TALK RADIO AS A TOOL FOR ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES

Talk radio is found to be one of the best channels of communication that enhances development initiatives in developing countries like Nigeria. This is apparent because of its unique style of democratic broadcasting that enables full audience and listener participation, as well as not being limited by language barriers in its traditional functions of informing, educating and entertaining. With the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) as the pioneer indigenous radio station in Nigeria, several other specialised radio stations broadcasting in indigenous languages have since sprung up. Such stations as Faaji FM that delivers mainly in Yoruba language and Wazobia FM that delivers in the pidgin English and Bond FM stations that broadcast in Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa languages respectively. These stations have opened up opportunities for Talk-in-programme where radio audiences are engaged in conversation by sending messages through audience participation using telephone, SMS or WhatsApp to send messages to the programme host to ask questions or make contributions to issues under discussion. This study seeks to research the prospects and challenges of using Talk Radio to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in eradicating poverty in Nigeria. This paper specifically content analysed the programme schedule of Nigeria Info.FM with the aim of discovering its effectiveness or otherwise in achieving the SDGs in Nigeria. The study concluded that the prospects of using Talk radio stations for development purposes outweighs its challenges, and therefore, should be encouraged in different states in order to achieve SDGs in Nigeria on or before year 2030. The paper therefore advocated the involvement of the government in the formulation of a workable Talk Radio Broadcasting policy that would provide a realistic road map for sustainable national development in Nigeria.