My Father Was My 1st Role Model – Veteran Broadcaster

Celebrated Ghanaian broadcaster, Mike Eghan has shared the huge role his father played in shaping him to become who he his, and the name that will forever be remembered in the Ghanaian broadcasting scene.

He noted that spending time and knowing his dad is one thing he will never trade for anything in this world.

Sharing the story of how he drew closer to his father and the modelling process, he noted, “My two brothers were in boarding school but when it got to my turn to be in secondary school, my dad wanted me to be in the day school and I was unhappy about it. I wanted to be in the boarding school so I could get a chop box filled with provisions.”

Mike Eghan was however compensated with a bicycle as a means of transportation to and from school.

But not being in the boarding school turned out to be a blessing in disguise. “My dad was my 1st role model and had a great impact on me. Not being in boarding school got me to grow closer to him. We always spoke as equals about so many things and at the time I didn’t take what he said that seriously. But these lessons he shared with me proved very useful to me as an adult,” he said on the YLeaderBoard Series.

After completing Fijai Senior High School, Mike Eghan who had built a strong bond with his father stayed on with him at Secondi and they drove together to work. “He found me a job as a clerk at Barclays Bank and always dropped me off at work.”

According to him, his father one day made him take public transport just so he could make room for a stranger in the car, an act Mike says later paid off although he did not understand it at the time.

“One day we passed the bus stop only for my dad to reverse and ask me out of the car to join the bus which was already packed. He did that so he could give someone a ride and I was mad then and refused to wash the car for 2 days,” he told Y107.9FM’s Rev Erskine on the Myd Morning show.

Calling a cease-fire, his father told him, “I gave that man a ride because of you and when I grew up I understood because his name opened doors for me. When I mentioned my name everywhere I went they asked if I was related to Mr. Eghan at the State Transport Corporation and it opened doors for me.”

He revealed his dad was his ardent listener and supporter throughout his career at the Ghana Broadcasting Company.

Mr Mike Eghan worked with GBC as a show host. He also had a successful stint with the BBC in the late 60s and early 70s where he served as a freelance broadcaster and a presenter for the BBC World Service.