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| Chief Okechukwu Itanyi, Exec. Comm. Stakeholder Mgt. |
Given the confused state of Nigeria’s economy where oil revenues have caused severe distortions to the nation’s economy, telecoms offer a ray of hope. In the recent rebasing of Nigeria’s economy, the sector was found to have contributed a massive 28 percent to the nation’s gross domestic product. Pound for pound, this is far more than the oil sector if one were to undertake a cost benefit analyses with all variables taken into consideration.
In less than fifteen years of existence, the telecoms sector has become a veritable provider of jobs for the skilled and unskilled, and income for individuals, corporate organisations and the government. Business, education, transportation, the media industry, entertainment, security, politics and all endeavours are migrating to the automated platform. The scope of possibilities for virtually all sectors has been expanded beyond imagination.
The sector in a manner of speaking, is alive and continually evolving and adapting to new trends and developments. Thus there is need for institutional support and adaptations in tune with contemporary developments. The sector is therefore not to be treated with the typical Nigerian complacency. Indeed it must assume greater importance going forward if Nigeria is to have the foundation for a sound economy in the foreseeable future.
This is the point at which legislative support which guarantees operational efficiency for both the regulator and other stakeholders becomes crucial. This brings to mind once again the necessity for the National Assembly to give due diligence and attention to telecoms related bills pending before it.
There are many important bills pending before the legislature such as Critical National Infrastructure Bill, Local Software Bill, Proposed Software Hub Bill, Cyber Security Bill, Law of Interception Bill, and The Amended Nigerian Communications Act Bill in the last couple of years. The Critical Infrastructure Bill has passed both first and second readings, albeit, very slowly.
Most important among all the bills in this writer’s opinion, is the Critical Infrastructure Bill which if enacted into law, will provide for legal protection for telecommunications facilities from willful damage/destruction. Next is the Cyber Security Bill, which law will protect internet users, networks, computers, programmes and data from attack, damage or unauthorised access by hackers, as well spell out appropriate sanctions for violators.
These bills are so necessary to Nigeria’s ICT development and indeed, economic advancement that one would expect the legislature not to wait to be lobbied or motivated before swinging into action. This is because any unwarranted damage to telecoms infrastructure or viral attacks on servers of national relevance by cyber criminals will affect members of the legislature much the same way as the general public.
As critical national infrastructure, telecom facilities will be guaranteed the right-of-way and most probably no longer be subject to taxes, levies and rents as imposed by various state and local government authorities. This will not only improve the quality of service, but will as well reduce the cost of operations for the service providers and by extension, reduce the tariffs paid by subscribers. There is therefore palpable suspicion that the bills are being delayed because states and other concerned authorities may no longer have the leverage to collect tenement rates on base stations, masts, and towers in their locations.
Given the length of time it takes to get a bill pass through the legislative process, one becomes pessimistic that these bills which have lingered in both chambers of the National Assembly may well stay in their for a longer period yet. Although the Nigerian Communications Act (2003) does provide significant institutional guidelines for the industry, there is the urgent need to reassess and address contingencies that would have arisen in the industry over the years.
It will be recalled that at the 2014 NCC/Legislators workshop held in Lagos, the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management in the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Chief Okechukwu Itanyi, had called for the speedy passage of the Critical Infrastructure Bill. The workshop was aptly themed: “ICT Infrastructure as Key Driver for Economic Development: What Role for the Legislature”. One would therefore expect the legislature to see its role in the broader perspective of the national interest and the nation’s economy, while cutting out the political wheeling and dealing that goes with legislation. In other words, the legislators do not need any persuasion or incentives to get these laws enacted.
The NCC’s protracted effort to get the Critical Infrastructure Bill passed must be taken in the context of growing criminality and terrorism ravaging the country at the moment. It must equally be understood against the background that such protection will be needed by new infrastructure being set up in preparation for the launch of broadband network.
At the workshop earlier referred to, Chief Itanyi had stressed the imperative to protect telecoms infrastructure thus: “Nigeria is regarded as one of the fastest growing telecommunications markets in the world; however, internet penetration is less than 32 percent. This level of internet penetration is still inadequate and can be attributed to the dearth of ICT infrastructure”.
The infrastructure and other bills are critical for the consolidation of the telecoms sector in particular and the ICT sector in general. For instance, if telecoms services fail due to equipment theft or cyber crime, calls, online cash transfers, ATM transactions, communications in general are affected. So the legislature should beware that they also bear a vicarious liability when they experience poor services. As awareness grows, they should realise that someday, Nigerians might just summon the courage to hold them responsible for some teething problems in the sector.
Abdulkadir, an ICT professional writes from Kaduna
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