NBC’s assault on independent broadcasting

In what appears to be a continued attempt to muzzle free press, the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, on Monday fined AIT, Arise TV and Channels TV N3m each over what it called “unprofessional coverage” of the #EndSARS protests across Nigeria.

Citing section 5.6.9 of the contentious Nigeria Broadcasting Code which states that; “the broadcaster shall be held liable for any breach of the Code emanation from the use of material from User Generated Sources,” Prof. Armstrong Idachaba NBC’s acting DG blamed the three stations for contributing to the escalation of violence around the country. There is no mention of the specific instances of (the stations’) unprofessional coverage from published reports of the DG’s press conference. It’s possible that the affected stations have been given a more detailed explanation. However, the usage of content from social media appears to be an obvious sore point. In the words of the DG: ‘‘We believe that the whole country has now seen why the spurious and recklessness on the Social Media must not be patronised by the mainstream traditional media. Broadcasters who therefore dogmatically patronise the Social Media must bury their heads in shame.’’ Is it professional for Idachaba, the NBC acting DG, as a regulator to insult and talk down on broadcasters?

The NBC seems bent on operating as if we are in the pre-technology era. On one hand, Idachaba was not clear whether Nigeria operates a capitalist or a socialist economy while trying to defend the anti-exclusivity/competition introduction in the amended NBC code. Now, it seems broadcast stations must operate like the social media doesn’t exist and consider all social media as evil. Otherwise, why would the acting DG say, “broadcasters who patronise the social media must bury their heads in shame”? In 2020? And what does he mean by “the whole country has now seen why the spurious and recklessness on the Social Media must not be patronised by the mainstream traditional media”? Without social media, the #EndSARS protests would’ve been like winking in the dark. Without social media, Nigerians and non-Nigerians from around the world wouldn’t have been able to follow and contribute to the protests. Think of the international support the #EndSARS got; celebrities, top politicians and ordinary people from around the world all pitching in. A few days ago, Lewis Hamilton while celebrating becoming Formula 1’s most successful driver-in terms of race (92) wins donned an #EndSARS t-shirt. How did he hear about #End SARS? Would people like former US President Bill Clinton, rapper Kanye and the many others who tweeted their support for the EndSARS protests agree with Idachaba that the social media is full of spuriousness and recklessness? I suppose then it’s not for nothing that there’s a bill in the National Assembly seeking to somehow interfere with social media use.

Even though section 5.6.1 of the Code acknowledges “the impact of modern technology has significantly enabled Citizen’s contribution to journalism, which are beneficial to broadcasting,” Idachaba and the NBC appear to be having two minds about how far they’re willing to let broadcasters go. By the way, do broadcasters have recourse to appeal or is it a military-style ‘obey the last order’ operation? Although if one looks below the surface, the NBC may have been more concerned about section 5.6.3 from the Code which states that: “The Broadcaster shall be mindful of materials that may embarrass individuals or organisations or cause disaffection, incite panic or rift in the Society, in the usage of UGC.” This may be the crux of the matter. The NBC had in the wake of the Lekki Toll Gate massacre reportedly asked broadcasters not to embarrass the government. How does the government define embarrassment?

Does this mean that even if broadcast stations verify stories and find them to be true, the fear of embarrassing nameless individuals should stop them from carrying such stories? If so, it’s no longer just a matter of what’s truthful but more about shielding government officials from the truth. Why wouldn’t the government want to hear what the people think or how they feel? No wonder some people have noted the similarity between the proscribed Decree 4 1984 under which Nduka Irabor and Tunde Thompson were jailed. I’m also worried about the fact that the NBC appears to be selective on what constitutes embarrassment to certain individuals or groups of people. Has any TV station ever been fined over the periodic vituperations from groups like Miyetti Allah or MURIC? Every now and then, they’ll go on TV to threaten anyone they feel like. Not once has any of them been called to order.

