On Friday, August 18, 2022, National Broadcasting Corporation threatened to shut down the operations of some electronic stations over their failure to renew their operating licenses as some have failed to renew as far back as 2015!. This was after demand notices and reminders had been sent to them. The affected stations are owned by various state governments and individuals. Also, the ownership cuts across the major political parties and geographical zones.
Reprieve as NBC suspends shutdown of indebted stations
Specifically, fifty three (53) stations appeared on the released list by the NBC. Geographically, the affected stations operate in Abuja, Lagos, Yenagoa, Port- Harcourt, Jos, Benin, Keffi, Ibadan, Abeokuta, Effurum, Akure, etc. Prominent individual stations that appeared on the list were Silverbird and AIT/Ray Power/Daar Communications. State Broadcasting Stations in Kogi, Niger, Gombe, Lagos, Osun, Ogun, Ondo, Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross River, Imo, Anambra, Borno, Yobe, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Jigawa, Kaduna and Katsina completed the list.
Discussions that were mostly limited to Silverbird and AIT dominated various social media platforms on Friday. Equally, some of the print media of the following Saturday joined the bandwagon without providing the needed or expected background to the news item. The condemnations that trailed the NBC’s decision to sanction these electronic media were enormous; all tailored towards a calculated attempt to gag the press and obstruct freedom of expression. Notable organizations like Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Social-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Nigerian Guilds of Editors (NGE) condemned NBC’s action in statements issued by them. NGE and SERAP eventually dragged the commission to court.
Many individuals, journalists inclusive, who were victims of mis-management that led the sorry state of these organizations condemned the NBC’s action. It is sad to note that their reactions were from uninformed positions. At the same time, some journalists were objective in their submissions. Many journalists are pretty good at working the scene of a disaster. They will tell you what happened, who did it and why. But when it comes to the disaster engulfing their own profession, their analysis is less rigorous. An uncharasteristic haze characterizes a lot of the reporting and commentary on this ‘NBC’s Saga’.
The affected stations knew that they had contravened a section of the act that established them. All they did was to re-assure their listeners and advertisers that efforts were in top gear to sort out the problem. None of them condemned NBC’s action, at least, publicly. Instead, they approached NBC, paid part of the debts and entered into an agreement detailing repayment plan that will favour both parties.
It has to be borne in mind that media is first and foremost a business organization and it has to operate within the confine of the law guiding its operations. In this regard, NBC is empowered under the law to sanction or revocate the licenses of any defaulting media firms. If the system is an automated one, the affected media stations would have gone off-air at the expiration of their renewal period. What happened is a dent and unknown to the affected organizations, they have suffered some mis-conceptions like business distruptions, erosion of trust, loss of productivity and reputational damage.
A peep into what goes on in some of these organizations reveals that the enterprises are not been managed appropriately. For example, low roads in all ramifications are being taking. The level of indebtedness arising from litigations, obligations, dues, rents, etc can rock the foundation of the firms or bring an abrupt end to their existence. To say the least, they have moved rapidly from a season of prosperity to dwindling fortunes due to lack of management skills. Management is the core of all operations in any company. This is very central to all company activities because it is only through effective management alone that company survival and success can be guaranteed or enhanced. Most institutions and organizations in Nigeria can be best described as “mob” because many of them lack effective management. If any electronic media is in difficulty, it is almost certain and always a management problem.
Managerial ability is entirely different from professional competence. A man may be a guru in journalism or marketing or accounting or engineering, this does not make him a competent manager. The problem of media management is basically lack of total and strict adherence to professional management practices because often times, its management is always in the hands of relatives, friends, in-laws, girl friends, etc.
The concerns of the electronic stations should however be how to strengthen their operations so that there will be consistent flow of the much needed revenue. They have to arrange the factors of production, assemble, organize and interpret the resources in an effective manner so as to achieve goals. In fact, group efforts should be directed towards achievement of pre-determined goals. Managing a business requires paying attention to many details simultaneously as it involves taking one’s business skills and know-how to the next level.
Those who are saddled with managing these electronic media should get organized with detailed records and good understanding of the risks and rewards. Furthermore, they should be creative, create a business plan, separate personnel and business finance, determine funding requirement, hire right people, train employees, keep track records of finances, invest in marketing, know the basis of business management, focus on established revenue sources, manage by numbers and not emotions, employ a great management team, continue to innovate, acquire knowledge and expertise, and plan strategies and execution.
It has been observed that some people who are managing these firms are not “genuine business persons” but “core journalists.” They ought to operate as a good medical Doctor who, armed with the case story of his patient, comes out with far reaching solution and not antidote for problem suspension. Electronic media managers should adhere strictly to code of conduct in order to secure compliance towards results and they should be able to formulate policies on a continous basis for the company before and during the lifetime of the business as a going concern.
Gulf of division that was promoted and nurtured for primordial partisan selfish interest, while the saga lasted, must be dismantled forthwith for the overall interest of media and integrity of the media profession.
NBC deserves commendation on how it handled the various reactions. Firstly, it extended the deadline for the renewal from twenty-four (24) hours to three (3) days before it suspended the shutdown of the indebted stations on Friday, August 26, 2022. This however happened before the court halted the shutdown on Monday, August 29, 2022.
Abiola Ayankunbi is MD/CEO at AbingMO3 Marketing Management Consultancy
0802 305 1315
abiolaayankunbi@yahoo.com
