The Federal Government is in the process of enacting a law banning the importation of 'tokunbo' television and radio sets in compliance with the year 2015 deadline set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) of which Nigeria is a signatory.
The ITU enactment stipulates the full-fledged digitization of the Broadcasting Industry from analogue to digital (UHF) and VHF by 2020.
The Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr. Yomi Bolarinwa, while addressing a lecture at the Oyo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), in Ibadan on Thursday announced that a law to ban the importation of used television and radios from the United States of America, Europe and any part of the globe, which has made the country to be a dumping ground for all sorts of used items, will soon be sent to the nation’s National Assembly for legislative backing.
In the lecture entitled, “NBC: The challenges of transition from analogue to digital broadcasting,” which was delivered on behalf of the NBC boss by the Secretary of the Commission, Mr. Mark Adeiza Ojiah, he warned those stocking or attempting to buy these tokunbo items ahead of the 2015 deadline to tarry a bit because the use of
such systems would no more be fashionable as Nigeria’s broadcasting stations would have gone digital. In effect, many of these items currently in many houses in Nigeria would not be compliant to receive signals from these stations, he said.
To protect Nigerians from buying non-digital TV sets, the NBC boss said, “appropriate regulation will be enacted to stop the importation of analogue broadcast and receiver equipment and enforce the placement of warning signs by store owners and importers who have inventory of analogue equipment that such receivers may not receive digital content at switchover except when plugged to a set-top-box.”
Speaking on the benefits of the digitization of the nation’s broadcasting industry, the Director-General maintained that it will in the long run be beneficial in many ways
like the creation of more employment opportunities, more channels, quality, clearer production of programmes and a number of other things for all Nigerians.
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Banning those scraps is long overdue thou i use to patronize them too, but i have laid embargo on purchase of fairly used basic items like households and clothing in my home. Our mindset need to be re-invented for positivity and self worth.
ReplyDeleteAm hoping that our government will borrow leaf from India and implement the policy of Govt Patronizing only made in Nigeria goods as much as possible. We must rediscover ourselves to earn respect from the world
God bless Nigeria.
Banning tokunboh anything is really the arrogance of an elite that is totally out of touch with the needs and burdens of the public.
ReplyDeleteFor many of us (including my tokunboh laptop on which I write.) who's incomes are a fraction of our counterparts in Europe and the US, tokunboh is the only way we can have a decent quality of life.
Those in the west (who's governments have provided infrastructure, security, guaranteed property and other rights, and many other benefits that enabled their people to prosper) change their cars and electronics due to fashion, not serviceability. This is a benefit to those of us who can't afford fashion. Enabling us to buy a perfectly good $300 TV (new) for $60.