Ganduje, Obaigbena, Adesina task broadcasters on ethics, upgrade of media facility

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State and Chairman, Arise Television and This Day Newspaper, Nduka Obaigbena as well as Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina on Saturday tasked the leadership of Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) on the need to prioritize ethics and professionalism in the discharge of their duties.

They gave the charge in Abuja, at the induction of the Chairman of Multichoice Nigeria, Mr. John Ugbe, as BON Chairman.

Governor Ganduje who underscored the need for government to support the media industry with a view to moving broadcasts to greater heights in the face of emerging global challenges in the industry also tasked broadcasters with the need to promote peace and national development above individual interest.

He said: “The Nigerian media, particularly the broadcast media has an important role to play in promoting unity and progress of our nation at this moment of challenges. As media owners, you have a vital role to play in managing all communications in the public domain in the interest of peace and national development.

“Let me reiterate my call to you, to work with the other media industries in Nigeria, to make sure that the Nigerian media is not allowed to disrupt but play its traditional role of leading the way in the process of protecting public interest for nation-building.”

Governor Ganduje also tasked the Executive arm of government with the need for an upgrade of “facilities of the media, especially the technology of it, to ensure that they have the facilities with which they can effectively discharge their duties.

“Secondly, it is to also understand the character of the media so that we don’t misunderstand issues. We should be able to accommodate them; we should be able to understand their disposition, attitude, and the nature of issues in this country especially when different ethnic nationalities, leaders of tribal and ethnic organisations. I think this is the time that the media should be able to make them come together and talk ‘One Nigeria.”

While commending the successful conduct of the election held in Kano State, Governor Ganduje acknowledged the transmission of various signature projects executed by his administration.

“I want to thank you for choosing our dear state for the conduct of your general assembly and annual general meeting, and particularly for dining time to visit our critical infrastructure projects in Kano.

“These infrastructures are really signature projects by our administration. On behalf of the government and the people of Kano State, we are very much grateful for giving the visitors a very wide coverage and showing to the world some of our modest achievements.”

In his brief remarks, Chairman, Arise Television and This Day Newspaper, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena who noted that Nigeria is in a momentous time, tasked the newly inducted BON on the need to deplore their prowess towards effective regulation of broadcast industry as the country prepares for the 2023 general elections.

“Nigeria is in a momentous time, a time of great change that even on this table in the powerhouse in Kano, none of them can tell you who the next president would be. At this time in Nigeria, there is nobody who can predict 2023. Therefore these are times of momentous change when we have ideas of some of those who founded Nigeria in the 60s clashing with the new ideas of the Millennials and who Femi (Adesina) will not like to hear at times.

“However we are here to welcome the new leadership of BON, John Ugbeh, and his colleague. I believe they are very capable to guide Nigeria through this change, I salute them all,” Obaigbena said.

Speaking earlier, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina who described the newly inducted chairman and vice as consuming professionals, said “it’s my great pleasure to grace this induction ceremony of two consuming professionals as chairman and vice-chairman respectively of the broadcasting organization of Nigeria, we have no doubt that during their term we would see a lot of improvements in the broadcasting industry in terms of professionalism.

“I’m glad that the DG of NBC is here, he knows the running battle that the NBC had had particularly with the broadcast stations in the country. But the two incoming people have what it takes to ensure that there is ethics, there is professionalism and there is sanity in broadcasting in Nigeria.

“You are driving in your car and you put on the radio in your car, the things that are coming from the station you can’t believe. You can’t believe that such things would be on the airwaves; some on television, you can’t just understand how people who are given the opportunity to speak on national television will say some things.

“I think BON needs to look into this and I believe that if any set of people can do something about it, the incoming chairman and vice chairman can.”

He also tasked all the BON members with the “need to collectively ensure that we have a country. Senator Abaribe is not in terms of a circle, the entire country; we need to have a country and if we are going to have a country that will be united and will be one, broadcasting has a very big role to play.”

In his acceptance speech, BON Chairman, Mr. John Ugbe who rolled out a 4-point agenda, reiterated commitment towards prioritizing training and development by sourcing for training opportunities for BON members with a view to “deepen their technical knowledge and competent skills, working with local and foreign partners.

“We will facilitate training opportunities for our member stations. The training programme will be in two layers. The first layer will be to train the trainers and the second layer will be the zonal training. We are committed to starting this training programme from the first quarter of 2022 and we are already looking at providing training opportunities for at least 1,000 members in the first phase.

“The second point was purposeful membership. One of our goals for the industry is to bring all Broadcasters under the BON umbrella. This is to forge a formidable pressure and industry group capable of influencing broadcast policies and regulations to the benefit of its members and the industry as a whole. You can see that we tried to pull a lot of members of the National Assembly because we will be knocking on their doors just after now as BON to lobby.

“We understand that some Broadcasters question the value of being a member of BON. We will provide comfort to these broadcasters by creating awareness on the immense benefits that will accrue from a united broadcast Industry under BON. This will be done through policy formulation, shaping regulations, and policy engagements with the regulators such as NBC, APCON, NCC, and other stakeholders like the Legislature and Executive arms of government.

“Working with the BON Secretariat, we will initiate an aggressive membership recruitment drive so that we can achieve the objective of forming a formidable industry group.

He also pledged resolve towards the establishment of the Society of Nigerian Broadcasters, noting that: “Most professions have accreditation organizations who set standards for entry, retraining and the code of conduct. Unfortunately, none exists for the broadcast profession which is one of the reasons we have had a lot of complaints about quality issues we have in the industry.

“But we are very happy that BON has started the process for the establishment of the Society of Nigerian Broadcasters. We will build on this process and work assiduously in pushing for the passage of the bill to the National Assembly. Others such as funding of Broadcasting and digital switchover will definitely gain equal attention.”

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

Viral Voice Note On WhatsApp Billing False

Claim: A viral WhatsApp voice note, purportedly made by the director and CEO of WhatsApp, claims users will have to start paying for WhatsApp services.

Verdict: The viral WhatsApp voice note claim is a hoax. The content is not new and has been circulated as a broadcast message several times in the past.

Experts Say Mixture Of Snail Slime, Evaporated Milk Cannot Cure Stroke

CLAIM: A Facebook user claims water gotten from snails (snail slime) and peak milk can cure partial or full stroke.

VERDICT: The claim that water gotten from snails (snail slime) and peak milk can cure partial or full stroke is false.

FULL STORY: On July 26, 2020, a Facebook user, Prince Nnamdi Enyinnaya Emelelu Eluwa, in a post claimed that water gotten from snails (Snail slime) and peak milk can cure partial or full stroke. The post which is over a year old has recently been reshared by other Facebook users.

Marburg Virus: What You Need To Know About Disease Recently Detected In West Africa

On Monday, August 9, 2021, the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed the first case of Marburg virus in West Africa in Guinea. This development has sent shivers down the spines of West Africans who are still grappling with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. But before this dreaded disease is greeted by rumours and misinformation, here is what you have to know about the virus.APC states to establish Health Emergency Trust Fund…

FACT CHECK: US Did Not Give Nigeria 48 Hours Ultimatum To Detain Abba Kyari

CLAIM: Several social media posts claim the United States of America (USA) gave Nigeria’s Federal Government 48 hours to detain suspended Deputy Police Commissioner, Abba Kyari, or face severe sanctions.

VERDICT: The claim is false and misleading. The US did not give Nigerian Federal Government 48 hours ultimatum to detain Abba Kyari.