NBC’s digitisation drive, fake news and fight against coronavirus

 

THE dreaded COVID-19 pandemic has become a global tragedy. At the moment various news platforms are reporting the same thing while the pandemic is holding sway putting the world at a standstill.

Following the outbreak of this virus, Nigeria’s digitisation drive has once again been stalled, while fake news and misinformation have negatively affected the Federal Government’s efforts to stem the tide.

To this end, the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has cautioned broadcast stations to shun programmes with spurious claims. The commission said it observed with dismay the preponderance of programmes with unverifiable claims targeted at deterring efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NBC, while commending the commitment of the broadcast stations for their massive coverage and support to the Federal Government towards enlightening Nigerians on ways to keep the pandemic at bay, noted that the commission will not hesitate to impose severe sanctions on any station that allows unverifiable claims on its platform.

The commission drew the attention of broadcast media houses to the sections of the 6th edition of Nigeria Broadcasting Code 3.4.1(a) which stipulates that a ‘’Broadcaster shall ensure that every programme is accurate and credible. The 7.1.18 said descriptions, claims, testimonials or illustrations in an advertisement relating to verifiable facts shall be such that can easily be substantiated, while 7.4.10 of the code say the broadcaster shall ensure that an advertisement is not broadcast if it contains any offer to diagnose or treat conditions by myth, superstitious beliefs and practice.”

The acting Director-General of the Commission, Professor Armstrong Idachaba, in an interview with journalists said the commission has sent a communication to all the broadcast stations that they should recognise that their service is essential during the period of national emergencies, reiterating the need for a responsible patriotic national coverage.

He said the commission has made it mandatory that all broadcast stations must be objective and provide relevant developmental information.  Professor Idachaba stressed that such information will keep people abreast of the issues, enlighten them and help in alleviating the sufferings and pains of Nigerians.

He said: “We have also made them realise that at in times they owe Nigerians the duty to keep them informed, so they must put in place measures that will ensure that even at times of lockdown that the stations can inform, educate, enlighten and to some extent, entertain Nigerians. Information is key but we should not abuse it.

“Broadcast stations and other forms must at all times remember that if they are not objective but continue to release fake figures and news, they are causing panic and heartache to Nigerians. They must confirm and cross-check properly before going to the press. We need objective reporting, not fake news,” he said.

While acknowledging that the commission has been disturbed by a lack of direction from moving Nigeria from analogue to digital broadcasting, Professor Idachaba said NBC is now more refocused and was optimistic that the country will catch up with the digital broadcasting train.

Professor Armstrong said: “We give God the glory. First of all, don’t forget I have been at NBC for decades now. I have served in various capacities; I have been a zonal director in at least four to five locations. I have been at the core of the monitoring operations of NBC as director of monitoring. I have worked as a director in the DG’s office for three to four director-generals. I have knowledge about the activities of the commission and I think that has been very helpful.”

On the civil suits instituted against the suspended DG of NBC by service providers and the ICPC, Professor Idachaba said he believes that crucial consensus is important by the stakeholders.

He noted that such cases arise due to some level of mistrust. ‘’What we are currently doing is bringing everybody back to the table. We are talking to all the parties. They are positive. We will be transparent, objective and fair to all in achieving our goals. What should be paramount is national interest in all that we do and we expect operators and regulators to have that understanding.”

On ways to forge ahead with the Association of Cable Operators (ACON), MultiChoice, Pinnacle, ITS and several others, particularly for the DSOs, CCNL, In-View and SES a UK based satellite provider, Professor Idachaba said that he recently had a meeting with Pinnacle Communication and ITS. He said fortunately the two companies had a pre-meeting before they met the regulators and the meetings were very open and sincere.

He said, “I got reassured from the meeting that both signal distributors are willing to work together for the good of the country. There are lots of constraints, including the fact that the government needs to pay for some services and the government is committed to paying them. They are willing to further constrain themselves and invest so that the digital ecology can open up one more time.

“There was also the issue between MultiChoice and some local/indigenous operators of the cable television such that the parties were in court. Again, I was able to get them together and prevailed upon them in an open sincere discussion. As we speak, both parties have agreed to withdraw cases in court as a way of paving the way for a peaceful broadcast industry going forward.”

On efforts to switch on more states while being optimistic that the nation will curtail the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. He said credit must be given to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who he said has shown patriotism in delivering the Digital Switch Over project on behalf of the Federal Government and the Nigerian people.

Professor Idachaba said fortunately, the Federal Government is pursuing the reform of the broadcast industry and that both projects are converging at the right time with a central focus to change the history of broadcasting in Nigeria.

He said, “the minister has requested engagements at all the levels of the ecology and that is happening. In the next two weeks, I and the chairman of DIGITEAM Engineer Eddy Amana are likely to report back to the minister on activities we have instituted and measures we have taken to reenergise the process. We are very hopeful that once we have met with the minister, we should be able to talk to Nigerians and the broadcast industry generally regarding the immediate future of the rollout, which we want to believe, is becoming very positive.

“First, we need to release a timeline. We need to begin to broadcast digital signals in certain main cities and territories in Nigeria outside the current six—Plateau, FCT, Enugu, Ilorin, Osun and Kaduna—that we have been operating for almost three years. We hope that in the immediate foreseeable future we will be able to increase coverage by almost 70 per cent.”

He said Set Top Box Manufacturers (STBs) is one of the areas the commission can beat its chest confidently with some accolades.

According to him, ‘’Don’t forget we licensed 13 manufacturers. At the early stage following the vigour that was put into the process by Alhaji Mohammed between 2015 and 2016 we were able to get about six of those plants up and running. There is Gospell Digital in Calabar; SMK also in Calabar, there is Trefonics here in Abuja, Digitune in Lagos and a few others. I have spoken with the chairman of the STB Manufacturers, Sir Godfrey Ohuabunwa and he confidently told me they have installation capacity to meet the nation’s requirement at very short notice.”

“In fact, he said that as we speak there is a reserve of close to a million STBs waiting for deployment. So, it is interesting to note that they can achieve that. I think all they need is a date for the rollout and they will supply the boxes. The DSO cannot operate outside the Set Top Box manufacturers, the signal distributors, and the satellite providers. We need each other to function effectively.”

 

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