MEDIA IN NIGERIA #02 - 09 (17 MARCH 2003)

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MEDIA IN NIGERIA is a weekly publication on
developments within and
affecting the media/communication/freedom of
expression sector in Nigeria.

It is an initiative of the Institute for Media and
Society (IMS), a non-profit,
non-governmental organization based in Lagos, Nigeria.
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NEWS

MEDIA-GENERAL
-MARSHAL HARRY: YOUTH ATTACK JOURNALISTS.

PRINT MEDIA
- PRIVATISATION: INVESTORS SHUN DAILY TIMES
-"NATIONAL INTEREST" RETURNS
- SKETCH WORKERS DEMAND ENTITLEMENTS

INFOTECH
-GSM: 21,000 HANDSETS STOLEN MONTHLY
-PREDIDENT TASKS EXPERTS ON IT BLUEPRINT
-SLASH AIRTIME CHARGES, MINISTER TELLS GSM OPERATORS

BROADCAST MEDIA
-NBC FROWNS AT ILLEGAL IMPORTATION OF EQUIPMENT
-PDP ACCUSES OSRC OF BIASED REPORTING
-SENATE CLEARS HURDLE TO PRIVATE BROADCASTING NETWORK

ARTS
-STAKEHOLDERS KICK AGAINST LEASE OF NATIONAL THEATRE

MEDIA - GENERAL

MARSHAL HARRY: YOUTH ATTACK JOURNALISTS.

Three journalists narrowly escaped being lynched
recently by irate youths at the office of
assassinated All Nigerian People's Party (ANPP)
Chieftain, Marshal Harry, in PortHarcourt, in the
Niger Delta region.

The journalists, Emmanuel Ugwu of The Punch, Kelvin
Ebiri of The Guardian and a photo journalist, Femi
Makinde, had joined other sympathizers to keep vigil
at the office located in the premises of a hotel. But
an attempt by Makinde to take the photograph of one of
the weeping sympathizers drew the ire of the Kalabari
youth who descended on him. Makinde was beaten and
his digital camera confiscated.

The angry youths demanded that the journalists leave
the premises immediately or face more punishment.

PRINT MEDIA

PRIVATISATION: INVESTORS SHUN DAILY TIMES

The attempt by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE)
to sell government's shares in the Daily Times of
Nigeria Plc suffered a setback as only a paltry 1.5
percent of the over one billion shares put up for sale
were mopped up by the investing public.

The subscription is far below the minimum level of 25
percent allowed by the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC). Consequently, the BPE has
reportedly instructed the issuing house, Interstate
Bank Plc, to obtain SEC's approval for First
Registrars Nigeria Ltd., the registrars to the issue,
to make refunds to the applicants.

From the result of the offer, only 3,905 investors
applied for 16,278562 shares worth N20.35 million out
of N1.4 billion put up for sale by the BPE.

"NATIONAL INTEREST" RETURNS

After more than a year of disappearing from the
newsstands, the National Interest newspaper is set to
stage a come-back.

The Managing Director of the newspaper, Ide Eguabor,
says the newspaper has learnt from its forced
disappearance and was set to return as a major player
in the Nigerian media industry.

He identified the hasty transformation of the
newspaper from a weekly publication to a daily
newspaper as the major cause of the crisis that
climaxed in its disappearance from the newsstands.

"We grew too rapidly I think that that speed was too
fast. Now, with benefit of hindsight, maybe we
should have gone a bit slower and by now we should
have been cruising at an acceptable speed limit", he
told The Punch newspaper.

Eguabor said the newspaper is now repositioned and
re-packaged to achieve the true essence of why it was
established in the first place.

SKETCH WORKERS DEMAND ENTITLEMENTS

Former employees of Sketch Press Limited have called
on the governors of its owner states to pay their
entitlements.

The workers who are disappointed that the governors
failed to fullfil their promise to re-open the
troubled newspaper company in the first quarter of
2003 as announced last December by Oyo State governor,
Lam Adesina, listed their final entitlements to
include gratuity, outstanding salaries and allowances
since 1998, contributions to the National Housing
Scheme and deductions from their salaries for the
company's insurance scheme and cooperatives' savings.

INFOTECH

GSM: 21,000 HANDSETS STOLEN MONTHLY

Just as the telecoms sector in Nigeria has been
experiencing a boom since the advent of the Global
System of Mobile (GSM) telecommunication, handset
theft has equally become a million naira industry.

According to The Punch newspaper report, over 400,000
GSM handsets have been stolen from subscribers since
August 2001 when the service began.

On the average, the report said 21,000 cases of
handset theft are recorded monthly. Figures obtained
from the two leading private GSM operators, MTN
Nigeria Communications Limited and Econet Wireless
Nigeria, revealed that subscribers pay about N43.19
million monthly for the replacement of the Subscribers
Identification Module (SIM) cards.

