A new initiative draws attention to the need for a community-based radio campaign against terrorism in Nigeria, writes AKEEM LASISI
As the security situation in the country worsens, some experts have again called for the liberalisation of community-based radio stations in the country.
The call is coming on the heels of the creation of new jingles, which were deployed in various radio stations in parts of Northern Nigeria as a means of solving acute security challenges in the region.
The coordinator of the group behind the project, I-Nigeria Initiative, Stella Apiafi, says it opted for the medium because of its social appeal. The targets of the peace messages that radio stations disseminate, she adds, are mostly rural people that do not have access to newspapers and online mobility.
Apiafi notes, “Well conceived, strategic, precise, and eloquently developed radio messages, such as jingles, have great appeal, and a huge capacity to excite their listeners without losing their very important themes of tolerance and peaceful coexistence and security consciousness.
“You will find them recurring on the mind long after they have been aired, or find yourself reciting some of the jingles almost to the point of them becoming ‘personal anthems’ for quite a period of time. Most of the crises-ridden areas of today are areas where the radio is a major source of information for them, so that medium alone is quite an effective tool in dousing tension on these areas.”
As part of its activities, the I-Nigeria recently inaugurated the Nigerian Renaissance Project, which is aimed at boosting the country’s image at home and abroad. It decided to engage radio stations in the dissemination of peace messages with a view to dousing the tension and curtail violence ravaging the northern part of the country, no thanks to the activities of the Boko Haram and other insurgents.
The radio campaign, which takes place in the form of jingles, especially in Hausa language, has been going on for several weeks on FM radio stations, such as the Liberty Radio in Kaduna (12noon/ 3.30pm); FRCN Pyramid Radio in Kano (6.55am and 7.25pm); Companion Radio in Katsina (10.30am and 8.30pm); and Rima Radio in Sokoto (6.45am and 8.25pm).
Others are Vision FM Radio in Abuja (8 am and 2 pm);
Fombina Radio in Adamawa (8-10 am/ShafaLabari 8.55pm); and Peace FM Radio in Borno (8.30am/4pm).
An English version of the jingle which is broadcast daily on these radio stations says: “Do not carry arms, kill, maim, or destroy. Nigerians, we must beware!”
Apiafi says the radio campaign will be extended to other parts of the country, adding that community radio will, to a large extent, help to bring an end to conflicts and crises in the country.
“Most media establishments, especially the radio stations, tend to run programmes that are community-based, including phone-in programmes, dialogue forums, and even drama sketches that carry cogent messages. But these features are mainly tenable in the broadcast media.
“Therefore, radio producers should invite community leaders to participate in programmes that promote peaceful co-existence among the various ethnic groups in the country. The existing radio facilities or organisations are currently doing their best in this regard, but such organisations, whether public or private, need to do more in their public awareness campaign segments, and in promoting developmental journalism,” she says.
Meanwhile, in recognition of the roles that the social media plays in sensitising people, the I-Nigeria Initiative is working on a plan to establish an Internet radio station, which, according to Apiafi, will cater for the youths and other regular users of the new media.
Also, in an interview with our correspondent, the Director of Planning, Research and Strategy of the National Orientation Agency, Bonat Tagwai, notes that one factor that works well for radio is its flexibility with languages.
He says, “The potency of Radio as a medium for disseminating messages of peace is not in doubt, considering the spontaneity of its reach, as well as its grassroots accessibility and affordability. Besides, it is accommodative to a greater variety of languages that appeal to the sensibilities of a diverse society such as ours.”