Ongoing reform will guarantee 70% local content in broadcasting says Lai Mohammed

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has reiterated that the ongoing reforms in the broadcasting industry will guarantee 70 per cent local content and ensure content owners are given their dues by stakeholders.

The minister gave the reassurance on Monday in Lagos when he met with members of Electronic Media Content Owners Association of Nigeria (EMCOAN).

He said that local content is being given priority in the new model because of its importance in promoting indigenous culture and passing moral values to the younger generations.

Mohammed admonished content producers to break the bound of conventional contents and develop more of local contents particularly as related to culture and children programmes.

“We are people of rich culture and history and we do not need to dig so far to develop and produce quality indigenous cultural programmes.

“We can get first class local contents out of our rich cultural heritages and I will therefore challenge you to go to the roots and be original in your productions,” he said.

The minister also decried the situation where content producers have become increasingly over-reliant on sponsorship.

He said such development skewed the authenticity of their creative output in favour of a few decision makers, instead of the millions of TV viewers.

In addressing this, the minister said he had set up a task team to Identify best practice Audience Measurement System that will support the sustainable growth of the Nigeria Creative and Entertainment Industry.

He said the task team is expected to come up with a Payment and Disbursement Framework among the key stakeholders in the industry that will ensure that the system is transparent and rewarding.

Mohammed noted that it was wrong for content producers to finish their works and start scouting for advertisers before they can be aired.

He said, rather, contents should be measured and remunerated by viewership while advertiser should be the one looking for good content producers.

“What drives the Television is the contents and not even the technology but unfortunately, content owners are not given their dues by stakeholders.

“Advertisers need the content producers more than you need them and they should be guided by an authentic and scientific measurement of how many people view a particular Programme,” he said.

The minister reassured them of a new dawn in the broadcasting industry that will ensure that stakeholders earn their right dues.

Mohammed also assured that the board of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) would be reconstituted very soon and all relevant stakeholders would be carried along.

Earlier, the President of EMCOAN, Mrs Jibe Ologeh said the group is responsible for 85 per cent of media content in the country and boasts of over 70 major media content owners.

Ologeh commended the government for the decision to ensure 70 per cent local content in broadcasting, stressing that it is a development they had been waiting for.

She said TV stations in Nigeria are dominated with foreign contents and “foreign contents pretending to be local” which is detrimental to the growth of the industry and promotion of indigenous cultural heritages and values.

She said Nigeria is rich in contents and EMCOAN will partner with government to make the decision a reality.

The Secretary of the group, Mr Alayande Stephen urged the government to priotise the completion of the Digital Switch Over for the benefit and growth of the industry.

He underscored the need for their group to be represented in the board of APCON and also solicited the support of the minister towards a successful hosting of Nigeria Braodcast Contents Market Award they are organizing.

The Acting Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Prof. Armstrong Idachaba who accompanied the minister to the event acknowledged that EMCOAN is a long term investor in the creative industry in the country

He recalled a time when TV contents went dim, noting that it was the group that took the bull by the horn and invested their money to generate contents for viewership.

Idachaba assured the group of government’s support through deliberate policies and programmes that would benefit them.