Residents of Maiduguri have got used to the power blackout – but now they face a news blackout as well because the recent hike in diesel and fuel is making it virtually impossible for media organisations to keep broadcasting.
The increase has already affected media outlets. Some have reduced their hours of work, others have removed programmes and still others have even shut down altogether because of the high cost of content production.
Some listeners and viewers told RNI that they missed not being able to listen to their favourite programmes.
Ahmed Zakariya, an avid radio and TV fan, said: “Before we could watch and listen to a variety of programmes that were entertaining, enlightening and educating. But, in the past two to three months, things have changed. We cannot watch or listen to our desired programmes at the stipulated times. In fact, some media stations have stopped airing certain programmes. And some media stations have reduced working hours.
“With my little radio, I used to search for stations of my choice. Just three days ago, when I decided to listen to Kanem FM, I found that the station was off air. Then I heard that the high cost of diesel and fuel was causing major challenges for media organisations.
RNI visited the Borno Radio and Television (BRTV) and Kanem FM 97.7 University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) Radio in Maiduguri. Both media outlets described the hike in diesel and fuel prices as “very critical, worrisome and challenging”. They agreed that it was in the public interest for media organisations to keep broadcasting.
Bulama Yerima, head of the news department at BRTV said: “The rise in diesel price has greatly affected our work. Not only have diesel prices been hiked, the fuel price has also increased, which is hinders daily news production, because we have use cars to reach news hot spots.
“After covering the news, it has to be processed, edited – both for film and sound – and packaged. Sometimes reporters use their personal laptops to edit the news they have covered. But even once edited and packaged, it’s impossible to air the content without a generator, which runs on diesel,” he said.
“By midday, a full tank of diesel is down to half. And diesel is sold for between ₦700 and ₦800. It is costing a fortune to run radio and TV stations.
“BRTV is a government-owned media station and people are wondering why we are facing the same challenges as other media organisations. Honestly, the Borno State government is trying its best by supplying us with two tanks of diesel a month but two tanks is nowhere near enough to keep the station running for 30 days. So, we have reduced our working hours and sometimes we have bought additional diesel from the funds we raise through adverts and other commercial activities. But it’s not enough,” Yerima said.
“Elections are just around the corner and the station is responsible for producing programmes on election-related issues and to cover political events in all 27 local government areas of Borno State. With the latest hike, it will be very difficult for us to do our jobs properly. For example, calculate the expenses: We send three crew members – the driver, cameraman and reporter – to each local government area to cover political events. Even if it’s just one litre of fuel for each trip, it means paying for 27 litres. On top of that, we have to pay food allowances and accommodation. The burden of the high prices of diesel and petrol will force us to cut working hours from 12 hours to five or six.
“So, I am asking our listeners and viewers to be patient and bear with us. When there is enough electricity, our station is on air for almost 24 hours. When the electricity blackouts started, we used to broadcast for about nine hours. But with this fuel and diesel hike, I don’t think we will be able to maintain nine hours.”
Musa Usman, who works for Kanem FM 97.7 UNIMAID Radio Station, told RNI that the station had been shut down for almost 11 days because of the hike in prices.
“The diesel hike is affecting most media organisations in Nigeria, especially those in Borno State. Some media stations have had to reduce their working hours, for example from 10 to seven hours. Stations have been forced to stop broadcasting some of their programmes and some have shut down completely.
“As I’m speaking to you now, our radio station, Kanem FM, is off air. The station has been totally shut down for almost 11 days now. But we thank God, the University of Maiduguri management came to the station to assess the situation and they are looking at the costs of installing solar power. If we get the solar power, we will be back on air.
“The radio station was mainly established to train students in the mass communication department at the university. But we did not shut down the station, even during holidays. Currently, all students are at home because of the ongoing Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike, but we were still keeping the station running until 11 days ago. I heard that the price of diesel per litre is going up to ₦1,000 naira. If you buy 50 to 100 litres of diesel at the cost of ₦1,000 naira to run a whole media station every day, then what do you stand to achieve or gain as profit?
“The lack of constant electricity in Borno State is one of the major factors responsible for the increase in the diesel price. When Borno was cut off from national grid, which led the total blackout, the government pledged to build a gas power plant as an alternative source of electricity, but they still have not finished building it,” Usman said.
“It is imperative that the government finishes the construction of the gas power plant as soon as possible. In the meantime, the government could help media organisations by providing solar energy. Another suggestion is that the government should build a filling station specifically for media outlets that would provide fuel and diesel at subsidised prices. The activities and functions of the media houses are of great importance to the masses, especially with elections coming up. There are specialised programmes designed to educate and enlighten the public about the dos and don’ts of the pre-elections, elections and post-elections periods. The government needs to address the challenges facing the media houses for the benefit of all its citizens.”
SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO
