The National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, has said it did not issue a statement banning the songs of Olamide, Davido and 9ice from being broadcast. T
The National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, has said it did not issue a statement banning the songs of Olamide, Davido and 9ice from being broadcast. The NBC said it is not in the business of banning songs, saying by virtue of the broadcasting law, radio and television stations are to ensure that songs containing vulgar or suggestive lyrics and visuals are not aired.
Idachaba Armstrong, director of broadcast monitoring, said: “First of all, NBC is a commission, not a corporation. Nobody at NBC issued a statement to the effect. We can’t be issuing a statement on every album released in his country. The broadcaster has the responsibility to do the needful. NBC does not ban songs, we don’t have any business with the artistes. It is left for NBC to tell stations to ensure the songs and videos are fit for broadcast before putting them on air.
“The whole idea of offensive vulgar lyrics is the responsibility of broadcasters to ensure they don’t come on air. They are supposed to do what is called gate-keeping and they should have editorial control over their content but broadcasters now carelessly air songs without exercising that editorial discretion. They abdicate that responsibility and then expect us to start chasing them. I have reliably gathered that some of those songs are actually offensive, regarding the lyrics. Some of these songs are for clubs. These stations that should practice self-regulation are lazy and unprofessional in their conduct.”
Armstrong said broadcast stations are aware that any lyrics or song containing offensive content cannot be put on air, adding that any station found wanting will be sanctioned.
“We will impose the necessary sanctions on the stations. If the stations contravene any of the broadcast code, they will be fined. Once NBC picks it up, we call the stations to order and impose the necessary fine. First, we caution you, then impose a fine afterward, which can be between N50-N100k. But if they are recalcitrant, it can rise to N500k.”
