The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has said Nigeria’s journey to successful transition from analogue to digital terrestrial transmission popularly called Digital Switch Over (DSO) is on course.
Explaining issues during the marking of 2017 World Radio Day in Abuja, the Director general of the agency, Mallam Is’haq Modibbo Kawu said the Commission recognizes radio as uniquely positioned to bring communities together and foster positive dialogue for change.
He said “By listening to its audience and responding to their needs, radio provides the diversity of views and voices needed to address the challenges we all face in our country today”.
In a statement signed by the Head, Public Affairs, Mrs. Maimuna Jimada, Kawu said “As we journey towards digital terrestrial television broadcasting the Commission wishes to emphasize that radio remains a powerful instrument for peace, empowerment, development and social inclusion for people of diverse backgrounds, orientation and social status such as ours; and deserves to be used responsibly for the benefit of our country.
While urging radio broadcasters to recognize that the freedom of expression must be exercised with great responsibility and sensitivity, Kawu charged practitioners to deploy high professional ethics and self-regulatory principles.
He emphasized that they must focus on programmes that address issues concerning peace and patriotism; while they use their programmes to proffer solutions to the problems of corruption, religious intolerance and ethnic crisis which are being used by unscrupulous elements to divide us.
According to him, “Nigerian broadcasters are also enjoined to see themselves as positive agents of change who have the responsibility to foster the progress and peace of our country – Nigeria. They should therefore place patriotism and love for country above all other and show same in their programming”.
World Radio Day is a day set aside by the United Nations and recognized worldwide as a global day to celebrate radio broadcast, improve international cooperation among radio broadcasters and encourage decision makers to create and provide access to information through radio including community radios.
It is an occasion to draw attention to the uniqueness of radio which remains the most readily available medium that can disseminate information in times of need and emergencies to the widest and most diverse audience within the shortest period of time. UNESCO on the World Radio Day celebration for 2017 is focusing on freedom of expression as an inalienable human right set down in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
