A chat on the Namibian Newspaper with Mike Daka, author of the autobiography, ‘A Zambian journalist – in pursuit of three freedoms’
Why did you write your autobiography?
I think this is a story worth telling so that people, especially young ones, can understand that it is possible to outgrow and exceed one’s limitations of birth and upbringing and achieve success in life. ‘A Zambian journalist – in pursuit of three freedoms’ is about a disadvantaged upbringing, troubled early education and clear sense of career and life goals and purpose. It is also about hard work and serious professional challenges under governments of the first three ruling parties, the United National Independence Party (UNIP), the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) and the Patriotic Front (PF). It is about managing and investing money wisely and planning well for retirement.
Like many Zambians I was born in a village and grew up in a poor township, Matero in Lusaka. My parents had no formal education but they got me into school, Matero Boys Catholic School and the Prince Phillip Secondary School, which during the colonial period was for Indian and Coloured pupils, and is now known as Kamwala Secondary School.
Even then I knew that I wanted to be a journalist, so I studied journalism at the Evelyn Hone College in Lusaka. I have always wanted to learn more and know more, so I continued studies and undertook further studies in India, Germany, and finally in the UK, where I obtained a Masters’ Degree in Journalism Studies at the University of Wales in Cardiff.
I think this shows that with determination and passion, an ordinary person can exceed his or her birth and childhood limitations and overcome all types of challenges to achieve his or her dreams.
I also wanted to write my autobiography because I have lived through extraordinary times in Zambia, from the early post-colonial era. The changes were all reflected in the work I was doing, so writing about my career was a good way to help document the development of the country.
I had three ‘working’ lives. I started off at the Zambia News Agency (ZANA) as a Reporter and rose through the ranks to the highest office as Acting Editor in Chief, then became the Chief Executive Officer of the Zambia Institute of Mass Communication (ZAMCOM) and then set up Breeze FM Radio Station in Chipata.
I am the one who transformed ZAMCOM, through Parliament, from a government department under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services into, initially, a Statutory Board and later a Self-Financing Educational Trust.
During my time ZAMCOM trained mid-carrier journalists from 11 countries in Central, East and Southern Africa. I am not sure about its status now.
My final contribution to ZAMCOM was the construction of the ZAMCOM Lodge along Church Road with funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) to accommodate students and fee-paying guests as part of the Institute’s sustainability efforts.
I retired three times – from the civil service in 1994 at the age of 41, from ZAMCOM in 2002 at the age of 50 and from my own radio station, Breeze FM at the beginning of 2018. Now I’m a fruit farmer, and thoroughly enjoying the new challenge on the outskirts of my town, Chipata.
Did you find it difficult to write the book?
No – because of two personal habits related to my love for books and how I organize my work.
Firstly, books have been my friends ever since I entered secondary school. Books helped me to learn to speak and write competently in the English language.
Books helped me to become a good reporter and a resourceful editor. They also helped me to learn about many, many things and gave me ideas, insights and wisdom. Even now I’m always reading – and listening – to a wide-range of books.
Secondly, early in my professional life I assumed supervisory roles which required that I write reports regularly. To make the work of writing the reports easier, I developed the habit of summarising on a regular basis, in writing, the most important activities, issues and developments in my work and life.
So when I realised I wanted – and needed – to write my life story, I had a lot of information on most of the important things that I had done, and experienced, in my work and life available for me to draw on.
What do you feel you have gained from writing your autobiography?
I think that the most important moments in life are when you are born, when you find out why you were born, and when you report back to yourself, to others, and to the Good Lord how you utilised your time, your opportunities, and the resources that were available to you.
Writing my autobiography makes me know and feel that I have successfully completed my major tasks on earth and can now enjoy the twilight years of my life.
Was it very different being a journalist in a one-party state and a multi-party democracy?
I will utilise two French phrases to explain what I think about being a journalist in a one-party state and in a multi-party democracy. The first one is ‘déjà vu’ and the second one is ‘plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose’. ‘Déjà vu’ means seeing something that you think you have seen before, but are not sure that you really did; while ‘plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose’ means the more things change, the more they stay the same!
