Issues
Broadcasting As Engine Room For Development
Development is the process of moving the world, of engaging in the task of self improvement with the available, not only for all aspects of a person’s development but also for aspects of a nation’s development. Following this, the broadcast media are the most vital instrument for influencing the masses to either consume or conserve.
It is increasingly recognised that broadcasting has an important role to play in development as a widespread tool of information transfer, as a method to improve governance, as an important economic security in its own right and as a potential access point to new information and communications technologies.
In developing countries an issue which does not appear on television or radio does not even exist. Here in the developing world, the question is: to what extent can broadcasting be as engine room for development in educating the masses?
Communication is the most vital factor in building and developing nations. Following this, national development in any society cannot be achieved without widespread education for children and adults. Every spheres of life will remain static without well packaged information. Information to a large extent is an asset; a resource, a commodity with social economic and political consequences.
Education is recognised as the most potential instrument for development. Through education, people assimilate fundamental values and develop new ones. Certain prescribed goal are realised in areas of economic growth, health cares, political and social awareness, political stability, self-reliance, national identity, among other things.
The mass media, particularly the electronic or broadcast media, become a powerful and effective instrument achieving these national goals.
Broadcasting is the transmission of signals through electronic agent wares which convert audio and video signals in a form in which they can be received in the audiences’ homes. Broadcasting can facilitate social development. It can be used to promote and build the living standard of a society or nation through the information in form of programmes they produce and disseminate to their audience.
Broadcast media include radio and television. Radio is broadcasting which appears to the auditory and visuals senses.
Nigeria is a giant nation strongly backed up by a collective will to develop and forge ahead. The responsibility of carrying the people of the nation along its development journey falls on the broadcast media.
It is believed that Nigeria nation has not less than 250 ethnic groups with different social cultural backgrounds. This calls for a medium that can cross coasters, break through all barriers and make developmental impact on the audience. For there to be unity and national development, there must be effective communication.
Has the broadcast media really helped in advancement and national development? Over the years, lots of studies and researches have been carried out and consequently many books written and published in order to discover the answer to the above question. Efforts have been made to find out the relationship between the media and advancement in national development. Today it is accepted that educational programmes as the last broadcast media produce some effect in the audience in the areas of development, especially the rural dwellers, who hold the key to national development in every nation.
Development can only be achieved when there is a high level of literacy in community. With the advancement of technology in broadcasting field, there tends to be a growing awareness among societies.
Therefore, there is a belief that the people’s perceptions and understanding of media messages are considered high. People embark on industrialisation as a result of mass media influence. The world is ever changing thus the general public wants to be informed or rather, educated on some necessities of life, especially those who were not opportune to be enrolled into the various institutions of learning.
The broadcast media which is the electronic media are the most prominent and significant means for development. They are younger than oral and print media being mainly the products of twenty century. Radio appears to be more powerful. It stands out as having the greater power of reaching the diverse people of the Nigeria nation. Radio, as a medium of development, has wider scope of coverage and as a commonly used medium makes greater impact on the audience. Radio is a mechanical medium of communication whose reception, according to Okonkwo (1991), is aural. It makes use of sense of sound and hearing to convey its message to the audience.
Radio programmes play a vital role in National Development. They bring up entertainment programmes that serve as a purpose in the communication of development topics or issues especially radio drama. This offers creative opportunities for broadcasters to raise, frame or discuss development issues. Entertainment is considered a means to an end with dedication programmes designed to engage audience in the sustainable development agenda.
Entertainment programmes provide knowledge and information about development topics, raising awareness or meeting the practical needs of certain groups in society (eg teenage girls, ethnic minorities or those art of work).
The role of the broadcasting in promoting good governance in Nigeria cannot be over emphasised. Despite the constitutional provisions, as well as the enormous financial resources, and huge potentials of the country, including the social and economic policies that have been implemented by successive administrations, good governance continues to be elusive to Nigeria.
In an attempt to enthrone good governance in the country, recent democratic administrations organised good governance tours, where officials of the Federal Ministry of Information alongside journalists from various media houses, inspected the progress of work on the projects executed by the different agencies of the Federal and the State governments. The objective of the tour is for the media to assess the performance of elected public office holders at both the Federal and State levels.
The Nigerian Constitution in Section 22 made provision for such an exercise where it stated interalia, “The press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media shall at all times become free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this chapter and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people.” This links the media to the establishment of good governance.
All aspects of good governance are facilitated by a strong and independent media within a society. Only when journalists are free to monitor, investigate and criticise the public administrations policies and actions can good governance take hold which brings development.
Independent media are like beacon that should be welcomed when there is nothing to hide and much to improve. The media allow for ongoing checks and assessments of the activities of government and assist in bringing public concerns and voices into the open by providing a platform for discussion.
Freedom of the media allows for the formation of a public sphere in which a wide range of debates can take place and a variety of viewpoints be represented. The citizenry can thereby use the media to express their assent or dissent or explore aspects of issues not considered through official channels. Government has a responsibility to allow the media to contribute to the participation process, especially in areas where face -to-face participation is not possible. This will foster good governance and development.