By the way, in that infamous interview with Osasu Igbinedion on The Osasu Show, Idachaba made all kinds of claims and insinuations.  Following in the footsteps of Lai Mohammed his boss and the Information minister who had accused critics of the NBC Code of resorting to blackmail through the use of hack writers, Idachaba accused editors of having being bought off.  The NBC acting DG also accused Jason Njoku of Iroko TV of only harvesting money away from Nigeria to the UK just because the company was founded in London. He made London sound like Sodom and Gomorrah. The same London our leaders go to treat an earache? More importantly, how does the NBC DG who’s been in the system for decades not know that Iroko TV is ‘on ground’ in Nigeria? One has to wonder if he could miss something so basic, what else isn’t he aware of?

Back to the issue at hand, the fines the ‘erring’ stations are supposed to pay come under the contentious amended NBC Code. The chairman of the NBC Board, Ikra Bilbis claimed, in a press statement, that the Board didn’t endorse what he called unilaterally amended Code because all other contributions were shunned. Barely a week after the public presentation of the Code, the NBC fined Nigeria Info 99.3 FM N5m over claims made by a guest Obadiah Mailafia. Femi Falana, SAN, called that fine illegal: “The chairman of the NBC board disclosed that the amendment of the code authorising the payment of the fine of N5 million was not approved by the board. That means that the amendment of the code has not come into force.” Furthermore, even if the code was “properly amended, the board cannot charge a suspect with criminal offences, prosecute, convict and impose a fine on him. The investigation being conducted into Dr. Obadiah’s interview by the State Security Service has not been concluded. So why was NBC in a hurry to violate the fundamental right of the broadcasting station to a fair hearing?.

Falana’s questions over the Nigeria Info fine hold true for these new fines for Arise TV, AIT and Channels TV. Towards this end, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the NBC to withdraw what they say are illegal fines or they’ll institute legal action. According to the SERAP statement signed by its deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, “this action by the NBC is yet another example of Nigerian authorities’ push to silence independent media and voices.” As we draw closer to 2023, there’s a need for strong independent media voices. If the NBC, through its acting DG Prof. Armstrong Idachaba (who seems to be working overtime to become the substantive DG) manages to silence every dissenting opinion, Nigeria’s democracy may just turn to a sham.

The Rise of Arise TV

This is a story I’ve been planning, and I was actually waiting till the end of the EndSARS protests to do it. I may still do a longer write up, who knows? However, in the advent of the NBC’s fines against Arise TV, Channels TV and AIT, this is a good time as any to commend Arise TV. At the moment, everywhere you turn, TV viewers are praising Arise TV’s coverage of the #EndSARS protests. To paraphrase an old NTA (Nigerian Television Authority) slogan: can all these viewers be all wrong?

Anyhow, contrary to the idea that Arise TV only became socially conscious through the #EndSARS protests, the station has been at it for a while. I first took note of Arise TV in 2018 when the DSS invaded the National Assembly Complex, Abuja. At a time, no other media organisation was covering the siege which Hon. Boma Goodhead representing Akuku-Toru/Asari-Toru Federal Constituency emerged heroine of sorts. Many people were very grateful that Arise TV had kept them informed through that siege.

So, the rise of Arise TV at this moment doesn’t come as a surprise.

TRENDING

Agent Fashola Holmes & Other Stories

On Monday, October 26, Babatunde Raji Fashola, Agent Fashola (Sherlock) Holmes or ‘Fasholmes’ trended on Twitter. Fashola claimed to have discovered a camcorder at the Lekki Toll Gate, scene of Tuesday, October 20 massacre. Desmond Elliot also trended for different reasons which are not so different, come to think of it. The two men are politicians from Lagos State on the platform of the ruling party APC. Fashola is the minister of works and housing while Elliot, the Nollywood actor turned politician represents Surulere at the Lagos State House of Assembly. Both men, products of the Jagaban godfather dynasty, were trying to change the narrative concerning the Lekki Toll Gate Massacre on October 20, 2020. Both men have a history of putting their foot in their mouth. Just last month, Elliot was standing up for godfatherism as he advised Edo State electorate, and I wrote about it here. Fashola has an even longer sheet that I don’t know where to start from. The last thing I tackled him on was when he blamed Nollywood for kidnapping in Nigeria.

It sometimes feels like there’s a government or political Olympic competition on who can say the most incredible thing, to put it diplomatically. Fashola was once the performing governor of Lagos State. Nowadays, he can be found saying all sorts. Then his grand achievement thus far: the discovery of a camcorder in plain sight at the Lekki Toll Gate on Sunday. This discovery of archaeological proportions beat all odds coming almost a week later after the site has been cleaned. Yet no one saw the camcorder?

