Says Arewa24 TV, unlicenced by NBC, using Arewa brand name to operate
A three-man panel on a LibertyTV flagship programme: “Democracy In Practice’, which included Executive Secretary, Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BoN), Dr. Yemi Bamgbose, Dr. Emman Shehu, of the International Institute of Journalism and a Media Consultant, Sa’idu Carpenter have affirmed that the current situation in Nigeria’s broadcast industry requires a holistic overhaul through a ‘state of emergency’ in order to arrest its slide and prevention its shutdown.
The Panel’s lead discussant, Dr. Yemi Bamgbose, who spoke on wide ranging issues and consequences in Nigeria’s deregulated broadcast industry, noted the unfavorable operating weak environment for the broadcast industry.
According to him, who was a 2-tenure National President of the Radio, Television and Theatre Arts Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU) and a retired Permanent Secretary in the Ogun State civil service, the weak operating environment constitute a ‘national risk’, saying the political and the economic structure of a nation always have a multiplier effect on the media.
This is coming on the heels of the Northern Broadcast Media Owners Association (NBMOA)’s recent call for urgent intervention to address challenges faced by indigenous private television channels in Nigeria.
In an open letter addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for NBMOA, Alhaji (Dr.) Ahmed Tijjani Ramalan, outlined the severe difficulties local broadcasters encounter, exacerbated by what he described as underhanded practices by Arewa24 TV, allegedly a foreign channel unlicensed by BoN operating under the Arewa brand name in Nigeria.
The letter, sent through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, highlighted numerous issues plaguing the Nigerian broadcast industry, including poor facilities, stringent regulations, high operational costs, and declining advertising revenues.
Recall that the recent communiqu from the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BoN), following its 79th General Assembly in Benin, Edo State, painted a dire picture of the industry, teetering on the brink of bankruptcy due to economic strains such as the removal of oil subsidies and deregulation of the foreign exchange market.
BON’s communiqu emphasised the urgent need for a Presidential Media Support Initiative to alleviate the financial burdens on broadcast media through concessions on tariffs and rates.
However, the NBMOA’s letter underscored that indigenous content private broadcasters in Northern Nigeria are the worst affected, suffering from a lack of patronage and support from advertising agencies and clients, compounded by alleged preferential treatment given to foreign channels like Arewa24 TV.
Dr. Ramalan criticized the role of regulatory bodies such as the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, (APCON), and the National Broadcasting Commission, (NBC), accusing them of turning a blind eye to the operations of Arewa24 TV, which he claims operates illegally and monopolizes the advertising budget meant for Nigerian broadcasters. He argued that such practices undermine local broadcasters who are committed to the growth and development of the nation.
The letter urged President Tinubu to intervene urgently to halt these illegalities and protect indigenous television channels. Dr. Ramalan highlighted that while foreign entities might easily withdraw their investments, local broadcasters have no such option, and continue to contribute significantly to national security, employment, and social responsibility.
The NBMOA pleaded for the President’s immediate action to ensure fairness and sustainability in the Nigerian broadcast media landscape, emphasising the critical role of indigenous broadcasters in fostering unity, peace, and development in Nigeria.
ON Arewa24 TV, Sa’idu Carpenter said their operations in Nigeria is Illegal stressing that it is against the Countrys national economic social and security interest.
He urged all Nigeria media industry practitioners, media owners and the Federal Government to include the regulation of infiltrating international TV operators (such as Arewa24) into the Nigerian broadcast spectrum.
Sa’idu Carpenter opined that these unregulated broadcasters (cloned in the complete DNA of indigenous stations), saying, “These broadcasters do not have any significant infrastructural investment in Nigeria, and do not have any bankable or taxable income in Nigeria. They deliberately have no human-capital development impact on Nigerian media professionals, as they flood Nigerian viewers with Asian and European television series”.
He likened the unregulated ‘ghost’ operators to vultures feeding on the “eggs’ of the Nigerian advertising market and economy.
The Media Consultant concluded that the uneven playing field occasioned by highly NBC-taxed, regulated and electricity power-disadvantaged indigenous broadcasters on one hand and the (free-to-do-as-they-like)
Guerilla stations broadcasting into Nigerian homes and carting away 90% of the nation’s advertising revenue will ultimately kill the disadvantaged indigenous stations, lead to a massive loss of broadcast related jobs and present a formidable threat to not only the nation’s economy but also a veritable threat to Nigeria’s security.
He urged the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to compile a comprehensive list of all foreign organisations ‘Ghosting’ as indigenous stations into the nation’s entire being by operating their headquarters outside the country and deliberately targeting, not West Africa, but Northern Nigeria as Arewa 24 TV does.
He cited other recent threats to the nation’s currency and economy such as the very recent #BinanceGate, which had the effrontery and skill to stimulate or depress the Naira from cyberspace, concluding that Arewa24 and other virtual economic infiltrators were no less threatening to Nigeria, than the ‘on the run’.
Emman Shehu agreed with Carpenter, citing ?angote refineries as an example of Government’s over-regulation of its own and non-challance to protection of the nation’s economic key players.