Good governance is an essential framework which serves as a means of achieving wider goals such as social and political development, alleviation of poverty and protection of the environment. Without good governance, social, economic and political progress is difficult to attain and impossible to guarantee. In fact, it is the bedrock of any modern democracy. Promoting good governance is not an easy task as it is much more involving than organising elections and appointing people into the public offices. A free and critical broadcast media is essential to the growth and development of any democracy.
Tasie is of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Gift Tasie
This is an open letter to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Your Excellency,
Sir, ordinarily, I would not be writing an open letter to you, but like a wise man once said, “Silence would be Treason.” So I prefer to stay alive than face the consequences of silence in the face of crime. With each passing day, and as the socio-political tides continue to turn, it has become more pertinent that more people speak up in a concerted MANNER to prevent the death of our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as we appear to be, in the words of W. B. Yeats, “turning and turning in the widening gyre” heading for an end where the falcon will no longer hear the falconer
It is unfortunate that since losing control of the Federal Government, with the loss of President Goodluck Jonathan at the poll in 2015, our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has continued on a downward spiral. It is much more painful, that where it is expected that leaders within the party should rise to the challenge and put an end to this decline of our great party, some have instead taken up roles as its undertaker.
It will be hypocritical to claim aloofness to what I believe is your grouse with the PDP and I am not a hypocrite. It will be uncharitable on my part to discountenance the role you have played in strengthening the PDP from 2015 up until the last Presidential primaries of the party. It is my belief that your grouse against certain members of the party who you perceived worked against the party and abandoned it in 2015 and then came around much later to take control of the party, is justified. Also know that your decision to remain in the Party and stifle its progress on the other hand, as a sort of payback, stands condemned. For a man of your pedigree and stature, it is a dishonorable act, highly dishonorable and stands as testimony against all you claim to stand for.
At least, it can be argued that those who you hold this grudge against, abandoned the party completely and did not sit back while actively working to destroy it from within. But what then can be the argument on your own part, seeing that those you are currently working with against your party are the same people who set in motion, and executed surgically, the plans that not only ended our Party’s leadership at the centre, but ended up dislodging the first Niger Deltan to occupy Aso Rock as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Is this not akin to “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face?” That will be worse than folly. Let us not throw away the baby with the bath water because we do not like the soap used in bathing the baby. It will be a grave mistake.
Honourable Minister, sir, it is rather unfortunate that of all people, you have also decided to play the role of an undertaker not only for our party, but for our dear Rivers State.
I will like to take you down memory lane a little. Let me remind you of your emergence as Guber candidate of the PDP in Rivers State, against all fairness and justice in 2014. You will remember that despite the reality being that you as an Ikwerre man was poised to replace a fellow Ikwerre man in Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in our multiethnic state, Rivers people overwhelmingly stood by you and pushed for your emergence as Executive Governor of Rivers State in 2015. I dare say that your popularity in the entire Niger Delta region was at an all-time high at this point.
I want you to understand why you were loved across board leading to your eventual emergence as Governor of Rivers State in 2015; it was because when it looked like all were against the second term ambitions of the first Niger Delta man to emerge as President of Nigeria, you became not just a pillar but a beacon of resistance by standing for Goodluck Jonathan. Rivers people, as grateful and rewarding as they can be, paid you back by ensuring your electoral victory against the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC) led by your predecessor. On your emergence, where there were second term Governors in the region, you, a first term Governor, was seen by the people as not just the leader of the PDP, but the leader of the entire Niger Delta region. You earned it, and no one could dispute it.
In 2019, when your re-election bid was being challenged ferociously, Rivers people once again stood solidly behind you. Many were killed in the process of defending your votes. Do you remember Dr. Ferry Gberegbe that was shot and killed while trying to protect your votes in Khana Local Government Area? There are many more unnamed and unrecognised sons and daughters of Rivers State who sacrificed their lives so that you could emerge as a second term Governor of Rivers State.
In 2022/23, Honourable Minister, you oversaw a party primary across board that saw some candidates imprisoned and internal party democracy jettisoned for your wishes, leading to the emergence of flag bearers of our party all singlehandedly picked by you. You have on more than one occasion publicly stated that you paid for all their forms. Even those shortchanged in this process licked their wounds and continued to play their roles as party members to ensure the success of the party at all levels. In what will go down as one of the most keenly contested elections in recent Rivers history, with formidable candidates like Senator Magnus Abe of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mr Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the vibrant youth driven Labour Party (LP), PDP emerged victorious across board except for Phalga Constituency 1 that was lost to the Labour Party. (Not that you did not loose in some other LGA’s but let’s stick to the official figures declared by INEC).
It begs the question, why then do you want to burn down Rivers State, when everyone who now holds political office emerged through a process designed and endorsed by you? Is it that you do not care about Rivers people and you are all about yourself? If so, I am forced to believe that those around you are not telling you the truth. The truth being that in a state where your words were law; where houses and businesses could be demolished or closed down without any recourse to legalities, where Executive Orders could be deployed to stifle the opposition, that your popularity is now at an all-time low. Probably because they are afraid of you, or of losing the benefits they gain from you, they fail to tell you that what you might perceive as a battle against your successor, has slowly but gradually degenerating into a battle against Rivers State and Rivers people. You know, there is a popular saying that, a man can cook for the community and the community will finish the food, but when a community decides to cook for one man, the reverse is the case.
