Mass Communication Enabled By ICTs Can Foster National Cohesion and Progress-NCC Commissioner

… Says Internet Opportunities Are Eclipsed Without Robust Broadband

By Clifford Agugoesi

Mass communication practitioners in the country have been handed a charge to use their expertise and immense value propositions of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to facilitate the cohesion of the country and ensure its survival as an indivisible entity.

Executive Commissioner for Stakeholder Management (ECSM) at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Sunday Dare, gave the charge in a keynote titled Imagery and National Cohesion in the age of Communication Technology delivered Wednesday, July 19, 2017 at the Annual Lecture of the Mass Communication Students Association of the University of Lagos, UNILAG. The lecture is a key component of the annual students week programme of the Department.

The event was held at the Biodun Shobanjo Hall, Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos.   Dare was represented at the event by NCC's Head of Online Media and Special Publications, Omoniyi Ibietan.

Dare’s challenge to mass communicators is coming against the heels of mounting discordant tones and heightened agitations to dismember the country, culminating to pointed calls for the restructuring of the country, even as some analysts feel the restructure calls are self-serving, although they argue there is the need for Nigerians to discuss and chat the way forward for the country.

Dare’s position is that despite the diagnosis and prognosis undertaken by doomsday doctors on the future of Nigeria, the national question could be resolved with a careful application of imagery potentiated by ICTs. “Given the contemporary realities of our country, majority of us here will agree the timing is auspicious for us to discuss how we can foster national cohesion using the force of logic, rather than the logic of force,” he said.  

Praising the quality of the guest lecturer, the keynote speaker said he was convinced, the lecturer was ‘sufficiently armed with the tools of dialectics to enrich our understanding in this regard as we listen to his brilliant presentation. The thematic focus of the main lecture is: Imagery – A Mechanism in Building Brand Acceptability and National Cohesion.’

Showing understanding of his critical remit at the lecture, he affirmed his duty to speak briefly and through that process nudge the participants to reflect on how they might explore the potential of imageries to build brands, especially brand Nigeria to foster national cohesion amidst the age of communication technology.

According to the ECSM at NCC, imagery finds expression in the use of pictures and ideas to represent and communicate thought. As a generic word, it incorporates metaphors, personification, allegory, symbols, similes and other figures of speech and arts rooted in cultural practices. Imageries, he said abound in many forms in practically all literary works, not only as figures of speech but also in folktales and many cultural forms, citing the works of two of Nigeria’s leading lights of the literary world Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart which has been translated into tens of languages and nobel laureate Wole Soyinka’s Telephone Conversation to buttress his point.

The import of the works of Achebe and Soyinka, according to the keynote speaker, demonstrates the value of imagery especially in helping humans construct a better understanding of their world. Noting that there is a special significance and illumination the use of imagery brings to the communication process and the enhancement of meaning exchange, he stated the most central benefit of the process is the unity of those involved in the communication process arising from mutual sharing of meaning, understanding and tolerance of the perspectives and dynamics of the process, adding it is from this reality that a sense of solidarity and the spirit of cohesion grow.

Looking above and beyond fiction, which in actual sense is a representation of reality, Dare explained there are tangible realisms from the daily lives of Nigerians of how imagery has helped them create a more perceptive understanding of their existence. More concretely, he cited as examples the Nigerian flag and the Coat of Arms which he believes have helped to foster cohesion and as mainstream symbolisms of the national identity. On the National Pledge he wondered whether the rendition was undertaken sincerely or perfunctorily and how much of the real significance and meaning of these brand identities do people know?

He said this is where the duties of mass communicators are critical. “Since communication is a creative science, as students and practitioners of communication, it is our responsibility to interpret the essence of the identities to the rest of the people because we are supposedly armed with the tools that prod a better understanding of the brand essence to the formation of national cohesion,” stated Dare.

