Far from appearance, closer to creativity… Ibrahim Al-Buzai.. Sudanese arts, proverbs and stories

Sudan Events – Magda Hassan

On Saturday, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs in charge of carrying out the duties of the Prime Minister, Othman Hussein Othman, canceled a decision he issued within 12 hours, according to which he had relieved Ibrahim Al-Buzai from managing the General Authority for Radio and Television and appointed Ammar Sheila as his replacement. Only hours passed when the Minister issued another decision reassigning Ibrahim Muhammad Ibrahim Al-Buzai to the duties of Director General of the General Authority for Radio and Television, and assigning Ammar Fateh Al-Rahman Sheila to the duties of Director of the Television Sector.

Creativity

Ibrahim Al-Buzai is considered one of the true innovators in the field of his work, as he is a person with special abilities and skills. Perhaps one of the clearest innovations agreed upon by the Sudanese is the program (Al-Sabah Rabah), presented by radio broadcaster Sarah Muhammad Abdullah after Al-Bazai took over the management of the General Authority for Radio and Television, succeeding Ismail Issawi. In November 2019, voices were raised expressing their dissatisfaction with the television’s treatment of the revolution and its news, and all the anger was directed at its director, who was designated as (Koz). On December 21, 2021, Al-Buzai was dismissed and Luqman Ahmed was appointed as his successor. In April 2022, Luqman was dismissed and Al-Buzai returned again. However, the dismissal and reinstatement of Al-Buzai during this period made him a rare position that did not befit his career full of radio work delving into Sudan’s cultures, arts, and stories of peace.

Biography and career

Ibrahim Al-Buzai was born in Gezira State, Al-Manaqil City.
He is married to the media figure, Ibtisam Al-Sadiq Bushra, and he has five children with her. He studied primary school at Al-Fakhakhir Intermediate School at Al-Manaqil, and secondary school at Hantoub Secondary School in Madani. He was admitted at the University of Sudan, Faculty of Music and Drama. He continued his studies and studied a master’s degree at the University of Sudan in the Culture of Peace.
Al-Buzai does not belong to any party. He is a patriotic man who joined Sawt Al-Umma Radio as a collaborator and then an employee in the general program.
He worked as director of drama management
He also worked as director of the Eastern State Radio “Kassala.” He also worked as a director at the Nile Valley Radio in Cairo and a director and programmer at Al-Shaab Radio. He served as director of Juba Radio, director of the second program, director of Al-Obeid Radio, director of National Unity Radio, team leader for the general program, and founder of Al-Salam Radio. He worked as director for directed and specialized radio stations and the General Administration of Drama, Music and Documentary Programs. He is an arbitrator for four sessions at the Cairo International Festival and the Radio and Television Festival in the Gulf States. Among the most famous programs presented by him are “Balila Mubasher”, “Alsabah Rabah”, “The Broad House”, “Al-Nafaj” and “Danube”, and the author of a number of serials. He has written plays and dramatic programs in newspapers and a collection of scientific working papers. He authored a number of books, including the book (Peace Culture, War Literature, and Popular Practices), Part One.

Eid Al-Badri book

He has in print the Cultural Encyclopedia of the People of Sudan, and his doctorate is under study on the culture of peace in unity and development on radio and television.

Unjust decision

Critic Al-Sir Al-Sayyid described the first decision to dismiss Al-Buzai as unjust and politicized. “We heard the appointment of Professor Ammar Sheila as his replacement, and here I say, without ambiguity and not as an insult to Ammar, that this decision is unjust and unwise and does not have the slightest appreciation for the employees of radio and television, especially since Al-Buzai has proven that those who grew up in these two agencies are capable of managing them, and in fact they have the right before others to manage them, but what do we do with politics and politicization? The male and female workers in radio and television must resist this unjust decision.” He said.
“I have known Ibrahim Al-Buzai since the days of the Higher Institute of Music and Theater, and then I worked under his management in more than one department and administration in the Sudanese Radio. Ibrahim Al-Buzai collected great media experience, including the lives and experiences of Abu Al-Azaim, Al-Khattim Abdullah, Salah Al-Din Al-Fadil, Moatasem Fadl, Laila Al-Maghribi, Al-Juzali, Abd Al-Rahman Ahmed, and others.
Among his peers, Shazli Abdul Qadir, Khattab Hassan Ahmed, and others, are not those who came after him and worked with him.” He added.

Large edifice

The secret is that Al-Buzai is one of the sincere sons of Omdurman Radio, inside and out. He is one of the people of this great edifice. He was not just an administrator, as is commonly said these days. He is a programmer, presenter, and radio drama writer. Therefore, he is part of the fabric and spirit of this great edifice. Al-Buzai contributed tirelessly to the work in the state radio stations, as well as he participated in establishing and supervising a number of radio services, such as Al-Salam Radio. He is considered one of the clearest names that expressed the traditions of the official media, which often works to suppress the personal positions, especially the political ones, of its employees. Therefore, Al-Buzai was not known to have a political bias that overshadowed his views. His professionalism, and perhaps this characteristic is what made him constantly be the target of political decisions that are not very professional.

Cultural diversity

Al-Buzai was one of those who were concerned early on with Hona Omdurman being a voice for Sudan’s diverse cultures with their arts, proverbs and stories.
In recent years, Al-Buzai was able to lead the organization, and in very complex circumstances, most notably the April 15 War, in which the organization, represented by radio and television, lost its buildings and some of its memory, allowing the Sudanese radio to broadcast from Atbara and the television from Port Sudan. In this critical circumstance, Al-Buzai was able, with creative flexibility to run the two agencies, despite the interventions here and there and despite the weak budgets. He was able, in a unique experience that only Professor Al-Tayeb Mustafa had done before him, to make the workers and their rights the top of his priorities, to pay attention to training, and to preserve the character of the two agencies as much as possible from the crude political intrusions.
Al-Buzai’s distinction is sufficient that he did not come under political illusions, so it would not harm him to be relieved, just as the newspapers were abuzz with the decision to relieve him before he was brought back again.