nigeria: LOW rating ON PRESS FREEDOM

MEDIA IN NIGERIA #02 - 41 (27 OCTOBER 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
-NAWOJ ELECTS NEW EXECUTIVE
-PRESIDENCY RAISES PANEL ON INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
-NIGERIA RATED LOW ON PRESS FREEDOM

PRINT MEDIA
-NPAN AT 40, HONOURS VETERAN JOURNALISTS, PUBLISHERS
-ABIA TO REVIVE MEDIA HOUSE
-BPE UNVEILS MARCH DEADLINE FOR SALE OF DAILY TIMES

BROADCAST MEDIA
-NBC TO ASSIST IN LOCAL PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT
-AIT FACES $25 MILLION SUIT OVER NON-TRANSMISSION OF ALL - AFRICA GAMES

INFOTECH
-ECONET CHANGES NAME, LOGO
-NITEL COUNTS LOSES ON INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC
-MTN INTRODUCES PER SECOND BILLING
-NITEL WORRIES OVER N90M COJA DEBT

ADVERTISING
-MAY NZERIBE HEADS APCON

THE ARTS
-OBASANJO OFFERS THEATRE'S MANAGEMENT TO ARTISTES
-DONS DEPLORE POOR BOOK CULTURE

MEDIA GENERAL

NAWOJ ELECTS NEW EXECUTIVE

Members of the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) have
elected a new set of leaders to pilot its affairs. The election was the
highlight of the delegates' conference held recently in Minna, Niger State.

Although the identities of the new leaders were not clear as at press time,
reports indicated that a faction of the union may not have accepted the
outcome of the conference and was headed for the law court to challenge it.

The continued existence of NAWOJ as an affiliate of the Nigeria Union of
Journalists (NUJ) has become controversial since the order banning beat
associations and cartels within the journalism profession in Nigeria.

Meanwhile journalists in Kogi state, north-central Nigeria, have protested
the attempt by the Kogi State House of Assembly to deny press interviews to
journalists covering the assembly. Yusuf Haruna, the House's information
committee chairman, drew the ire of journalists covering the assembly when
he warned his colleagues against granting press interviews without clearance
from him. His comment that the journalists were sponsored to write against
the House, did not go down well with the newsmen who then staged a walkout
from the assembly. They have demanded a public apology as condition to
return to the House.

PRESIDENCY RAISES PANEL ON INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Disturbed by uncoordinated response to the barrage of criticisms, especially
in the wake of the controversial deregulation of the downstream of the oil
industry, President Olusegun Obasanjo has set up a presidential committee on
information management. The committee, which is expected to manage such
crisis in future, comprises members drawn from the presidency, the ruling
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Information & National Orientation
Ministry and Chief Executives of Federal Govt-owned media houses. Minister
of Information and National Orientation is to co-ordinate the affairs of the
committee.

At the maiden meeting of the committee held at Radio House, Abuja, Chikelu
sued for a harmonious process of information dissemination in order to avoid
contradictions in selling government.

NIGERIA RATED LOW ON PRESS FREEDOM

The much vaunted respect for the freedom of the press in Nigeria, did not
make much impression on the World Press Freedom ranking of countries
recently released by the Paris, France - based Reporters Without Borders
(RSF). The country was ranked 103rd of 166 countries. The ranking, which
is the second by the group, listed North Korea at 166, as the worst violator
of press freedom. Cuba was ranked second to the worst at 165 while China was
near the bottom at 161.

For European countries, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands and Norway were
adjudged as having the freest press, in that order.

PRINT MEDIA

NPAN AT 40, HONOURS VETERAN JOURNALISTS, PUBLISHERS

Several media personalities were honoured by the Newspapers Proprietors
Association of Nigeria, NPAN, as part of activities marking the 40th
anniversary of the organisation.

Among those honoured in appreciation of their contributions to the growth of
the industry are the publisher of The Guardian Newspapers, Alex Ibru; the
publisher of Vanguard, Sam Amuka Pemu; Champion's Publisher, Emmanuel
Iwuanyanwu; Publisher of The Monitor, Azeez Arise-Kola Alao; Post Express'
Publisher, Sonny Odogun and Oriwu, Sun publisher, Monzor Olowosajo.

Others honoured are former governor of Ogun State, Segun Osoba; former
governor of Lagos State, Lateef Jakande, Henry Odukomaya, Felix Adenaike and
Dan Agbese.

The awardees collected their honours at an impressive ceremony, which took
place October 24, at the Golden Gate Restaurant, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The celebration also featured a seminar that examined the state of media
practice in Nigeria.

In his reminiscence on the fortune of the organisation which came into
existence on December 16, 1960, the President, Ray Ekpu, said NPAN has
witnessed tremendous growth in membership, which increased from seven in
1960 to fifty in 2003.

He however lamented that the huge advertisement debt owed media
establishments by advertising agencies, and the prohibitive cost of
newsprint were threatening the survival of most members as they can barely
pay staff salaries.

Ekpu warned that the organisation might be forced to publish the names of
debtor advert agencies, even as he called on the Heads of Advertising
Sectoral Groups (HASG) to redress the dominance of the Association of
Advertising Practitioners of Nigeria (AAPN) by facilitating equitable
representation of all sectoral groups.

