World Radio Day: Ntuk Udeh Emerges Star Guest

The Chairman Akwa Ibom State Roads and Other Infrastructure Maintenance Agency (AKROIMA), Prince Godwin Ntuk Udeh, Ph.D. has been crowned as Star Guest of the 2020 World Radio Day Celebration by the Akwa Ibom Broadcasting Corporation (AKBC).

The gesture, according to an On Air Personality (OAP), Mrs. Imaobong Udoh is precipitated on Ntuk Udeh’s well versed understanding of the efficacy of the radio in communication and information dissemination.

Imaobong Udoh, who is also known as “Angel” on TV, noted that Prince Udeh was carefully chosen among other personalities because he is conversant with the radio as a tool for publicity.

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Reacting to the honour done him by the AKBC, Prince Ntuk Udeh acknowledged the strategic role played by the radio in deepening our nascent democracy and encouraged the state-owned radio station to allot more air time to programmes presented in our local dialect in order to carry along people who may not be very familiar with programmes presented in English language.

Using radio stations in other states which have dedicated most of their programmes to their local dialects as example, the AKROIMA boss averred that if the Akwa Ibom Broadcasting Corporation adopts our local dialects in programmes presentation, people in the rural and remotes areas would pick interests in listening to the radio and get updated with events and happenings in the state and that of their environment.

His words, “Radio happens to be one of the communication channels through which we reach out to everybody and share our opinions with expectation that what we tell the people would affect their lifestyles, sense of reasoning as well as understanding of what is being done and what is needed to be done. On the world Radio Day celebration, I’d love to say that emphasis should be on the review of programmes that are tailored to infinite and finite understanding of the people.”

“If you go to the Northern part of Nigeria, you would see that virtually every person (whether literate or illiterate) has a radio in his hand, and knows how to tune it, whether he is computer literate or not. In fact, they prioritize radio more than wristwatch; that shows the importance they place on the radio. But here in this part of the country (Akwa Ibom State), the radio stations have made the radio alien to the people because almost every programme is aired in English language. So if you can devote at least 90 percent of the programmes to be aired in vernacular, then I’m sure the people will appreciate listening to the radio, and if this is done, it would curb some anti-social behaviours by the people if they would hear and understand what is communicated over the radio. Therefore, we should emulate the Hausas when it comes to communicating with the mother tongue on the radio.”

World Radio Day which celebrates radio as the mass media reaching the widest audience in the world, is celebrated on 13th February of every year. The theme for the 2020 celebration is “Radio and diversity.”