Between two young minds, a pledge to revamp the telecoms industry

The story of their meeting excited me. In my mind’s eyes, I have always pictured two friends meeting, not a boss and a subordinate, but two friends with corresponding minds and interests but also with transcendental knowledge of the millennial generation on tech issues, to discuss the fate of an industry and a regulatory agency which one of them would describe as important and relevant in achieving the nation’s digital aspiration.

My excitement derives from the homogeneity of two young minds tackling the fate of an industry which has largely remained in the hands of some elderly predecessors who were more measured on issues relating to risks and industry development. But the elders did well.

Time has come for a baton change and another drive, a race for the young minds to make their mark in the same industry. But first the house cleaning. The statement from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) was a clear pointer that the house needs a lot of scrubbing.

Transparency shall be our bedrock in telecom regulation – Maida, read the headline.

“The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, has pledged that transparency will form the bedrock of his leadership as Nigeria’s chief telecom regulator as this will enable a solid foundation in building a resilient, accountable and efficient institution,” NCC said, in the opening paragraph of the statement, signed by the Public Affairs Director, Reuben Muoka.

Key words for me in the foregoing are: transparency, accountable, efficient and institution. They point to an immediate but ignoble past where everything that could go wrong went wrong for an institution because of human weaknesses and incapacity to stay by the rules and mock those who see power mongering as a rewarding pastime.

The statement also suggests that Maida, within the period of his appointment, may have seen a scratch of the layers of rot at the Commission and is ready to make a clean break in order to steer the agency in a new direction.

“I have been on this seat for about six weeks, and it has afforded me the privilege of a bird’s eye view to understand things better, and identify areas that we urgently need to work on. We are currently carrying out an in-depth study and critical review of issues within the industry. One of the areas we are placing priority on is Quality of Experience,” Maida told the Minister.

Quality of Experience (QoE). That resonates. It was always Quality of Service (QoS). Meaning that the quality of the industry was measured from the output of the operators, who sometimes are very smart with figures. It seems however that the NCC under Maida will gauge the quality of the industry based on what the subscriber encounters on the network. It can be very frustrating. Signals still bear the qualities of a mirage with subscribers, sometimes, having to climb on high grounds or platforms to make or receive calls.

Maida spoke of his readiness to spruce up the NCC to attract more investments to the industry, grow 5G and Broadband to enhance connectivity across the nation and enthused that his visit to the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) in Lagos provided ample evidence that the institution has capacity to drive a knowledge-based economy which falls under the Knowledge Pillar in the Strategic Plan of the minister.

“Consequently, we will be prioritising the revamp, retooling, and redirection of the Institute towards extracting its optimum value in line with our objectives,” Maida pledged.

From an insider perspective, one would want to affirm here that what the EVC can do with DBI goes beyond what he has seen already. The original plan for the institution was to develop tech knowledge incubation centres across the nation that could help grow a new generation of IT denizens. But the journey started from Abuja, closely followed by Lagos and some other facilities in Kano, Enugu, Asaba and some other places. Former Board Chairman, Alhaji Ahmed Joda, who went on a final journey a couple of years ago, and Engr Ernest Ndukwe, EVC, who brewed the original idea had undiluted patriotic blood running in their veins as they contemplated the future of the younger generation. This was years before DBI became a harvest field and a cesspool of wanton deals.

Their thoughts for the industry were congruously mutual.

“The NCC is a stellar agency, and you have my respect for the work that you do. There is no future for the country without the NCC. Already, the quality you have is good; what we need to do now is to tap into this quality to bring about greater value for the country,” said Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.

“I want to assure you that you have the best partner in me. We will work together to achieve the goals and vision we have set,” the Minister assured the NCC CEO.

Why would this public affirmation be necessary? After all, the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 mandates the Ministry and NCC to create good policies and the right regulatory environment that can help grow the telecommunications industry. The beauty of the Act is in the distinct separation of powers between the ministry and the regulator and this provides a fecund environment for needed growth in the industry.

However, I am of the opinion that such affirmation is necessary as the industry needs a new wave of support and confidence to mobilise fresh funds for growth. Only recently, the Minister said the Federal Government would require a hefty $2bn to deploy fibre optic cables across the nation. Although, for me, such an amount is but a little drop  (the minister may have his stats which I am not privy to) I want to state clearly that nobody would have been ready to plow such money into an industry that suffered regulatory capture under the last administration.

The EVC told the Minister that he would create an industry to see more investors come into the telecommunications sector, with the attendant creation of vertical businesses and increased Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), revenue generation, and employment.

My friend and mentor, Prof Femi Osofisan, declared in one of his books that “words are cheap.” I am persuaded to believe that the two young men know the value of words.

Talking seriously, the meeting may have afforded the minister and his guest the opportunity to confess the truth about the industry they inherited which looks strong outside but carries a soft underbelly. They may also have contemplated the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity given them by the President and resolve to take full advantage of the intrinsic and exogenous knowledge capital available in the ecosystem to build a new industry capable of leapfrogging the nation to the apogee of modernity. The meeting may have provided a ready opportunity to reflect on the various things that went wrong in the sector under the last administration, especially the sand-bagging of the regulator by the ministry and the duo may have resolved not to thread that ignoble path of the past.

Tijani was right when he observed that “there is no future for the country without the NCC. Already, the quality you have is good; what we need to do now is to tap into this quality to bring about greater value for the country.”

Quite profound with uncanny exactitude. In spite of the years of the locust, there is so much knowledge available at the NCC that can help this nation. It is good that Maida has noticed it and the minister, Tijani, has pledged to work with him. The power of two is always better than one. Such cooperation is much better than crash opportunism and a propensity to intimidate. It’s goodbye yesterday and welcome to a more promising future.