National Broadcasting Commission: Clampdown On #KakaakiSocial And Censorship -By ThankGod Ukachukwu

Since the innovative breakfast TV program #KakaakiSocial hit the airwaves, It has become one of the programs viewers look forward to catch a glimpse of what Nigerians think about trending topics on social media. One of Nigeria’s rising journalists Ohimai Amaize pioneered a user-generated content (UGC) segment, which highlights trending social media conversations. Suffice it to say that the advent of social media especially, the microblogging app, twitter, has impacted news reporting tremendously. Tweets are inculcated into news reports and articles for direct reference to citizens. This development has enhanced news reporting and increased citizen participation. However, totalitarian regimes are threatened as it exposes their shortcomings.

In a letter sent to the group managing director of African Independent Television (AIT) by National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the director of broadcast monitoring, Prof Armstrong Idachaba stated that #KakaakiSocial aired offensive and divisive rhetoric from bloggers and social media. He warned the station not to renege on its gatekeeping responsibility and quoted convenient sections of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code and threatened the licence of AIT.

It is not strange that the government is rattled that a program, which has become one of the most viewed in Nigeria reports negative views about it. There has been a running battle on social media where supporters of the current administration have tackled the presenter severally accusing him of bias in reporting and he has severally informed them that he isn’t the force behind trending topics from which content for the program is extracted. It is also on record that supporters of the present administration are rejoicing that the NBC wants to shut down the program to relieve them of one less program they loathe. Media Aide to the president, Tolu Ogunlesi retweeted a tweet which supports the government clampdown on #KakaakiSocial.

Therefore, it is not out of place for #KakaakiSocial to be targeted by the NBC. The government has shown that it is not comfortable with the program, which airs the views of angry citizens in the midst of its failures to improve their lots. A democratic dictatorship where tyranny is the order of the day would do anything to deploy state institutions to censor the media and shut down any medium, which exposes its failures. Attempts by the NBC smacks of a state sliding towards fascism and the attempt to shut down this program confirms that the government is only interested in muzzling free speech.

Since the present administration came into power in 2015, Nigeria’s World Press Freedom Index has not improved. According to Reporters Without Borders, “hatred towards journalists, attacks on investigative reporters, censorship (especially online and on social networks), and economic and judicial harassment all undermined independent reporting and quality journalism.” A free press is essential for democratic freedom.

The clampdown and censorship of #KakaakiSocial is draconian and the NBC must desist from towing that path. Gagging platforms like Kakaaki Social amounts to dictating how Nigerians should react to the deteriorating condition of the country, which the incumbent administration has failed to improve. The NBC cannot dictate what citizens say about the state of the country and should not compel TV programs not to air citizens’ views. Nigerian is a democracy not a junta. A #FreePress is critical to the entrenchment of democracy.