By Precious Okolobo
For one hour each week on two radio stations in Port Harcourt since 2017, the NNPC/Shell/TotalEnergies/NAOC Joint Venture operated by The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) has been reaching the public in the Niger Delta with messages of hope and development through a pioneering discussion programme.
Appropriately named Canvas, the Niger Delta Roundtable, the SPDC-operated joint venture is painting the picture of a better way of life through lively discussions on the programme that not only highlight the ills of the region but also stress the resilience of its people to inspire reawakening and renewal.
Each week, anchors lead guests from all walks of life in sessions that are broadcast live to the core Niger Delta states and beyond with members of the public joining through social media and phone calls. The forum continues on social media after the anchors call it a day.
“Canvas has grown to become a reference point in public discourse on radio in the South South and South East geo-political zones,” said SPDC Director and Head, Country Corporate Relations, Igo Weli. “We’re pleased to help refocus the narrative in the Niger Delta from crime and violence to justice, peace and development. Canvas is by no means the silver bullet to solving the challenges of the region, but if the weekly discussions create awareness and influence a change of heart somewhere, then it has been worth the efforts these years and should continue.”
Most importantly, the programme aims to contribute to making the Niger Delta an attractive investment destination that offers the needed environment for businesses to thrive in an atmosphere where dialogue, rather than violence, is the tool for resolving conflicts.
Canvas was conceived out of the need to re-focus the narrative on the Niger Delta from being troubled and problem-plagued to solution-seeking and forward-looking. Mr. Weli, the executive producer and the production team worked the structures of a programme that will be interactive and accommodating of diverse views and opinions with the aim of distilling the best ideas for the Niger Delta.
Canvas first aired on Rhythm 93.7FM Port Harcourt on April 10, 2017, and now runs every Monday 9 am to 10a.m. on Family Love 97.7FM Port Harcourt; and on Wednesday 4pm to 5p.m. on Nigeria Info 92.3FM Port Harcourt. The edition on Family Love FM is simultaneously broadcast to audiences in Bayelsa, Delta, Edo States and environs via Radio Nigeria’s Creek 106.5FM and Bronze 101.5FM stations, while the one on Nigeria Info 92.3FM covers Rivers and neighbouring states.
An eclectic mix of guests ranging from subject matter experts, academics, social and labour activists, to public affairs analysts, employees in public and private sectors, air their views and respond to questions and insights by the public. The guests are not paid and so are not under any commercial obligation to speak one way or the other.
The production team is keen to stress that Canvas is not about Shell, although its operations often feature in the discussions. A total of 676 editions had aired on Family Love 97.7FM and Nigeria Info 92.3FM as at end June 2023, excluding the ancillary broadcasts on the other stations. Topics discussed included SPDC JV and government programmes, youth and entrepreneurial development, digital literacy and post-Covid recovery as well as challenges such as crude theft and pipeline vandalism, among others.
It takes a lot of legwork and intellectual exertion for Canvas to air every week. SPDC Spokesperson, Michael Adande, who is also the producer, said, “Our work begins with deciding topics and identifying suitable guests who we then engage to accommodate the interruption of their schedule.
We work closely with the anchors and guests to ensure what goes on air meets high broadcast standards and promotes the aims of the show.” It falls on the anchors, Kate Ogan of Family Love FM and Kaladakuro Batubo of Nigeria Info FM, to deliver a programme that makes a listening pleasure. “My responsibility is to drive into the consciousness of listeners the fact that the Niger Delta needs massive development given its potential,” Mr. Batubo explained. “Thus, I attempt to make the topics relatable, awakening the responsibility in everyone, both indigenes and investors, on the development of the region.”
The NNPC/SPDC/TotalEnergies/NAOC joint venture’s social investment projects and programmes are regular topics on Canvas. This happened when an initiative in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) known as Host Community Development Trusts (HCDTs) featured on Family Love FM on 23rd May 2023, preparatory to their simultaneous unveiling in Yenagoa and Port Harcourt the following day. Nigeria Info featured the same topic post-unveiling.
Chairman of Emohua Trust in Rivers State, Smart Okpara, who was a guest on the two stations at the time, said: “The phone-in during the show allowed for real-time feedback. For example, when I appeared on the programme, a caller from Emohua raised an issue on a project planned during my time as chairman of the GMoU cluster in the community. Thankfully, I came prepared with the facts and figures and I cleared the air. Such feedback helps to build trust between community people and their leaders and promotes unity and development at the grassroots.”
Kingsley Nweke, a Professor of Governance and Politics at Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Rivers State, agreed and said: “Canvas could help improve the existing long-term knowledge and communication gaps in diverse areas among its growing listenership in the Niger Delta capable of transforming the region.”
Prof. Nweke is currently on sabbatical with SPDC and has been a guest on the programme.
An engineer based in Port Harcourt and ardent listener to Canvas, Ogbonnaya Chima, described it “as a highly impactful programme that x-rays contemporary issues with focus on the Niger Delta Region.”
He noted, “I’m mostly impressed with the fact that the guests are experts/SMEs/practitioners in the topic under discourse and they bring in hands-on experience which enable the listeners to understand and follow the discussion.”
Now in its seventh year of unbroken run, Canvas continues as a strong fixture of radio discourse on the Niger Delta. Mr. Weli said of the future of the programme, “The good thing about Canvas is that the conversations continue after each edition, meaning the programme extends beyond the studios to hearts and minds, where real change resides and begins.
Slowly but surely, the SPDC-operated joint venture is helping to paint a picture of the new Niger Delta on Canvas. This turns out to be our motivation and reward which will hopefully take the show to the next level.” In other words, the painting of the new image of the Niger Delta can only get better!