The two networks, attributed 95 percent of reported
cases of lost handsets to theft. In 2002, Econet
Wireless replaced 92,105 SIM Cards, costing
subscribers N138.16 million. About 87,500 of the
replaced cards were said to have resulted from theft.
Police say most of the theft occurred in public buses,
bus stops and poorly lit places, particularly at
night.

PREDIDENT TASKS EXPERTS ON IT BLUEPRINT

President Olusegun Obasanjo has asked Information
Technology (IT) experts to fashion out a blueprint on
the country's IT policy for immediate official
consideration.

In an address delivered on his behalf by Science and
Technology Minister Turner Isoun, at the opening of a
conference organized by the National Information
Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Obasanjo also
asked the experts to provide insight and make
recommendations on how IT could be used as an antidate
to corruption in the Country.

SLASH AIRTIME CHARGES, MINISTER TELLS GSM OPERATORS

The Minister of State for Communications, Alhaji
Haruna Elewi, has called on the operators of the
Global system for Mobile (GSM) communications to slash
the unit cost of calls on their networks.

Elewi spoke in Abuja, the Federal Capital, while
receiving a delegation on MTN Communications and
journalists from South Africa in his office.

The minister said the current tariff of N50 per minute
was too high and should be reviewed in the interest of
consumers.

He assured that market forces would soon begin to
force down the unit price of telephone services, once
the recently licensed second National Operator (SNO)
begins to offer services.

BROADCAST MEDIA

NBC FROWNS AT ILLEGAL IMPORTATION OF EQUIPMENT

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has warned
against the acquisition of transmilters and other
broadcast equipment by individuals, governments and
groups its approval.

In a statement, the commission said it was illegal for
anybody to bring into the country broadcast equipment
without clearance from the commission as required by
ACT 55 of 1999 (as amended).

It further noted that it was also illegal for anybody
to possess a transmitter without declaring same to the
commission. Consequently, the commission has set
March 31, 2003 as deadline for governments, groups and
individuals in possession of such equipment to declare
them.

It has also requested broadcast stations to collect
forms for the renewal of their licenses.

PDP ACCUSES OSRC OF BIASED REPORTING

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State,
South-West Nigeria, has accused the state-owned
Radiovision Corporation (OSRC) of biased reporting.
In a petition to the National Broadcasting Commission
(NBC), PDP alleged that the station had become
partisan to the extent of rejecting stories
commercials and political jingles from political
opponents of the ruling Alliance for Democracy (AD).

"Our campaign jingle which we submitted and paid for
was stopped for no just cause. All that the station
does is to deliberately carry negative stories and
sponsored blackmail against political opponents", the
party stated.

It said the station had contravened the NBC code on
the allotment of equal air time to all parties and
called on the commission to call OSRC to order in the
interest of peace in the state.

SENATE CLEARS HURDLE TO PRIVATE BROADCASTING NETWORK

The major hurdle to nation-wide broadcast by private
radio and television stations in the country will soon
be removed as the upper Legislative chamber, the
senate, commenced public hearing on the review or
repeal of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC)
Act of 1992.

The Act which empowers the NBC to approve license and
allocate frequencies to private operators and to
regulate and monitor the industry, is being reviewed
to promote and make a variety of programmes available
to audiences throughout the country through a diverse
range of radio and television services.

The move is expected to break the monopoly of the
Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) and the Federal
Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), the only two
stations allowed network coverage.

The restriction imposed on private broadcasting
stations from transmitting beyond one state or zone of
states, were informed by fear that such unrestricted
access to the airwaves could compromise national
security. The fear is said to have been misplaced as
existing private stations have been responsible in
their operations.

ARTS

STAKEHOLDERS KICK AGAINST LEASE OF NATIONAL THEATRE

Stake holders in the arts sector, including workers of
nine unions in the industry have restated their
opposition to the plan by the Burean of Public
Enterprises (BPE) to lease the National Arts Theatre
in Lagos for 20 years.

In a petition to President Olusegun Obasanjo, the
stake holders including the Association of Nigeria
Theatre Practitioners and Radio and Television Theatre
Workers (RATTAWU) Lagos State chapter said the move to
lease or privatize the Theatre violates the
Privatization and Commercialization Act of 1999.

They argued that the building was viable if fully
refurbished and government meets is obligations as
contained in the enabling act; that it can survive on
its own without abandoning its statutory and cultural
responsibilities to the governed and society.

They lamented that since 1979, the complex has neither
undergone the mandatory five years primary maintenance
nor the 10 yearly major infrastructural repairs.

They said the complex would lose its status as a
national heritage site if it was privatized or
leased.

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