As part of his regional tour which took him to Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, OKAPI Chief Executif Officer (CEO) Mr David Smith arrived in Niger on September 25, 2024.
During his 5-day stay from September 25 to 29, 2024, in Diffa and Niamey respectively, he met with the administrative and customary authorities, as well as with the media actors.
Mr. Smith discussed his plans to set up Radio NDARASON International in Niger.
He began his visit in the town of Diffa, over 1300 kilometers east of Niamey.
His visit took him successively to the Chief of Komadougou, the Honorable Mamadou Kazelma Abba Kiari, and the Governor of Diffa Region, Brigadier General Mahamadou Ibrahim Bagadoma.
During the audiences he was granted, the CEO of Okapi Consulting explained to his interlocutors his plans to set up Radio NDARASON International in Diffa very soon.
This media outlet has been present for several years in two (2) countries in the Lake Chad basin, namely Nigeria and Chad.
Since January 2024, Radio Ndarason has been operating as a network in Niger and Cameroon.
This will enable it to cover all four (4) countries in the Lake Chad basin (Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger).
Both the Governor of Diffa and the Chief of Canton of Komadougou welcomed the news.
For the two authorities, the advent of such a radio will bring a plus in awakening the conscience of citizens.
General Bagadoma and the Honorable Mamadou Kazelma affirmed their readiness to respond to all invitations to take part in the broadcasts of Radio NDARASON International Diffa.
David Smith in the studios of local media
The OKAPI CEO took advantage of his stay in Diffa to visit some of the local media.
He visited the premises of the regional station of Radio and Television of Niger (RTN).
In his discussions with the station’s Director, Alio Ibrahim, David Smith spoke of the importance of radio for listeners and the role it plays in society.
He then presented the objectives and missions of Radio NDARASON International which is far from being a competing medium but rather a complementary one.
The second radio station visited was Alternative FM a local community medium.
As with RTN David Smith spoke to staff about the possibilities of a partnership between the two media particularly in the area of human resources training.
On his return to Niamey, Mr. Smith met with the Secretary General (SG) of the National Observatory de la Communautaire (NOC), Mr. Ousmane Garba, Abdou Gambo and the Director of Community Media, Ms. Falmata Mamadou.
With his interlocutors, Mr. Smith was first briefed on the status of the FM application to enable Radio Ndarason International to broadcast in Niger.
It emerged from discussions with the NOC SG that Okapi’s application was technically well prepared and that no shortcomings had been detected during the in-depth examination carried out by NOC technicians.
He reassured the CEO that special attention and priority would be given to Ndarason’s FM application at the first session of the validation committee once it had been set up.
The 2nd interview was conducted with the Director of Community Media, with whom discussions focused on avenues of collaboration between Ndarason International and Niger’s 223 community radio stations, particularly the 17 in the Diffa region.
At the end of his visit, Mr. Smith addressed a special thanks and congratulations to the Okapi/RNI Niger team for the excellent organization of the visit and for the tangible results achieved by Niger in setting up Radio Ndarason International under the leadership of Mr. Mahamadou AMADOU, Country Director.
Prepared by Ibrahim Moussa, Red Chef RNI Niger – Diffa and Mahamadou Amadou, Directeur Projet RNI /Okapi Niger.
Diffa-Niamey, September, 29th 2024