History of Television in nigeria

History of Television in Nigeria

The History of Television in Nigeria revolves around the suitability of the

medium for political propaganda and for educational broadcasting. Television
development in Nigeria has been motivated by 2 factors; politics and education.
The two are linked since education is always a vote catcher, and all governments
are to a degree, genuinely altruistic vis-a vis education. It follows then that it is the
educational factor that that the leaders present to the people in order to secure
their approval and support for the introduction and expansion of television. That
television could, once established, be used for blatant propaganda must have
motivated politicians, although the extent to which it is can only be surmised.

Television Transmission began in Western Nigeria in October 31, 1959. This

service initiated by the regional government was not only the first in Nigeria, but
remains today the oldest in the whole of the African continent. The birth could be
termed purely accidental because it was borne out of political dissention. Chief
Obefemi Awolowo and his party men had walked out of Parliament in protest
against a constitutional debate at the eve of Nigeria’s independence. This action
was condemned by the ruling government over the Federal-all-Nigeria Radio
Broadcasting Service, but access was denied the opposition leader to reply to the
accusations. Instead of establishing a Radio Station alone, to offer an unrepressed
‘voice’ in national affairs, the Western Region commenced television transmission.
Thus, while the aims of this expensive venture as delineated by the Government
may not seriously be in dispute, yet the real motives might actually be more of
regional pride and prestige. The daily times (November 2, 1959) carried a front page
report of the inauguration of the new Western Nigerian Television service in
Ibadan. Chief Obefemi Awolowo said in his speech that the venture was initiated
because the regional government was convinced that it could play a major role in
increasing both the peace and standard of education which was regarded as the
key to progress in other fields. He said that it was the aim of his governments to
bring information about development in Nigeria and in the outside world into the
people’s homes so that they might benefit from the knowledge. He declared that
‘Television will serve as teacher and entertainer and as a stimulus to us all to
transform Nigeria into a modern and prosperous nation’. This brought about the
first TV which was the Western Nigerian Television which was successful and
became the pride of the entire Region and the nation.

The other two regional governments in the East and the North soon followed suit.
The National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon (N.C.N.C) government of the Eastern
Region and the Northern People’s Congress (N.P.C) government of the Northern
Region had to prove to their respective peoples that whatever the Action group
government of the West can do, they too could do for the people of their regions.
Even the Federal Government at Lagos had to hurry into the television race. So,
three additional television stations sprang up in Nigeria in a quick succession. With
its establishment on the 31st of October, 1959, WNTV became the first operational
television station on the continent of Africa, with the slogan ‘First in Africa’. A year
later, the former Eastern Nigerian Television Service (ETNTV) came into being. This
was followed by Radio Television Kaduna, established by the former Northern
Nigerian Government as an arm of the Broadcasting Company of Northern Nigeria
(BCNN) in March, 1962. The federal government, a month later, established the
Nigerian Television Service (NTS) in Lagos. Thus, the Federal Government and the
3 existing regional governments of the early 1960s all had television stations of
their own.

The 1966 military takeover of governments in Nigeria brought about remarkable

changes in the political, social and economic structure in Nigeria. The army ruled
for 30 years which brought about changes in Nigeria, and the sudden explosion in
oil revenue, the changing of the Nigerian constitution and the splitting of the
country into 12 states in 1967, and later 19 states in 1975. The creation of new
states caused a new wave of sectional consciousness referred to as statism. Every
state wanted its own facilities. This brought about establishment of state-owned
television stations but that another factor, stringer than the statism was the
effectiveness and importance of television broadcasting as demonstrated by the
older stations. Bendel State took the lead in this new wave of television acquisition
by state governments. The Bendel State Television Service was established in 1973.
Other state government television stations were established in quick succession.
Among the stations that sprang up during the military regime were NTV Benin (now
NTA Benin), Nigerian Television Jos, Nigerian Television Kano, Nigerian Television
Port Harcourt, Nigerian Television Sokoto.

