In recent times, Nigerians have witnessed concerted efforts by known and unknown persons to rubbish the enviable legacy which Engr. Ernest Ndukwe, the current Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, has carved in the telecommunications sector in Nigeria. It has become apparent that these persons will stop at nothing until they achieve their nefarious aim of distorting history and blemishing his position in history and posterity. But the power of truth is stronger than any falsehood no matter how intelligently conceived.
The article, which was a bogus phantom to which this response is intended, appeared on Sahara News website, and has also become a source of information in some other publications that have been misinformed by same article. The article is a classic in distortion of facts and is in fact, a very wicked attempt at admonishing the international status which Engr. Ndukwe has attained as a result of his evident hard work since he took over the leadership of NCC and led Nigeria out of telecommunications dark dungeons which the situation of monopoly foisted on our dear nation, for more than four decades.
At time like this, it is important to go down memory lane and recall how it was before Engr. Ndukwe’s efforts began to yield the desired fruits. Nigerians were paying as much as N500,000 in some instance so as to be able to join a long waiting list of persons desiring a mobile line. I recall once when a friend and school mate of mine got appointment as Branch Manager of a bank Kano, and I was with him on several occasions when the made fruitless journeys to Nitel office in search of the then elusive 090 Nitel mobile line.
Today, Nigerians can heave a sigh of relief as they catch a breath of fresh air, because telephone which was once considered the exclusive preserve of a privileged microscope few has become available to mechanics, house helps, students and those considered to be at the lower rung of society’s ladder. The statistics are there for all to see. From a tele-density of fewer than 250,000, Nigeria can now boasts of a subscriber level of close to 65 million. The country is today adjudged to be one of the most lucrative telecommunications markets in the world. There is often a big scramble by world class telecom companies across the world any time there is a telecom license auction.
It is in the light of these verifiable facts that one feels particularly sad about the spurious allegations contained in Engr. Solomon Ogunjide Ogundele’s write up titled. “The Great Nitel Robbery” which was published in Sahara News website without any efforts by the editors to first verify the facts. Be that as it may, the grave potential for misleading the undiscerning public which this article portends makes it inevitable to put the records straight and answer to the gross misinformation which Mr. Ogundele seeks to peddle in the said article.
The main issues raised in the vexatious article authored by Mr. Ogundele under consideration include the following.
That Engr. Ndukwe destroys Nitel for the benefits of his foreign friends at a premium. Nothing could be farther from the truth than this baseless claim. Deregulation in the telecom sector is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. Several countries have embarked on deregulation as a way of breathing competition and high quality service into the system. It is not unusual that the beneficiaries of the ineptitude and inefficiency which monopolies breed would be hard hit when rational and radical decisions are being made in a deregulation environment so as to enhance competitiveness.
Before the advent of the Pentascope era, Nitel had about 100 billion Naira in government treasury bills. Pentascope came in as management and frittered away this colossal sum with the connivance of some unpatriotic Nigerians which would have been invested in Nitel network. Several public hearings have been held by the different arms of Nigeria’s legislature and at no time was EVC’s name mentioned. Mr. Ogundele would need to re-examine himself against the fact as he is apparently labouring under misconceptions that border on delusion.
It is on record that for a period of close to eight years (from Dr. Ojeba to Mr. Mashi’s era), government never allowed Nitel to expand its network after deregulation when other private networks were busy spreading their presence all over the country. This was done believing that it did not make sense to invest in an enterprise that was about to be disposed. This logic has today proved to be Nitels’ albatross. How can any telecom company survive in the face of massive competition when its owners decide not to invest in its network?
One is surprised that Mr. Ogundele, a retired Nitel Zonal General Manager, who is an engineer of many years experience, could degenerate to the level of such outlandish suppositions as to say that Ndukwe had deliberate intention to divert Nitel financial resources to private telecommunications operators. He even quotes bogus and unsubstantiated amounts to the tune of 500 Billion Naira to give his write up a cloak of seriousness. In other countries where deregulation has taken place in the telecom sector, have the incumbents been liquidated? The answer is no, emphatically! The reason for Nitels’ woes today, is several unsuccessful privatization efforts coupled with stagnation of the network in the face of stiff competition. This has nothing to do with Ndukwe. The likes of Ogundele, who held various key positions in Nitel and failed to expand the network and develop a robust mobile network for Nitel are the real culprits in the present predicament which Nitel finds itself.
Attacks such as this one from Mr. Ogundele, is either motivate by envy or frustration from a man who clearly could not do well when he held key positions in Nitel and is presently seeing another surpassing him in terms of national acclaim and achievements. This is clearly revealed in Ogundele’s grandstanding and dispositions as manifested in his warped ideas in the write up.
Another clear pointer to deliberate falsehood from Ogundele is indicated where he says Ndukwe blackmailed all telecom operators including M-tel to interconnect through the interconnect clearinghouse. It must be pointed out right here and now that Nitel is not connected to the interconnect clearing house and that Engr. Ndukwe has no relationship with Admiral Allison Madueke (rtd), who is the chairman of interconnect clearing house. It is on record that the chairman of the interconnect clearing house had severally blamed Engineer Ndukwe for the lack of business which his company has been suffering. However, it should be put on record that the idea of interconnect clearing house is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. It is in fact a noble idea which the Admiral ought to be commended for. It acts as an arbitrator to prevent and resolve disputes on interconnects settle issues.
