THE ROLE OF THE RADIO IN PROPAGATING CULTURE IN NIGERIA

THE ROLE OF THE RADIO IN PROPAGATING CULTURE IN NIGERIA

 The media play an important role of shaping public image of the masses and in so doing pressure them to behave according to cultural norms of their country and this is achieved with communication which plays a vital role in development, bringing about behavior and lifestyle changes, (Oyekan, 2009). Any activity to be successfully accomplished requires communication, and effective communication will be achieved when a person is able to convey what he wants to say clearly and precisely and is able to understand correctly what the other person is saying. The cultural and lifestyle of citizens in a community is learned and passed from generation to generation and the culture of a particular society is dynamic, people learn and embrace new ideas, new ways of behaving and new and emerging trends, (Ubgaja, 2011). Every culture should be preserved for it is a society’s distinct way of life. Cultural education is done through communication channels like telecommunication and the mass media since everyone engage in intra personal, dyadic, small group, public, mass communication and computer-assisted or online communication (Gamble & Gamble, 2010:4). The mass media is an important factor in Nigeria. They have important roles to play in the area of cultural education and national development. The mass media support and enhance development programmes in the country. The media offers a learning ground for people, and are used to learn about what is happening around the world (Turow, 2009, p. 21). The masses learn from the media, and rely on the media for information getting educated in the process.

 

However, Radio programme as a medium of communication has contributed a lot in educating the society in all aspects of life. Since its inception in the colonial era, experimentation and learning with the medium was topmost in minds of initiators of the Radio station, (Ugbaja, 2011). Radio programme remains the principal communication medium for propagating cultural and creative expressions for people to appreciate culture in its fullness, (Semiu, 2009). Taylor (2009), defined culture as a complex whole, which includes knowledge, beliefs, morals, customs, and habits or any other capabilities acquired by man as a member of society. It is a pattern of human behaviour, which is learnt by the members and transmitted from one generation to another. Bow (2010) former Director General of UNESCO gives a more comprehensive description of culture and added various dimensions. He said: Culture as the end product of all that a society has created in the course of time and as the essential driving force for all that it continues to create, both materially and in the intellectual sphere – something which shapes the awareness and the collective imagination of it’s members, determining the way they are and the way they see the world. Containing the seeds of all that a community is capable of producing, it is quintessentially, the repository of its creative genius, the dynamic principles whereby society, drawing upon its past, feeding upon its own latent resources, while selectively assimilating such external inputs as may come it’s way, pursues the unending process of it’s own self-creation, (Gamble & Gamble, 2010:4).

 

Ndolo (2006) as cited in Okunna (1999) defined culture as the total way of life of a people while values which are intrinsic or unconscious, form the basis of all behavioural decisions they make. Culture provides people with symbols, myths, values and information about their society. Culture is a vast apparatus partly material, partly human and partly spiritual by which societies are organized into permanent and recognizable groups. It blends practical accomplishment, inspiring philosophies, oral traditions and abilities in man’s continuous effort for development (Chude, 2007). To Ahmed, (2013), for Nigerian cultural heritage to be sustained, media programme is a significant force in this respect. For example, American sociologists Gill Mikel refers to interrelation between culture and media as “mediated culture” meaning that media reflects and creates cultures, (Gill, 2012).

Among the various functions of mass media in the society is the promotion, and transmission of cultural heritage from one generation to another. In this perspective, radio programme arguably becomes the most appropriate channel and route to execute the function of promoting culture, (Ahmed, 2013). The Radio is believed to have the capacity which can cut through the barrier of illiteracy and is the overall development of the society. This perspective has been accepted by different authorities in mass communication, from the long standing traditional change, this suggest that Radio station is relevant in power distribution and watching over the extent at which the power is negatively or positively being impacted on the people.

The Radio transmits ideas information, to the targeted audience, this shows that they are responsible for most adjustments in the behavioural patterns of the people in the society. As a channel of mass media, Radio station recognizes their obligation to the society especially in the area of culture and promoting.