The Voice of Nigeria or VON is the official

international broadcasting International broadcasting, in a limited extent, began during World War I, when German and British stations broadcast press communiqués using Morse code. With the severing of Germany's undersea cables, the wireless telegraph station in Nauen was t ...

station of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

History

Founded in 1961, the Voice of Nigeria began life as the External Service of the then Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (now

Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria The Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) is Nigeria's state radio broadcasting organization. Its subsidiary is the domestic radio network known as ''Radio Nigeria'', with FM stations across the 36 states and Zonal station in the 6 geopoliti ...

). Then Prime Minister Sir

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (December 1912 – 15 January 1966) was a Nigerian politician who served as the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria upon independence. Early life Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in December 1912 in modern-day B ...

commissioned the service. The nation's growing commitment informed the need to have an external channel through which authoritative information about the African situation could be disseminated to the entire world. Even then, its transmission, using a 10 kW HF transmitter, was limited to West Africa for two hours daily in English and French. Broadcast hours increased to six in 1963 with the commissioning of five prototype RCA 100 kW transmitters. In 1989, five Brown Boveri transmitters with antennae system were acquired. On January 5, 1990, VON became autonomous, and in 1996, three state-of-the-art 250 kW Thomcast AG transmitters were commissioned. This boosted VON's transmission to the entire world. The transmitting station is located on 40 hectares at Ipokodo,

Ikorodu Ikorodu is a large city in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located to the north-east of Lagos, along the Lagos Lagoon and shares boundary with Ogun State. With a population of over 1million inhabitant, Ikorodu is currently the 12 largest city in Nig ...

in Lagos State. While the administrative headquarters is in Abuja, the Federal Capital, News and Programmes emanate from both the

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

and

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

studios. In 2012, VON commissioned another state of the art multi-billion naira transmitting station at

Lugbe Lugbe, Abuja is a residential district and town in Abuja. The town covers approximately 50 km2 The community is a countryside settlement expanding on the urban fringe of Abuja. The area is site to a Voice of Nigeria Transmission Station (VNT), FHA ...

, Abuja.

Powers and functions

According to the Act establishing Voice of Nigeria (VON), the following are some of its powers and functions The Corporation shall, to the exclusion of any other broadcasting authority or any other body in Nigeria, be responsible for broadcasting externally, by radio, Nigeria's viewpoint to any part of the world. (1) Provide as a public service, in the interest of Nigeria, radio broadcasting services for global reception in such languages and at such time as the Corporation may specify; (2) The Corporation shall ensure that its services reflect views of Nigeria as a Federation and give adequate expression to the culture, characteristics, affairs and opinions of Nigeria. (3) The Corporation shall ensure that news and programmes enhance Nigeria's foreign policy and image.

Vision

“To become the international radio broadcasting station of first choice for anyone interested in Nigeria and Africa”.

Mission

“Reflecting Nigerian and African perspective in our broadcast, winning and sustaining the attention, respect and goodwill of listeners worldwide particularly Nigerians and Africans in the Diaspora and making Nigeria’s voice to be heard more positively in the shaping of our world”.

References

External links