MY ENCOUNTER WITH TED TURNER – THISDAYLIVE

NYAKNNOABASI OSSO narrates his observation of the man of ideas when he visited Nigeria

Ted Turner, the founder of the world’s famous cable television network, the CNN, died on Wednesday May 7, 2026. Ted, as he was known by friends and associates, was an interesting person. It was through President Olusegun Obasanjo that I encountered him, physically. 

Interestingly, Ted is an Atlanta man. He belonged to Obasanjo’s circle of friends, comprising Andrew Young, Carl Masters, the former American President, Jimmy Carter, and others. 

During my first visit to CNN, when I honoured an invitation by the State Department, during a celebrity event organised for me after the publication of the Newswatch Who’s Who In Nigeria, which I authored, I didn’t meet Ted in person. 

Truly, apart my distant knowledge of Ted as the founder of CNN, the first time I heard of him closely was from Baba. When he was released from prison, Baba flew into Atlanta, met with Young, Masters, and Ted. They tried to socially rehabilitate Baba after the prison experience. That was when I started nursing the hope of meeting Ted. 

Then one day, Ted sent a message that he was coming to Africa, and that he would be in Nigeria. He planned to meet us at OOPL—Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, in Abeokuta. I became excited because I was directly involved in the Presidential Library project. 

Unfortunately, he could not make it to Abeokuta, because of certain diplomatic arrangements. So, he couldn’t visit Abeokuta and we had to go to Transcorp Hilton in Abuja to see him. His mission was to watch a video presentation on the Presidential Library, which is an American innovation, which we were bringing to Africa, to be located in Abeokuta, Nigeria. 

Joyfully, I was the one spearheading the project for President Obasanjo. We treated him to a video presentation of the groundwork at that stage because it would be based on this that they would give us financial or any other kind of support.

I observed certain unique things about Ted Turner. He had about three personal aides with him. Before his arrival in Nigeria, we had been briefed or warned by his friends that his level of concentration on any subject matter was almost zero. In other words, if you were discussing with him now, before you know it, his mind had gone so far away that you might be seeing him physically, but he was no longer with you. He had so many things on his mind at the same time. 

So, what he used to do was that he moved around with his assistants. When you mention certain things that required his deep involvement, he would ask one of his assistants to note what you are saying. He would listen to you for by a few seconds; then he would say that you should follow up with the assistant and would move away. It seemed impossible to have him sit down in a conference and make contributions for a long time.

Ted didn’t have that kind of time. He had so many issues to handle that he wouldn’t spend a long time on one issue. So, he must have assistants around him. These were people who took notes of what anybody discussed with him. Later, he would either approve or reject the executive summary submitted to him by the aides. That was it. 

On that day, even the video we played for him, he just looked at it for a few minutes and was looking elsewhere. Then he stood up and one of the assistants followed him. That was it. Meanwhile, we had spent months to prepare the documentary. I took photographs with him. He called the photographers who were there. He said: Hey, come, Mr Osso wants to take photographs with Mr. Turner”. I stood by his side. I was almost under his shoulder. The man was very tall. 

What I learnt from him was that he was a man of ideas. He had an extremely busy brain. I do not know how he could download those ideas into a format and let people use them. He was brilliant, visionary, and had perceptions about everything. 

Ted, from my observation, was someone who refused to be attached to one particular thing. Again, he had this idea of taking himself out of the scene but controlling events and spreading his influence. I kept asking—and I still do—what manner of man was this? He looked so restless. I thought that I was going to meet somebody I would sit down with and ask some burning personal questions. That did not happen. 

I observed that his aides were doing exactly what I learnt to do with President Obasanjo—carrying paper and pen anywhere I went. Everywhere, I was, I must have a biro and a reporter’s notebook. The reason was that President Obasanjo would corner you at any point and say: “Hey, hey, put this down for me, I want this done.” You must write it down immediately. He won’t ever forget it. 

One American ambassador to Nigeria once told us that President Obasanjo has the brain of an elephant. He doesn’t forget anything. You have to be careful with him when you’re having any discussion, because if you say something now, 20 years later, he will remember what you said. If you start telling him another story, he will say you’re lying, or you’re bringing in additional information. 

What fascinated me most about Ted Turner was the establishment of CNN. Here was an idea like no other—that of covering the entire world with information. How this initiative got into his head still remains a mystery to me. But he put it to use. He applied it, and the thing worked. That gave him a huge influence as a news machine; gathering news from all over the world and packaging them from one place called CNN. It was a personal vision that has today become a global entity. 

I think it was good that he released the ownership of CNN to the public. The way CNN is going and from what it has become now, it would have been too much for one person to handle. Since it went public, it has experienced massive expansion.

Ted was a man of ideas. If I had a chance, I would have asked him to narrate in detail how he got those ideas. The little he said was that he would sleep, wake up and write something down on a note by the bedside, and then he will take it from there. But one instant influence that Ted had on me was that if he could start the CNN, and CNN has become what it is now, then he could start other projects. 

So, his were not just mere ideas, but ideas that have been applied and they are working. In other words, it wasn’t just a mouthful of thoughts, or mere brainwaves. He followed them through. I realised that his restlessness was because he was full of ideas, to the extent that he must have people around him to write those ideas down. 

That was another aspect of personal organisation. He got information, and he had people to document them and retrieve them for him when need arose. 

Everyone around him had different roles to play. The moment an idea came to him, somebody would take it down, and then present a memo, then followed up. I also found out that he employed the services of experts, not just anybody. He looked out for those who could turn his raw ideas into realities.

Excerpts from Against All Odds: My Testimony