By Ezekiel Nabieu
Popular Tea-Break first introduced on the former United National Radio and adopted by the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) has been ditched by powers that be in the SLBC in favor of the new morning Coffee. They reason that it had been rather hackneyed and listeners needed a change especially when it is considered that, unlike the days of old when their predecessor solely ruled the radio air waves, there is now a plethora of local radio stations on the scene to contend with. Monotony they know is enemy of taste and so they have settled for variety which is the spice of life. But whether this variety is well thought out and necessarily better remains to be seen.
When you come to think of it, neither tea nor coffee are within the means of the vast majority of the population, rendering the titles of the program elitist. The title Wake Up could still have been maintained even with the stretching of the time by one hour, but it has been done and there is scarcely any need to be going back and forth.
Talking about the need for change, the trite quote by Alfred Tennyson that “the old order changeth yielding place to new” is relevant here. Washington Irving also wrote: “there is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse…”
Thus it is that this is too new to be evaluated in terms of being from bad to worse or from worse to bad. The SLBC mantra partly sounds “your voice, my voice” but I wonder whether it is not a mere delusion in view of the fact that there was no vox populi, vox dei (vox pop.) before the change.
It doesn’t appear that there had been a wave of discontent over the program before it was replaced. If it were so, protesting voices should have been heard over the same station. It is likely that with an air of infallibility the SLBC simply went ahead and did their thing. The fact is that there was no audience survey. The syndrome of not paying heed to “your voice” as advertised by the SLBC is characteristic of them. In the leadership of the corporation are two of a kind, namely the Director-General and his Deputy who are English scholars so sophisticated and educated that they do not pay heed to any criticism however constructive it may be. What is bizarre is that the SLBC has a Board of Directors that seems to be more of a rubber stamp than a directing body. We are aware that they have a say on staffing and financial issues including their sitting allowances, but they should have an input on what is dished out to the public and how it is done.
Break for Newscasts
Newscasts are arguably the most important items in radio programs, which is why the BBC, the world’s radio station, breaks for news every half hour. The toddler radio station, Star Radio, does the same. Why not “d radio station nar salone”? There should be summaries of the news at 7:30pm; 8pm &8:30pm. The problem is going to be that their Savoy for summary can be marred by pressure to please the Establishment.
Inappropriate Timing
If we are to find out about who are the beneficiaries of Morning Coffee it would be found out that they are mainly housewives, some elderly citizens, some night duty workers and some unemployed citizens. The vast majority of citizens would be either on their way to work or at work. So why did the professors at SLBC not choose 7:9pm for such a valuable program? Alternatively, why the program would not be repeated in the evening for maximum dissemination?
Ernest Koroma to clinch Mo Ibrahim?
Disappointingly, this is yet another tantalizing year for Mo Ibrahim Prize hopefuls. Like medals and plaques, it is not the money per se that is all important. There is a lot of prestige attached to it. Mo Ibrahim himself recently outlined the criteria for its award. He refused to be drawn into the distraction that some heads of state would not care for it because they would have enriched themselves for more than the amount of 5 million dollars and other perquisites. Our man EBK looks like being eligible for the award, which is one of the reasons why he has not succumbed to the sustained cry by sycophants to exceed his constitutional term of office. He is quiet a suitable candidate but:
- He has been practicing the Rule of No Law most notably exemplified in the Sam Sumana sacking and his bizarre replacement.
- He is about to flout the advice of the World Bank and the International Monterey Fund in the case of the Mamameh Airport thereby leaving a legacy of hardship.
- Delaying justice unduly in cases involving opposition parties and bloated cabinets, etc.
Q1 (a). What are the functions of the ministry of Political Affairs when there are ministries of Internal Affairs, Local Government, Foreign Affairs and Resident ministers?
(b) Is it a matter of creating jobs for the girls?
(c) Are we going to witness the creation of the ministry of Non-Political Affairs?
(d) Which ministry is not political?
(e) When shall we see the end of wastage of our resources on sinecures at a time when more than half of the populace is starving?
(C) Politico 28/06/16
