BY ERNEST OSOGBUE
That the federal government deemed it necessary to reward the Super Eagles barely hours after their second place finish at the 34th Africa Cup of Nations AFCON, speaks, not only to how valuable the team is to Nigerians, but also to what the team means to Nigeria. The Super Eagles as a team is Nigeria’s Unity Fountain, and represents the hopes and aspirations of all Nigerians irrespective of creed, gender, or politics. Only the Super Eagles have the power to lift the national mood when citizens are feeling down.
With the championship over, it is now time for stock taking. Not of the football that was on display and evident to all, but of the sundry issues that made or marred the presentation of the competition. Our interest therefore is on what could have been done by some government agencies to enhance the enjoyment of the AFCON by Nigerians. In this regard, we shall focus on the Nigerian Television Authority NTA, and The Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria FRCN.
Over the years, these two organizations have been in the forefront of informing Nigerians on government policies and sundry matters, by bringing news and other events closer to the people. In this era of digital pay television and broadcasting, they remain free-to-air, so as to remain accessible to all without discrimination as to status. This is also to enable them to easily mobilize citizens for national development.
With the advent of private television and radio stations, the NTA and FRCN have seen their influence amongst Nigerians dwindle significantly, as younger Nigerians who desire more from the leaders feel that the agencies rather than being critical of government policies, prefer to pander to the whims of those in authority. This has resulted in the preference of the supposedly independent minded private broadcast stations.
Be that as it may, the NTA and the FRCN still retain some level of influence among older citizens and still command a large listener base, if not for the quality of their broadcasts, but because of their reach, which no private television or radio station can challenge. Also in the area of sports broadcasting and commentating, no private television or radio station has come near what the NTA and the FRCN have achieved. Especially in the days of Tolu Fatoyinbo, Kevin Ejiofor, Allen Agboo, Richard Asiegbu, Emeka Odikpo, Pius Osemwigie, Shina Abimbola, and the maverick Ernest Okonkwo, who held sway as commentators at the FRCN. For the NTA, there was Fabio Olanipekun, Yakubu Ibn Mohammed, Yinka Craig, Charles Ojugbana, Waheed Olagunju, Akinloye Oyebanji and others who kept Nigerians abreast of events via sports commentating.
As commercialization took over the media space however, the issues of broadcast rights, and copyright infringement threatened to deny Nigerians of this close up view of their sports heroes via sports commentaries. This supposedly raised the acquisition of broadcast rights for Super Eagles matches above the power of the public broadcasters, and resulted in the NTA and FRCN having to forge alliances within and outside Nigeria. While these alliances have been partially successful, showcasing the Super Eagles exploits to Nigerians remains a challenge that requires some effort and creativity to achieve.
For instance, in 2006 when Egypt hosted the AFCON, Radio Nigeria was constrained by many factors including funds and rights. However, Shina Abimbola at great personal sacrifice and with the support of the then acting Director General of the corporation Kevin Ejiofor, singlehandedly ran commentaries of the Super Eagles exploits in Egypt to Nigerians. On many occasions I was also personally involved in these broadcasts, as a staff of the corporation up to 2016, when I voluntarily retired. I witnessed firsthand the sacrifices required to broadcast the Super Eagles matches, not only as entertainment, but for their underlying unifying value to the nation, both at the emotional, economic and political levels. There was always the belief that not broadcasting commentaries of the Super Eagles matches was a travesty and indeed a disservice to the nation.
It follows therefore that during the just concluded AFCON, the NTA which had subsidiary rights to broadcast the feed from the rights owner, could have done more to create an ecosystem around the championship. This could have seen them have a preview show that could run for hours before the game, and then a review show that could also run for hours after the game. In this way they could keep Nigerians engaged with the local content of the AFCON broadcast for hours, if not days. Interestingly also, corporate Nigeria has always been there supporting the NTA and FRCN when it concerns the Super Eagles, this was back when the management understood the value of corporate goodwill. I believe that with proper marketing, the NTA could have successfully mobilized corporate Nigeria and acquired the AFCON broadcast rights. It is not rocket science, what is required is vision and focus. Today however, these agencies prefer to focus on a rigid program schedule that repeats the same news bulletin over and over, rather than on what is relevant to the people they were set up to serve. Broadcasting has gone beyond having a rigid program schedule. While it is great to have it as backup however, a broadcast organization that seeks to remain relevant must always adjust its programming to what the audience desires, in this manner it is able to have more influence with the viewers and listeners as it keeps them abreast of what is relevant.
As I write, suicide has become commonplace among our youth, young people are disillusioned and see little hope in their country, and now prefer to japa, use drugs or go into crime. As two very important cultural vehicles, the NTA and the FRCN, in conjunction with the National Orientation Agency NOA, have important roles to play in winning back the minds of the youths, and focusing them on patriotism and nation building. Sitting behind a large desk and using an outdated program schedule will not do the job, people need to roll up their sleeves and get down and dirty. We need to rebuild our country and the NTA and FRCN can do much more than they are currently offering. Just as President Tinubu is the number one marketing officer of Nigeria, the chief executives of relevant organizations must also realize that they are the chief marketing officers of those agencies.
With the above in mind, it was shocking therefore that the FRCN not only did not run any commentaries during the recent AFCON, but also failed to send a reporter to cover the championship. The disgrace became acute in the semifinal match between the Bafana Bafana of South Africa and the Super Eagles. Nigerians in their millions watched and listened as South African commentators dominated Nigerian airwaves, extolling the virtues of the Bafana Bafana, while taking subtle digs at the Super Eagles in a bid to ridicule Nigeria. Though the Super Eagles ultimately triumphed in that encounter, the emotional damage had been done. The resultant casualty figures, with reports of many Nigerians losing their lives as fallout of that particular match, may not be unconnected with the biased commentary of the South Africans.
National mobilization is serious business, especially now that our nation is undergoing some challenges. Football generally and the Super Eagles in particular remains an important brand in energizing citizens to love their country and come together for nation building. It has been proven that all negative barriers in Nigeria are broken when the Super Eagles are playing and winning, it was therefore a missed opportunity by the NTA and FRCN to further bring Nigerians together during the AFCON. It is not enough to broadcast matches and excite the people, following up on that, by injecting Nigerian nuances via commentating and tapping into the value of the Super Eagles as a unifying brand, would go a long way in helping to cement the cracks within our nation, and ultimately help us achieve the goal of One Nation One Destiny.
