Broadcasting
Hate Speech: FG Directs NBC to Sanction Erring Stations
Federal government has directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to sanction any radio or television station that broadcasts hate speech, as part of efforts to stem the growing tide of hate speech in the country.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, minister of Information and Culture, issued the directive in Abuja on Thursday at the 3rd Annual Lecture Series of the NBC, which also coincides with the 25th Anniversary of the Commission.
“As a matter of fact, the challenges facing the NBC have never become more daunting, considering the increasing propensity of some radio and television stations across the country to turn over their platforms to the purveyors of hate speech. It is the responsibility of the NBC to put these broadcast stations in check before they set the country on fire.
“As the NBC celebrates what is a milestone – a quarter of a century – in its existence, I urge the Commission to redouble its efforts in discharging its mandate. The NBC must ensure a strict adherence to the Broadcasting Code, and errant stations must be sanctioned accordingly to serve as a deterrent. The nation looks up to the NBC to restore sanity to the broadcast industry. The Commission cannot afford to do any less at this critical time. It cannot afford to fail the nation,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed, who cited the ignominious role played by a radio station in fueling the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, which led to the loss of over 800,000 lives in 100 days, charged the NBC not to allow the purveyors of hate speech to lead Nigeria to the path of destruction.
“If you tune into many radio stations, for example, you will be shocked by the things being said, the careless incitement to violence and the level of insensitivity to the multi-religious, multi-ethnic nature of our country. Unfortunately, even some of the hosts of such radio programmes do little or nothing to stop such incitements. Oftentimes, they are willing collaborators of hate speech campaigners. This must not be allowed to continue because it is detrimental to the unity and well-being of our country,” he warned.
The Minister re-echoed the recent position of the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo “that it is the resolve of the government that none will be allowed to get away with making speeches that can cause sedition or that can cause violence, especially because when we make these kind of pronouncements and do things that can cause violence or destruction of lives and property, we are no longer in control.”
He said the purveyors of hate speech are also deliberately giving the impression that the Buhari Administration has not achieved anything since assuming office in May 2015, adding, however, that no amount of hatred by the naysayers will obliterate the solid achievements of the Buhari Administration, under a most difficult situation.
“Despite operating with just 45% of the funds available to the immediate past Administration, due largely to the fall in oil prices in our mono-product economy and the failure to save for the rainy day, this government has achieved so much more in so short a time. To put things in perspective, a country that has consistently produced more oil than Nigeria, despite having about one sixth of the Nigerian population, is today embroiled in the worst economic crisis in its history. There is shortage of food, medicine and everything, and there is hyper-inflation.
“With Nigeria being affected by the same downturn in oil prices, coupled with years of monumental mismanagement of the country’s economy and the mindless and maddening looting of its treasury by rapacious public officials, why is Nigeria not in similar crisis as the country in question? My answer is simple: Because Nigeria has a President like Muhammadu Buhari,” Alhaji Mohammed said.
While reeling out the achievements of the Buhari Administration, he said the Administration has brought transparency to governance, with the Treasury Single Account (TSA) enabling the government to monitor its revenue and spending; the modified tax system improving tax collection; the agriculture sector producing food in excess of what obtained one year ago, and the government spent 1.3 trillion Naira on Capital projects in the 2016 budget, the highest in the country’s history.
“Does anyone remember the scandalous fuel subsidies that failed to deliver fuel to filling stations? What about the fertilizer subsidies that never guaranteed the availability of fertilizer to farmers?
Today, fuel queues are gone with the phantom fuel subsidies. Also, thanks to the resuscitation of 11 of the country’s moribund fertilizer blending plants, fertilizer is now available to farmers nationwide. In fact, 6 million bags of fertilizers have been delivered at 30% below the market price, 50,000 jobs created and the 50 billion Naira saved with the stopping of fertilizer subsidy, all because of the revival of those blending plants. Six more are expected to come on stream soon.
“The government is not done. Despite the paucity of funds, the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programmes are being implemented. The N-Power Volunteers Corps created 200,000 jobs in the first batch and 300,000 more will follow shortly; the Homegrown School Feeding is spreading from state to state, providing nutritious food for school children and employing thousands of cooks; the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) is providing N5,000 monthly to one million vulnerable and poorest Nigerians; while the Micro-credit scheme will provide over a million Nigerians with small loans at very low rates through the Bank of Industry,” the Minister said.
Alhaji Mohammed said despite the cowardly bombing of soft targets, the Boko Haram insurgency is not in resurgence; and that the fight against corruption is unrelenting, with alleged looters forfeiting the proceeds of their ill-gotten wealth, the corrupt being unable to sleep easy while critical infrastructure like roads and railways are being delivered.
Speaking further on the achievements in the economic sector, he said figures just released by the National Bureau of Statistics have revealed a growth of 95 per cent in capital importation/Foreign Direct Investment in the second Quarter of 2017, over the First Quarter and added that Year on Year increased by 43.6 per cent over the Q2 figure in 2016.
