Let Kano be, Please: An Open Letter to NBA President Afam Osigwe By Muhammed Sani Zorro
I write in response to your recent remarks concerning the stakeholder engagement initiative between the Kano State Ministry of Information and the proprietors and management of broadcast stations in the state. I believe your position on this matter is, with due respect, not only misinformed but also largely unpopular among right-thinking residents of Kano.
While it is true that the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) is the federal regulator of Nigeria’s broadcast industry, it is unrealistic—and indeed impossible—to overlook other mechanisms of regulation, such as stakeholder consensus and self-regulation arising from consultative engagements at the state level. These mechanisms are not alien to our federal structure.
As an avid follower of media affairs, I see the Kano initiative as part of much-needed media reform—an effort welcomed not just in Kano, but across the nation. Similarly, the Federal Ministry of Justice regularly engages judicial bodies to promote mutual understanding, not to gag the judiciary. There is precedent for such engagements.
In the past, we had the National Advisory Council on Information (NACI)—a platform where the Information Minister dialogued with stakeholders like the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), among others. These meetings fostered mutual respect and understanding and addressed industry excesses constructively. The legacy of Prince Tony Momoh, one of Nigeria’s most effective Information Ministers, remains a testament to such initiatives.
As a current resident of Kano, I am fully aware of the challenges posed by some broadcast contents—especially in political and entertainment programming—that promote incitement, misinformation, and social discord. It is disappointing that the NBC has not effectively addressed these issues. Left unregulated, such content poses a real danger to public peace and unity.
I am not an agent of the Kano State Government, nor was I privy to this policy formulation. However, I am convinced that it is a necessary intervention in the face of professional irresponsibility by certain broadcast stations. We cannot allow the city to descend into chaos under the guise of press freedom.
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Broadcast journalism, like all forms of professional media, must uphold ethical standards and be sensitive to the social values, sentiments, and sensibilities of the audience it serves. Media content that fuels division, promotes slander, or undermines peaceful coexistence—especially for commercial gain—is irresponsible and dangerous.
Therefore, I personally commend the media reform efforts in Kano for showing the courage that many politicians have lacked in addressing this growing menace.
The policy enjoys overwhelming support from the people of Kano and the more than 30 broadcast stations operating in the state. The Kano State Council of the NUJ—the vanguard of journalism in the state—has publicly endorsed the initiative. This renders your objection a minority voice, unsupported by any significant stakeholder group.
Meanwhile, the NBC has largely been inactive in enforcing broadcasting standards. For instance, the Commission has failed to act against the proliferation of inappropriate content on social media and has been silent in the face of discriminatory practices by some major broadcast platforms.
The continued rise in abuses by untrained media practitioners is a direct consequence of the NBC’s inadequate oversight and lax enforcement of its own broadcasting code.
Contrary to your assertion, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Kano State Government and media stakeholders does not contravene any provisions of Chapter Two or Chapter Four of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). NBC itself was created by an Act of the National Assembly, not the Constitution, and its broadcasting code is a product of stakeholder consensus, subject to review. Unlike the U.S. Constitution, which explicitly forbids Congress from enacting laws that limit freedom of expression, Nigeria’s legal framework permits reasonable regulatory interventions in the public interest.
Your insistence on rigid federal control to the exclusion of sub-national initiatives, regardless of their merit, is unfortunate and counterproductive.
Mr. President, with due respect, you do not reside in Kano and may not fully grasp the intensity and impact of hate speech that dominates certain private radio programmes here. Furthermore, your intervention does not appear to be in response to any complaint from the Kano branch of the NBA. This raises the concern that you may be intervening in an issue outside your jurisdiction—or perhaps on behalf of interests that disregard our values of peace, respect, and responsible communication.
In light of these clarifications, I believe the honourable course of action would be for you to retract your earlier statement and extend an apology to the people of Kano. They deserve fair, balanced, and responsible media content—not the toxic bombardment of hate and propaganda masquerading as press freedom.
Signed:
Muhammed Sani Zorro
Murtala Muhammed Way, Kano
