DSO: Nigeria goes to Egypt for help

In my neck of the wood the snake is not a likeable animal at all; not just that it crawls on its belly to its eternal shame but more of its subtlety and venomous wickedness. Twice I was an unfortunate victim of its wickedness. The first nearly left me blind. The second with a crooked finger. So, when you see the snake, especially around the home, there is nothing about cruelty to animals, it’s either the snake goes or you go. In that situation it is not who kills the snake, man or woman, that matters, the expected result is for the snake to die. Desperation.

More in the similitude of a fight in the ring getting rough and deadly, you throw the punches with both hands, even with eyes shut. All that is important is to fight yourself out of trouble. Desperation.

As I read the story of the a Nigerian team going down to Egypt to seek help for the implementation of the Digital Switchover (DSO) programme, never mind what the scriptures say about those who go down to Egypt for help in Isaiah 31:1 (Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help), my only wish was for the ultimate result to come, no matter the jurisdiction it would come from.

The journey from analogue transmission to digital commenced in 2006 as per decision taken by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and was pegged to end in 2015, although each jurisdiction and country was encouraged to choose its speed but the journey had that termination date.

However, Nigeria has not been very fortunate with the process. 2015 wasn’t a reality and 2020 was also sadly missed. And now the country is at that point where desperation creeps in. Desperation. You can now begin to understand the journey to Egypt. Desperation.

This administration made it a programme of choice to be implemented because of the overwhelming advantages including its capacity to unleash job opportunities and also affect the financial fortunes of the country. Migrating analogue to digital means that broadcasters would have to vacate some spectrums which would then be sold for huge amounts for telecommunications services.

But first thing first. There must be a migration away from the analogue system of transmission for the nation to have open access to the funds at the end of the tunnel. For a nation that has not been creative in so many fields of endeavour, compelling it  to hang perilously to only a major source of funds – crude oil – which is not even refined in the country any way, it is very little surprise that Nigeria has not been able to pry intricate opportunities open, including opportunities from digital migration.

So we pass the buck without wanting to be involved in processes that will challenge the intellect. In Nigeria the DSO should be implemented by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), with policy support from the Ministry of Information and Culture. During the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, the NBC was the arrowhead of implementation. But not any more. The Ministry has taken over now and it has been behind the force of movement or DSO launches we have seen in parts of the country.

From all indications there are serious challenges. The journey to Egypt was to source for funds from the African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank). The team was led by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, whose efforts at pushing the project was keenly acknowledged by the President of the Bank, Benedict Oramah. The Minister rehearsed some of the progress made in the DSO programme in Nigeria and also stated that at the moment, financial requirement was putting a drag on the speed.

The financial request of $165m was placed on the table by Godfrey Ohuabunwa, Chairman, Set Top Box Manufacturers Association of Nigeria. The amount is broken down in the following order: $125m for Set Top Boxes, $30m for signal distributors and $10m for marketing and promotion.

It is gladdening to know that Afreximbank’s Oramah promised to help build a support package for Nigeria and then use the country’s template to assist other African countries who are struggling with the DSO programme.

It is worth observing that the trip to Egypt is a clear indication that action has not completely stopped in pushing the DSO programme and even more heartwarming that there was a ready heart willing to give a helping hand. But this has not put paid to the desperation that is becoming palpable.

Last time the NBC got money for DSO, it was a one-time approval of N9.4bn by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for legacy debts in order to rescue the entire programme or transition from looming collapse. This was in February 10, 2021.

There seems to be something very wrong with our style of implementation and this may not be the fault of the NBC. This explains why in spite of a rippling motion, there is hardly any tangible headway forward.

Look at it this way. Before the ITU decision in 2006, the city of Berlin initiated the first switchover in 2003. Luxembourg, which you may call a very small country in Europe, was the first country to do a complete switchover in September 2006. An industry source told this writer within the week that Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania have made more progress in the DSO programme than Nigeria.

Is the NBC getting the needed support from other arms of government apart from the apparent lordship of a supervising minister? For the DSO to gain traction in America, the Congress got fully involved, making all the necessary laws and fund approval for the programme to sail smoothly. When there were three setbacks in December 2008, February 2009, and finally June 2009, the Congress was in the picture and played its role completely. Is the National Assembly of Nigeria so involved in the process that the last fund approval was made by FEC? The DSO is an important project; why is it left for the NBC to carry with its arms tied behind? Why is it so difficult for us as a people to get into situations that would challenge the intellect or demand rigorous interrogation?

An industry source has advised that we must change the method of implementation and decide whether to go full digital or not. “We are still essentially transmitting analogue in Nigeria because everywhere they have a DSO launch in Nigeria, they equate a city to a state.” The source frowned at this development, arguing that the fact that a launch was done in central Lagos or Kano city does not mean the whole of the state has been covered.

My source who is highly knowledgeable in the industry suggested a retooling of the entire process which would require the NBC to cover a state completely, do a switchover from analogue to digital, before heading for another state. It will then be possible to create a switchover map which the NBC can follow diligently and rescue the programme from a near state of anarchy. And stop desperation!