Digital Switchover Strategic to Nigeria’s Economic Growth, Says Ganduje

Olawale Ajimotokan

Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje has said Digital Switch Over (DSO) was fundamental to the development programme and digital economy of the country given its potential to create jobs and bring governance closer to the people.

He made the declaration yesterday in Kano, during the official switch over of the state from analogue television broadcasting to the digital terrestrial platform.

Ganduje said the exercise was apt, adding as technology will present an opportunity for Kano people to have access to local, national and international space and use the content for public engagement.

“The switch-on of Kano is exceptional because it marks the launch of the project in north’s commercial city and the second largest and booming creative hub, most populous state with over two million TV households out of the estimated 40 million TV households in the country,” he added.

He said the project would harness the entertainment and creative talents abound in the region’s rich culture to be presented to the world through films and documentaries in the Kannywood, the equivalent of Nollywood in the south, which has come of age and is impacting positively on the Hausa speaking states in Northern Nigeria and those in diaspora across the globe.

He, however, declared that following the launch of the DSO, analogue signals would no longer be available in Kano State effective from December this year, which implies that every household must have a Digital Set Top Box (STB) in order to receive TV signal at home.

To facilitate access to signal for all, he said the state government was partnering one of the manufacturers of the decoders in the country to support indigent households in 44 local government areas in the state for the provision of 100,000 units of subsidised decoders, beginning with 10,000 units for the first phase of the supply. He added the state government has also directed the supply of 44,000 STBs to the 44 local governments at the rate of 100 per local government, with the primary health care centres, community viewing centres, government education authorities, primary and basic schools, as well as local government councils as prime beneficiaries.

About 50 technicians and 50 dealers drawn from across the state and trained by National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), Gospel Limited and Inview have received starter parks for installation and activation of decoders.

Speaking at the launch, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said 500,000 decoders were deployed by the STB manufacturers to ensure the people of the state enjoy the benefits of digital television starting with the 24 channels that will immediately come after the roll-out.

He said the federal government was prioritising the DSO project because it was critical to the post-COVID recovery and prosperity of the creative industry.