PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES OF CAMPUS BROADCAST STATION IN NIGERIA; A CASE STUDY OF UNIQUE 88.5 FM

It is not just good enough to obtain license, establish and start running a community radio station. The success of any organization is hinged on the fulfillment of the objectives of that organization. It is based on this premise that this research work is carried out to examine the present operational nature of University of Port Harcourt Community Radio Station 88.5 Unique FM in comparison with the Objectives of its establishment, trying to find out the challenges (if any) and prospects of the radio station in the process with the hope that it will be useful to the university management and the Department of Mass Communication on issues concerning the operation of the radio station, policy adjustments, funding and equipping.

 

INTRODUCTION
1.1   BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The personal and unique character of radio makes it one of the most appealing and universal mass media for participatory communication and development (Teer-Tomaselli & De Villiers, 1998, p.147). Various researches aver that radio has the capacity to reach large audiences, both young and old, including those in remote, underdeveloped and impoverished areas of the developing world.   According to Bosch (2007), in the absence of other forms of media such as television and newspapers, radio has proven to be a powerful and vital means of entertainment and communication that guarantees community involvement in the communication process. Further researches show that radio is renowned for providing communities with up-to-date local and international information in their own languages accompanied by various music genres that are compatible with diverse cultural inclinations (Mmusi, 2002, p.3; National Community Radio Forum, 1993, p.10).   The development of digital radio and its capacity to integrate or network with various Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), through convergence, has arguably placed radio as the world’s most successful ICT to date that reaches millions of listeners everyday (National Community Radio Forum, 1993, p6). While the traditional functions of national radio, especially Public Broadcasting Service, cannot be underestimated, community radio serves as a “niche” of the media landscape that serves as a primary source of reliable information for the entire population (Dunaway, 2002, p.4). As such, the sector has continued to provide news and information relevant to the needs of community members in the form of a medium which empowers them politically, socially and economically, through locally produced and oriented media content (Wigston, 2001; Fraser & Estrada, 2001). This is evident in the kind of programming that reflects people’s needs with regard to education, information, and entertainment to all language and cultural groups in the country (Mmusi, 2002;Teer-Tomaselli, 1995).  
 Although radio is not a new phenomenon, private ownership, control of programming, content and operation is relatively a recent phenomenon. It has been gaining strength throughout the world in recent years most especially in developing countries. As a result, private FM and community radio has attracted the attention of many international development organizations as an optimal resource to be developed in the struggle for democracy, the fight against disease, and the preservation of local language and culture (Blackson, 2005).   Furthermore, radio is scholarly proven to be the perfect medium for mass communication. If we compare radio to other mass media, it’s consistently ranks as the most popular means of information dissemination, regardless of the continent. The interactive appeal of radio has distinguished it as an effective medium above other tools of mass media. What makes radio particularly appealing is its interactivity, its capacity to provoke dialogue and solicit the participation of local populations (Baran, 2003).
1.1.2  BRIEF HISTORY OF RADIO IN NIGERIA
Historically, radio broadcasting began in Nigeria in 1933 as a redistribution of service by the Post and Telegraph Department, which received and relayed BBC news through what was called RADIFUSSION (Radio Diffusion). Eight years later in 1951 the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS) was established, marking the birth of true broadcasting in the country. Along the line, NBS transformed to Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) in 1956, which was position to have an external service called (Voice of Nigeria) in 1961. NBC is now the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria  (FRCN), restricted to domestic broadcasting , VON was excised from FRCN in 1990, given full autonomy and exclusive power to broadcast externally by radio from Nigeria (Okpanachi,2008; Ebuna 2009). In 1939, a station was opened in Ibadan, Kano station was commissioned in 1949 while between 1945 to 1949 stations had been opened in towns like Kaduna, Enugu, Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode, Jos, Zaria, Calabar and port-Harcourt as relay stations.  In Nigeria, radio broadcasting industry have been spreading very fast, motivated by several factors such as language, politics, religion and education. Technical and technological reasons should be added as these have enabled a very fast proliferation of radio stations in Nigeria, during the last thirty years. Each of the Nigerian states opted for own radio and TV stations, as well as the universities. Radio stations have been established in Nigeria at a rate of five (5) stations a year. Nigeria has the fourth largest radio network in the world, with constantly growing staff and the figure of imported programmes going constantly down (Egbuna, 2009). Prior to the circulation of National Broadcasting Commission Decree No. 38 of 1992 by the Federal Government on August 24, 1992, the ownership, control and operation of broadcasting stations in Nigeria was the exclusive  preserve of various governments- Federal, State, and Regional. There is an increasing choice of radio channels, and the awareness it help creates increase numbers of community based stations for the educational and information need of society (Umeh, 1989).
1.1.3  HISTORY/INTRODUCTION OF FM RADIO IN NIGERIA
The first Frequency Modulation (FM) in Nigeria was commissioned on April 22, 1977. It was known then as Radio Nigeria 2 (Metro FM). A year later when NBC was re-organized, the state stations were handed over to State Governments and NBC was left with only Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu and Kaduna which became Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) (Akingbulu, 2010).  Radio broadcasting in Nigeria was carried out mainly on medium and shortwave bands until April 1977 when the FRCN launched Radio Nigeria 2, AM/ FM stereo in Lagos on the FM band. The FM band is now the most widely used in the country as most radio stations in Nigeria 1992 following which a regulator the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) was established and private radio stations emerged.
1.1.4  COMMUNITY RADIO
