It was an unbridled outpouring of encomiums as a private radio station in Calabar, the Cross River State capital; Sparkling 92.3 FM marked its first year anniversary.
Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade, who spoke during the station’s inaugural lecture to mark the anniversary in Calabar, said the station added a new vista to broadcasting in the state.
Ayade commended the station, saying they have maintained a high standard in terms of content.
The governor, who spoke through the Permanent Secretary, Dr Aye Henshaw Jnr, said Sparkling FM has also improved the electronic media architecture in the state and created employment for the people.
He said people of Cross River State are beneficiaries and are better off for the station has broadened perspective and it is good people always get all the perspectives they can at all times for development of the society.
The governor praised the station for adding value to the ability of the people to access information, adding that under his administration, private stations have been sprouting, exemplifying the practicing democracy, as it should be.
While wishing them well, he urged the managers of the station to step up and expand their capacity.
Managing Director of the radio station, Mr. Innocent Idiongette, said they had, in the last one year, established themselves as a brand that delivers on the core tenets of broadcasting and journalism.
“This is reflected in our ranking as one of the best radio stations in Cross River State and in just one year as evidenced in the awards and recognitions that we have received from various organisations.
“Interestingly, the journey has just begun and the target is that our station will grow to be a major contributor to policy permutation and implementation, and social trends at all levels in the society,” he said.
In a keynote address by a former Head of Civil Service in the state, Chief Wilfred Inah, it was pointed out that there is no profession without inherent risks in its practice, but the hazards of journalism are immense.
Inah urged that in spite of all odds, the mass media should go ahead and play its role as the Fourth Estate of the Realm and complement the three arms of government, by identifying topical areas and focusing on them as its contribution to governance.
The guest lecturer, Prof. Offiong Ani Offiong, who spoke on the role of the media in national economic development with focus on Cross River, said media stations have strong roles to play in nation-building, even as he called for establishment of more private media outfits. He also urged them to start having television stations in addition to their radio stations.
He noted that before the advent of new private broadcasting stations in the state, development strives were very slow and the government was more lackadaisical, adding that the station has done a lot in checkmating the excesses of government.
Ani said Sparkling FM has won awards in the past one year; showing their dexterous capability in the area of national development using their informative and entertainment skills.
“Just one year after establishing the station, they have been named the radio station of the year in the South-South zone of the country and just two weeks after as the campus choice of the year. They have done well,” he said.
He said the state government and its citizens have been able to benefit from very good broadcasters and journalists working in various media organisations.
General Manager of Sparkling 92.3 FM in Calabar, Mr. Effiong Nyong, said the lecture, which was part of activities to mark the anniversary would continue annually and would be focused on looking at different aspects of society.
He said the maiden edition was focused on the role of the media in national economic development using Cross River State as a case study.
“The essence of this lecture is to help the government and other business stakeholders explore the potential in the media to attain economic prosperity. For anything the government wants to do, the people need to know and understand. But we have a peculiar situation in Nigeria where every other activities of the government are secret.
“Because there is no openness, we have a situation where much of what government achieves is not known by the people. What thrive in the public space are rumours,” he said.
Among other events to mark the anniversary, he said, were a Disc Jockey festival; separate novelty football matches between old boys and current students of Hope Waddell Training Institute and St Patrick’s College; and a visit to the orphanage.
