Monday June 22, 2020 was an unusually tragic day in Lagos reinforcing the pre-existing atmosphere of multiple rape cases all over the country. On that day alone, two couples were found dead in their respective apartments in different parts of Lagos. In each of the two cases, the man had killed the woman as punishment before taking turns for suicide. While the cause of the first case was not immediately known, the second, which happened in Lekki was allegedly in respect of the controversial paternity of one of the two children the wife had for the man. Domestic violence is so much in the air. Many have argued that we are manifestations of what our media dispense. Incidentally it’s the era of ultimate public sphere such that re-transmission of media contents, often continues without any predictable end.
To stem possible replication and escalation of violence, the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, got an unsolicited offer to support the reworking of its Code in 2017. The support was to to ensure conflict sensitivity as well as sensitivity to gender inclined issues. The resultant suggestions were directly shared with the NBC management for possible further scrutiny. Furthermore, on account of the multi-stakeholderist leaning of broadcasting, entailing what has come to be known as surrender value, the consultants, led by their anchor, took the campaign to the 2017 Kano Broadcasting Summit. The presentation, done by the anchor, was well received by the general house. But that was the end with that intervention.
The NBC management, obviously running like a closet, had a different plan. Recommendations on conflict-sensitivity and gender sensitivity could not be immediately accommodated in the forthcoming Code. All that happened before the first off-campus community radio was set up in Niger State.
All that happened before the first off-campus community radio was set up in Niger State
Today, there’s a plethora of not only campus radio stations but also those run by grassroots folks, in addition to online broadcasting, done by dudes with little or no professional media training. We can therefore imagine the quantum of anomie occupying our airwaves today even as the reach is limitless. Part of the impact perhaps is the multiplication of gender based violence (GBV) and others. Shouldn’t we tame our technological advancement to attract more and more benefits to us by the day? We missed that opportunity in 2017 when the opportunity to tame our broadcasting Code came.