It should be noted that as at the time that interconnect settlement rate was being determined, Nitel did not have huge volume subscriber base. As a matter of fact, Nitel had less than 300,000 subscribers. Very shortly after roll out, the GSM networks had by far surpassed Nitel in terms of subscriber base. As at today, Nitel has almost zero subscriber base at a time when GSM and fixed wireless companies are boasting of 65 million subscriber base. Ogundele certainly needs to go back to the books to check his facts as the factor that determine interconnect settlement rate in other climes. He is out of the industry if he suggests that subscriber base is not a critical factor.
It is also misleading to say that NCC did not distinguish between operators. NCC recognizes two national carriers, namely; Nitel and Globacom. It was also of general public knowledge about the policy that after the exclusivity period, universal license will be given, which eventually led to many of the operators applying and receiving such license. With the benefit of hindsight today, Ndukwe showed great foresight in doing this. Just imagine what would have happened if Nitel were the only transmission network provider, we certainly wouldn’t be talking about 65 million subscribers today as Nitels’ network remains in comatose to this day unable to support even its own subscribers.
The attempt to belittle the more than $12 billion investment in the telecom sector which Ndukwe’s tenure at NCC has generated is a great disservice to the entire nation and shows recklessness on the part of Mr. Ogundele. The said amount was invested in networks and never made its way into Ndukwe’s pocket. This fact is verifiable. There is no way that Nitels’ network would have been able to cope with the exponential surge in subscribers and Ogundele knows this for a fact. Nigerians have not forgotten the irritating refrain “All trunks are busy, please try latter” which characterized calls on Nitel’s network while Engr. Ogundele held forte at Nitel. Even today, with a plethora of private transmission network, Nigerians are still suffering poor quality service owing to networks, Nigerians are still suffering poor quality service owing to network congestion. Ogundele assumes that we are all ignorant of the facts when in fact we are victims of incompetence perpetrated by his likes before Ndukwe came to the rescue.
Ogundele’s argument that Ndukwe should be blamed for the proliferation of telecom masts all over the country is sentimental and an absurd to distort the facts. The point must be made that masts are an integral part of telecom networks all over the world. Further more, if Ogundele and his colleagues at Nitel had done their part, there would have been no need for the private operators to build their own masts as Nitel would have enabled infrastructure sharing. It is a known fact that Nitel resisted any attempt to share infrastructure and Ogundele and his colleagues never showed any initiative in this regard. Thanks to the hard work that other networks did under the watchful eyes of Engr. Ndukwe, we all can make calls from our various villages in Nigeria today.
Ogundele is either ignorant or has chosen to deviously disregard the fact that Nitel is presently, private owned by Transnational Corporation. Ndukwe had no hand in the sale of Nitel to Transcorp, and similarly, he cannot locate his participation in all the other failed attempts at privatizing the first national carrier. Ogundele’s desperate efforts to drag Ndukwe into the muddy waters of Nitels privatization shows another flagrant attempt to maliciously blemish the name of a man who has contributed so much to the development of the country. It should be put on record that, following the collapse of the textile industry, the telecom sector is today the highest employer of labour both in the formal and informal sector. Engr. Ndukwe is to be commended for these positive contributions to our national economy. This is why government does not fail to mention the evolution of the telecom sector amongst its major achievements. This is something Mr. Ogundele and his supporters could not achieve while they held away at Nitel.
Ogundele further claims that the law enforcement or anti corruption agencies need to tell Nigerians why they appeared powerless to probe the money laundering and other crimes that have resulted in the virtual liquidation of Nitel, a major public asset. Is Ogundele oblivious of the fact that Nitel has been privatized? Why the senseless indictment of Nigeria’s Law enforcement agencies simply because they are not dancing to Ogundele’s weird drumming of the absurd. Where was Ogundele before the privatization of Nitel? Why did he not write his petition while he was an insider in Nitel and saw the corrupt acts being perpetrated? Is it because he was an integral part of the rot that made deregulation of the telecom sector to become an urgent necessity? These are points to ponder.
None of the allegations in Ogundele’s write up can be more sinister than his attempt to pitch Ndukwe against northern interest and curry favour from the same group for himself. This is clearly revealed where he attempts to paint the picture that Ndukwe was involved in the supply of substandard equipment through ITI in the days of P&T. He makes reference to an acceptance test presented by Ndukwe which he refused to sign. This is an absurd lie, given the fact that, but for the present challenge which Nitel is having in keeping its transmission network running. Nitel network in the northern parts of this country were in as good a shape as its network in other parts of the country.
Ndukwe owes no apologies to critics who have deliberately decided to adopt the ostrich approach to burying their heads in the sand and pretending that reality does not exist. Nigerians cannot be deceived or misled by the likes of Ogundele. The reality on ground is that today, Nigeria boasts of more than 65 million subscribers, internet penetration is far more deeper, and more jobs and businesses have been created owing to the exponential growth in the telecom sector. Business is booming for recharge card producers in the country and Nigeria has benefited over 12 billion dollars in investment in the telecom sector. The likes of Mr. Ogundele must be advised to shut up and spare his person of this malignant self delusion.
Ogbeni Goke Odeyinka, former Communications Correspond
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