By Khalifa Hemed
Published March 17, 2017
A broadcast service that has over the past 60 years remained “a source of trusted and impartial news to millions of people in Nigeria” and the Diaspora celebrates its Diamond Jubilee from March 21, 2017.
The service, known as BBC Hausa and that reaches an estimated 23.3 million every week on radio, online and TV, shall mark the anniversary with various activities and special programmes recognising the history and success of the service in both London, the home of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and Abuja, the capital of Nigeria and home of the largest Hausa-speaking audience.
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Events include A lecture on the role of the media in promoting Hausa language and culture shall be delivered by Media and Culture Scholar, Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu and host invited dignitaries in Abuja.
BBC Hausa made its maiden broadcast on March 13, 1957. It has since evolved from a radio station to a broadcaster offering a breadth of multimedia content. BBC Hausa’s audience online and on social media platforms includes Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and YouTube.
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Francesca Unsworth, Director of the BBC World Service Group, says: “We are very proud of the BBC Hausa service and the many years of vital broadcasting it has provided for our audience. This fantastic milestone shows its great success, and long may it continue.”
Jimeh Saleh, Acting Head of BBC Hausa, says: “The anniversary is an opportunity to reconnect with our audiences whose trust has kept us ahead of the competition through the decades. It is also a time of reflection for us on the challenges we face as we seek innovative ways of serving them better on the fast-changing digital landscape.”
