Communiqué issued at the end of the Community Radio Briefing and Strategy Meeting

COMMUNIQUE

 Communiqué issued at the end of the Community Radio Briefing and Strategy Meeting held at the Rockview Hotel (Royale), Abuja

On Monday, January 21 and Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Preamble

A two-day Community Radio Briefing and Strategy Meeting was held in Abuja on Monday, January 21 and Tuesday, January 22, 2013.  The objective of the meeting was to develop strategies to achieve the speedy implementation of community radio licensing to promote media pluralism and democratization of citizen access to information.

The meeting was convened by the Democratic Governance for Development (DGD) II project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the Nigeria Community Radio Coalition (NCRC). The DGD II project is joint donor-funded project managed by the UNDP in support of deepening democracy in Nigeria.  The project is funded with contributions from the European Commission (EC), the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the UNDP. The NCRC was formed in 2005 to sensitize and mobilize stakeholders and heighten advocacy to fill the gaps in the Nigerian broadcasting landscape that undermine democratic participation and development efforts.

Participation

The meeting was attended by community radio stakeholders from variousparts of the country and representing different sectors.  It was attended byparticipants drawn from Government ministries, departments and agencies;the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the National Orientation Agency (NOA), community leaders; academic institutions; media professionals; campus radio managers and operators; non-governmental organizations (NGOs); community-based organizations (CBOs); advocates of community radio and development communication; gender advocates; international development agencies; and other stakeholders

The meeting was addressed at the opening ceremony by the Chair of the occasion, Professor Ralph Akinfeleye, who is of the Department of Mass Communication at the University of Lagos; the DGD Project Director, Dr.Moutarda Deme; Dr. (Mrs.) Hannatu Ibrahim, a member of the Steering Committee of the Nigeria Community Radio Coalition;Mr. Mike Omeri, Director-General of the National Orientation Agency; and Mr.Joe Obodoeze, a Director at the Federal Ministry of Information, representing the Honourable Minister of Information, Mr.LabaranMaku.

The meeting also heard presentations from experts, community radio advocates and representatives of intending host communities for community radio stations, in plenary and break-out sessions.

At the end of the meeting, the participants agreed to adopt this Communiqué.

OBSERVATIONS

The participants observed as follows:

·         New approaches to development emphasize people’s greater control over their own lives through their active participation in deciding, planning and executing initiatives aimed at improving their socio-political and economic development, a process which requires effective access to information and voice for all segments of the society.

·         Community radio as a grassroots medium of communication is acknowledged worldwide to be a great facilitator of participatory and democratic development, providing a voice for local people, promoting media pluralism, improving access to information and knowledge, and enabling local decision-makers to be held accountable.

·         Community radio broadcasting has many other benefits, including democratizing citizens’ access to information; giving a voice to the voiceless such that through the content they provide and the perspectives they share, the development agenda is determined by citizens.  In addition, community radio broadcasting restores citizens’ integrity; promotes transparency and accountability in governance; is cost effective; has immediacy of impact; and has the potential of creating thousands of job opportunities across the country.

·         If Nigeria is to make significant progress in its democratic development, it needs to harness the potential and capacity of community radio to foster community dialogue, build peace, strengthen the integrity of the electoral process, contribute to transparency and accountability of governance institutions at the grassroots and facilitate citizen’s participation in governance.

·         The failure of the Federal Government and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to give effect to the announcement by President Goodluck Jonathan on October 19, 2010 on the delegation of authority to the NBC to issue licenses for community radio broadcasting in Nigeria continues to be a major source of concern to stakeholders as it undermines the credibility and authority of the Federal Government, particularly the Office of the President.

·         The failure of the Federal Government and the NBC to issue community radio licences also continues to deny dozens of communities across the country effective access to the media, limit their right to freedom of expression, and deprive them of development assistance and other benefits which would otherwise have accrued to them.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The participants therefore recommended as follows:

Government Agencies

·         The NBC should work with other relevant agencies and authorities within the Federal Government to urgently give effect to the announcement by President Jonathan on October 19, 2010 that he had delegated authority to the NBC to issue licenses for community radio broadcasting in Nigeria.

·         The NBC, as the regulatory body for the broadcast sector, should play a leading and pivotal role in resolving all outstanding issues impeding the licensing of community radio broadcasting, including by convening a high-level meeting among critical stakeholders in government to provide a platform for an open and frank discussion of challenges and concerns as well as for their resolution.

·         The NBC should develop a regulatory framework for community radio broadcasting in Nigeria, which can form the basis for further debates and discussions. Such a regulatory framework should define community radio; contain clear requirements for the granting of licenses for community radio stations; information about the licensing process and a regime of license fees, among other issues.

Nigeria Community Radio Coalition (NCRC)

• The NCRC should forge new alliances and build strategic partnerships with Government institutions, such as the National Orientation Agency (NOA), to push through a successful advocacy for community radio broadcasting in Nigeria.
• The NCRC should embark on a campaign of targeted advocacy aimed at relevant authorities within the Federal Government, particularly the Presidency, the Federal Ministry of Information, the Federal Ministry of Justice and the NBC to address any lingering concerns that they may have about community radio broadcasting in Nigeria and persuade them to give effect to President Jonathan’s pronouncement.
• The NCRC should explore the possibility of facilitating a programme of experience sharing between senior Nigerian government officials and senior officials of other relevant governments in West Africa in order to ensure a better understanding among the Nigerian authorities about the potential of community radio broadcasting, including for peace building and conflict resolution purposes.
• While it continues to pursue a policy framework for the actualization of community radio broadcasting in Nigeria, the NCRC should also explore the options of pursuing a clear statutory provision and a strong constitutional backing for community radio broadcasting. 

Communities

·         Even as they wait for broadcast licenses to be issued, communities proposing to establish community radio stations should take advantage of available and cheap new technologies to begin the process of content development, which can also be distributed online.  This will prepare them to become operational as soon as they receive their licences while at the same them helping them to build their capacities.

·         Communities intending to establish community radio stations should assess their capacity needs and develop concrete plans to address such needs, including by seeking support from development agencies and learning from the experiences of community radio stations in other countries in the West African region.

International Development Agencies and Partners

·         Development agencies should lend their strong voices to the advocacy efforts by constantly raising the issue of licensing community radio stations whenever they engage the NBC or other relevant government agencies or authorities.

·         Development agencies should assist communities and aspiring community radio operators with capacity-building support in the areas of management, programme development, acquisition of equipment and appropriate technologies  as well as other ways that may be possible within their respective mandates.

Adopted in Abuja this 22nd day of January 2013.