By Tonnie Iredia
Nigeria’s television news leader, Channels Television, is 21 years old. Last Wednesday, it closed trading at the Nigerian Stock Exchange as part of a week-long line up of events to celebrate its 21st anniversary.

Those who have closely followed the station’s programming would not have been surprised that such an item was part of the celebration. This is because as far back as 1996 when the station was just a year old, it launched an uninterrupted daily reportage of the domestic stock market and the entire financial markets. What this suggests is that from inception, John Momoh the founder of the station had a dream of a television station that would be anchored on a commercial mindset. In other words, everything to be done at Channels had to be premised on value maximization. I join broadcasters all over the world to celebrate Channels TV as well as the initiators, John Momoh and his wife Sola; both outstanding television professionals.

We are obviously not alone in this as the station has continued to receive accolades from here and there. At the gala night of the celebration which took place last Sunday, Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, described Channels as the best television station in the world.  Obiano or any other Nigerian who holds such an opinion has a point because proximity matters a lot in News presentation. Accordingly, we find nothing wrong with anyone praising Channels to high heavens. The only commendation that is suspect is the one made by the Nigerian Government as represented by its Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed. Does Lai’s praise for Channels imply that the posture of Channels TV is what the present government wants of all media stations including those it supervises?

It is difficult to agree that Lai really wants NTA to function like Channels because if that was it, the Minister is legally empowered to push NTA to fall in line. The point to be made is that Lai inherited a culture of routine supervision of the NTA by an administrative body called the Ministry of Information which he is currently enforcing.  Only last week, a colleague called me to complain bitterly about the NTA. His grudge was that the last time he watched the station’s network news, he found that it was pre-empted to transmit some dancing and cultural displays at an event where Lai was holding sway. In broadcasting, news is sacrosanct; it can only be preempted by strange and wild occurrences like a military coup. No other programme can displace news which in professional parlance is described as Grade A broadcast. No amount of money can sway Channels TV to present the LIVE broadcast of any normal event during its news. Today’s leaders of NTA have ample cognate experience that keeps such professional standards on the front burner but they can only question the aberration at the risk of losing their jobs.

When Nigeria adopted the Presidential system of government in 1979 which involves political broadcasts such as party talks and debates, the professional guidelines for the subject were evolved by NTA. The most important aspect of the guidelines was that which provided for equal opportunities to all political parties whether in government or the opposition. The guidelines were so convincing that the military incorporated them into the Decrees on “Transition to Civil Rule Political Programmes” beginning with Decree 27 of 1989.  The National Broadcasting Commission whose mandate is to regulate broadcasting in Nigeria has since absorbed the guidelines into what it calls the Broadcasting Code. But then our politicians have since 1999, neutralized the efficacy of the guidelines by directing the government media to disallow coverage to opposition parties and indeed to transmit hate speeches against them. We saw how Jonathan’s PDP used it against our current President who was then the Presidential candidate of the APC.  Lai who was then the publicity secretary of that party complained to anyone who cared to hear about the unprofessional conduct.

When the APC came to power and its publicity secretary translated to Information Minister, he himself announced that this government would not degenerate to the old order of putting the media “in chains” or undue interference.  Painfully during the last Edo governorship electioneering campaigns, some reporters in NTA Benin who in the spirit of the guidelines on equal access were assigned to cover PDP rallies were summarily sent packing on transfer along with their Zonal Director, and his Head of News. They were indeed first summoned to appear before the then Governor who assured them they would be out the next day which came to pass. Whatever was the role Minister Lai played in the episode, NTA has since fully but wisely returned to its shell.  In search of safe haven, the station now transmits every night during the very first segment of its network news reserved for the hottest news of day, the reception of foreign envoys in the villa. For emphasis, the news is colourfully packaged to include the inspection of guards of honour making the slot a ceremonial documentary. Those who think that the current NTA management does this because it lacks professionalism are wrong because such critics are oblivious of the burden of ownership control.

Unfortunately, government does not appear to know the full implications of what is happening. The first is that our public broadcaster is inadvertently putting in the sub consciousness of people that the most important assignment of our President is the daily reception of foreign ambassadors. Second, when our people are tired of watching the nightly documentaries, almost everyone will switch off from the government media such that what government says is never heard if passed through its own media. But if on the other hand NTA is allowed to function like Channels TV, the nation would be the better for it as many good stations would transmit government programmes thereby attaining effective public enlightenment. There are however fears that this can happen bearing in mind that at last Sunday’s Gala night organised by Channels TV, our Minister reportedly begged the private station to “champion digitisation of the broadcast industry in Nigeria”

Here are 2 short messages to end this piece; one is to wish Channels TV more successes while the second is to remind government through the Information Minister that charity begins at home.