All Because of Larry King: How I Became Addicted to American News in Nigeria

I was visiting a friend at his office in Victoria, Island in Lagos, and while I was waiting in the visitors' room, Larry King Live came up on the huge flat TV they have on the wall. He was interviewing a very funny guy, called Jerry Seinfeld. I was more than fascinated by the conviviality the two guys exhibited on air. I was sold instantly and made up my mind to secure a Satellite Cable Receiver in my elder brother's apartment in Lagos before returning to school. I was on a long summer vacation at the time. 

Besides, I was an unrepentant fan of President Bill Clinton, and I am still. I used to follow him assiduously on the pages of The Guardian newspaper when  I was a student in Nigeria. In those days, The Guardian would always publish any of his major speeches the previous day on page two or three. And it was always a delightful read. 

I wanted more - to install a Cable or Satellite Receiver in our apartment to be able to watch him and his activities in the United States directly from our Living Room in Lagos, Nigeria. 

That very morning, my elder brother handed me my school fees and my "pocket money." Instead of catching a ride back to Benin City and to Ekpoma in Edo State, I went to our neighbour's shop at Alaba International Market in Lagos. With his help, I was able to get a good deal; I bought a Satellite Dish Receiver. I took it home and installed it within thirty minutes.

And I was in America, virtually, though. Now I can watch CNN and follow President Bill Clinton diligently on TV, whenever I am home on weekends or on holidays. 

By the way, when my brother came back from work that evening, initially, he wasn't comfortable with the fact that I spent my school fees on Cable. But as we continued to flip channels between MTV, The Arsenal Hall Show, BET, and CNN, my brother couldn't help but join. The following morning, as he was leaving for work, he came to my room and handed me an envelope. The content was twice what I spent on the Cable. And I went back to school happier. 

A year later, when I was now at the Nigerian Law School in Lagos, my risky acquisition yielded its most bounteous harvest ever. It was the night that Vice President Al Gore debated Mr Ross Perot on CNN's Larry King Live. I was at the Igbosere Hostel in Lagos Island, behind the old Supreme Court. 

That week, I was taking classes in the morning, meaning I had to be at the main lecture hall by 7 a.m. I made up my mind that I would not miss the debate. I had enormous challenges to overcome to be able to watch the debate live at 9 p.m. American Time - 3 a.m. Nigeria Time and I must be at the lecture hall at 7.00 a.m. unfailingly. 

We do not have a Cable or Satellite Receiver at our home in Igbosere. And I did the impossible. I went straight home to my elder brother's house at Ijesha, at the other end of Lagos. I made up my mind to watch the debate live on Larry King Live at 3 a.m. Nigeria Time with the American audience, which is 9 p.m. American Time (East Coast). 

I got home at about 8 p.m. and started studying. I made up my mind not to sleep or take a nap. And I prayed to God to prevail on NEPA not to take the light. At 2.55 a.m. I was ready. The whole neighbourhood was asleep. And I was by myself. And the time came, but I couldn't afford to sit down. My heart was beating fast, believing that President Clinton was committing political suicide for allowing Vice President Al Gore to debate the man who destroyed President George H.W. Bush during their Presidential debates.  

So, I remained standing as Al Gore continued to unleash blow after blows and counterpunches on the irrepressible Ross. Then, five minutes, ten minutes, and when they went on a commercial break after the first fifteen minutes, I gathered some strength and sat down at the edge of the sofa. Exactly half an hour later, when they went for the second commercial break, I started jumping all over the living room, shouting We won, we won, we won. I went straight to the refrigerator and fetched one giant bottle of Odeku. I opened it, relaxed, and started doing justice to the Guinness beer until the end of the debate at 4 a.m.  

I went to bed and woke up at 5.30 a.m. At 6 a.m. I was already inside the Molue Bus, shouting Obalende Straight, Obalende Straight. Luckily for me, there was no traffic on the way until we arrived at the Lagos Island. And I got to class on time. 

And that was my obsession with President Bill Clinton. Anyway, that obsession did not by any stretch of the imagination influence or slant one way or the other my recount of the events that culminated in the impeachment saga that humbled a highly visionary and highly vulnerable President.