‘There is no interference in NTA’s news reporting’

In a developing economy, the major problems that you have are issues of technology. Sometimes in our news, sometimes because it’s a satellite programme, it comes on and goes off and there is confusion for us. There is also what we call stream box, which is like a computer used for live coverage on locations, […]

In a developing economy, the major problems that you have are issues of technology. Sometimes in our news, sometimes because it’s a satellite programme, it comes on and goes off and there is confusion for us. There is also what we call stream box, which is like a computer used for live coverage on locations, like the event[release of INEC’s timetable] on Tuesday, a reporter went there with a stream box and reported directly to the studio and if there is no network service in that area, we have problems. Secondly, all these equipments we use, they are imported. We have to work hard to get the money for these things because they are not manufactured locally.

There is always a maintenance culture issue in Nigeria; how do you go about maintaining these equipments?

You know, our engineers are really trying. If you go to some of our stations, the transmitters are 15, 20 years old but they still maintain them, some of our cameras are old but they still maintain them. Sometimes our Outside Broadcast (OB) Vans, we normally send our engineers to the manufacturers to learn how to maintain them, recently we sent them to train in Germany and when they came back, they trained their juniors. They are trying.

NTA has gone digital. How has that helped…

It has helped a lot. For example with the DTT (Digital Terrestrial Transmission), a joint venture between the NTA and the Chinese, if you are using the old analogue, each station will only carry one signal on one transmitter but now you can carry as many as 40 or more channels on one transmitter. If you look at the DTT we recently commissioned, there are over 40 channels on one transmitter. I am not an engineer I can’t explain further but I know the digital transmitter takes more input.

There are now more private stations and cable satellite is now more accessible to Nigerians, aren’t these constituting a threat to your dominance?

No, I don’t think so. As I told you earlier, we have a station in all states capitals. In some states they are even two like in Abia and Lagos and besides these ones, there are community stations. As I am talking to you now, we have about 80 stations. In fact they are supposed to be 101 but we are still working on the rest. Now, NTA like we say, you can’t beat the reach, our reach is our strength. Everywhere you go, there is NTA. Some of these stations are there but you cannot get them when you go to the rural areas.

NTA has gone online with the launch of a website but that website is not being updated regularly, what is happening to the site?

The management has met and we are contracting this thing to a firm that is going to make our website very active. In the next few months, you are going to see that the website will be very active.

Let’s talk about news coverage now. How really independent do you think the NTA is?

Honestly we are very independent. I am the executive director news, since I came here nobody has come here from the government to ask me take this story, don’t take this story. There is no interference. Even though NTA is government owned, there is no interference. Some people are saying NTA is pro government but whatever we cover is an event. If you watch our typical news, you will see that all shades of opinion are there. Unless you don’t invite us or organize events but if there are events, we cover them. NTA is for the people.

So there is no deliberate attempt to shut out other voices?

No, there is not. You know, by tradition, after the primaries, we assign a reporter and a camera crew to cover the major parties from beginning to election time. Even the ones that are not among the six major ones, if they organize events and invite us, we cover them.

What next should Nigerians expect from the NTA?

Nigerian should expect good coverage, objective coverage, that mindset should not be there that NTA will not cover our events, if there is an event invite us. Most of the events we are going to do will be live so we cannot manipulate events, as they are voting you will see, as they are counting you will see.