Eventually, the military government, spurred on by the need to have coordinated

nationwide coverage of the All-Africa Games in 1973, established the National
Television Authority in 1976. This restricted the growth of Television for 3 years.
The 13 year long term of the military rule in Nigeria terminate din 1979. The civilian
rule was disorganized as far as the initiation of development ventures was
concerned. The 5 political parties were in competition to show to show what they
were able to achieve for the states they controlled. Television station sprang up
everywhere with little rational planning. They were able to do this because they
revoked the charter of the NTA. The establishment of the NTA was the first attempt
by the Federal Government of Nigeria to have a centrally financed and co-ordinate
television industry. Born out of an experiment in join broadcasting in Nigeria, the
authority played a major role in further development of the industry. NTA took over
the ten television stations that existed in the country and embarked on a policy of
equitable geographical spread of television stations throughout the country. As the
10 stations that already existed were cited in 10 state capitals, the N.T.A decided
to set up 9 additional television stations in the capitals of the remaining 9 states of
the Federation. A station was also established at the new Federal Capital, Abuja.

In conclusion, the advent and growth of television in Nigeria was motivated and
channeled respectively by strong political and educational consideration.
History of Radio in Nigeria
 Radio started in Nigeria with the Introduction of the Radio distribution in the
year 1933. The Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria was founded in 1933 by the
British colonial government Named the Radio Diffusion Service (RDS), it allowed
the public to hear the British Broadcasting Corporation's foreign radio service
broadcasts in certain public locations over loudspeakers. The first radio station in
Nigeria was established in Ibadan in 1939. The next station was created in Kano in
1944. This means that Ibadan station was the only one in colonial Nigeria for 5
years. And 5 years later, in 1949, it was suggested to create Nigerian National
Broadcasting Service (NNBS) instead of Radio Diffusion Service(RDS). This idea
came into life in 1951 and was operated in Lagos

In April 1950, the RDS became the Nigerian Broadcasting Service and introduced
radio stations in Lagos, Kaduna, Enugu, Ibadan, and Kano. This service was
reorganized into the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) on April 1, 1957, by
act of parliament. Its mission was to "provide, as a public service, independent and
impartial broadcasting services".

The independence of Nigeria from Britain in 1960 helped local broadcasting

network to develop further. In late 1960, the Federal Parliament amended the
Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) Ordinance to allow the sale of
commercial advertisements. The first ads ran on October 31, 1961, and were
broadcast from Lagos. By 1962 regional and provincial broadcasters began selling
ads to local businesses. The goal of allowing radio advertisements was to help
provide additional funding to NBC stations beyond that received from the
government. By 1962 the NBC had expanded its broadcast stations
into Sokoto, Maiduguri, Ilorin, Zaria, Jos and Katsina in the north; Port
Harcourt, Calabar, and Onitsha in the East; and Abeokuta, Warri, and Ijebu-Ode in
the West. Each of these stations was considered a subsidiary station of a regional
station. The subsidiary stations broadcast local interest programs during part of the
day, and then relayed programming from their regional station during the rest of
the broadcast day. National programs were broadcast from
two shortwave transmitters and one medium wave transmitter located in Sogunle,
near Lagos.
 The Federal Parliament approved the creation of the Voice of Nigeria (VON)
external shortwave service in 1961. Broadcasts began on January 1, 1961,
from Lagos State. Its initial operations were limited to two hours a day to West
Africa, but by 1963 VON had expanded both its coverage and transmission times
with the addition of five additional transmitters. In April 1961, with financial
assistance from the Ford Foundation and technical assistance from the British
Broadcasting Corporation, NBC began the National School Broadcasting Service in
April 1961. The NBC Schools unit broadcast lessons in various school subjects for
primary and secondary schools, as well as special programs for teacher training
colleges. The Schools unit was based in Ibadan. The NBC and the Broadcasting
Corporation of Northern Nigeria (BCNN) were merged in 1978 to become the
Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN). Medium wave transmitters previously
owned by the NBC were transferred to the individual state governments where the
transmitters were located. At the same time, the states transferred shortwave
transmitters to the FRCN. In 1996, VON installed three high power transmitters at
its Ikorodu transmitter site, allowing worldwide transmissions for the first time.

In conclusion, the creation of the first ever private radio station was in 1994
which was the Ray Power FM. The first international transmission (to the whole
world) was possible in 1996, but the masses could get this service beginning from
2007.
 References

1. Charles Umeh: The Advent and Growth of Television in Nigeria: Its political
and Educational Overtones 1989.
2. Adegbokun D. (1983). “Nigerian Television Authority”. Television Journal. 2 nd
Quarter, April-June.