Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said the Federal Government is against exclusivity in the broadcast industry because the people ought to be the ultimate beneficiary of the sector.
Mohammed stated this during the 28th anniversary of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the sixth annual lecture of the commission held yesterday in Abuja.
Mohammed noted that since the colonial era, broadcasting, through re-diffusion, had always played a pivotal role between the government and the governed, adding that ever since, it has remained the umbilical cord between government and the governed.
Mohammed also noted that the task of the NBC in regulating the broadcast industry was indeed an arduous one that required the intricate skills of a consummate policy making network that had the people as its ultimate beneficiaries.
Mohammed said: “Writ large, it is the greatest good for the greatest number of people. In this respect, monopolistic tendencies should not be allowed to drive the higher echelon of our broadcasting industry. I am yet to see any clime or country where a behemoth is allowed to dictate consumer idiosyncrasies, taste and even disposable income.
“That is the thrust of our abhorrence of exclusivity as it is against the natural law of nature to allow unbridled capitalism and unfettered domination. That is why we have antitrust laws against monopoly companies because might is not right and material strength should not be allowed to the detriment of the larger good of the society.”
Mohammed further noted the ongoing reforms by the Federal Government in the broadcast industry, disclosing that the expectation of the government was that the changes will revolutionise broadcasting in Nigeria.
Mohammed added that as part of the reforms, it became necessary to effect certain amendments to the Broadcasting Code, while also saying that the amendments were necessitated by a Federal Executive Council decision which reviewed the 2019 general elections and several recommendations that were approved by President Muhammadu Buhari to reposition the NBC to perform its regulatory role better.
“The approval necessitated some amendments in the Code and the Act.
“The amendments are mostly in the areas of political broadcasting, local content, coverage of emergencies, advertising and anti-competitive behaviour. There are obviously lots of positive and desirable outcomes from the New Broadcasting Code; the provisions on exclusivity and monopoly. This antitrust provision will boost local contentand local industry due to lawsprohibiting exclusive use of rights by broadcasters whose intent is to create monopolies and hold…
“At implementation, it will encourage open access to premium content. I must explain that this provision is not new to Nigeria. Broadcasting-exclusivity was disallowed at a certain time in the history of our broadcasting. I recall Multichoice sub-licensing EPL matches to other local operators in Nigeria. I also recall HITV engaging several local operators on sub licensing the EPL when they got the rights. Sub licensing and rights sharing create opportunities for local operators to also gain traction and revenue for their services,” Mohammed added.
Mohammed also said the law prohibiting backlog of advertising debts will definitely promote sustainability for the station owners and producers of content.
He added that more than anything else, the law on registration of web broadcasting granted the country, the opportunity to regulate negative foreign broadcasts that could harm the country as a nation.
“Such harms could be security, protection for minors and of human dignity, economic fraud, privacy etc. The Provisions on responsibility of broadcast stations to devote airtime to national emergencies obviously mandates terrestrial and Pay TV channels to make their services available to Nigerians at time of national emergencies, for their education and enlightenment.
“We shall always count on your support and the understanding of the Nigerian people. Broadcasting remains a major, if not the most critical tool for national development. Our expectation is that broadcasting should be used to democratise governance in Nigeria. We should avoid the temptation of letting our emotions get the better of us by being purveyors of hate speech and divisive rhetoric that is not in our culture. We are known as civilised and controlled people with ethical values that emphasise tolerance, chastity, understanding, temperance and respect for other people. Every policy initiative should evolve out of deep and cerebral thinking, critical analysis and qualitative and quantitative ratio of what is good for the majority of our people, no more, no less. It is our duty to curb the unbridled passions and rapacious instinct of those who think one is all. A tree can never make a forest and our collective will in terms of creating a competitive playing field for all is our unflinching resolve.
“I must thank you for the support in educating and conscientising the public on the heels of the pandemic- that is an act of patriotism and we encourage you to keep it up. The government will continue to find ways to support you to serve your roles- the recent license fee waiver and discount is one of such. The onus is on you to justify this show of support by the government by promoting the national interest and not self-interest always.
“Finally, political broadcasting remains a big challenge in Nigeria. Broadcasting stations allow a lot of inciting and unguarded comments. This is dangerous for our collective growth as a country. Why do we allow our ethnic affiliations and religious bigotry to becloud our sense of nation hood and unity as a people? Why should we allow falsehood, misleading claims and fake news to thrive? This must stop in the National interest. We are key custodians of the destiny of the country and we no doubt hold our nation’s destiny in our hands,” Mohammed also said.
Delivering the lecture titled ‘Setting the Scene – Stating the Obvious: The Power of the Media,’ Professor Chinyere Stella Okunna, of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, said the amended NBC Code, had great potentials to democratize the broadcast media and empower them to cover crises, disasters and emergencies and also promote local content and production.
The First Female Professor of Mass Communication in Nigeria further said the Code and the NBC have performed creditably in realising the potentials in the broadcast industry.
Okunna however raised concern on if the media’s performance in obeying the NBC’s Code stipulation that in drawing attention to the crisis, timely basic information shall be provided to assist the public was good enough.
“Should the provision of basic information be enough to ensure effective coverage of a pandemic like COVID-19??? The answer in this presentation is no. There should be more to the coverage, and NBC needs to rise to the challenge of getting broadcasting stations to find the courage to take the next steps in their coverage of COVID-19,” Okunna said.
Okunna further asked that going forward, if the NBC, as part of its broadcast reforms, saw any role for itself in the face of the gaps in the coverage of the pandemic.
“The answer is yes. Given the devastating effects of COVID-19 pandemic as a crisis, disaster and emergency, NBC reforms should go a step further by stipulating that coverage of crises, disasters and emergencies should involve more than providing basic information, but should advance to the higher level of life-saving comprehensive coverage, particularly at this time of the rampaging of COVID-19,” Okunna also said.