Nigeria’s Broadcasting Milestones: Why The Nibra Awards?

need to properly recognise the importance of broadcast journalists in Nigeria.

The Radio Distribution Service expanded its scope of coverage to the three regions of the country between 1946 and 1950, when Radio Distribution Service relay stations were established in strategic towns in the East, West and North which accounted for about 12,000 box receivers throughout the country.

April 1951 marked the beginning of direct radio transmission in Nigeria with the establishment of the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBC) which became fully functional in Lagos in 1952. To ensure effective coverage of the country, its services were extended to Kaduna in May 1952, Enugu in September 1952 and Ibadan in April 1955, where the previous re-diffusion relay stations were converted into fully operational NBS stations.

The Nigerian Broadcasting Service became autonomous in 1957, when by an Act of parliament assented by the Queen, it became a statutory corporation known as the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC).

The monopoly enjoyed by the NBC as the sole provider of broadcasting services in Nigeria was broken in 1959, when Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Premier of Western Region, established the first regional broadcasting station known as Western Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (WNBC) Radio with its headquarters at Ibadan.

In the same year, 1959, Chief Awolowo established the first television station in Africa, the Western Nigerian Television (WNTV).

Broadcasting commenced in Nigeria in 1932, with the establishment of the BBC Empire Service through the reception of its signals in Nigeria. Solomon Nda-Isaiah writes on the

Other Regional Governments followed suit with the establishment of their broadcasting outfits, the Eastern Nigeria Broadcasting Service (Radio and Television) which commenced transmission on October 1st, 1960 was set by the Eastern Regional Government under Dr. M.I. Okpara, while Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Premier, Northern Region, set up the Broadcasting Corporation of Northern Nigeria (BCNN) Radio/ Television in 1962.

Similarly, Balewa led Federal Government, set up its own television station, known as Nigerian Television Service in 1962 while the external service of NBC was also established in 1962.

Another significant milestone in the history of broadcasting in Nigeria was the establishment of the first colour television by the Benue State Military Government in 1975.

With the restructuring of the NBC in 1978, the Radio Stations in Enugu, Kaduna, Ibadan and Lagos were merged to form the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) by Decree 8 of 1st April 1978. While the external service of NBC, was later excised to form an autonomous body the Voice of Nigeria (VON) Corporation in 1990.

The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) was established when General Obasanjo’s military government acquired all the state owned television stations and merged them with that of the Central Government through Decree 24 of 1977.

Nigeria followed the global trend with the deregulation of broadcasting by General Ibrahim Babangida government through Decree No. 38 of 1992, amended by Decree No.55 of 1999, now referred to as Act No. 55 of the National Assembly.

This broke the monopoly of ownership of broadcasting stations by the Federal and State Governments, paving way for private entrepreneurs and media professionals to establish their own radio and television stations.

All through the evolution of broadcasting in Nigeria, the nation’s broadcasters were in the forefront of all achievements recorded during these periods.

These professionals can be classified under the following groups namely: Chief Executives of Broadcast Stations, Editors, Reporters, Presenters, Producers, Engineers, Technicians, Programme Directors as well as Audio/Lighting Specialists and Cameramen. Yet most worked, retired and died unsung.

This only confirms the views of media critics and analysts that media practitioners, both electronic and print, rarely celebrate their own. Often, they are pre-occupied with promoting other professionals from all walks of life and building them into stardom. No wonder that broadcast professionals rarely feature in the list of recipients annually honoured with National Honours by the Federal Government.

This should not be so because broadcasters have made immense contributions to the socio-economic and political development of Nigeria.

Radio and Television stations were effectively used in forging a united Nigeria during the pre-independence era and this has continued to this day.

The broadcast medium, because of its instantaneous presence and ubiquity, have more than any other medium, contributed in shaping public opinion, promoting national discourse and stability in contemporary Nigeria.

In the coverage of national issues, particularly politics and elections at all levels, the broadcast media has always been conservative, restrained, not sensational in its coverage and reportage, knowing that any false report could lead to a break down of law and order.

Hence, this medium and its professionals deserve to be celebrated.
Attempts have been made to honour broadcasters by third party organizations, but there has never been any centrally organized effort by the practitioners in the broadcasting industry to honour their own, a type of peer review mechanism.

This is what the Nigerian Broadcasters Awards (NIBRA) has come to fill this very wide vacuum.
The NIBRA Awards which will hold on October 27, 2012, is being organized by the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), the umbrella association of all privately and publicly owned radio and television stations in Nigeria.

NIBRA award is designed to give recognition to Nigerians who have excelled in the areas of radio and television broadcasting.
It is also designed to promote excellence and professionalism in all aspects of broadcasting as well as enhance healthy competition within the industry.

Since BON is made up of over 300 radio and television stations, the award searchlight will extend to all nooks and crannies of the nation, where these stations are located to fish out the best to be honoured.

Having enumerated the immense contributions of broadcasting to national development, the industry is presently having its own challenges, poor funding, obsolete equipment, poor remuneration of staff, large turnover of Chief Executives especially in government owned stations, could adversely affect achieving the nation’s deadline for transition from analogue to digital broadcasting.

For professionals, there is the need to improve the quality of the content of broadcast stations, huge investments in broadcast infrastructure without quality content will only scare away listeners, viewers, and advertisers.

The NIBRA Awards has as its brief, not only to honour deserving broadcasters, but to embark on immense capacity building, training and re-training of broadcasters in areas of their specialization to improve all facets of the industry.  

 by

SOLOMON NDA-ISAIAH

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