Another Abandoned Project
By Kazeem Akintunde
Monday, September 22, 2008
Plans by the federal government to encourage the establishment of community radio stations to promote grassroot development suffers neglect
Has the community radio initiative of the federal government finally joined the nation’s long list of abandoned projects? This is the question being asked in several quarters the country. Nigeria, despite its resources, has no community radio stations.
Community radio stations are usually the most effective means of social and economic mobilisation through dissemination of information to the grassroots. The idea of establishing community radio stations in Nigeria only came during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
While in office, Obasanjo had set up a committee to develop a policy framework for the establishment of community radio stations for the country. The committee which Umaru Pate, professor and senior lecturer at the University of Maiduguri, Borno State was charged with the task of developing policy framework for the project. The committee succeeded in putting together a draft policy, which was submitted to the federal government.
But since then, the draft policy has been gathering dust in the cupboard of the federal ministry of information. A non-governmental organisation, Institute for Media and Society, IMS, is now campaigning for the revival of the idea. The NGO has argued that community radio stations, when established, would serve as a springboard for rural and community development in the country.
Akin Akingbulu, IMS executive director, told Newswatch in Lagos last week that Nigeria is the only country in the West Africa sub region that does not have community radio stations. "It is sad that Nigeria, with over 140 million people, cannot boast of one community radio station. What we have are radio stations mostly in the urban centres whose stock in trade is to play music from morning till evening without any meaningful message being given to the people that could aid development," Akingbulu said.
Sources told Newswatch that Obasanjo wanted to establish community radio stations because of his belief in the efficacy of the stations as a medium to aid grass-root development particularly in the area of education. He actually wanted the community radio stations to be used to reduce the level of illiteracy among the rural populace in the country which was then put at 51 percent. Nigeria still has an illiteracy rate of 51 percent with wide gender disparity of 62.5 percent males being literate, while only 39.5 percent females are literate.
The former president had also said then that 62 percent of the estimated 7.3 million children of primary school age who were not receiving any formal education were girls, pointing out that Nigeria’s development would be slower unless something drastic was done to bridge the disparity. And to put the issue on the front burner, IMS in conjunction with Panos Institute West Africa, PIWA, recently held a two-day evaluation and strategic planning seminar on the need to build community radio stations in the country. Participants at the seminar urged the present government to implement the draft policy which they believe would lead to the formulation of necessary legislation on the establishment of community radio stations.
Pate, a senior lecturer at the Department of Mass Communications, University of Maiduguri and an advocate for community radio stations in the country, said Nigeria is the only West African country that does not have a policy on community radio stations. "All the other West African countries have policies and not only policies, they have existing, robust and functioning community radio regimes. Here in Nigeria, there have been attempts by individuals and groups to convince the government to initiate and promulgate a policy on community radio," he said.
Mark Ojah, director, policy at the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, confirmed to Newswatch that indeed, there are no community radio stations in the country now but added that plans were on to establish them in the nearest future. "Yes, we do not have community radio stations in Nigeria now. A community radio station is a medium of communication established by the community, run by the community and for the benefit of that community which is not for profit making," Ojah said. He said the NBC was presently transiting from analog to digital and that once that is completed, appropriate framework would be put in place to facilitate the establishment of community radio in Nigeria. He however, noted that 10 rural radio stations have been established in universities offering Mass Communication.
Efforts to speak with John Odey, minister for information on the matter was unsuccessful as his phones were switched off.
There are over 70 radio stations across the country. Majority of the stations are based in urban centres while their mode of communication is predominantly in English language.
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