Whereas many Nigerians see the world from the news and opinion perspectives of various global radio and television networks- mostly western-inclined, the Voice of Nigeria has remained the major news outlet through which the global community view Nigeria and its people.
The dominant radio and television networks across the globe are CNN, Voice of America, British Broadcasting Corporation, Deutsche welle radio and Aljazerra television network. The major objective of all these media organisations is to project their various countries and ownership positively and use their outfits to influence the global community.
It was therefore to strike a balance in information dissemination especially as it relates to projecting Nigeria to the outside world that the Zik/Tafawa Balewa government set up the Voice of Nigeria in1961. Since then the organisation has continued to discharge its mandates, but with the assumption of office by the present Director General Mr. Osita OkeChukwu Voice of Nigeria has taken a quantum leap in not just projecting Nigeria positively abroad, but has also focussed on marketing the numerous achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
In their broadcasts they deliberately dwell on reeling out President Buhari’s achievements in infrastructure, economy, security and agriculture, thereby providing potential foreign investors with an opportunity to peep into Nigeria and get sufficient knowledge on the areas they may be interested. With about 200 million population, arable land, oil and gas deposits, gold and numerous business potentials, there is no doubt that the information and news analysis being broadcast by the Voice of Nigeria through several platforms, including the social media have contributed immensely in informing and educating their listeners and audiences about the great business opportunities which the country offers.
Perhaps the zeal with which the Voice of Nigeria promotes Nigeria to the global community can be traced to the passion of its chief executive/Director General Mr. Osita OkeChukwu who has been a mouthpiece of the numerous achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. On a daily basis he never relents in availing the Nigerian publics through radio, television and the print media of the numerous projects the Buhari administration has executed across the country. His passion and love for the Buhari administration is unassailable. His belief in the oneness and greatness of the ruling All Progressives Congress and Nigeria as a country is unmatched.
Before I digress, let me state that OkeChukwu’s capacity to turn institutions around for optimum performance is once more demonstrated in his administrative style at the Voice of Nigeria- Nigeria’s mirror to the outside world. Under his watch, the outside world is able to hear about Nigeria and the infrastructural revolution taking place under President Muhammadu Buhari, and this has contributed to the influx of foreign investors, as well as the positive attention which the country continues to receive globally.
The high and commendable performance of the Voice of Nigeria in recent times can also be attributed to the motivation which the workers have been given under Mr. Osita OkeChukwu as their welfare and promotion have continued to receive adequate attention. Concomitantly this has resulted in optimum job performance with most staff members putting in their best for the overall growth of the organisation.
It is worthy of note that in its efforts to reach a higher number of listeners across the world, the Voice of Nigeria under Mr. Osita OkeChukwu has expanded the platforms through which listeners and other audiences can access their broadcasts, and they include Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms. They also stream live to their audiences through the VON apps. This is in addition to their normal terrestrial broadcast.
For an organisation that was established in 1961 with the sole mandate to broadcast about Nigeria to the outside world, it can be said that they have largely attained the objective bearing in mind that it was after 30 years of the organisation’s establishment that it was severed from then Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation and given full autonomy by an Act of Parliament No 15 of 1991. With offices in seventeen states of the country and staff strength of 1200 the organisation now boasts of state of the art studios at their corporate headquarters in Abuja. The station has also been fully digitized as they now broadcast through Digital Radio Mundial (DRM).
Due to the need to maintain a two-way communication between the station and its audiences, there is a feedback mechanism that enables the audiences and listenership to send back their views through emails, social media platforms and terrestrial broadcast system.
As a station with diverse listenership and audiences, the station broadcasts in eight languages including Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Fulani, Fulfude, Arabic, Kiswahili and English. With their reach in these languages and in several countries, there is no doubt that VON remains a veritable tool to project Nigeria to the outside world.
There is therefore the need for all concerned to lend the necessary support to the Voice of Nigeria in its mission to continue to promote Nigeria’s image positively across the globe, and the present leadership of the organisation under Mr. Osita OkeChukwu deserves an accolade for their visionary and prudent management of its affairs.
Enekwechi, can be reached via Kwechis19@yahoo.com
