We work with a wide range of Nigeria partners to produce and broadcast radio drama and discussion programmes to encourage dialogue and debate about key development issues, including citizens' social and economic rights and the provision of public services in Nigeria.
Start date: August 2003
End date: continuing
Media types: radio
Issue: governance and human rights, livelihoods and health
Country: Nigeria
The objective of the radio programmes is to stimulate personal and community action to secure better public services, better job opportunities and better governance in Nigeria.
We have also delivered extensive media training to broadcast professionals in Nigeria and enhanced Ahmadu Bello University's ability to deliver radio training to its students.
things happening in the drama are for real
Male, 18-25 years, Kaduna
Story Story - Voices from the market
'Story Story' is a weekly half hour drama serial set in a fictional Nigerian community. Key characters include: traders, farmers, people with money and power, religious leaders, civil servants and health workers.
"When I said the story was not fictional, I meant that things happening in the drama are for real; they are things that are happening here every day." Male, 18-25 years, Kaduna
Each series has an overarching theme, such as how to reduce poverty or corruption or ethnic tension, and explores specific topics, such as local campaigns to repair roads or renovate a medical facility. Additional themes, such as learning how to live with HIV and AIDS, are woven into each series as part of an individual character's story.
"There are other episodes that make me think. I remember this episode where Oga Titus and Nurse Brown were quarrelling about how to spend money that was given to the community. I was wondering which was more important - the hospital or the school?" Male, 18-25 years, Kaduna.
Reach
Story Story is broadcast in English on 57 partner stations in Nigeria encompassing Federal, State and independent broadcasters, as well as on the BBC World Service.
Versions have also been produced in the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba languages.
Talk Talk
Talk Talk was a radio discussion programmes highlighting topics raised in the drama and opening them up to debate at the local level.
Reach
Talk Talk is broadcast by 26 partner stations in Nigeria.
Research and impact
In 2005 we established a research team in Nigeria to measure the impact of our programmes and to carry out quantitative and qualitative research.
Key quantitative research - to identify the audiences of Story Story and Talk Talk - was carried out in four state surveys involving radio listeners in Enugu, Kaduna, Lagos and Abuja.
These surveys were supported by qualitative research, which aimed to:
- Assess audience reactions to Story Story
- Determine which development issues the audience could recall from Story Story and what they took away from them
- Inform the development of Talk Talk
In the four states where research was carried out:
- 46% of radio listeners were aware of the programmes - this is equivalent to 3.8 million people
- 28% of radio listeners had listened to Story Story
- 80% of Story Story listeners spoke more to friends and family about the issues raised in the drama
- 51% of Story Story listeners said they thought differently about issues after having listened
- 77% of Talk Talk listeners talked more to someone about issues that the programme has tackled
- 52% of Talk Talk listeners claimed that Talk Talk had made them think differently
Working in partnership
Story Story and Talk Talk are broadcast by federal, state and private radio stations across Nigeria.
Our broadcast partnerships have created the largest single broadcast network of radio stations in the country - transcending issues of ownership, government and state-level control.
Training
We have worked with partner radio stations to build their radio production skills so that they could establish or improve interactive discussion programmes.
We have trained a total of 313 broadcasting professionals from 51 stations across Nigeria.
We have also enhanced the quality of journalism training and drama production for Nigerian students at Ahmadu Bello University.
We set up a new radio studio at Ahmadu Bello University and designed a new curriculum for teaching radio skills. By May 2006, the studio and curriculum had been used to train 373 students.
Story Story is also broadcast by the World Service in English and the Hausa language, reaching audiences across Africa.
Awards
At the Africast awards in 2006, Talk Talk's King James Yiye won best producer. Story Story won the October, 2004 NBC Awards in Nigeria for best script and best radio drama.
