Former broadcaster and media executive, Ambassador (Dr.) Yemi Farounbi has called for stronger professional regulation of broadcasters in Nigeria, arguing that practitioners who breach professional standards should be subject to disciplinary sanctions.
Farounbi made the call in an interview with PrimeStar News Online.
He said broadcasting should be treated as a profession with clearly defined ethical standards, just as law, medicine, architecture and engineering have professional codes and disciplinary mechanisms.
According to him, while the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) can sanction broadcast stations, there is a need for a system capable of holding individual broadcasters professionally accountable.
“We don’t have a body that punishes a broadcaster who commits professional errors,” he said.
Farounbi argued that a lawyer can be disbarred for serious professional misconduct and a doctor can have his or her name removed from the professional register, adding that broadcasting should have a comparable mechanism.
He said a Broadcasting Practitioners’ Code was being pursued and expressed the view that its implementation would provide a basis for individual accountability within the profession.
Farounbi also warned about the potential consequences of irresponsible broadcasting, particularly in a country as ethnically and politically diverse as Nigeria.
He recalled the role he believes misinformation played during the crisis surrounding the events of 1966, arguing that false reports carried through broadcasting could contribute to violence.
According to him, broadcasters have a special responsibility because members of the public generally expect information disseminated through broadcast media to be factual, stressing, “Facts are sacred.”
Farounbi therefore stressed the importance of training and retraining, alongside high educational standards, for people working in broadcasting.
He said the growth in the number of broadcast stations had outpaced the country’s capacity to train professionals adequately.
He also argued that some station owners do not fully understand broadcasting as a profession, noting that running a television station involves significant financial and professional challenges.
For Farounbi, professional discipline, continuous training and adherence to ethical standards are essential if broadcasting is to maintain public trust.
