Broadcasting
Winners of British Council UK Alumni Awards Announced in Nigeria
The British Council has announced the recipients of the Study UK Alumni Awards 2021-22 in Nigeria at a prestigious ceremony held at Eko Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria. In total, 12 UK alumni in 4 categories were recognised for their outstanding achievements as business professionals, entrepreneurs and community leaders, and for their contribution to strengthening ties between the UK and Nigeria.
L-R: Lucy Pearson, Country Director British Council Nigeria; Oluwadamilola Teidi, Finalist Business and Innovation; Ben Llewellyn-Jones, Deputy High Commissioner, British Deputy High Commission, Lagos, Nigeria; Ashley Stewart, Finalist Culture and Creativity; Laura Etamah, Finalist Culture and Creativity; Israel Balogun, Finalist Social Action at the British Council UK Alumni Awards that held at Eko Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria recently.
Recipients were selected for the four award categories: Science and Sustainability Award, Culture and Creativity Award, Social Action Award, and Business and Innovation Award.
The prestigious international award celebrates UK higher education and the achievements of UK alumni all over the world. Now in its eighth year, the award received more than 1,500 applications from international UK alumni in more than 100 countries, representing more than 140 UK higher education institutions across the UK.
Science and Sustainability Award was presented to Sikiru Mohammed, a graduate of University of Leeds. Sikiru Mohammed is promoting engineering ethics in Nigeria and investing his time on STEM for youths to improve high school education narrative for a better tomorrow.
Culture and Creativity Award was presented to Gift Chidera Peters, a graduate of University of Portsmouth. Gift Chidera Peters is the founder of an online platform known as the CP Community that supports international students in the UK with the right information, resources and a vibrant student community to help them navigate life in the UK, settle and ace their studies.
The CP Community currently boasts of over 11,000 student members from over 7 countries in Africa including Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, DRC etc.
The Social Action award was presented to Mariam Momodu, a graduate of University of Cambridge. Mariam Momodu is a commercial lawyer, academic and social entrepreneur.
She is the founder of GetIn Education Consulting (GetIn), a social enterprise that democratizes access to education-related opportunities for African students. GetIn has a reach of over 20,000 students and has helped Africans access over $2.5 million in scholarships.
The Business and Innovation award was presented to Oluwafemi Adeola Adedipe, a graduate of the University of Southampton. Adedipe Oluwafemi is an entrepreneur focusing on financial access for underserved businesses across Nigeria’s informal sector.
He is the Founder of StreetCred and Pistis Finserve. He is also the founder of the Pistis Sustainability Essay Competition as well as the Pistis Young Scholars Programme, a leadership development platform for high achieving students. His companies have collectively provided more than 1Billion Naira (approx. $2.5 million) in loans to more than 10,000 women traders, artisans, and street vendors across Nigeria, serving customers from 34 business locations.
Lucy Pearson, Country Director at the British Council in Nigeria, said: “The remarkable individuals we celebrated today have all taken their UK education as a starting point to excel in their chosen careers and shape the world around them. This year’s awards ceremony is testimony not only to the diversity of UK alumni and their endeavours, but also to the transformative impact of a UK education.
Nigeria is one of the many countries hosting the awards this year, with awarding ceremonies in a further 23 countries, including India, Armenia and Qatar.
Mrs. Clementine Wamba, head, Digital Switch Over (DSO) at the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), has stressed the need for broadcasting stations and practitioners nationwide to work towards meeting the 2028 global deadline for the switch over.
She made the call in her presentation titled, “DSO Big Picture: Free TV Audience Measurement and the Evolving Media Landscape”, at the 2026 NBC South West Summit held in Ibadan.
Wamba harped on the need for practitioners to adopt DSO in the transmission of news and other programmes in order to meet future challenges, stating that any country that fail to align with the DSO by 2028 will be shut out of practice.
This development, according to her, may result in job losses and other consequences that could hinder the growth of the industry in Nigeria, noting that Free TV is tailored towards the DSO, with provision for many channels in contrast to the age-long analogue system.
According to her, “The Digital Switch Over is a technological improvement on the age-long analogue style of broadcasting in the country. With the adoption of the DSO, practitioners will be in tune with global practice of broadcast journalism.
“Also, its benefits include efficient use of spectrum, changing of industry landscape, more access to national development programmes and better viewing experience.”
National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has said that Nigerians will no longer pay annual Digital Access Fees under the renewed Digital Switch Over (DSO) project.