President Buhari’s Speech that had Nigerians Speechless

‘We need a speech, we need a speech, you must address us,’ Nigerians chanted. Not many asked themselves the benefit of past speeches. They were all operating under the notion that in a democratic dispensation, leaders must talk to the people, reason with them, comfort them, and generally relate to them as fellow citizens.

Well, on October 22, 2020, President Buhari acquiesced to the people’s demands and addressed the nation. News about the speech had circulated as “Breaking News” that the government was going to make a major pronouncement. But I wasn’t tempted to watch or hold out much hope. Unsurprisingly, the speech left many others speechless. In fact, it had the same effect as a slap or wake-up call on some who had been willing to give government the benefit of the doubt. In the aftermath of the speech, there was palpable anger. So, what exactly did the president say?

Here are excerpts:

“As a democratic government, we listened to, and carefully evaluated the five-point demands of the protesters. And having accepted them, we immediately scrapped SARS, and put measures in place to address the other demands of our youth.”

SARS was purportedly scrapped even though there are reports of them still harassing people. However, what seemed like the simplest demand on the 5-point demand-acknowledgement of SARS’ victims and compensation to their families has never been broached. Even the low-fruit option of prosecuting SARS officers like James Nwafor of the infamous Awkuzu SARS has not been done. Nwafor still remains a free man. It was ordinary citizens, young people, who were the ones that offered a ransom for Nwafor’s arrest.

“On approving the termination of SARS, I already made it clear that it was in line with our commitment to the implementation of extensive Police reforms. Sadly, the promptness with which we have acted seemed to have been misconstrued as a sign of weakness and twisted by some for their selfish unpatriotic interests.”

The truculence rears its head again. It’s statements like these that make some doubt government’s sincerity. Unconfirmed reports put the number of SARS’ victims in the thousands. An empathetic government would be so saddened that it would be more concerned and consumed with far-reaching solutions.

“The spreading of deliberate falsehood and misinformation through the social media in particular, that this government is oblivious of the pains and plights of its citizens, is a ploy to mislead the unwary within and outside Nigeria into unfair judgement and disruptive behaviour.”

Nothing much to add. I trust those within and outside Nigeria know better.

“On the contrary, both our deeds and words have shown how committed this administration has been to the wellbeing and welfare of citizens, even with the steadily dwindling revenues, and the added responsibilities and restrictions due to the Coronavirus pandemic.”

Except for the hoarded palliatives now being looted all over the place.

“No Nigerian Government in the past has methodically and seriously approached poverty.”

Do we now share the same speechwriter with Donald Trump? Can’t a government just talk about itself without blowing its own ‘borrowed’ trumpet? Does the government think that Nigerians living ‘within and outside Nigeria’ don’t know which government has dealt the most with poverty? In any case, how does this affect Nigeria’s current poverty rating as the country with the greatest number of extremely poor people? With our estimated 200m population, we overtook India, a country of over 1 billion people! Is this what being the only government that has “methodically and seriously approached poverty” means?

“In the circumstances, I would like to appeal to protesters to note and take advantage of the various well-thought-out initiatives of this administration designed to make their lives better and more meaningful, and resist the temptation of being used by some subversive elements to cause chaos with the aim of truncating our nascent democracy.”

Not nascent democracy again! The dictionary defines nascent as something that’s “just coming into existence and beginning to display signs of future potential (especially of a process or organization).” This round of democracy has been on since 1999 which makes it 21 years old. Is there a culture anywhere on earth where a 21-year old person or process can be described as ‘nascent’? Someone must have forgotten to add “let’s move Nigeria forward.”

Meanwhile, the speech didn’t say anything about the Lekki Toll Gate massacre. Or Jimoh Ishaq who was killed by yet to be identified policeman in Oyo State. The way government is speedily arresting ‘looters’ shows how fast it can move when it wants to.

Onoshe Nwabuikwu, AIRTIME columnist is a renowned TV/Film critic, and Film scholar. She also has experience in Advertising as a senior Copywriter and Corporate Communications as Communications consultant. Email: [email protected]