Crucially, he pointed out that to be able to play this role effectively, mass communicators need both information and transformative knowledge. “Knowledge of new ways to optimise our creative enterprise. Knowledge that will enable us to deploy new skills that our country requires to nudge national cohesion. That cardinal principle and obligation required to deploy the knowledge as communication professionals operating in a multicultural society, is to focus on the elements of our culture and social reality that tend to bond the people, NOT to emphasize on the differences – though knowledge of the differences and their recognition is important to shape our relationships.

That knowledge is today enabled by information and communication technologies. There is no aspect or sphere of knowledge today that is not available on the Internet. For instance, when it comes to using imagery for communication, GIMP, an Image Manipulation Programme is available on the Internet, among many others, and it is free to download tool which can be used with digital photos to make creative touches (image composition, changing colour to black and white, picture editing, touch ups) to your snaps. All you need do is “to download a piece of software first to enable you to install GIMP”

“Flickr is another of the available resource of the virtual world which combines as a networking site. Flickr is a way of sharing images and a basic membership is free. If you already have a Yahoo account then you can use that to sign up. Through Flickr, you can create an online photo album but there are a number of other ways to use this tool especially as a means of creative communication. Indeed, there are so many other applications and software that enable users to create imagery for fantastic creative and expressive communication. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are proven enablers and the Internet is the abode of these resources.”

He underscored the critical place of ubiquitous and affordable broadband to release the huge opportunities locked up on the Internet. The evidence of the centrality of technology in contemporary world, he said, is the fact most innovative countries are the most advanced and prosperous because investments in technology and innovations have been major sources of wealth creation. To underscore this point, he stated that the top four most capitalized companies in the world are communication technology firms namely Microsoft, Apple Google, and Facebook.

“This explains why the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the regulatory authority for telecommunications in keeping with the spirit of the National Broadband Plan instituted clear processes to make broadband available, accessible and affordable in all nooks and crannies of Nigeria. Specifically, Two slots in the 700MHz band have been earmarked for Commercial Broadband deployment; The 800MHz band also known as the Digital Dividend 1 has been re-planned and licensed for LTE deployment – LTE is acronym for Long Term Evolution, a wireless technology designed to support roaming Internet access by cell phones and handheld devices; Part of the 1800MHz band has been refarmed for LTE deployments; The 60GHz unlicensed band will soon be opened up for broadband deployment; The 900MHz E-GSM band has been licensed for LTE deployment; The 2.3GHz band was licensed for LTE deployment; The 2.6GHz band was licensed for broadband wireless; and the 70/80GHz band (E-Band) is also opened up for LTE deployment.

“In addition, NCC already put in place a robust strategy to explore for the benefit of all Nigerians, the huge possibilities of 5G networks – the next evolution of mobile broadband. As the Commission plans for the future, it is also addressing the challenges of the moment. The declaration of 2017 as the Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer by the Nigerian Communications Commission speaks to the preeminence of the consumer in the comity of the industry stakeholders. It is a statement of commitment by the Commission to back Nigerians all the way as the citizens tap into the limitless possibilities offered by new communication technologies.

“The advent of ICTs gave birth to greater possibilities of exploring our world. The pervasiveness of ICT tools in almost all spheres: media, health, education, finance and banking, governance, entertainment and agriculture has opened up our world to great opportunities - whether through imagery or other digital means we are able to perform our tasks smarter. This ICT revolution now plays out in the emerging smart world we live in. We have smart phones, smart cities, smart governance and smart cars. Today, humanity is at the threshold of the Internet of Things (IOT) that promises the interconnectedness of virtually everything via a smart technology process. So, welcome again to the smart world. And be primed to explore its limitless possibilities and opportunities.”

Dare concluded that the connection and values of imagery, national cohesion and communication technologies have been espoused in the keynote in a manner that would deepen the day’s discussion and enable participants reflect on how they could communicate better and build a peaceful and prosperous country driven by creativity, technology and innovation.

Some of those who were at the lecture included but were not limited to Head of Mass Communication UNILAG, Dr. Sunday Oloruntola, and Zonal Head FCMB, Omowunmi Kalejaiye;  and Nigeria Editor AFRICA CHECK, David Ajikobi

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