The amendment of the 6th edition of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission code was greeted with mixed opinions from different stakeholders in the industry. While only a few people have taken out time to read through the over 150-paged document, many comments have been based on reviews by industry experts and comments on social media.
A webinar organized by Aluko & Oyebode focused on providing a forum for the various stakeholders to discuss and better understand the amendment and give an opportunity for the NBC to provide clarification to industry practitioners who are not comfortable with certain aspects of the code. The session hosted on Monday 7th September 2020 via Zoom had the Acting DG NBC, Prof Armstrong Idachaba, the Founder of IrokoTV, Jason Njoku, a Sports Broadcaster, Nnamdi Obanya, the Secretary of the National Association of Movie Producers, Baba Agba and the CEO Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria, Mayowa Ayilaran as panelists with Senior Associates at Aluko & Oyebode, Ina Arome and Ayokunle Adetula as moderators.
The Acting NBC DG responding to a question about the extent of stakeholder engagement before the amendment to the 6th Edition of the NBC Code stated that although there is no provision for stakeholder engagement in the act establishing the NBC, the commission ensured they carried all those in the industry along during the process. He said that “it is healthy to engage with stakeholders” and that was why they had several opportunities to get feedback from stakeholders before the amendment.
Jason Njoku of IrokoTV was of a different opinion on stakeholder engagement because based on his interaction with other key players; they were not part of the review process. He has been quite vocal about his stance on the amended code on his Twitter account. He mentioned that his company wrote to the NBC and have not gotten any response on their questions about the amendments.
Responding to same question on his opinion about the amendment of the NBC code, Nnamdi Obanya stated that there is a gap in information and the NBC needs to address some aspects of the code that seem ambiguous. He mentioned that while he understood the good intention for the amendment, there are also loopholes that broadcasters can exploit.
Mayowa Anyilaran one of the panelists shared that the aim of the amendment is “to engender national creativity. It is a good means of expanding the scope of exploitation of content, which allows more money to be made” by content producers (intellectual property owners).
Baba Agba one of the panelists in trying to get clarification on what aspects of the code different stakeholders are not comfortable with, he asked Prof Idachaba who the clients of the NBC are. In his response, Prof Idachaba stated that the NBC’s clients are companies that have a license from the NBC to operate in Nigeria. In his explanation he stated that “IrokoTV is not a client of NBC.” Further speaking about the intentions of the review, the Acting DG stated that they do not want broadcasters to warehouse content, but must make them available to all Nigerians.
Jason Njoku in his response to a question about how the current pandemic (COVID-19) has affect the industry and investors stated that “appetite to invest in Nigeria is down due to this lack of clarity.” He said that the amendment process “required a bit more engagement, a bit more feedback. It is so unclear; it creates more questions than answers. The largest people contributing to Nigeria’s content were not carried along. ”
Nnamdi Obanya said “we might be misguided in our attempt to do something good. Do we have the people with the purchasing power to buy at cost good for owner of IP? There is not enough structure for sustainability” for this amendment to work. He also raised the issue of not having enough local sports content with inconsistency in hosting events. “The only thing Nigerian about our sports is the Super Eagles; the venues, production teams and even fans are not Nigerians. All these are out of the control of the producers” who the code states should sponsor local sports.
In response the Acting DG stated that there are many local sports that could be upgraded to international standard if they get the sponsorship needed. “The aim is getting people who are investing in foreign content to also do same in local sporting content like horse racing (durbar), local wrestling, boat regatta, etc.”
It was an enlightening webinar and I believe provided an opportunity for clarity amongst stakeholders and will help the National Broadcasting Commission explain some areas that are unclear to certain stakeholders.
