BBC Hausa is the
Hausa-language service of the
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...
meant primarily for Hausa-speaking communities in
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
,
Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
,
Niger
Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
and the rest of Hausa speakers across
West Africa
West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
. It is part of the BBC's foreign language output of 33 languages, of which five are African languages. The service includes a radio station, a bureau office based in
Abuja
Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...
and a frequently-updated website
which serves as a news portal and provides information as well as analysis in text, audio and video formats and online access to radio broadcasts. The radio service is broadcast from
Broadcasting House
London Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. T ...
in London with preliminary editing done at the BBC's bureau office in Abuja.
History
BBC Hausa was the first African-language service operated by the BBC and is one of the five African languages it broadcasts. The service was launched on 13 March 1957 at 09:30
GMT with a 15-minute programme by the
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...
presented by Aminu Abdullahi Malumfashi: a translated version was later read by Abubakar Tunau in the programme ''West Africa in the News''.
The programme was then aired on Wednesdays and Fridays, with daily programmes beginning one year later on 1 June 1958, and has continuously done so since.
In March 2017, the BBC celebrated the Hausa service's 60th anniversary in Abuja, with attendants including the director of the
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...
group,
Fran Unsworth, quoted as saying in part: Nigerian president
Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...
also sent a voice message at the occasion where he made known that he was a loyal listener of the service and spent many years listening to its programmes.
In its early days BBC rose to prominence in Hausa speaking world due to style of its reporting. It has conducted interviews with many prominent African politicians.
Abuja office
The BBC's Abuja office was opened in 2002.
Broadcasting
The service has, among other roles, senior editors, producers, assistant editors and senior reporters. There are also stringers in key Nigerian cities such as
Kaduna,
Kano,
Jos,
Enugu
Enugu () verbally pronounced as "Enụgwụ" by the Igbo indigenes is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the so ...
,
Abuja
Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...
and
Sokoto
Sokoto (Hausa language, Hausa: ; Fulfulde, Fula: , ''Leydi Sokoto'') is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country. It is bounded by Niger, Republic of the Niger to the north and west for 363 km (226 m ...
as well as overseas stringers in
Niger
Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
,
Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
.
Rebroadcasting by Nigerian radio stations
Many BBC programmes are rebroadcast by Nigerian media houses through a special partnership with the
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...
, including the following:
*
Yola,
Adamawa State
Adamawa is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Borno State, Borno to the northwest, Gombe State, Gombe to the west, and Taraba State, Taraba to the southwest while its eas ...
Radio Gotel - 917 kHz AM
*
Maiduguri,
Borno State
Borno is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Yobe State, Yobe to the west, Gombe State, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa State, Adamawa to the south while its ea ...
BRTV - 94.5 FM
*
Dutse,
Jigawa State
Jigawa (; 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤮𞤤 𞤶𞤭𞤺𞤢𞤱𞤢) is a state in Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. Jigawa was created on 27 August 1991, under the General Ibrahim Babangida military administration. Jigawa State was ...
Freedom Radio - 99.5FM
*
Kaduna,
Kaduna State
Kaduna (, جىِهَر كَدُنا; مدينة كدونا; , ; ) is a States of Nigeria, state in the northwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna (city), Kaduna, which was the List of Nigerian ...
Freedom Radio - 99.5FM
*
Kano,
Kano State
Kano (Hausa language, Hausa: ) is one of the 36 States of Nigeria, states of Nigeria, located in the Northern Region, Nigeria, northern region of the country. According to the national census done in 2006, Kano State is the List of Nigerian st ...
Freedom Radio - 99.5FM
*
Jos,
Plateau State
Plateau is a northern states of Nigeria, Nigerian state. It is located in the north-central geopolitical zone of Nigeria and includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and Tourism". Th ...
PRTV - 88.65 FM, 92.1 FM, 90.5 FM and 1313 kHz AM
*
Sokoto
Sokoto (Hausa language, Hausa: ; Fulfulde, Fula: , ''Leydi Sokoto'') is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country. It is bounded by Niger, Republic of the Niger to the north and west for 363 km (226 m ...
,
Sokoto State
Sokoto ( Hausa: ; Fula: , ''Leydi Sokoto'') is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country. It is bounded by Republic of the Niger to the north and west for 363 km (226 miles), and the states of Zamf ...
Rima Radio - 97.1FM, 540 kHz AM
Shortwave frequencies
As of 23 December 2024, the
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overs ...
and
Woofferton transmitting station
The Woofferton transmitting station is owned and operated by Encompass Digital Media, as one of the BBC's assets which were handed over as part of the privatization of World Service distribution and transmission in 1997. It is the last remaini ...
s were known to broadcast Hausa programming on varying
shortwave
Shortwave radio is radio transmission using radio frequencies in the shortwave bands (SW). There is no official definition of the band range, but it always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (app ...
frequencies, with the hours ranging from 2 hours on Mondays-Thursdays to 9 hours on Saturdays.
Online presence
With the advent of digital means of communication, listenership through traditional radio sets have been steadily declining since the 1990s.
BBC Hausa radio reaches around 17.7 million people every week and its website is one of the most visited in Nigeria.
Perception of the service
A 2010 research report by the
BBC Trust
The BBC Trust was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) between 2007 and 2017. It was operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and its stated aim was to make decisions in the best interests of ...
found that there is "a wide distrust of local media in the Hausa speaking regions of Africa where locals perceive local broadcasters and journalists as open to manipulation."
See also
*
BBC Urdu
*
BBC Persian
BBC Persian () is the Persian language broadcast station and subsidiary of BBC World Service which conveys the latest political, social, economical and sport news relevant to Iran and the world. Its headquarters are in London, United Kingdom.
Pe ...
*
BBC Bangla
BBC Bangla () is the Bengali language service of the BBC World Service, inaugurated in 1941 for Bengali audiences worldwide especially the ones in the Bengal region, which includes the sovereign state of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West ...
*
BBC Somali
References
External links
*
Research on the BBC Hausa Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:BBC Hausa
BBC World Service foreign language stations
Radio stations established in 1957