BON HAS EVOLVED

Essentially, BON is an independent, non-governmental umbrella association of all private, public, commercial and community electronic media houses in Nigeria.

Efforts at forming BON dates back to 1973. By then, there was the need for a collaborative organization under which the broadcasting media in Nigeria would operate. Apart from serving as an organ through which television and radio stations would speak with one voice, such organization will be used as a rallying point for coverage of major national and international events. In particular there was the need for effective co-ordination of broadcast media coverage for the 1973 “All Africa Games” held in Nigeria. The world Festival Black African Arts and Culture (FESTAC) provided the platform through which BON was revived and given a new lease of life in 1977.

After FESTAC ’77, the fledging organization went into hibernation once again and remained comatose for about seven years. Unlike earlier seeds which geminated and withered away, the real seed that has grown into what is today known as BON, was planted by Prince Tony Momoh, the then Minister of Information in 1987 while addressing a workshop on the role of broadcasting the transition to the aborted Third Republic in Abuja. Prince Momoh threw a challenge to broadcasters to resuscitate BON. A six man committee was mandated to resuscitate the ailing BON; the new BON was then born on August 11, 1988 in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

It is worth pointing out that before the resuscitation of BON in 1988, there were the following media groups:

• -Chief Executives of Federal and State Owned Radio Organization (CEFASORO).
• -Television Organization of Nigeria (TON)
• -State Owned Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria (SOBON)

All these three groups fused into one umbrella and resuscitated BON in 1988.

Since then, it has continued to grow in strength, structure and mandate.

Today, there are over 100 members which collectively own over 250 radio and television stations.