By Dare Akogun
The Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has described the revocation of the licenses of 52 broadcast stations by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), as an ill-advised, insensitive and antithetical to the interests of the Nigerian public.
MRA reacted to the revocation of the broadcast licenses in a statement released by Head of its Legal Department Obioma Okonkwo on Friday.
SOBI FM reported that the NBC took the action due to the failure of the media organisations to renew their licenses, thereby accruing debts amounting to a total of N2.66 billion.
Those affected included the African Independent Television (AIT), Silverbird Television and 50 other broadcast stations across the country.
Reacting, MRA said the NBC’s action shows that the regulating agency was prioritizing its desire to make money off the broadcasters over the interest of citizens.
According to MRA, the ultimate effect of the NBC’s action is to deprive millions of Nigerians access to information as well as their rights and ability to freely express themselves through the stations.
“We are shocked by this naked display by the NBC of a lack of appreciation of its principal role which is to contribute to the emergence of a knowledge society.
Rather, it has chosen to create an environment in which millions of Nigerians will wallow in ignorance, deprived of access to crucial information that they need to make critical decisions in their lives or to enhance their livelihoods.
“The action of the NBC has only worsened the prevailing lopsidedness in the broadcasting landscape in Nigeria which was already dominated by government-owned broadcasting stations but is now under the monopolistic control of Federal Government-owned stations, which will be almost unchallenged, with the result that citizens will now be fed unmitigated propaganda by these remaining stations,” the statement said.
MRA further accused the NBC of being insensitive to the harsh economic environment under which the broadcast stations have operated over the last two and a half years as the national economy has been ravaged by the COVID-19 and the measures taken by the government in response to the pandemic.
The statement noted that the broadcasting stations are also negatively impacted by the inability of the government to create a conducive environment for them to operate, such as providing appropriate infrastructure like electricity supply, adding that with the stations having to find alternative sources of power supply even as the price of diesel continues to skyrocket daily, they are simply struggling to survive.
“The fact that so many broadcasting stations have been unable to pay the license fees raises serious questions about the fairness and appropriateness of the fees being imposed on broadcasters by the NBC in such a challenging economic environment.
“As the NBC, which imposes the fees and collects them for its own use, there needs to be an independent inquiry into this apparent conflict of interest where the motivation of the commission is apparently to make as much money for itself as possible.”
MRA called on the NBC to reverse its decision in the public interest to avoid creating a society of predominantly ignorant citizens, advising that the need to ensure that Nigerians are adequately informed through the media should supersede any other consideration by the NBC.
It advised the Commission to liaise with the broadcasting stations to identify the challenges facing the industry and come up with realistic solutions to the identified problems.
