VON, FRCN merger: A toxic proposal
By Gabriel Omonhinmin
Friday April 27, 2012
I’m a huge champion of penny-pinching, but there are times when being miserly can be pennywise and pound foolish – as in stupid and destructive. I can’t help but point out that because it concerns me; I have no option but to join in the on-going debate, whether or not it is proper for VON to be re-merged with FRCN 22 years after it was excised from the then National Broadcasting Corporation, NBC.
By virtue of the fact that I worked as a senior member of the News Directorate of VON for 14 years and interacted extensively with very many staff of the FRCN, both senior and junior, I am in a position to know so much about the workings in both organisations. Much as I welcome the venerable Stephen Oronsanye panel’s recommendations, it is just and proper to point out areas of mistakes, so that these areas could be rectified before grave harm is done.
The FRCN main focus is to feed its Nigerian audience with local news development, whereas Voice of Nigeria’s mandate is to broadcast the country’s viewpoints to the rest of the world. The role of VON in the country’s foreign policy direction cannot be over emphasized. I am therefore compelled to give few instances when VON broadcast was helpful to the country’s foreign policy initiative. I was one of the correspondents that covered the Liberian civil war at the heat of that country’s devastating crises, where Nigeria expended huge resources and men. The only source to accurately gauge Nigeria’s foreign policy drive outside the country then was through Voice of Nigeria news broadcast.
Nigerian Generals commanding troops in that country made it a point of duty daily to monitor Voice of Nigeria’s news broadcast. This to a large extent gave them a clear picture of the country’s foreign policy direction. As a matter of fact, I knew some soldiers who made it a point of duty to monitor VON, especially Hausa, Fulani and Arabic news translation daily, as this was a kind of tonic required to boost their morale.
Voice of Nigeria news was also the only source the Liberian elites at that time relied on, as they never completely trusted what was being dished out from other international news media, which obviously took sides in the crises I am, however, not saying that this function could no longer be carried out by VON if the organisation is eventually re-merged with FRCN. But one thing is certain; the station will never again be as effective in its primary assignment as it is now. Knowing the make-up of FRCN and VON, high level of intrigues, manipulation and fight for supremacy will be the order of the day. This will never in any way help neither stations nor the country.
Nigeria, as a major player in present day international politics requires a reliable medium to air its views. This is where VON is needed most. Much as I have absolute respect for the person of Mr. Steve Oronsaye and I believe in some of his panel’s recommendations, the panel’s position that VON be re-merged with FRCN no doubt misses the point, as the re-merger of both stations will not help the country as presently being envisaged.
Another point worth mentioning, is the fact that Nigeria has not been lucky enough to appoint a man or woman, who actually knows what it takes to manage the external image of a country like Nigeria. Without any iota of disrespect, people who have been at the helm of affairs in the country’s External Affairs Ministry had shown some degree of incompetence. Or better put, the country’s policy executors especially staff of the External Affairs Ministry. They have been naive to recognize and take adequate advantage of the service of Voice of Nigeria in the country’s foreign police drive.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for instance is attached to that country’s Home Office. In this regard, the British government hardly initiates any foreign policy without first fully briefing the BBC or requesting for the station’s contribution. This is not the case with the Nigerian government. Instead of Voice of Nigeria being supervised by the External Affairs Ministry, it is presently placed under the Ministry of Information. One is therefore not surprised that the Information Ministry treats VON matters as they do any other local station under their supervision. This attitude no doubt, hinders the performance of VON as an international broadcasting station.
At the height of the crises resulting from the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his Ogoni compatriots, Nigeria’s External Affairs Minister then was Chief Tom Ikimi. When it became obvious that Nigeria was going to be sanctioned by the international community, the Voice of Nigeria, sought and got in touch with Chief Ikimi, who was already outside the country to attend the meeting where Nigeria was to be penalised.
The Voice of Nigeria wanted to know from the Minister how he intends to manage the ugly development. Surprisingly, the Nigerian Minister of External Affairs refused to speak with Voice of Nigeria. A few minutes after this encounter, the BBC correspondent then in Nigeria rushed into VON office requesting for Chief Ikimi’s contact, and I obliged the correspondent. We could not believe our ears when in the next hour, the Nigerian Minister for External Affairs was on BBC ranting, stating the position he had earlier refused to give to VON. Voice of Nigeria’s former Director of News then, Mohammed Okorejior, was so depressed that he could not hold back his emotions and the man wept.
Finally, I submit that the purpose of diplomacy is neither the invention nor the pastime of some particular political system; it is an essential element in any reasonable relation between man on one hand and between nation and nation. An example is the recent modifications in diplomatic methods, with special reference to the problem of “open” and “secret” diplomacy and the difficulty of combining efficient diplomacy with democratic control. The role of a medium like the Voice of Nigeria is very vital if the country wants to be taken seriously in this new order. An effective VON will enable the whips to gauge the opinion of the country’s foreign policy direction in out and outside Nigeria.
What is presently required is for VON to be immediately moved into the Ministry of External Affairs, and for the organisation to be further strengthened to carry out its function, as the country’s authentic voice. The station’s re-merger with FRCN will never help Nigeria. It will no doubt do more harm than good.
Omonhinmin writes from Lagos
