In an industry where credibility is hard-won and trust is often fragile, Sulaiman Aledeh stands out as one of Nigeria’s most recognisable and respected voices in journalism. With a career spanning more than two decades across radio, television, and international newsrooms, he has built a reputation grounded in clarity, integrity, and a mastery of the broadcast craft. Many Nigerians first encountered him on their TV screens, delivering news with calm authority; others know him from his thoughtful interviews, his smooth presence on Channels TV, or his sharp political analyses on Arise News. But long before he became a familiar figure in Nigerian media, Aledeh was a young philosophy student in Benin City, discovering the power of storytelling and the role of media in shaping society.

His journey has taken him from local newsrooms to global platforms, where he has worked with respected outlets like Al Jazeera, SABC, and GB News UK. Yet even with international exposure, he remains deeply connected to Nigeria’s media landscape and its growth opportunities. This commitment took a new turn with his recent appointment as Managing Director of the Edo Broadcasting Service (EBS), a homecoming to the station where he once began his career as a student. Today, he returns not as an intern, but as a leader shaping the future of a state-owned broadcaster.

Beyond the Newsroom, however, is a man who enjoys life with curiosity and humour, one who reads widely, travels often, values good conversations, and appreciates the simple joys outside the intensity of breaking news. As a communicator, consultant, broadcaster, and now media executive, Sulaiman Aledeh represents a rare blend of professionalism and personality.

In this exclusive interview with THEWILL DOWNTOWN’s Johnson Chukwueke, Sulaiman Aledeh takes time out of his busy schedule to discuss his beginnings, growth, new leadership role, and the man behind the microphone.

You began your broadcasting journey very young. What was the moment you realised journalism was the path for you?

I have always taken a keen interest in how people speak. I have always loved to listen to radio presenters, and quite early in life, I felt I could do better. I still remember telling my eldest brother that I could do better, and my brother drove me to Edo Broadcasting Service (EBS) and told them what I said. At that point in time, the Manager Programs, they called him MP, Sheikh Mukta Momoh said, “Okay, they will carry out an audition to find out if I was suitable.” I passed, I was scheduled on the radio, and the rest, they say, is history. One thing they kept asking me after the audition was why I wasn’t using my real voice, and I told them it was my actual voice, and they were surprised at how well I spoke.

So I was on the radio for two weeks, then I got called to television. My first break was a private television program within EBS still. The CP, which was an acronym for Controller Presentation, had a program with her husband called Here and There. She took me to her husband, and that was how I started the program, which was surrounding lifestyles, human angle stories, that sort of program. That was also where I met Cordelia Okpei, she was a presenter while also doing her National Youth Service Scheme. Then the actual big break on television came through a program also on EBS called The Weekend Rendezvous in the mid-90s. I created a program called The Entertainment News, where I started doing the Billboard Top 20 Countdown. At that time, there wasn’t the internet, and people were amazed that I still managed to get hold of such songs on the Billboard. I had to make use of the Short Wave Band, which had my favourite channel, Voice of America, hosted by Ray McDonald. He did the actual Top 20 Billboard, which I recorded, played back, and then used that to do my scripting. Two things I was learning from him were scripting and pronunciation. I even got an Oxford dictionary to help me with the pronunciation.

I also created the Breakfast Show; in fact, I was surprised to come back and see that it is still running. The program at that time was for younger people, because we were young when it was created.

Was there a voice, a broadcaster, or a moment early in your life that shaped your approach to storytelling?

Oh yes, it’s basically the gentleman, Ray McDonald. I never even met him. At some point, I started Googling him and found he had left Voice of America many years ago. He influenced me a great deal; I learnt consciously and unconsciously from him. I was always inquisitive, and I wanted to know why he was doing what he was doing. I came to find out that people liked what he was doing, so I said if I liked the way he was speaking, and people liked the way he was speaking, then that means I must be doing something good. Then, I have always loved John Momoh. I met John Momoh on television, NTA to be precise, back then my father was a news person, he always listened, and that was how I met John Momoh, reading news with his trademark Gongola cap. He is a man I call a living legend in the industry.

Cordelia Okpei has also been a big influence on my career. She was a core member when we met(my senior in radio). At the time I was at Metro FM, I worked with Frank, he was a big name there. I remember when I left Radio Nigeria, Cordelia was concerned and told me I was taking a risk leaving the government station for a private one. I told her that if I were lazy, I would get sacked, but if I was not, then I would get through. The moment I went for the TVC audition, we were almost a thousand who came for the audition, but somehow, I pulled through. So I began my work with TVC there for two years, back then TVC was known as G65, in fact, many people do not know that I was a pioneer staff at TVC.

So yeah, two years past, I got to Channels Television, I finally met the legendary John Momoh, who helped ease me into the big shows such as Sunrise Daily, which I started as an anchor. John Momoh took a special interest in me, which I value and cherish, and at that time, I perhaps was the only one who did two primetime shows simultaneously, Sunrise Daily and News at 10. I remember after the news, while walking back, we would be looking at our phones, expecting a call from John Momoh. He is a professional through and through, and he will call you back to tell you what you did right and what you didn’t do well, so we were always eager to get that call.

