NBC And 52 Broadcast Stations: Of Sanctions And Responsibilities
By Tunde Abatan
In any civilised clime, laws are meant to be obeyed without the citizen or organisation claiming ignorance or privileges as to why laws should bend for them.
In such normal climes, institutions are separated from influences that could deter them from performing their roles and duties. This ensures societal orderliness as compliance to rules and regulations are separated from personalities or individuals.
Since the beginning of the brouhaha between Nigeria Broadcasting Commission, NBC and the 52 errant Television and Radio stations when the former wielded the big stick and ordered closure of defaulting organisations temper have been let loose.
Because the media in our clime is seen as a privileged institution, it is normal but definitely not proper for actions of organisations like NBC which in a way is regulatory to be deemed as political persecution as some would like to believe.
This is so especially since we are in the era of politics.
For those who read political meanings to the actions of NBC, they should be reminded that the regulatory body itself is a function of the existence of the 52 Television and Radio stations which for upward of three years have defaulted in remitting the Two billion ,five hundred million naira(N2.5b) it was supposed to pay to renew it’s operating license.
It should be noted that while the NBC is existing solely because of the licensing of the private and public stations operating in the country, those organisations by law and deference, are subjected to NBCs control since they applied for registration from the commission, thereby justifying the laters power to sanction it.
If the media and civil society organisations which have been in the vanguard of building strong institutions as a way of sanitizing the polity, itself run foul of the law ,then achieving the noble objectives is far from being realized.
While the NBC on its own justified it’s wielding the big stick having waited for so long to renew their license, the affected broadcast stations had a lot to explain why it refused to meet the conditions especially by the window of opportunities given it to pay up.
Without sounding immodest, it is doubtful whether a common taxi or private car driver or owner can advance any reasonable excuse for not renewing his vehicle or drivers license when confronted by traffic officers neither would a corporate entity have reasons to explain it’s default in paying it’s annual tax returns to the appropriate authorities.
Could an expired international passport be used to procure a Visa in an Embassy or even could an expired passport be used to travel through any of our immigration posts?
As somebody who have had to execute government jobs or contract, it is doubtful whether you could get paid either part payment or certain percentage in Lagos or any other Tax compliant state, if you default in remitting your yearly returns or even default in paying your last Tax returns.
This is verifiable.
If you are in doubt, run foul of any traffic or other offences in Lagos and see whether payment of your Tax is not part of your being left off the hook after paying the stipulated fine. One way or the other government or the state must get citizens to comply with it’s rules and regulations. Whether the time for such is appropriate or not is a matter for another discussion.
In online publishing, your maximum grace period from Google and others to renew your registration fee is maximum of two months and no explanation is tenable since you agree to abide by the organisations extant rules before you sign up.
Yes, the operating environment for most businesses in Nigeria is suffocating to the extent of contributing to the embarrassing high unemployment rate and other social vices, yet staying in business is consequent to obeying extant laws which guides the operation of such business.
It will be recalled that before wielding the big stick, Balarabe Ilelah, head of NBC, spoke of the commissions publication of debtors in national dailies in May 2022.
This is clearly three months to pay up their indebtedness. He expressed surprise that none complied or even entered into negotiations before the hammer fell.
The three months window, he argued, is basically given to comply with NBC Act CAP 11 laws of the federation 2004 particularly section 10(a)of the third schedule .
He explained further that to continue to allow the stations in operations is a contravention of the constitution hence illegal and threat to national security.
While Iyobosa Uwugiaren of the Guild of Editors painted the likely consequences of the NBC action such as increasing level of unemployment, little mention if any is ever made by the Guild, of employers in the media industry which owe their workers months of salary arrears and yet did not fold up. Has any abiding sanction been placed on such media organisations in this country? Your guess is as good as mine.
If the affected media outfits…(and they are many),are owing months of unpaid salaries, benefits and also defaulting in renewing their operating license, then the question to ask is whether such organisations deserve to continue to exist within the given context.
With the action of the NBC on Saturday to give the stations a window of three working days to pay up their indebtedness and renew their licenses, the Guild of Editors and International Press Institute, IPI is not surprising.
That spokesperson of the IPI Musikilu Mojeed also disclosed that individuals and media stakeholders joined it in prevailing on NBC to have a rethink.
The IPI should also impress it on the employers in media industry to pay salary arrears to staff by which grace they are still in business.
If NBC deserves to be paid it’s renewal fees, then journalists working to keep such establishment on also deserve to get paid for their sweat.
Indeed, that NBC according to Ilelah had in the past granted several concessions to broadcast organisations by writing off some of it’s substantial debts shows that it also deserves to be reciprocated by the 52 broadcast station who should pay up it’s debt.
While it is proper to call regulatory authorities to order, yet had the NBC and others alike not depend on federal or state subventions to perform their statutory obligations to their staff, then it would also have seized to exist as no staff deserves to work with empty stomach.
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Describing the action of the NBC as political victimization by many to me appears diversionary and whipping up sentiments .
That several state broadcasting organisations are affected in the clampdown make it’s reasonably justifiable.
The Guild, IPI and other media stakeholders should carry out enough lobby of both the National Assembly and the Federal and state governments to grant operating concessions with regard to import of broadcast materials, newsprint and other items needed to allow the media perform its statutory role of deepening democracy and remaining in business .
This to me is more far reaching and reasonable than pleading with regulatory authorities to be exempted from performing their statutory roles and obligations .
