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[email protected] Ondo State, Nigeria

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COMMUNITY BROADCASTING: WHICH WAY NIGERIA?

ince the advent of Radio, Television and Newspaper many years ago, community-based media have ensured media pluralism, diversity of content, and the representation of a society's different groups and interests. They have also encouraged open dialogue and transparency of administration at local level and offer a voice to the voiceless. They are established on the concepts of public access, sharing experiences and information.

The African charter on Broadcasting, adopted by African Heads of State at the African Union summit [AU] in Maputo, Mozambique in 2003, stated that community radio is a radio for, by and about a community, with its ownership and management by the same community to pursue a social development agenda on a non-profit basis.

Among all the African Union members, Nigeria is the only country that is yet to start the implementation of community radio concept, and the reason for this is not far-fetched, the National Broadcasting Commission [NBC], which is the regulatory body, licensing and regulating Broadcasting in Nigeria has no guidelines for community radio, despite its avowed commitments towards that effect, thus making it impossible for the people at the grassroots to express themselves, in line with the African charter on broadcasting and section 39 of the 1999 constitution which stipulate that: without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, every person shall be entitle to own, establish and operate any medium for the dissemination of information, ideas and opinions���

In South Africa, community radios are springing up almost on daily basis, examples are: the newly licensed TNG FM, JOZI FM, while a new community television, SOWETO TV was also given an interim licence to begin operations at the grassroots level in a suburb of Soweto town which became popular during the infamous apartheid rule, same thing goes for Ghana, where we have numerous community-based radio stations.

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But, back in Nigeria, the National Broadcasting Commission has been so much concern with its revenue generation status, since the promulgation of the NBC act No 38 of 1992 which gives it power to make money from licence fees of broadcasting stations. In its characteristic fierce manner, the only time NBC goes into action is, when it wants to announce the names of defaulting stations that are yet to pay their licencing renewal fees running into millions of Naira or it wants to punish a private broadcasting house for taking rapid steps in discovering hot news items, ahead of government-owned media outfits, like the cases of the Bellview plane crash site, discovered by the African Independent Television {AIT] and the suspension of the licences of media organizations that were unable to pay their renewal fees in time.

It is then, not an overstatement to say that, the National Broadcasting Commission, with its present conservative posture on broadcasting regulations is not contributing to the growth of broadcasting in Nigeria, especially, the primitive and Colonial mentality it applies to the licencing, regulations and, of course, monitoring of broadcasting stations in the country. Presently, no broadcasting station is allowed to link any external radio or television station for the rebroadcast of news items, because, NBC believes it is a security risk to do so, even when we no longer operate under the Military government.

I had traveled to some African countries, not long ago and I saw, to my chagrin, how they had effective and responsive broadcasting regulatory agencies. In Monrovia, capital of the Republic of Liberia, there were no stringent conditions attached to obtaining television and/or radio licences, some radio stations, like: Radio Veritas, Ducour FM, Star Radio, Kiss FM and others are owned by Religious, Charity, Community based Organizations and private individuals, it is on record that, international footballer and presidential candidate in the 2005 election, George Weah owns numerous broadcasting stations in Liberia.

The stations operate under relaxed rules and, unlike in Nigeria, the radio stations link the British Broadcasting Corporation [BBC] and Voice Of America [VOA] for a direct re- transmission of their news and current affairs programmes, every morning and evening, without reprisal from their regulatory body; Ministry of Telecommunications, even during the crisis period.

I think it is high time the Federal government, through the Ministry of Information and National Orientation review the Law guiding the establishment of NBC and make it more responsive and Modern, like other countries are doing.

Licences must be given to interested communities to own their own broadcasting outfit so as to provide a forum for local cultural expressions and improve people's access to information in local languages, like Star FM is doing in Liberia, otherwise, the experimental Radio stations, which the National Broadcasting Commission has been campaigning against would continue to exist, even beyond their imagination.

There should be a downward review of the N50, 000 registration Form fee and the N10 million Licence fee, for intending broadcasting stations, while renewal fee, too, should be moderate so as to give room for general participation.

Prospective radio and television station owners should be allowed to pay their licence fee according to the range of their intended stations. This will, no doubt, allow the Private sector to contribute their quota to the development of broadcasting in Nigeria.

Bola Adeyileka is the Publisher/ Editor, PLATFORM newspaper, Nigeria