LEAVE FUBARA ALONE
You have gone on and on about being betrayed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara. You point fingers forgetting that some of those same fingers quick to spot betrayals point straight back at you. It is not Governor Fubara that has betrayed the PDP by working against it in the just concluded General Election, and working with the opposition at the State and Federal level to destabilise the party. It is you, Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that betrayed Rivers people by instigating a political crisis with propensity to escalate ethnic tensions in Rivers State. It is you Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that has declared himself God over all in Rivers State and has no qualms with burning the state to the ground to prove a point. It is you Honourable Minister. It is you Honourable Minister who told the world that the APC was a cancer and you can never support a cancerous party. It is you Honourable Minister who ended up facilitating the emergence of the same “cancerous” APC that has accelerated the economic decline of this country and further impoverished our people with no remorse. All so you can be a Minister of the Federal Capital Territory? The lack of self awareness is gobsmacking.
Some days back I came across a video where you talked about death and how you do not cry when you hear about the death of some people because you have no idea what might have caused it considering many a politician swear “over dead bodies” and still go back on their words. Those words made me think, and I could see the reason behind them. You see, in chosing to be God in the affairs of Rivers people, you have closed your eyes and ears to reason; you see nothing and hear nothing that can cause you to rethink on the path you have chosen. In your quest to “show Fubara” you have unwittingly united a vast majority of Rivers people behind him, so much that even those who despised him because of you, now like or love him, because of you too. In your scheming, I will advise you not to forget that “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.
Note that the war which you have or are waging against Governor Fubara, has gone beyond being merely political as you might see in your minds eye. It is now one that, fortunately for some and unfortunately for others, has evolved into a war against Rivers people. It is good to point out that no one has taken a stand against Rivers people and won. No one has gone against God and won. In your defiant characteristic manner, it will be unfortunate if you believe your own hubris and that of those around you on the possibility of you being the first to successfully go against Rivers people. It will be a needless gamble; one where if you win you create more enemies for yourself than you can withstand on your political journey, and if you lose, your legacy becomes an inglorious and irredeemable one in Rivers State, the Niger Delta, and Nigeria at large. For your sake as regards posterity, it is my greatest wish that you have a moment of sobriety and a deep reflection and introspection on this path you have chosen.
Honourable Minister, sir, what is left of your legacy is on the brink of being completely desecrated and relegated to the dustbin of our political history, and it will be a sad end to what I will say has been a wonderful political career that many can only dream of. The ball is in your court, and may God Almighty have mercy on us all and forgive us for our shortcomings.
Gabriel Baritulem Pidomson
Dr Pidomson is former Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt and former member, Rivers State House of Assembly.
In 2015, I made a conscious decision to invest my financial resources, my time, and energy into supporting Nyesom Wike’s gubernatorial campaign. I poured my heart and soul into ensuring Nyesom Wike emerged victorious even at the risk of my personal safety.
Again in 2019, I doubled down on my commitment. I invested a significant amount of money to procure campaign outfits for all twenty-three Local Governments Areas of Rivers State. I spared no expense in supplementing Wike’s election efforts in my own local government, and once again putting myself at great risk to safeguard the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.
However, despite my unwavering loyalty and sacrifices, I found myself abandoned and forgotten by Wike. Throughout his eight-year tenure, he failed to acknowledge my contributions or fulfill his promises and agreements. Even as a former Deputy Governor, Wike denied me my severance benefit.
My investment in Wike’s governorship was not just financial – it was a commitment of passion, dedication, and belief in a better future for Rivers State. Yet, his leadership style of dishonesty, greed, drunkenness and rash abuse of senior citizens brought me nothing but disappointment, misery and losses.
By the grace of God, today I speak not as a victim, but as a hero. I have accepted my losses, and I have moved on. And as I reflect on my experience, I cannot help but urge Wike to do the same and allow peace and development to reign in Rivers State.
Nyesom Wike, when you speak of investing in Governor Sim Fubara’s election, remember those like me who also invested in you. Remember the sacrifices I made, the risks I took, and the promises and agreements you left unfulfilled.
It is time for you, Wike, to let go of the past and allow Governor Sim Fubara the breathing space he needs to lead Rivers State forward. Allow him to focus on the challenges of good governance and the aspirations of the people. Spare him these unwarranted and ill-conceived political manoeuvrings founded on personal agenda and not for general good of Rivers State and her people.
I may have lost my investment on Wike, but I have not lost hope in the future of Rivers State. And together, we will continue to strive for a brighter tomorrow.
Long Live the Governor to Rivers State, Sir Siminialayi Fubara!
Long Live the Good People of Rivers State!!
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!
Engr Ikuru is former Deputy Governor of Rivers State.
Tele Ikuru
