Photo Credit: Public domain / archival collections
The image captures a classic mid-20th-century black-and-white television set—an emblem of the first great wave of home entertainment. Before color broadcasting became mainstream, these sets shaped how families experienced news, drama, and sport, ushering in a new era of visual mass communication.
Design and Features
Typically housed in polished wooden cabinets, early televisions were designed to double as living-room furniture. Many models included sliding or hinged covers to shield the screen when not in use.
Screens were small and curved, usually 10–20 inches across, relying on cathode-ray tube (CRT) technology. Reception depended on external aerials—rooftop arrays or the familiar indoor “rabbit ears.”
Adjusting dials for picture clarity and sound was part of the viewing ritual, making television a hands-on technology compared with today’s remote-controlled flat panels.
Historical Context
Commercial black-and-white television emerged in the late 1920s and 1930s, but it was the post–World War II economic boom (late 1940s–1950s) that brought TV ownership into the mainstream across the United States and Western Europe.
In Africa, television arrived later. Western Nigeria Television (WNTV) in Ibadan, launched on 31 October 1959, became the first television station on the African continent, broadcasting entirely in black and white. For two decades, black-and-white sets dominated Nigerian homes and public viewing centres.
Color broadcasting did not begin in Nigeria until FESTAC ’77 preparations in the late 1970s, and widespread household access to color came only in the 1980s, far later than in the United States, where color transmissions were introduced in the early 1960s and became common by the 1970s.
Cultural Impact
The black-and-white television transformed family and social life. Evening programmes turned living rooms into communal spaces, where neighbours gathered for news, music, or major sporting events.
In Nigeria, early broadcasts carried educational programmes and government public-service messages, helping to knit together a newly independent nation and creating shared cultural memories—from local dramas to the first televised independence celebrations.
Legacy and Collectible Value
By the late 20th century, digital broadcasting and the rise of streaming platforms made CRT sets obsolete.
Yet vintage black-and-white televisions remain prized by collectors, museums, and retro interior designers.
Their warm wood finishes and curved screens now serve as film props and nostalgic décor, while reminding us of the pioneering age when broadcasting first brought the world into the home.
Sources
Burns, R. W. Television: An International History of the Formative Years. IET, 1998.
Nollywood icon Genevieve Nnaji has fired off a sharp response after a man on X (formerly Twitter) advised Igbo men to stop marrying Igbo women and instead seek wives from other African countries.
The controversy began after a photo of a Rwandan woman said to be engaged to an Anambra man went viral.
Resharing the image, the user wrote, “Dear Igbo men, instead of marrying an Igbo woman who’ll falsely accuse you of r4ping your daughter, better look outside for a wife.
“Go to East Africa, especially Rwanda, and pick a damsel. They’re all over social media, and you can link up with them.”
Genevieve, who rarely comments on online drama, responded, “In other words, instead of checking yourself and taking accountability, go for the unsuspecting and carry on with your evil. Got it.”
Another user attempted to challenge her, claiming the original tweet was aimed at “false rape accusers” and that Genevieve was avoiding the real issue.
“His tweet was clearly against false rape accusers, but instead of holding the evil women accountable and demanding change, you chose to tweet this?”
But the actress hit back with equal clarity: “The same way a woman can’t tell an abusive man apart from a good one is the same way you shouldn’t say avoid all Igbo women. ‘Not all women’.”
Reality TV star Phyna has offered words of encouragement to fellow Big Brother Naija winner Imisi amid a family feud between the latter and her mother.
In an X post on Monday, Phyna wrote,”To Imisi, @imisiofficial and to anyone walking through the same fire… I’m praying for your strength.
“My own experience broke me, but I’m slowly rising.
“And I’m rooting for you with everything in me, don’t handle it like I did, build strong and focus on you baby girl.”
The post comes against the backdrop of a family dispute in which Imisi’s mother accused her daughter of hatred and revealed the poor condition of the home where she currently lives, despite Imisi winning N150 million after her Big Brother victory.
Imisi replied in Yoruba,”This is why Aunty Debola said you should not show your face to the world. I can’t be saying all that now, you are in the midst of people. Just overlook everything and leave social media.
“Don’t worry, I will send you money to rent a new house. I am tired of all this drama. I am still recovering from the stress of Big Brother.
“Should I be facing another stress now? Please forgive me, I am your daughter.”
Recall Imisi’s mother has publicly expressed frustration on social media, saying she does not need her daughter’s money after being sidelined following the win.
She also blamed Imisi for recounting her childhood experiences, which she claims involve untrue allegations of parental neglect and sexual assault.
In a video, she showed the old house she currently resides in, saying she is content with her situation, a revelation that sparked online controversy.
In 2023, after Phyna’s BBNaija win, her father, Felix Otabor, revealed in an interview that he was distressed by his daughter’s actions following her BBNaija win.
Otabor said Phyna had asked him to stop working as a hearse driver and requested that he sell his cars, promising to improve the family’s life.
He said he later struggled financially after selling the vehicles, losing his business momentum and community position, and has not seen his daughter since her victory.
He described feeling sidelined while she enjoyed her wealth.
Nollywood actress, Regina Daniels, has opened up about her marriage to her estranged husband, Senator Ned Nwoko.
It was reports that the embattled wife revealed why their seven-year relationship remained faithful despite his polygamous lifestyle.
In a reply to a comment on her Instagram page, Daniels said that during their years together, Nwoko never slept with other women outside their home because she held him well in the other room.
She wrote: “Yes i think he loved me but a toxic one! Because tell me why a polygamous man forgot what it meant to be in polygamy, except for the media.
“Just because it boosted his ego of being seen with multiple women which is easy by me because anyone that sees a man as an odogwu sees the wife as what? He basically had to beg that he share days at ours and other days with his other wives because they begged for his attention.
“Y’all should pls forget this yeye social media comparison because my ex man never slept outside one day in our 7 years of marriage. You know why? Because as a delta babe, I hold am well for the other room ladies use your skills that’s all men want actually!”
