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What are those things that turn me off? There’re often
issues that fall short of what one may consider news, bits and pieces that aren’t
news-worthy at all. For instance, an old politician calling on Nigerian
subjects to have the fear of God. But, one also hears news items that have
already become so stale that they shouldn’t be aired as new. These days,
getting people to call and air their views on selected topics has become fashionable
even when the complexion of the show is unsuitable for such.
The greatest and biggest litter of local radio airwaves is
the kind of music that one hears. In the past half a decade or so unprofessional local music artists have
increasingly become dominant of the airwaves. This is despite the truth that their
materials are demos that fall short of the acceptable standards. Tolerating such
shoddy material means that we’ll have to make do with the irritation that comes with hearing them. When one argues he is asked: “if you don’t play
local artists how would they find their bearing?” An apt answer has always been
that while promoting experimenting artists one shouldn’t end up exhausting a greater
percentage of music time on them. It makes them seem like the professional and
the toasts. After all, most of the artists played are satisfied with just that and won't do anything to further improve their conditions. Why can't they be given something like one hour (at most) every day.
The tawdry of these transmission practices compels one to
turn to better competitors. In this era of digital satellite competition the pedestrian
loses out to the innovative and professional. A large number of radio and TV
stations are owned and financed by public money. The Federal Radio Corporation
of Nigeria has its headquarters in Abuja, with at least a branch in each of the
36 state capitals and Abuja. It is the same thing with the Nigerian Television
Authority (NTA). The 36 states also have their own radio and television
stations to help air their peculiar activities and policies. That is a cursor
to the enormity of public money that is spent on transmission operations. Always,
there is the issue of how public agencies can become self-sustaining thereby
taking off part of the burden from the shoulders of the various tiers of
government who will then be able to heed the other issues that have been left in
the cold. The tradition also breeds a
culture of mediocrity, a culture to which Nigeria has become enslaved.
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