ABIA TO REVIVE MEDIA HOUSE

The government of Abia State, South-east Nigeria, is to revive its newspaper
corporation, shut since June. Orji Uzor Kalu, the state governor told
journalists in Umuahia, the state capital, that the administration has
decided to offer the newspaper a financial lifeline to enable it resume
operation.

He, however, said that the corporation which would now operate on a
commercial basis, is expected to be self - sustaining and generate income
for the state government.

The governor had in June, ordered the closure of the Abia newspaper
corporation, publishers of The Ambassador, on grounds of insolvency.

BPE UNVEILS MARCH DEADLINE FOR SALE OF DAILY TIMES

Daily Times of Nigeria Plc, DTN, publishers of The Daily Times newspaper is
to be privatized before the end of the first quarter of 2004. In a revised
privatization schedule released by the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE,
DTN is grouped among public companies in the short-term privatization agenda
of the Bureau.

According to Julius Bala, Director General of the Bureau, other companies
scheduled for sale in the short term are Afribank Nigeria Plc, the Nigerian
Security Printing and Minting Company, Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria,
ALSCON, among others.

Previous attempt to privatize the oldest surviving newspaper through a
public offer failed as shares of the company were grossly under-subscribed.

BROADCAST MEDIA

NBC TO ASSIST IN LOCAL PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT

Worried by the preponderance of foreign programmes by Nigerian broadcast
stations, the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, is to assist stations
with programmes development to improve local content. NBC Director General,
Silas Yisa told The Punch, that the organisation was already packaging
credible alternative programmes similar to what obtains on the satellite
channels.

"We have licensed some indigenous companies who will package the Nigerian
original programmes. This is expected to be turned out in the first quarter
of next year", he declared.

In another development, the NBC boss disclosed that the commission was at
the verge of providing solution to the over-bearing attitude of the Nigerian
Television Authority, NTA, on the broadcast landscape. He said a Bill,
which is currently before the National Assembly, has provisions that will
subject the NTA to the full control of the commission. Yisa lamented that
it had been difficult regulating the activities of the NTA because both the
commission and the station enjoyed an equal status as parastatals of the
Ministry of Information. All that is expected to change with the passing of
the Bill.

AIT FACES $25 MILLION SUIT OVER NON-TRANSMISSION OF 8TH ALL AFRICA GAMES

The African Independent Television, AIT, has been sued for $25 million by
viewers in Los Angeles, United States, for its failure to beam live signals
of the just concluded 8th All Africa Games to viewers across the globe as
promised.

The Chairman, Daar Communications Limited, owners of AIT, Raymond Dokpesi
who disclosed this in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, blamed the station's
predicament on the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, which denied AIT
access to clean feed after it paid N3 million to COJA, the games organizing
committee, to transmit the event. "I may have to face the consequence of
other people's deficiency in handling matters", Dokpesi lamented.

Inspite of the suit, which marks a baptism of fire for the station on the
global stage, Dokpesi is convinced that the foray of the station into
international broadcasting was a step in the right direction. AIT
International was commissioned recently at a colourful ceremony in New York,
United States, where President Olusegun Obasanjo was guest of honour.

Dokpesi says he expects the journey to be rough but express confidence in
his organisation's ability to overcome obstacles on its way to becoming the
authentic voice of Africa.

INFOTECH

ECONET CHANGES NAME, LOGO

Following recent change in the ownership structure of Econet Wireless of
Nigeria with the acquisition of 50 + 1 equity stake in the company by South
Africa's Vodacom, a change in the company's name and logo is expected soon,
to reflect the new ownership.

Bolaji Balogun, the company's Chief Marketing Officer said at a forum in
Lagos that popular globe in the outfit's logo will soon give way for another
type of logo. He said the company was undergoing a change that would shoot
it to the top of the market.

Balogun said that with the arrival of Vodacom, the company would dominate
the Nigeria market.

NITEL COUNTS LOSES ON INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC

The Nigerian Telecommunications Limited, NITEL, has lost $136 million
revenue from its international traffic services in the last two years.

Rein Zwolsman, Chief Executive Officer, who disclosed this in Abuja said
that from an average annual income of $80 million from international traffic
in the past, the company now barely rakes $12 million a year, in the last
two years.

He attributed the decline to competition from other networks that use
cheaper channel such as Voice Over Internet Protocol to carry international
traffic.

To reverse the trend, Zwolsman indicated that the company may reduce tariff
on international calls by 50 percent. NITEL is believed to be determined to
take advantage of its investment in SAT - 3 cable to reduce tariff for
international calls.

MTN INTRODUCES PER SECOND BILLING

Nigeria's leading Global System of Mobile Communications (GSM) provider, MTN
Nigeria Communication Limited has finally bowed to the agitation of its
subscribers when it announced a major review of its billing system, which
gives subscribers the option of being charged per second.

In the tariffs reductions announced by the company's top management staff
led by Chief Executive Officer, Adrian Wood, in Lagos, subscribers on MTN's
Pay As You Go (PAYG) will pay a tariff of N39 per minute peak time while off
peak-call would be charged at N36 per minute.

