Chairman, Steering Committee, The Nigeria Broadcasting Awards (TNBA), Mr. Guy Murray-Bruce, has declared that the awards, billed to hold in November, will make the Nigerian broadcasting sector a formidable force in the black world. Murray-Bruce, who is President of the Silverbird Group, made the declaration on Monday during an interview on Wazobia FM.



TNBA, promoted by the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), is a first-of-its-kind professional excellence recognition and reward platform.



According to Murray-Bruce, the primary objective of the awards is to motivate professionals to attain higher standards as a means of further contributing to national development.



“If people are recognised and rewarded, they will be motivated to do more and if they do more, they will make the Nigerian broadcasting industry a formidable force in the black world,” he said.



He added that the committee he chairs will soon announce a call for entries into the 13 award categories and calls on broadcast professionals to enter their works for consideration by a panel of judges that will soon be announced.



Also speaking on the programme, Mr. Jenkins Alumona, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Outcomes Limited, consultants to TNBA, described the awards as independent, as they will be “given by broadcasters to broadcasters”.



“TNBA will be awards by broadcasters to broadcasters and devoid of sponsors’ influence. While we seek sponsorship backing for the awards, sponsors will have no role in adjudication, as entries will be rated by a panel of judges comprising active and retired broadcasters with integrity and stellar professional records. The process will be also be run by a top audit firm as a way of stamping fidelity on it,” said Alumona.



He also called on sponsors to take advantage of the visibility the platform provides, as the awards have secured the buy-in of about 300 BON member private and public radio and television stations across the country.



“TNBA, as a marketing platform, is the equivalent of buying one and getting 300 free. All BON-member stations are fully plugged into the awards, giving would-be sponsors immense mileage for their messages and positioning them as supporters of national development through higher information dissemination standards. Higher professional broadcasting standards will earn the sector and the country more respect across the globe,” he said.



Murray-Bruce and Alumona expressed similar sentiments in an interview on BEAT FM, with duo saying that a jump in professional standards, the aim of TNBA, will make broadcasting more appealing to the coming generation, as intending broadcasters will be confident that their excellence will be recognised.



“The awards will be glamorous because broadcasting is a trade known for glamour. This, in addition to recognition of stellar performances, will inspire the younger generation by making the trade more appealing. TNBA will be an annual event, giving opportunities to professionals to be celebrated,” Alumona added.

Four major broadcast media establishments have endorsed The Nigerian Broadcasting Awards (TNBA) scheduled to hold in October.

This was disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday by the Awards Steering Committee, whose members paid courtesy visits to the offices of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), DAAR Communications, owners of African Independent Television/Ray Power FM; and Abuja Broadcasting Corporation, operators of ASO Radio and Television in Abuja.

The awards are being organized by the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) to recognize and reward excellence in the industry. At the FRCN, the BON delegation, led by Mr.Bayo Awosemo of Arise News, was received by Dr. Mansur Liman, the Director-General.

Speaking during the visit, Awosemo requested FRCN to support BON in its bid to deliver a high- calibre awards ceremony to celebrate professional accomplishments in the Nigerian broadcasting industry.

Responding, Liman, who is also the Vice chairman of BON, commended the decision to celebrate stellar broadcasting industry professionals whose talents, for long, have not been formally recognized and rewarded.

“The awards will recognize and reward the talents that abound in the Nigerian broadcasting industry, spur them to be better and inspire up and coming professionals to excel in the knowledge that they will someday be recognized and celebrated,” said Liman.

At the NTA, members of the committee were received by the Director-General, Mallam Yakubu Ibn-Mohammed, who described The Nigerian Broadcasting Awards as an intervention necessary to raise practice standards in the industry.

“We are delighted that this intervention is coming at this time. It is one that will bring about enormous professional improvement in the Nigerian broadcasting space,” said Ibn-Mohammed.

The NTA Director-General also promised to ensure that the event is a successful one by putting resources of the NTA at the disposal of the Steering Committee.

Earlier in the day, High Chief Tony Akiotu, Group Managing Director of DAAR Communications, delivered his organisation’s endorsement of the awards in addition to advising the BON delegation on the need to recognize and reward broadcasting superstars of yesteryears just as the current crop will be recognized.

“Broadcasting in Nigeria has come a very long way and broadcasters have made a lot of sacrifices. It is time we started celebrating broadcasters for their sacrifices. While it is important to celebrate those who are currently excelling, it is equally important to celebrate those who excelled in the past ,” Akiotu noted.



Managing Director of Abuja Broadcasting Corporation, Mallam Ibrahim Damisa, also made the same appeal as his DAAR Communications counterpart. He enjoined the delegation to remember sacrifices of previous stars of the industry.

“We need to remember the sacrifices of our heroes past, some of whom are no longer with us but whose works we should never forget. The awards, which represent rewards for excellence, will lead to growth in the Nigerian broadcasting sector as excellence rewarded usually leads to more excellence,” he said.

Four major broadcast media establishments have endorsed The Nigerian Broadcasting Awards (TNBA) scheduled to hold in October.

This was disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday by the Awards Steering Committee, whose members paid courtesy visits to the offices of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), DAAR Communications, owners of African Independent Television/Ray Power FM; and Abuja Broadcasting Corporation, operators of ASO Radio and Television in Abuja.

The awards are being organized by the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) to recognize and reward excellence in the industry. At the FRCN, the BON delegation, led by Mr.Bayo Awosemo of Arise News, was received by Dr. Mansur Liman, the Director-General.

Speaking during the visit, Awosemo requested FRCN to support BON in its bid to deliver a high- calibre awards ceremony to celebrate professional accomplishments in the Nigerian broadcasting industry.

Responding, Liman, who is also the Vice chairman of BON, commended the decision to celebrate stellar broadcasting industry professionals whose talents, for long, have not been formally recognized and rewarded.

“The awards will recognize and reward the talents that abound in the Nigerian broadcasting industry, spur them to be better and inspire up and coming professionals to excel in the knowledge that they will someday be recognized and celebrated,” said Liman.

At the NTA, members of the committee were received by the Director-General, Mallam Yakubu Ibn-Mohammed, who described The Nigerian Broadcasting Awards as an intervention necessary to raise practice standards in the industry.

“We are delighted that this intervention is coming at this time. It is one that will bring about enormous professional improvement in the Nigerian broadcasting space,” said Ibn-Mohammed.

The NTA Director-General also promised to ensure that the event is a successful one by putting resources of the NTA at the disposal of the Steering Committee.

Earlier in the day, High Chief Tony Akiotu, Group Managing Director of DAAR Communications, delivered his organisation’s endorsement of the awards in addition to advising the BON delegation on the need to recognize and reward broadcasting superstars of yesteryears just as the current crop will be recognized.

“Broadcasting in Nigeria has come a very long way and broadcasters have made a lot of sacrifices. It is time we started celebrating broadcasters for their sacrifices. While it is important to celebrate those who are currently excelling, it is equally important to celebrate those who excelled in the past ,” Akiotu noted.



Managing Director of Abuja Broadcasting Corporation, Mallam Ibrahim Damisa, also made the same appeal as his DAAR Communications counterpart. He enjoined the delegation to remember sacrifices of previous stars of the industry.

“We need to remember the sacrifices of our heroes past, some of whom are no longer with us but whose works we should never forget. The awards, which represent rewards for excellence, will lead to growth in the Nigerian broadcasting sector as excellence rewarded usually leads to more excellence,” he said.