Leading media intelligence expert and former Director General of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Prof. Tonnie Iredia, Tuesday in Lagos, set critical agenda for the nation’s broadcast watchdog, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
Making his presentation under the title; ‘Review of Report on the Escalation of hate and Dangerous Speech in 2025 General Elections’, he revealed that there is need for the review of NBC’s establishment Act to remove counter clauses.
According to him, while in a sub section the Act described NBC as a regulator of broadcast licence, in the same Act said NBC is a licence grantor.
Continuing, he cautioned the regulator not to always see the media as enemy but partners in progress. He argued that rather that always jerking up fines, NBC should partner the media by way of training and retraining practitioners to understand the broadcast value chain.
Still on issues of imposing fines on broadcast stations during breaches in hate or dangerous speeches, NBC should be able to pick up partners in the crime of the hate speech instead of hitting only the station with sanctions.
Partners in the crime of hate speck according to Professor Iredia, may include but not limited to politicians’, advertisers, presenters at political rallies and others in like manners.
On the observed failure of the nation’s march to Digital Switch over (DSO), the media mogul averred that the scheme is failing to meet up the original target of creating more jobs and raising the bar in the creative industry due to the inability of the Commission to set the true agenda of the DSO and follow it to logical conclusion.
He argued that today, even though many states have been able to switch on to digital television, Nigeria is still largely analogue.
He traced the failure to the Commission’s inability to encourage content developers to fill in the many TV channels so created by the DSO.
Earlier in his Welcome address, the DG of NBC, Mallam Balarabe Shehu Ilela, said the essence of the Workshop on Broadcast Ecology and Politics In Nigeria is to begin to raise the needed awareness ahead of the 2023 general elections with the aim of controlling issues of hate speech during election campaigneering.
He explained that the workshop is designed to acquaint the broadcast industry leaders and owners on how to identify hate speech and get rid of it on time to avoid mass violence as Nigeria approaches 2023 elections.
While declaring the two-day workshop open, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed represented by a Director in the ministry, said the workshop is apt and right on time so as to build media awareness on use of words and languages during election year.
Other key presenters at the Workshop included the Chairman of EFCC, IGP of Police and FRSC boss, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi.
The Workshop ends today, Thursday.
