N.B.
This address was not presented as planned due to unforeseen circumstances.
I am here on double invitation; first as the representative of the Director-General, and, secondly, as the Zonal Director, Kaduna Zone of the National Broadcasting Commission
The few remarks I am going to make are, however, for both of us.
Since this celebration started a few days ago, I have been listening over the radio with amusement how almost everybody tends to shower encomiums on FRCN Kaduna. I have not heard a single word of criticism. Almost every speaker says how wonderful the station has been and still is.
I began to ask myself how somebody or an organization can be that good - almost perfect. But no matter how good one is, one needs to be told his other side too! If for nothing else, at least for him to correct himself for the better. So at the risk of sounding like the devil’s advocate I said to myself if I ever get the chance, I would tell this station a few home truths. I promised myself that I would be different from others by offering criticisms - constructive criticisms, which would help the station to progress further.
As a regulator, I think I stand a better chance of offering such constructive criticisms. Let me first bore you a little with the way the National Broadcasting Commission operates. The Commission has 10 Zonal Offices across the country whose job it is to monitor and regulate broadcast stations. One of such zones is NBC Kaduna Zone.
NBC Kaduna Zone overseas broadcast stations in 4 states of Kaduna, Katsina, Kano and Jigawa. We have monitoring officers who daily monitor and record broadcast stations. Each of these monitoring officers has a log book in which he records breaches. The breaches are collated at the end of each week and forwarded in a single report to the Zonal Director, every Monday.
The Zonal Director then takes action against each erring station by way of verbal or written warnings or even fines, as the case may be. The report is then forwarded to NBC Headquarters in Abuja via email.
It is through such method I have been able to compile a report card for FRCN Kaduna, which I now present to you as my contribution to make the station even greater than it is.
This report card, however, is not accumulated over 50 years. It is rather sampling that came about over observation of the station for a period of just one year out of those 50. And the year is 2011.
I will not bore you with the full content of the report, but a summary of it will suffice.
In the year 2011 FRCN Kaduna and its stations, according to our records, committed a total of 89 different categories of breaches ranging from Class ‘A’ to ‘C’ breaches. For the avoidance of doubt, a Class ‘A’ breach requires closure of a station. And FRCN Kaduna committed 9 of such breaches! Also during the year, four different fines were imposed on the Hausa Service, Karama FM 92.1 as well as Supreme FM 96.1. A total of N800, 000.00 fine was imposed out of which only one of the 4 fines was paid by Supreme FM after a fifty percent reduction. To date, FRCN Kaduna and its stations owe NBC N700, 000.00 of unsettled fines!
As you can see from this report, FRCN Kaduna and its stations cannot be said to be entirely compliant. And for any broadcast station to achieve a level of excellence and professionalism, it must also obey simple rules and regulations.
Although, FRCN Kaduna may be said to have done very well in other areas in 50 years, it still has a long way to go in obeying rules and regulations.
I must draw your attention to the fact that before the licence of a broadcast station is renewed, it must show evidence of compliance with levies and fines as well as adherence to rules and regulations by the licensee, in accordance with the requirement of section 2.7.1 of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.
But on the whole, I agree with some of the commendations, most of which are true. Some of your programmes would compete with even the BBC if you make the effort to do little adjustments. Your political programmes, which are highly educative and enlightening, could achieve top rank if they maintain balance all the time before airing. Same thing with some of your advertisements
I recall that my thesis in my Masters degree was on the contribution of FRCN Kaduna to Political Development in Northern Nigeria. And the conclusion was that the station has contributed immensely in that area.
In conclusion, may I appeal to not only FRCN Kaduna but all broadcast stations to imbibe the culture of operating by the rules of the game. I wish you happy celebrations and congratulate you on your achievements.
Thank you.