Civil Society Organisation (CSO) under the auspices of Open Justice Initiative (OJI), has threatened to drag the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to court if it fails to ban Netflix, TikTok, and others over the alleged broadcast of offensive same-sex content on Nigeria’s airwaves.
The CSO, also urged NBC to ban other social media platforms, including X, formerly known as Twitter, Facebook, etc with regard to the subject matter.
Donald Ayibiowu, lawyer and programme officer of OJI, gave the warning in a letter addressed to Mr. Charles Ebuebu, director-general of the NBC.
The certified true copy of the letter titled: “Need to ban and bar the continuous broadcast of offensive same-sex contents on Nigeria’s airwaves by Netflix and other specialised broadcast outlets”, made available to newsmen in Abuja, was received by the Commission on April 23, 2024.
The letter said, “We write to draw the esteem attention of your commission to some obnoxious and repugnant same-sex contents being aired or transmitted by some broadcast outfits operating within the Nigeria broadcast space, which platforms includes Netflix and some social media entities.
“These abhorrent contents being campaigned about borders on the promotion of amorous relationships between persons of same sex on the said platforms.
“We received complaints on this topic from well-meaning Nigerians and religious organisations and further discovered that the broadcast contents/materials on these platforms are laced with embedded scenes/episodes where same-sex relationships are practically being propagated.
“We also conducted research on some social media platforms like TikTok, Twitter (X), Facebook (Meta), etc with regards to this subject, and found same hazardous and illegal same-sex content being promoted and transmitted.
“It is clear that there is an agenda to surreptitiously lure the unsuspecting young population of this country to this satanic habit/lifestyle of same-sex practice in Nigeria by subtly introducing same through entertainment and showbiz industry, albeit through the airwaves.
“It is now commonplace to see some of these illegal contents being conveyed on social media and specialised platforms in Nigeria.
“We wish to point out that these contents are clearly being aired or transmitted in contravention of our extant laws such as Sections 4(2) and 5(2} of the Same-Sex Mariage (Prohibition) Act, 2013,” he said.
The lawyer said the act being subtly propagated and promoted via the mediums was targeted at destroying the moral fibre and rectitude, erode, dislodging and polluting the society with unacceptable inhuman values.
He said it was also to erode the age-long cultural practices and sacred religious belief system of male and female gender only as created by God Almighty.
Ayibiowu said, that if the commission failed to block, restrict or scrap the same-sex promotional material/contents from Nigeria airwaves, “we shall proceed to seek further redress in pursuit of our goal of saner Nigeria airwaves”.
Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has promised to review recent price increases in MultiChoice cable subscriptions to ensure subscribers in Nigeria get value for their money.
Recall that the leading pay TV operator, recently announced increase in the subscriptions for its DStv and GOtv packages by at least 25 per cent.
Multichoice announced the increase in tarrifs in a message sent to subscribers on Wednesday and said that the new regime will be effective May 1.
The company stated this in the statement signed by John Ugbe, chief executive officer was titled, ‘Price Adjustment on DStv and GOtv Packages.’
The pay-TV firm cited the rise in the cost of business operations as the rationale behind the price increase.
The company said, “We understand the impact this change may have on you – our valued customer, but the rise in the cost of business operations, has led us to make this difficult decision.
“It remains our mission to provide the best entertainment and viewing experience to you and are committed to continue to deliver high-quality content and unparalleled service. So, from Wednesday, 1 May 2024, the price adjustment will take effect.”
But Adamu Abdullahi, acting chief executive officer, FCCPC, in a chat with Channels Television on its Dateline Abuja programme on Thursday, provided an update on the summons issued to the owner of a Chinese store in Abuja accused of discriminatory and sharp practices.
He also commented on the adherence to the order given to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, stating that sanctions are imminent for all verified infractions identified by the agency.
The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has called for effective collaboration with the media in the country towards tackling the menace of copyright infringements.
The Director-General of the commission, Dr. John Asein, who made the call at a media parley in Ibadan, said while the commission has the power to arrest and prosecute people involved in copyright infringements, it still needs the support of journalists to achieve its aims, maintaining that copyright infringements have negative impact on authors and the society as a whole.
He said: “We need your support to stamp out copyright infringements. This means we all have responsibility.
“We have the power to search, arrest and prosecute. But, we rely on police, NSCDC and other security agencies so as to get it done. We have a good working relationship with the security agencies. The problem of enforcement is real.”
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA), Mr. Emmanuel Abimbola, in his contributions, urged governors of Southwest states to reduce fees charged on book review for publishers, stating that this will reduce cost of books in the markets which has become a burden to most parents in the country.
He insisted that fees charged on book review by government agencies particularly in the region is becoming exorbitant.
According to him, an official of one of the states once said that the exorbitant fee charged was a means of generating revenue which should not be so because education must be seen as a social service.
He said: “We don’t really have much problem with the government of other region because some of them only charge flat rate for the book review which we publishers are ready to cope with.
“However, we are calling on the government of states in the Southwest to stop the exorbitant fee, it is becoming too much, a situation whereby we are asked to pay N10,000 or N12,000 per book title, by the time you calculated it, it will be going to N2 to N3 million.
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