Charles Ebuebu, director-general, NBC, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja,
Ebuebu said viewers only need to purchase an approved decoder and satellite dish which cost below N20,000 to enjoy free television permanently.
“Previously, users paid an annual digital access fee of about N1,500, described as an administrative charge.
“The new system removes that annual fee. It provides free access to free-to-air television channels without any payment.
“Premium channels will be introduced later. Viewers who want those additional channels will be able to access them through paid services.
“Nigerian content on free-to-air channels remains free to watch. Unlike Pay TV, this platform does not require monthly subscriptions for its basic service,” he said
Ebuebu said approved decoders for the FreeTV will cost less than N20,000 and authorised sales outlets will soon be announced.
He urged Nigerians to wait for official information on approved dealers for the DSO decoders, warning that unauthorised sellers are exploiting growing public demand.
He reiterated that people only need a free-to-air decoder, along with a satellite dish instead of the old antenna system to receive the DSO signal.
“Once the equipment is installed, viewers can access all available channels across the country without paying any subscription fees,” he stressed
The DG dismissed claims by some retailers that there are different categories of decoders sold at varying prices, stressing that such sellers are not authorised by the commission.
According to him, the NBC will soon publish the list of approved dealers, official prices, and locations where genuine decoder boxes and accessories can be purchased.
The NBC boss said the DSO project is designed not only to improve television broadcasting but also to stimulate economic growth by creating jobs, attracting investment, and opening up opportunities for businesses that support the broadcasting industry.
Ebuebu noted that content producers and broadcasters stand to benefit significantly from the nationwide reach of the DSO platform.
Unlike the previous system, where many stations had limited regional audiences, he said the new platform will make their channels available to viewers across Nigeria.
He added that the introduction of audience measurement technology will provide scientific and reliable data on television viewership.
Ebuebu added that audience measurement technology will give advertisers greater confidence in placing adverts and enable broadcasters to demonstrate the true size and reach of their audiences nationwide.
Uchenna Mbunabo, Nigerian filmmaker, has raised concerns over the alleged unauthorised broadcast of Nollywood films by some Ghanaian television stations, calling on Ghana’s National Film Authority (NFA) to strengthen the enforcement of copyright laws.
Uchenna Mbunabo, Nigerian filmmaker
Mbunabo made the remarks during a conversation with James Gardiner, deputy CEO of the National Film Authority (NFA) of Ghana.
He questioned whether it was permissible for television stations in Ghana to download Nigerian movies from YouTube and air them without obtaining permission from the producers.
“I noticed that Ghanaian TV stations, the way they are stealing our films and showing them for free with impunity. Is it legalised in your country for TV stations to go on YouTube, download people’s sweat and show it for free?”
According to Mbunabo, some Ghanaian television stations have been downloading newly released Nollywood films from YouTube and broadcasting them without authorisation, depriving producers of revenue generated through the platform.
He also stated that he had not witnessed Nigerian television stations engaging in similar practices and questioned what measures Ghana was taking to protect filmmakers’ intellectual property.
Responding to the concerns, Gardiner acknowledged that the issue exists and said the National Film Authority had begun engaging relevant stakeholders to address it.
He disclosed that the NFA has held discussions with the Ministry of Communications, the National Communications Authority (NCA) and the National Media Commission (NMC) on improving copyright enforcement.
Gardiner explained that while Ghana has copyright laws, enforcement remains challenging because many television stations now operate digitally and may not have physical offices within the country.
“There are copyright laws, but they are not effective because a lot of the TV stations don’t have offices. Most of them are now digital, so they operate from anywhere. They can even have a Ghanaian TV station but be operating from Austria simply because it is digital.”
He added that authorities are considering a new licensing framework that would require broadcasters to undergo a fresh licensing process to improve monitoring and enforcement.
According to Gardiner, television stations found guilty of illegally broadcasting copyrighted content would be required to compensate affected producers through fines.
He added that repeat offenders could face suspension of their broadcasting licences, while a third violation could result in the revocation of their licences.
Although he did not provide a specific timeline, Gardiner said the reforms were already underway and expressed hope that significant progress would be seen next year.
Mbunabo welcomed the proposed measures but urged the National Film Authority to expedite the process, stating that unauthorised broadcasts continue to affect filmmakers’ ability to recover production costs through legitimate distribution channels such as YouTube.
He also stressed that his comments were not directed at Ghana’s film industry, noting that he has worked with several Ghanaian actors over the years and supports collaborations between Nollywood and Ghallywood.
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