Working under the governments of the United National Independence Party (UNIP), the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD), and the Patriotic Front (PF) started with great excitement, joy and great expectations only to end up with disappointment and frustration because of unfulfilled promises and heavy-handedness from the leadership.
Do you have any particular memories of your ZANA trips with KK?
Travelling with President Kenneth Kaunda was exciting but also exhausting. Within Zambia his district tours took up to a week, and provincial ones lasted almost a month. It was tough, particularly when you think how few resources we had in those days.
It was tough because KK was always the earliest to wake and the last one to go to bed. The press team used Land Rovers over long distances while he travelled by plane or helicopter. Accommodation and food for us were nearly always poor and scanty. You see, the president would be staying at a government hostel, lodge, or the home of the most senior government official; while the press corps slept in a boarding school hostel, or in classrooms.
It was tough, too, because communication was a huge challenge at a time of no internet, laptops, iPads or smartphones. We only had the use of telex machines at post offices.
In foreign countries, all over the world, things were a lot different. Our accommodation was high class and food plentiful but communication was very expensive.
And then there were the demands of the job itself. President Kaunda’s schedule was always demanding. Many times we would have breakfast in one country and official lunch or state dinner in another one.
President Kaunda was, obviously, well briefed about the places, people, countries and organisations, as well as the meetings and conferences of his visits. He always spoke knowledgeably and there was so much for us to write about. Many of our stories even made international headlines. Another tribute to President Kaunda was that he was an imposing figure and a respected statesman and to be with him on trips abroad, even as a journalist, was dignifying.
Having founded Breeze FM, what do you see as the role of local radio?
Local radio is a true blessing especially for people in rural areas who have not been well served by national media.
My experience with setting up and working at Breeze FM for 17 years convinces me that local radio has three (3) major roles:
It provides information on development and all other relevant issues to the community; it provides a platform for the community to engage in public dialogue and debate on the issues that affect them; and it is the major source of entertainment for marginalised communities.
Do you have any emotional memories of your work, funny/sad/moving?
I do, yes. I essentially grew up at ZANA. My memories about my work there are mostly about the hassles and stresses of growing up, gaining knowledge and experience in my work and enjoying the wonders of foreign travel.
I definitely matured at ZAMCOM where I overcame serious challenges but gained professional recognition.
During my work at ZANA and ZAMCOM – and up to today – I received and continue to receive uplifting messages about how my subordinates and course participants regarded and still regard me as their mentor or hero. That’s humbling, it really is … yes. Examples? One case comes to mind immediately. While in transit from China to Australia, at Hong Kong airport a young African man called to me. He said: ‘Mr. Daka, you can’t remember me. I am from Swaziland and was at ZAMCOM and you were very helpful.’
And there is no doubt that I mellowed at Breeze FM where my emotional memories of my work largely centre on how people value the role radio plays in their lives. I vividly remember two touching cases:
The first one is about two women, one working at a refugee camp in Petauke and the other a retiree living on a settlement along the Lundazi Road who thanked me because when they were ill and bedridden Breeze FM was their only friend, especially at night when everyone else had gone to their homes.
The second memory is one of an elderly man who visited the radio station with his two daughters. He told me that he was from a nearby village and wanted to visit the radio station, and also to see me, before he died. His daughters explained that he had been pestering them to bring him over and that he was happy that his wish had been granted.
Two years later I sent the station’s Agony Uncle, Gogo Breeze, to check on him at his village but found, sadly, that he had died.
Who should read your book?
I suppose the book is for everyone really. It covers so much in terms of history, particularly Lusaka’s early history. It covers the development of journalism and media in Zambia. It covers striving to achieve, and eventual success.
So I would say it’s for students about to select careers, or those wanting careers in journalism and media. It’s for journalists wishing to up their game or select areas of specialisation.
It’s for media managers and owners wishing to upscale operations. It’s for people interested in freedom of expression and press freedom issues. And it’s for people interested in Zambian and African development issues. It’s also for people who simply want to read a good life story.
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Where to get the book?
The book is available at Bookworld, Manda Hill, Lusaka; Gadsden Books, Plot No. 3779, Chilubula Close, Olympia Park, Lusaka; Breeze FM Radio Station, Plot No. 1422 Off Lumumba Road Moth Area, Chipata; and on the internet at Amazon.