The 50th General Assembly of the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria with the theme “Celebrating Broadcasting” commenced on Sunday, August 16, 2009 with the Central Working Committee meeting in the Conference room of Rock Garden Hotel, Lokoja. This was followed by the General Assembly’s opening ceremony at Confluence Beach Hotel, Lokoja, Kogi State on August 17, 2009.

Opening

The General Assembly was declared open by the Executive Governor of Kogi State, His Excellency, Dr. Ibrahim Idris. In attendance were some members of Kogi Executive Council and delegates drawn from the core of broadcast veterans, Chief Executive officers of public/private broadcasting organisations including delegates of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), APCON, ITPAN, RATTAWU, NUJ, NFC, NBC and NOA.

Declaring the 50th General Assembly open, Governor Idris of Kogi State said that the birth of BON about 36 years ago was indeed a very bold and visionary step taken by its founding fathers to create an ultimate rallying point for all Radio and Television stations including cable and satellite operators in the country. He said we were in the age of a global village characterised by instant information flow which is mid-wifed by the broadcast industry.

The governor also mentioned that digital broadcasting and analogue broadcast system are not compatible. The transition from one format to the other could take many years. It took the United States more than a decade to effect this transition; he therefore, called on BON to demand a review of the deadline suggested for the transition to digital broadcasting in Nigeria. He opined that BON must make an effort to ensure that its members have access to the latest digital equipment.

In an address of welcome, the Kogi State Commissioner for Information, Dr. Tom Ohikere affirmed that indeed broadcasting in Nigeria is worth celebrating and suggested that older stations in BON can assist the younger ones to grow and serve their audiences better through exchange of home-grown programmes and offering of subsidised training modules.

In his remarks, the Acting General Manager, Kogi State Broadcasting Corporation, Lokoja, Mallam Mohammed Halilu thanked BON for giving Kogi the first ever hosting opportunity for the 50th Assembly under the humane leadership of Alhaji Ibrahim Idris. He urged the delegates to savour the tourist sites and abundant resources of the state.

Addressing the assembly, the Chairman of Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) & Director General Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mallam Abubakar Jijiwa, explained the aptness of the theme “Celebrating Broadcasting”, which coincided with 50 uninterrupted General Assemblies of BON since the organisation was resuscitated in 1988, having been comatose for several years after it was first founded in 1973. Again, the relevance lies in BON General Assembly coming shortly before the 50th anniversary of Television Broadcasting in Nigeria. In his words, this epoch making event must not be allowed to slip away without a celebration.

The opening ceremony’s star attraction was capped with the call to broadcasting hall of Fame of the following:

1. Bishop George Bako


2. Engr. (Rev.) Shyngle Wigwe


3. Chief Bankole Balogun (Post Humous)


4. Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim, mni (Magajin Malam Ringim, District Head of Kanya-Babba)


5. Alhaji Abdulrahaman Michika (Post Humous)


6. Mallam Yaya Abubakar, mni


7. Aremo Taiwo Allimi (Aremo Addini of Remo land)

During the General Assembly, seven presentations were made:

1. “Half a Century of Television broadcasting in Nigeria and partnership with the Film industry” by Managing Director, Nigerian Film Corporation. The paper called for closer collaboration between BON and the Nigerian Film Corporation for better service delivery in programme quality, training, distribution, marketing, copyright protection etc.


2. “National Workshop for Chief Executives, Marketers and Programmers on Quality Broadcasting for Effective Marketing” and the need for stations to have internal monitoring mechanism, audience figures and niche broadcasting for broadcast professionals by the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, Advertising Practitioners’ Council of Nigeria, Alhaji Garba Bello Kankarofi.


3. The Director-General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa, spoke on common breaches in broadcasting such as vulgar lyrics. The paper harped on the urgent need to be abreast with broadcasting challenges with a strong emphasis on digitization. NBC paper pointed to the possible new direction of a National Signal Distribution Centre or National Programme Distributor which will take care of the future needs of transmitters and power in our broadcast systems. There was a consensus to alert the media owners and government not to buy new transmitters.


4. The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Press Council, Mr. Mudashiru Bayo Atoyebi commended the honour bestowed on deserving broadcast veterans especially when they are alive. He suggested the need to review the constitutional provisions that affect broadcasting in Nigeria.


5. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) delegation highlighted three channels of broadcasting (i.e. BBC TV, Radio and Online) and how their programmes are produced. The presentation also focused on BBC World Service and other programmes that run on Nigerian Radio/TV stations. The rooting of programmes on research was also emphasised. The presentation of BBC Hausa Service pointed towards greater content delivery in their star programmes such as “Stories Around The world”, “Listeners’ Letters”, “BBC Hausa Face-book”, and “Weekly Women’s Magazine”.


6. Mr. Sola Ajay of Solsan Communications spoke about Broadcast Media Workshop emphasising running radio, television and information services commercially and profitably/implications of the transition from analogue to digital by Solsan Communication Ventures in collaboration with BON. This is with a view to making for profitability of stations.


7. The National President of RATTAWU, Comrade Yemisi Bamgbose took a retrospective view into the days of NBC, when broadcasters’ salaries were at par with Central Bank workers. He called for urgency in establishing a Council of Registered Broadcasters and the need for critical stakeholders to send a bill to the National Assembly to enact a law on it. This will help professionalize broadcasting in Nigeria. He concluded by calling for an immediate kick-start of the process of collective bargaining for salary increase for broadcast workers.

Resolutions

After proper deliberations, the General Assembly:

1. Expresses happiness on the occasion of its 50th General Assembly, noting with concern however, the growing current tendency towards unethical journalism in the country.


2. Calls for the cooperation of BON members with the FIFA appointed host broadcaster towards the successful coverage of the Under-17 World Cup to be held in Nigeria in October and the Joint-Transmission of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.


3. Reveals that the on-going joint transmission of English Premier League by NTA in collaboration with some BON member stations has been a huge success.


4. Advises advertisers to take advantage of the broadcast rights acquired by it on the forth coming Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi, India in October 2010 which will be beamed terrestrially throughout the country.


5. Lifts the ban on newspaper review following the out-of-court settlement with NPAN and subsequent training programmes in Lagos and Abuja to ensure professionalism in handling the programme.


6. Applauds the ongoing consultation between NBC and BON with a view to resolving all outstanding issues which will impede development of the industry.


7. Advises broadcast media owners to comply with the NBC directive to immediately stop buying new transmitters. In addition, stakeholders should be enlightened on the 2012 deadline for compliance and calls for strong political will on the part of the government to see it through.


8. Expresses its appreciation to the Government and people of Kogi State for their hospitality.


9. The next General Assembly is scheduled to hold in Lagos State within the first week of December, 2009.

Abubakar B. Jijiwa      Osita Nweke

ChairmanBON       Secretary 

Communiqué Committee

1. Dr. S. A. Shaibu (JP), 
   
   Zonal Director, 
   
   Abuja National Station. Chairman


2. Mrs. Denihun Alaja-Browne 
   
   FRCN Training School Member


3. Ms. Chinwe Nnedum 
   
   Ag. Managing Director, 
   
   ABS Awka. Member


4. Baffa B. Muhammed 
   
   Managing Director, 
   
   Jigawa Broadcasting Corporation Member


5. John Iwarue, Sr. 
   
   Executive Director, 
   
   Marketing & Sales, 
   
   Daar Communications Plc. Member


6. Engr. Mohammed D. Usman, 
   
   Director Info. Tech. VON. Secretary