Community radio has been defined as radio broadcasting situated within the sphere of community media. Community media according to Oso, (2003:4) is made up of localized media that serves as an alternative to mainstream media as well as the profit motivated commercialized media. To Fuller (2007:224-226), community media may be defined as those media which members of  the community have access  for information, education, and entertainment when they want and community participates as planners, producers, and performers, supplementing the mainstream media on both organizational and content levels. Thus, among the various types of community media, radio is scholarly considered as the perfect medium for mass communication.   Despite the suffice advantages of radio as being one of the cheapest and accessible mass communications technologies, some stations still struggle to survive. In Nigeria and elsewhere, many community radio stations operate in situations of dire need despite having been set up confident that local needs would ensure community support in the form of volunteering, in-kind support and donations (Simmering & Fairbairn, 2007:7).In addition, some poor communities faced with high unemployment and lack of access to infrastructure view the sector as providers of income and resources such as gaining access to telephones, photocopiers, the Internet, training opportunities and above all, paid work rather than as initiatives needing community support. For example, “the early experiences of community radio projects in South Africa, where volunteers rebelled, staged sit-ins and strikes, stole equipment and CDs, or simply abandoned stations when they realized there was insufficient income to pay salaries, are testimony to this” (Simmering & Fairbairn, 2007, p.7). Due to such circumstances, there are community radio stations that are deeply rooted in rural communities and serve community needs and interests, but have abandoned their community origins and are little more than jukeboxes (Simmering & Fairbairn, 2007, p.10). Regardless of the legal structure, the policies and objectives of community media are articulated with a strong input from stakeholders within the community. Community members have both a sense of ownership and a real ability to shape the station to suit their wishes and needs. Its specific focus is to make its audience the main protagonists, by their involvement in all aspects of its management, and programme production, and providing them with a programming that will help in the development and social advancement of their community (Fraser & Estrada, 2001, p.4)   
1.1.5  SIGNIFICANCE OF COMMUNITY RADIO
Community radio stations offer concrete means for public participation and defense for cultural diversity. “Participation is the engine of democracy and community radio is a tool for participation” (Jordan, 2006, p.1). The strengths of community radio, lies mainly in the horizontality and diversity of its operational structure. Its organizational structure is an expression of the bottom up framework, which is reflective of a community network of universes, multiple languages, and expressions of differences. This diversity actualizes the representation of the excluded, the survival of historic memories, of cultural diversity and an equitable approach to addressing community radio issues (Girard, 2007, p.2; Jordan, 2006, p.1). Community radio station is based in its community and accountable to it. Usually the community is defined geographically, although its size can range from a small town, to a city, or a vast rural area covering thousands of square kilometers. Some community stations can also serve particular communities of interest such as women, youth or linguistic and cultural minorities (Girard, 2007). Community stations are owned and controlled by the community. In some cases, the legal owner is the community itself, via an association established for the purpose. In other cases, the legal owner is a not-for-profit group, a cooperative, an NGO, or a municipality, acting on behalf of the community (Girard, 2007, p.1; Fraser & Estrada, 2001, p.4). To consider today’s role and use of campus community radio raises the questions of its place in new African and Nigerian media landscape, and in particular in the radio environment marked by deregulation and the end of broadcast monopolies that has proliferated the radio landscape and so position it for a more effective educational broadcast programming with over 187 functional radio stations. Even though Nigeria has opened up its airwaves and allowed for independent commercial and community radio stations, there are legal and political loopholes for community radio stations. However, this exception can be addressed with clearly defined three-tier broadcasting system, namely public, commercial and community. In addition, there has been tremendous de facto political support for the establishment of rural radio stations, and other forms of community radio. This may have a positive impact on the socio-economic and educational development of thee host community as well as receiving communities surrounding the stations but there is the air of fear of the stations being used by politicians to promote acrimony limiting the licenses to University and other educational campus in the country. Community radio stations plays vital role in building vibrant communities , in mobilizing groups to action by informing and empowering citizens, in giving voice to the marginalized groups of society, and in bringing community needs to the attention of local and national governments. The scope of the actual and potentials impact of community radio is wide-ranging, as are the challenges associated with community radio development. In the view of CIMA-Centre for International Media Assistance report of 2007, the power of community radio to mobilize groups and bring change to societies is well recognized. Similarly, AMARC-World Association of Community Broadcasters Report (1998) which stated that although many African countries have opened up the airwaves allowing both independent community stations to exist alongside state owned entitles, there are few laws such as the one which safeguard community broadcasting per sec. furthermore, laws which liberalized the airwaves, make no specific reference to campus community broadcasting. The NBC (Licensing) Regulations of Act of 1992, which liberalized the airwaves in Nigeria made no mention of community broadcasting whatsoever but has allowed the development of campus community broadcasting, such as Bayero University, New- Site Campus 88.5 FM. Thus, there is need for raising awareness among communication policy makers on the role and benefit of campus community radio stations to Nigeria socio-cultural, economic, educational and technological development, as well as in the host/ receiving communities, and monitoring to ensure the radio station delivers as it should. This research hopes to evaluate the affairs of the UNIQUE Community FM with the hope it will draw the attention of the authorities to its challenges and be useful in soliciting for the necessary assistance the radio station requires to function effectively and efficiently.
1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM