Nigeria’s Digital Switch Over (DSO) process has been a subject of discussion even at the international level, principally because of its opaque nature.

Ripples Nigeria gathered authoritatively that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) may have beamed its searchlight on the process alleged to be a cesspit of corruption.

Recent happenings in the sector may have dampened the expectations of Nigerians since the announcement that the country will switch over to digital broadcast transmission by June 2015.

Director General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mallam Is’haq Modibbo Kawu at the 68th General Assembly of the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) in Abuja, agreed that the white paper on the DSO was tinkered with by the previous administration apparently for political reasons.

Kawu gave an insight into the rot he met on ground when he disclosed that a company was contracted and paid as conditional access provider in October, months before it was registered in Nigeria.
“What you could interrogate is how the process was done, if you have read the report of the Ad-hoc Committee from the House of Representatives, it said that ‘the company was paid in October but was not registered in Nigeria until December’ and that is what I inherited when I assumed office as DG,” Kawu lamented.
Quite a lot of investors were in a frenzy expecting the business and employment boom that was promised to come with the switch over in 2015, but the date failed. A new date of June 2017 was announced with firm assurance that all was being done to ensure the date was not missed. June 2017 became history and the expected DSO also became history.
However, experts wonder why achieving digital broadcast transmission had become such a hard nut to crack in Nigeria. Those asking questions are aware of the enormous opportunities presented by digital broadcasting for both operatives in the creative industries and manufacturers of set-top boxes and other digital transmission equipment.

Full details: https://www.ripplesnigeria.com/corruption-stalls-nigerias-digital-switch-dream-ten-years/