Tag: Sallah Day

SOMETIMES I do not know what to make of some of our regulatory and public service agencies in terms of their operations. But it is noteworthy that the only area they are proactive is in ticketing, licensing, levying etcetera – everything that has to do with bill collection. In terms of service delivery, there are always excuses that only give them away as either lame, incompetent or unprofessional. The fire service will always get late to trouble spots; PCHN will allow electricity mostly, only when they are to embark on disconnection; the police are on the road mainly to extort from commercial motorists, just as the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) bikers would sniff around the highways for a motorist making phone call while driving, than to bother about miscreants that rob commuters in traffic in daylight.

On Tuesday, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) was reported to have banned five songs from the airwaves. Incidentally, the songs – ‘Wo’ and ‘Wavy Level’ by Olamide Adedeji, simply called Olamide; ‘Fall’ and ‘If’ (Remix) by David Adeleke, aka Davido; and ‘Living Things’ by Abolore Akande, aka 9ice – are the rave-of-the-moment songs that radio and TV stations find difficult to ignore. The fact is that these songs did not get popular in one day – in fact, one of the factors that engraves music in the heart of people is when radio and TV stations put such songs on the repeat mode. This way, even songs that were perceived unattractive at first, usually find their way into the subconscious of the radio fan. The question is where was the NBC all the while? Who or what has suddenly jolted the agency to action at the 11th hour? And of course, what difference will it make now that the songs have been downloaded to the phones of several youths while many more have them as their ringtones or caller tunes?

For NBC, it is laughable that they appear to be crying when the head is over. This gets me to wonder if the agency understands the broadcast terrain well enough to do their gatekeeping role effectively. On the other hand, it could be a function of the typical civil service slipshod that places priority only on licensing of stations and collecting overhead from government for doing nothing.

The moral value of the society is already endangered, and parents alone are left in a rat race that could be more frustrating in this internet and social media era. The situation is so bad because even religious organisations have been compromised and teachers too, are mostly struggling to make their rewards a reality in their lifetime.

On the part of the radio and TV stations, there is a word called self-regulation. And I find it hard to believe that the code of ethics for broadcast organisations would not have covered areas of vulgar lyrics, indecent exposure and what have you. Thus, why would the NBC have to ban a song before the management of a station get to understand that it is an abuse of their professional calling to either play songs that should be left to club houses and concerts, or even play them at primetime.

The rot is indeed a vicious circle, but those charged with the responsibility to wield the stick must be held accountable. The NBC must wake up to its responsibilities and stop making a joke of its mandate. And, did I hear that the NBC is refuting the purported ban? I thought they say, ‘it is better late than never’. It is most shocking that the NBC is trying to refute a move they should have quietly admitted. To me, refuting the ban of those songs for which radio stations have started complying is like giving the songs a ‘clean bill’. If someone is trying to cover their shame through that write-up (whether or not it was false), they have simply called themselves the ‘lowly child’ that rebuffs the mat’.

Meanwhile, I hear Friday September 1 is Eid-el-Kabir, a day incidentally fixed by the Nigerian music industry as No Music Day. Now, how do we celebrate? “No Music Day” is a day the music industry has dedicated to bringing the attention of the Nigerian nation to the widespread infringement of the rights of song writers, composers, performers, music publishers, record labels and other stakeholders in the music industry. Although compliance is not usually total, it makes a huge difference that music are either played scantily or not played at all for some hours, and only talks about the import of the genre are given a priority.

Thus, on Sallah Day, we would be hearing sermons, not necessarily to celebrate the memory, sacrificial ingenuity, and total obedience to the will of God by Prophet Abraham (Peace be upon his name), but about how unexciting the world would be without music and the need to give due honour, recognition and allow financial reward to come the way of creators of music content. Did I hear you say ‘good idea, wrong timing’? This is only co-incidental and an irony of sort. Whichever way, the show must go on! We will play legally purchased songs from our ‘turntable’, just so we don’t have a dull celebration. Barka de Sallah!