extreme of Lagos. However, it was an interesting adventure though I had to rise early from my sweet sleep.

During the interview, I was asked why Nigerian newspapers don’t report chess despite the fact international papers have chess columns. I said it was due to the need to sell to an audience that is football crazy and is insipid about chess. We concluded that chess persons should take the initiative to promote the game then the society will be forced to take note.

Here are pictures from my trip:

Lekki Peninsula Scheme 1 is the complex that houses the DBN station.

Isn’t this beautiful?

A teeming and well organized Okada park

The gate of DBN station

DBN’s weapon for broadcast!

Host: Joachim Idada, Program Manager: Toyin Dada, Presenter: Obinna Ogbonnaya and I: Tolulope Ogunwobi