The current tariffs stand at N50 per minute for peak periods and N40 per
minute for off-peak periods irrespective of the terminating network.

The switch to per second billing is believed to be the company's reaction to
competition from the Second National Operator (SNO), Globacom which
introduced the per second billing system for its mobile network early last
month. Its 80k per second tariff that was being adopted by MTN appears to
be the industry benchmark.

However, Wood told journalists that the tariffs reduction were a result of
strong and stable financial performance of the company in the last two
years. The view was echoed by Afam Edozie, MTN's Chief Marketing Officer,
who says the company "became profitable a little earlier than expected".

MTN's switch to per second billing system leaves Econet Wireless Nigeria and
M-Tel as the two GSM companies, which are yet to embrace the system.

The industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has
directed operators in the industry to implement per second billing.

Meanwhile, MTN has asked for tax exemption on equipment valued at about $60
million, which it claim will be installed to begin per second billing. It
is also asking for a waiver on the 2.5 percent of its yearly revenue to NCC.

NITEL WORRIES OVER N90M COJA DEBT

The management of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) is
determined to recover the debt of N90m owed it for services provided during
the recently concluded 8th All Africa Games, from the games organizing
committee, COJA.

Although NITEL was not the official telecoms partner to COJA, it was drafted
to provide certain telecommunications services following the failure of
Globacom Limited to put in place some specific facilities.

NITEL, through the intervention of the presidency, had installed for the
games, a switch which has a capacity for 1,000 direct exchange lines as well
as fibre optic facilities for the uplink of broadcast signals.

Since the curtains were drawn on the games, NITEL officials have been
visiting COJA secretariat for payment without luck.

Tayo Ekundayo, NITEL's Deputy General Manager, Public Relations however told
Punch that the company would employ every means to recover the money from
COJA.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, have announced that the
Sale of 20 percent of the company's equity through the initial public offer
on the Nigerian Stock Exchange would soon commence. Julius Bala, Director
General, BPE said the sale which has suffered several postponements will
commence before the end of the first quarter of 2004.

ADVERTISING

MAY NZERIBE HEADS APCON

A leading advertising practitioner, May Nzeribe, has been appointed chairman
of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON). He succeeds
Olu Falomo whose tenure expired recently.

He tops the list of 20 representatives of the sectoral groups appointed to
the board of APCON. They include representatives of the National
Universities Commission, Consumer Protection Council, Broadcasting
Organisation of Nigeria, National Board of Technical Education, Outdoor
Advertising Association of Nigeria, Association of Advertising Practitioners
of Nigeria, Advertisers Association of Nigeria, the Newspapers Proprietors'
Association of Nigeria, the National Council of Women's Societies and the
Ministries of Health and Information and National Orientation. No date has
been fixed for the inauguration of the council.

Meanwhile the proposed collaboration between APCON and the National Agency
for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on the vetting of food
and drug products has been confirmed to elicit commendation from
stakeholders. Sesan Oyebode, Chief Executive Officer of Novitas, a
marketing Communication outfit lauded the initiative. He called on the
agencies to disregard advertisement of unapproved drugs, food and other
regulated products.

THE ARTS

OBASANJO OFFERS NATIONAL THEATRE'S MANAGEMENT TO ARTISTES

President Olusegun Obasanjo has offered the Association of Nigeria Theatre
Arts Practitioners (ANTP) concessionary management of the government-owned
National Arts Theatre in Lagos.

The president who spoke while receiving a delegation of ANTP at the
Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the association would be accorded priority
should they indicate interest in running the complex.

He told the ANTP delegation that rather than auction the monument, the
government would explore other avenues of running it without subsidy.

"We are not selling the National Arts Theatre but we want to run it in a way
that can reduce government subsidies on its maintenance".

The President equally solicited for the association's assistance as a major
player in developing the Nigerian Film Corporation in Jos, Plateau State.
He regretted that the 32-year-old Corporation has failed to perform, adding
that the government was willing to cede 51 percent equity holding in the
corporation.

The ANTP delegation in turn, solicited the administration's assistance in
developing its N500 million film village in Lagos.

DONS DEPLORE POOR BOOK CULTURE

Stakeholders in the Nigerian educational sector have identified government
neglect of the country's library industry as a major factor responsible for
the poor book culture in the country.

Speaking in Lagos, at a ceremony to mark the 70th birthday of Professor
Adebimpe Ike, wife of renowned author, Professor Chukwuemeka Ike, the
Director of Lagos Business School, Prof. Pat Utomi frowned at government's
attitude to Library development. "They have not done well. Infact one of
the biggest challenges this country has, is the failure of the Library
System". Utomi said the country's poor reading culture was responsible for
its continuing backwardness.

Speaking in the same vein, Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike regretted that previous
commitments by government to book development were never translated into
concrete action. Instead, book development and reading culture, he said,
had taken a back seat as the people concern themselves with the endless task
of making money.

He, however, disclosed that the Nigerian Book Foundation (NBF), which he
heads, would soon be revitalized to leapfrog the process of book
development.

-----ENDS----

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