Nigerian media personality Tolu Oniru, widely known as Toolz, has stirred debate by proposing stringent measures for podcasters, suggesting that individuals would need approval and undergo English proficiency and sanity tests before launching podcasts if she were president.
In the latest episode of her podcast, The Off Air Show, Toolz remarked, “If I was ever to become President, you will have to apply to do a podcast. You will have to write an English proficiency test and also do a sanity test.”
The call for regulation comes amidst the burgeoning podcast culture in Nigeria, where hosts and guests frequently spark controversies on social media with their “outrageous” claims and “provocative” comments. This has led to increasing calls for censorship of podcasting in the country from certain sections of social media users.