Pulaaku FM: How radio station plans to change the Fulani narrative

The establishment of Pulaaku FM radio station in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State underscores the desire of modern Fulani people to communicate with themselves. It is also in the quest to reach out to the rest of the world in a special dialect.  In an era of unending, often violent conflicts between farmers and […]

The establishment of Pulaaku FM radio station in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State underscores the desire of modern Fulani people to communicate with themselves. It is also in the quest to reach out to the rest of the world in a special dialect. 

In an era of unending, often violent conflicts between farmers and Fulani herders due to land for grazing, the station could not have come at a better time.

The station was founded by Lamido Adamawa and Grand Patron Tabbital Pulaku International, a Fulani cultural association, Dr Muhammadu Barkindo Mustapha with a vision to save Fulfulde, the Fulani language from extinction and promote Pulaaku, the Fulani cultural values in the multi-cultural setting. It is also to create understanding between cattle breeders and farmers who have been into several years of disputes.

Having realized the power of media in agenda-setting and in  information dissemination to influence human behavior coupled with his concern for Fulfulde in the struggle against predating languages notably Hausa and English that constantly encroach into Fulani communities, the Lamido took upon himself the task of establishing the FM station.

At the inauguration of the board of the station on July 15, Dr Mutapha stressed the need for Fulfulde, being the most widely spoken language in the state, to get its fair share in media broadcast explaining that apart from the traditional media role of educating, informing and entertaining, the outfit would show case the culture of the Fulanis while creating understanding among various ethnic groups.

“Therefore, Pulaaku FM Radio is coming on stream with majority of its news and programmes in Fulfulde to bridge the yawning gap. We believe since the media plays an important role in culture and arts, Pulaaku FM Radio will enhance and promote Pulaaku and its affiliates of Fulbe culture. It is worthy of note that efforts have been made in the past for the cultural revival of Pulaaku one being the establishment of Tabital Pulaaku, an umbrella organization of Fulbe people in West and Central Africa and across the globe. It is hoped that Pulaaku FM radio would be in the vanguard for reinvigoration of Pulaaku cultural values,” the monarch stated.

Also, an elder statesman and a member of the Board of Trustees, Ahmad Joda, lamented the threatening influence of Hausa language which affected Fulfulde in the multi-cultural setting over the last few decades.

The Board of Directors has as its chairman, a renowned scholar of Mass Communication at Bayero University, Kano, Professor Umar Pate while the chairman of the Board of Trustees is the Emir of Mubi, Abubakar Isa Ahmadu.

In an interview with Daily Trust on Sunday, the General Manager of the station, Umar Sambo Abubakar said the founder was concerned about the future of Fulfulde which was considered one of the languages facing challenges in the society.

“…he believes the station can help save the language and to preserve the culture and values of Fulani coupled with the fact that there are persistent clashes between farmers and cattle breeders, he felt creating the outlet for farmers and cattle breeders to interface will create a link for the warring groups to understand themselves and live in harmony,” he stated.

The General Manager revealed strategic plans to divest from dependence on the proprietor who was currently funding the operations of the station by exploring sustainable sources of revenue, saying the newly established outfit would collaborate with advertising agencies to develop a strong revenue profile. Abubakar who was a former general manager of the state government-owned radio, Adamawa Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Yola, said the management and the boards of Pulaaku FM were exploring ways of attracting revenue for sustainable operations, adding that they would collaborate with international media outlets as well as good-spirited individuals.

The station airs broadcast mostly in Fulfulde with some programmes in Hausa and sometimes English to effectively serve the diverse people of its catchment area and cast a wider revenue net for sustainable operations. Fulfulde has 70 per cent, Hausa, 20 per cent while English has 10 per cent broadcast ratios.

“We wanted the radio to be fully Fulfulde but we understand the domain is heterogeneous and more because of the commercial outreach broadcasting in other languages would expand our commercial profile. The general focus is to create harmony between diverse and heterogeneous people and highlight rich culture of Pulaaku and also maintain the traditional role of media that is to inform, educate and entertain our diverse audience,” he added. 

He said the media house which broadcast on 92.3 frequency, has five departments namely editorial, programmes, administration, commercials and accounts and, is also online, thus listeners can download the app on Google store or listen to programmes on tune-in from across the world. 

A journalist and resident of Yola, Yakubu Abdullahi Yakubu expressed satisfaction with the programmes of Pulaaku FM, describing them as interactive and grassroots-oriented, giving listeners exactly what they wanted.

“Right from inception, I have been an ardent listener of Pulaaku Radio for pleasure and knowledge. For pleasure, I find the programmes, especially musicals and drama, very entertaining. There is a programme that helps the presenter interact with listeners with a personal touch. Through this, I see Pulaaku reaching the grassroots and giving the people an opportunity to be heard. A particular programme speaks to people especially the elite to comment on the concept and progress of the radio station. Their positive comments give an assessment of the new radio so far,” he pointed out. 

According to him, there was essential for the young radio to carry out a needs assessment of its prospective audience and to conceive a method of monitoring and evaluating its performance for rapid growth and development.

Another listener, Adamu Umar said he enjoyed “Nyalomare welde”, a Fulani musical entertainment and interaction programme aired in the morning, calling on the management to sustain the current schedule.

He expressed delight with the introduction of Hausa programmes to accommodate people who do not understand Fulfulde.