…Says TV bedrock of Nigeria’s socio-political development
The Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BoN), has said that television as a channel of communication remains the medium to beat in the advancement of democratic governance globally, most especially in Nigeria.
In an issued statement yesterday, signed by its Executive Secretary, Yemisi Bamgbose, (Ph.D), BoN said, “To demonstrate the importance of Television in the advancement of
democracy, Nigerian political leaders had to struggle before independence
to remove the ownership of television broadcasting from the Exclusive List,
which led the Lyttleton Constitution of 1954 to placing it on the Concurrent
List”.
“Since the birth of Western Nigeria Television (WNTV) on October 31st 1959, television, as a channel of communication, has been an amazing medium being used for the advancement of democratic dispensation, good governance and promotion of democratic values.
“The broadcast media deregulation policy of I992, which allowed private ownership of broadcast media in Nigeria, has further kept television in the front line of democratic advancement.
“It is noteworthy that as of today, Nigeria has over one hundred television stations, including Direct-to-Home (DTH), owned by government and private individuals, with many of them running 24hrs transmission to ensure prompt, adequate and accurate information-dissemination as well as quality entertainment to the people within and outside Nigeria.
The statement further noted that, “Television, as a channel of communication, has helped in no small measure in the socio-economic and political advancement of the country. However, the operators of television broadcasting in Nigeria are confronted with multi-faceted challenges orchestrated by the harsh economic environment.
“The high cost of petroleum products/ poor public power supply, high tariff on public energy as well as massive devaluation of the nation’s currency are serious albatross to television broadcasting as energy and import-driven sector.
According to BoN, The situation have reached alarming and unbearable Ievels that require
urgent government intervention in order to prevent the imminent collapse of television broadcasting in Nigeria”.
“While we salute the doggedness and the uncommon perseverance of the
operators of television stations, both public and private, we call on the Federal Government to approve the request of BoN to endorse policies that will give a lifeline to the broadcast media, which is currently gasping for breath.
“The communication power of television remains a veritable tool of
engendering unity among the citizens. Media practitioners should, therefore, ensure adherence to professional ethics”, it stressed.
