When in 1964, the Regional Government of Northern Nigeria established the Broadcasting Company of Northern Nigeria (BCNN), the decision was to ensure that the people of the Northern region also have unhindered access to information about themselves and the region.
The then premier of the region, late Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, was quoted as saying when asked that, “The radio station was set up to promote the activities of the government and people of Northern extraction by themselves as nobody will do it for them since they are busy doing their own.”
That philosophy of the founding fathers was upheld and the station became a darling of radio listeners not only in Nigeria, but across the continent of Africa. The BCNN was manned by seasoned broadcasters of that period and they did the region a great service that cannot be forgotten. Their contributions to the political and economic development of the region cannot be over-emphasized.
However, things started to change from the laid down policy of the founders of the BCNN when the military government of Late General Murtala Muhammed took over the New Nigerian Newspapers and Daily Times as well as the electronic media. Those who saw what was going to be the fate of those media outfit cried out against the decision, but the Federal Government was not moved to change the policy. The forceful take-over of these media houses, especially radio stations which are of much benefits to the grassroots, began to unfold sooner than expected. Two months after the take-over the New Nigerian Newspapers and the Daily Times, the Federal Government’s intention to also takeover all radio stations was exposed by “the New Nigerian” through an editorial titled “Radio Kaduna Must Live” which was published in its September 5, 1977 edition.
In his book Courage and Conviction, New Nigerian: the first 20 years, Mallam Muhammadu Turi Muhammadu said: “The editorial began by highlighting the abject condition of the station as inflicted by the Federal Government’s attitude towards it, and the government’s alleged intention to reduce its listenership.” According to the editorial, “for millions of listeners of Radio Kaduna spread all over West Africa, the predicament of the Radio Station will come to them as a great shock,” adding that those who had followed the chequered history of the station and its numerous contributions will find the non-challant attitude of those then in power to the station very difficult to understand.
The policy of the then Federal Government over the issue generated lots of controversy, most especially over the takeover of Radio Kaduna and the confinement of the station to only a radius of 16kms transmission capacity. The then military governor of old Kaduna State, Group Captain Usman Jibrin, protested against the policy but he was overruled by the Supreme Military Council.
Although, the SMC later allowed the Radio Kaduna to retain its transmission, Group Captain Usman Jibrin was redeployed. The Minister of Information at that time Mr. Ayo Ogunlade was also redeployed and he lost his ministerial position.
In reaction to this decision and re-deployment of personalities involved in the controversy, the New Nigerian Newspapers came up with an editorial titled “Future of Radio Kaduna” in its December 12, 1977 edition. The newspaper commended the policy but raised salient issues concerning the new development, the take over and the controversy that followed. That editorial saw tomorrow and warned of the backlash and the consequences of government’s action.
Today, the chicken has come home to roost, as the popular Radio Nigeria Kaduna has come down on its knees probably looking for oxygen to survive; that station that was the darling of all listeners in Nigeria and beyond has been left to go comatose and on several occasions off the air. I recall that in those days, at the Daily Sketch newsroom in Ibadan the three musketeers of Aremo Olusegun Osoba, late Peter Ajayi Sola Odugbemi made it compulsory for us in the newsroom to monitor the Radio Nigeria Kaduna especially at 4pm. The Democracy In Action and Alkawari Kaya Ne programmes anchored by the likes of Halilu Ahmed Getso, Late Isah Edime, Abdulmalik Addy, and many others, were a must listen to.
The station of Baba Dahiru Modibbo, Mohammed Ibrahim, among several others, has become a shadow of itself due to the neglect by the authority concerned.
The question , who will save the FRCN Kaduna and the likes such as the one at Ibadan, Enugu and Owerri which were forcefully taken over from their owners by the powers that be at that time? They should realize the significant role these stations played in the past and restore their past glory.
The Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, must speak out over this issue before it is too late on the way forward.
Tijjani, a veteran journalist, writes from Kaduna