What was the first thing you wanted to change or improve when you stepped into the Managing Director role?

I wanted to change the perception that nothing good can come out from EBS, and that EBS is already dead. Mind you, EBS has trained loads and loads of professionals across the country; talents have been taken from this very same platform. It got to a point where we found out that there was no talent again, and the few talents present were made to believe they were no good. That’s the worst thing you can do to any human: make them think they are substandard. Unconsciously, that was done to EBS, and the staff were broken. I have about 60 people who were hired thanks to the last administration, who got them onboard, but no thanks as well, because they weren’t paid for 6 months. So you have that crowd of people moving for 6-7 months without pay; it wasn’t until the 7th month that they were paid. So mentally, they were already beaten. I remember someone who was also suicidal on the WhatsApp platform. He was talking about not understanding life anymore, so I wanted to change all of that. One of the ways to go about this is to get into the minds of the staff that they are capable of doing better. Another way was branding, the EBS was already seen as an outfit that would never do well, negative impressions all over, once there is rainfall or the weather changes, the station goes off-air, there was no electricity, no good generators, no vehicles, the signboard present has been the one they had when I was a child, so yeah, things needed to change. 

If you could describe your vision for EBS in one sentence, what would it be?

I brought everybody together, told them that the vision for EBS is for EBS to become a world-class organisation that is felt and seen, heard everywhere, and also for EBS to showcase our rich cultural heritage of our Nigerian people, basically having EBS seen as one of those Nigerian brands. 

It’s your one-year anniversary of your appointment. What has been the most fulfilling part of the job so far — the moment that made you think, “Yes, this is why I took this role”?

The most fulfilling part is to see EBS on TV. When I came, EBS was not looking good on television. EBS right now is looking really beautiful, but we are not still there yet. EBS wasn’t on terrestrial in the sense that it wasn’t on regular antenna, but now, after the frequency reallocation, we are on channel 45. We got a few engineers who came in from outside the state and brought EBS back on terrestrial. Another big break is that EBS is now online. The Newsroom was empty, but now we have got it all looking good, and we have gone fully digital. 

When you’re not on TV or in a boardroom, what does a perfect “Sulaiman Aledeh off-day” look like?

Well, I like to work out, and I have not been doing that a lot. I work out some dumbbell routines, jump ropes, I also play chess. Many people always ask if I have children, and I do, I talk to them. I love to go visit my mom and dad. My dad is my biggest fan; wherever I was working, he became the number one fan of that station as well. I remember working at News Central, and at that point, News Central wasn’t on DSTV; it was only on Star Times. It wasn’t even on GOTV. My old man had to go buy Star Times just to see me. Right now, my relieve moment is to have maybe a lunch or breakfast time with my mother or my big brother who has always been a politician, and you know, they always ask me if I am a politician, and I tell them I am because you can’t be a journalist without getting involved in politics, you have to play the whole thing. But anyways, that’s how I unwind. I try to play catch-up with family when I am not working.

What’s one fun fact about you that your viewers or listeners would never guess?

One fact is that I know I am funny, and my humour comes from sarcasm, and my sarcasm sometimes will be me telling you the hard truth. I use that a lot. That’s why sometimes I tell people, I say no jokes. On the radio, I can be sarcastic, but I’m telling you the truth. Like today, I was talking about a child whose life was lost after falling into a well. I said on the radio that it is sad Nigeria is still making use of wells at this age. I said this is a call to all states, Edo state included, to bring back the water board. Another aspect of me is that I am fearless. A lot of times, people even take professionals like us in this field as people that aren’t street smart because we have our fancy suits on, suspenders, a tie and everything. But it comes to a point that I will say what I want to say, and I will say it respectfully as well, even at Arise, a large percentage of my colleagues call me fearless. Before I send a message across, I am watching out for two things: the grammar or spelling, and also, if I need to send this because I have to think if I am going to regret it or not. This is the same with spoken communication when you go on air.

If you weren’t a journalist, what alternate career would you be living today and why?

If I weren’t a journalist, I think I would have been a philosopher and be teaching. I studied Philosophy. There’s a learning aspect of me that, even during the editorial meetings, I see it as part of a learning process. I believe that even though I have a whole lot of stuff in my head, I also have a lot to say, to teach, and I believe I need to die empty. So teaching is definitely it for me. I mean, look at it, Jesus was a teacher, Muhammed, Abraham, Socrates, Aristotle, these were great teachers as well, especially in the world of Philosophy. If you look at all their teachings, till this time of the year, it is still fuelling our world. I would have wanted to be an Islamic teacher 15-20 years back, but now I restrict myself. I want to be able to speak to people across spectrum, across sectors all over the world. I believe what I am doing right now, every time I open my mouth, every time I write, I am influencing someone’s life, and thinking, that’s why I am grateful that God pushed me somehow to study Philosophy.

 

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