Veteran broadcaster Hassan Arouni has told this medium that in a Matter of days he will be bidding goodbye to the BBC World Service after 30 years with the Corporation in London.
Hassan who got into radio broadcasting in 1989 as a student in the University of Sierra Leone, revealed how he had a brief stint at the Public Service broadcaster at the time which was the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service(SLBS), when they were looking for new voices and he had Auditioned.
He went on to say that to his surprise, he was told that "You have the same voice as the First Director-General of the National Broadcaster at Independence who was John Akar."
He recounted being in the SLBS studio for voice testing when one of the producers there , came with a recorded interview that John Akar had done , with the last Governor-General of Sierra Leone or one of the Governor-Generals and remembered how his hair standing on end because he thought he was listening to himself when he heard his voice , and stated that's how he got into radio broadcasting.
Hassan who started out as a volunteer for the BBC in 1993 while doing his Masters in Journalism in the UK , had returned home to Sierra Leone to conduct some interviews and recordings around the time of the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) coup that had happened in the Country at the time. This interview had started off his work with the corporation.
His announcement is coming in the wake of the departure of his former Colleague Bola Mosuro who spent 31 years with the Corporation.
Hassan Arouni who became a great voice on Radio, covered important events for the BBC's flagship programmes , Focus On Africa and Network Africa has decided to leave the BBC but he is also expected to do his last edition of Focus On Africa before bidding farewell to the Corporation.
Hassan Arouni influenced a generation of broadcasters in Sierra Leone through the BBC Media Action , a platform that serves as a breeding ground for aspiring Media practitioners.
For many , they will remember his distinct voice on the Radio presenting Focus On Africa , extraordinary skills in asking questions and as a trailblazer in the media landscape.
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