Abstract

Nigeria is home to a vibrant media marketplace. Excluding more than a hundred titles of daily tabloids and weekly newspapers, there is a densely saturated broadcast industry consisting of radio, television and video-film in Nigeria. Since the deregulation of the broadcast industry in 1992 with the issuing of broadcast licences to individuals and groups, the country has witnessed a burgeoning growth such that at the beginning of 2008, there were about 284 broadcasting stations in Nigeria. Since then, more licenses have been approved and issued, indicating a further expansion in the industry. Focusing on the practices and policies of the National Broadcasting Commission vis-à-vis religious broadcasting in a multi-religious society, this paper investigates the politics, policies and processes of regulating deregulation within the industry which have raised some controversies in recent times, particularly with reference to what the NBC calls “unverified miracles”.