THE UNITED States-funded Voice of America (VOA) has gone off air in Nigeria, Ghana, Niger, and several other African countries after President Donald Trump cut financial support to the global broadcaster.
The shutdown, first noticed by millions of listeners in northern Nigeria, sparked panic when music began playing in place of scheduled broadcasts, a haunting reminder in the region of military coups or political takeovers.
“People started calling in, worried that there had been a coup in America,” Babangida Jibrin, a journalist who worked with VOA’s now-defunct Hausa-language service was quoted by Daily Trust.
The station’s abrupt disappearance from the airwaves last month left stunned reporters scrambling to explain what had happened to their loyal audience.
VOA’s Hausa service, a lifeline for millions of listeners in rural and conflict-prone areas of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, and Niger, had become a trusted source of international and regional news, especially in places where local media is either censored, inaccessible, or compromised by state influence.
With internet access unreliable or non-existent in these regions, shortwave and radio broadcasts like VOA filled a crucial void.
“People are now cut off from the world, especially from critical international news,” lamented Moussa Jaharou, a listener from southern Niger.
He described the shutdown as a “deliberate silencing of the poor.”
Founded during World War II to counter Nazi propaganda, VOA later became a major player in Cold War-era broadcasting, offering an American perspective against Soviet disinformation.
Over the decades, it evolved into a beacon of credible journalism worldwide, particularly in authoritarian regions where press freedom is under attack.
In northern Nigeria, where insurgency, banditry, and government corruption are everyday realities, VOA Hausa provided in-depth, unbiased coverage that is often missing in local media.
Its disappearance has now left a gaping hole in a media landscape already struggling with state repression and misinformation.
Critics blame Trump’s ideological war on independent institutions and his administration’s push to dismantle U.S.-backed international media.
The US president slashed VOA’s funding as part of a broader effort to bring the outlet under tighter political control, effectively killing off several regional language services.
SaharaReporters had also reported that over 1,100 “Hands Off!” protests and meetings were scheduled to take place across all 50 states in the U.S. on Saturday.
This was in response to the significant cuts to the federal workforce, reportedly overseen by Trump adviser and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
These nationwide demonstrations aim to voice opposition to the dramatic reductions in the federal workforce, which organisers believe are part of a broader effort to dismantle public services, including Social Security, Medicaid, and public education.
The protests are being organised by a coalition of over 150 organisations, including Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Service Employees International Union, and the American Civil Liberties Union, according to Yahoo News.
“Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them,” the organisers say on their website. “They’re taking everything they can get their hands on, and daring the world to stop them.”
