In a recent meeting in Abuja with the National Union of Journalists deputy president, the Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mallam Jibrin Baba Ndace, has announced a strategic plan to reposition the station as a leading continental broadcaster. One of the first initiatives will be the reactivation of the VON rotating antenna to significantly enhance broadcast coverage across Africa.
Detailing his vision to reestablish VON as a leading voice on the continent, Mallam Ndace highlighted the plans to reactivate the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) shortwave rotating transmitter, the largest in Africa and to add new languages to its international portfolio: Chinese Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesian, and Portuguese, bringing the total to 11 languages.
Other initiatives to strengthen staff numbers and content quality were highlighted as well.
The plans to reestablish DRM transmissions from the VON Abuja site, at one point a state-of-the-art installation with broadcasts that reached as far as Europe and North America, need further work and budget allocation.
