Smart move!

A few years ago, Nigerian banks set up credit bureaux to ascertain the credit worthiness of a customer interested in getting a loan to finance projects.

So far, these bureaux have successfully come up with names of customers who still owe banks and refused to pay. They advise the banks to refuse loans to such customers.

This is a bright idea the media houses ought to borrow, as virtually every media house is owed over N100 million for adverts that were printed or aired but not paid for months or years.

The culprits include government ministries, departments and agencies, banks, insurance firms, large enterprises, manufacturing industries, etc. All these debtors have the money but simply refuse to pay. To consume service (as in a restaurant or petrol station) and then refuse to pay is not only unethical, it’s illegal!

The media industry should do what the financial industry has done. When a client brings an advert, check the database, and if he is owing any other media house, refuse to carry his advert, commercial or public announcement until he goes and settles his debt. Simple.

When media houses implement this drastic measure, owing salaries and allowances will be a thing of the past.