General News
NCC’s Take on the Vexed QoS
President Goodluck Jonathan’s ‘Democracy Day’ speech last week left little to ponder concerning his roadmap on the ICT industry as his one paragraph take on the sector simply identified his establishment of the Ministry of Communications Technology (MCT) and its mission. It was a long thesis on his one-year scorecard.
But while industry stakeholders worry about the President’s little exposition on ICT, the bigger headache remains the ongoing imbroglio between the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) and mobile operators, which seem headed for a head-on-collision.
With connected active mobile subscription now in excess of 99 million (total existing customer base stood at 119,460,789 million) by end of March 2012, Nigeria continues to be the leading market in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.
Despite this phenomena growth in over a decade of market liberalization, the telecom landscape is underpin by under development occasioned by lack of governments’ investment in infrastructure.
There is also the notoriously epileptic public power supply which has defied several governments’ attempts at revamping it.
Investors are forced to have power generation as part of business plan in other to survive in this striving market. But the cost of operating private power to generate electricity for industries builds into operational cost resulting in high prices of commodities and services.
The mobile industry has had a long running battle with customers who accuse operators of shortchanging them in price fixing compared to other African markets.
But the operators are also quick to point at the fact that operational cost is sometimes 10 times higher in Nigeria than other African markets due to infrastructure and logistic deficiencies.
Emeka Oparah, vice president corporate communications at Airtel Nigeria, believes it is more profitable doing business in Malawi than Nigeria because of infrastructural challenges.
“Why should Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, have a more stable power supply than the clay-footed giant of Africa? And so a business in Malawi is more profitable than its peer in Nigeria,” said Oparah in a facebook post.
Industry watchers also acknowledge that MTN Nigeria is Nigeria’s biggest diesel distributor due to its vast network of infrastructure built across Nigeria’s 923,768 sq metres landmass. Despite huge investments pumped into infrastructure by the four major telecom operators – MTN, Globacom, Airtel and Etisalat – the challenge of service delivery persist.
In May the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), the industry regulator imposed a hefty combine N1.17 Billion fine on these four majors for poor service delivery. They were expected to pay up on or before May 25, but none has paid up even to this moment.
Last week there was a meeting between the majors and the NCC on the fines, but it ended in deadlock leading to further imposition of N2.5 million daily fines on the operators until they pay up.
Tony Ojobo, director of public affairs at NCC said the operators didn’t show remorse and offered to word on their payment schedule.
“The point is that there are specifications in the guidelines that after the deadline for the sanctions there is going to be N2.5 million for each day of default and we are already in default period and it is expected that the sanction as well as the default penalty will have to be paid,” said Ojobo.
Ojobo said the commission was not on witch-hunting expenditure, but rather accuse the telcos of failing in their KPI (key performance indicators) measurements.
But more worrisome is NCC threat of further sanctions that appear more severe than monetary fines. Ojobo mentioned withdrawal of “regulatory services such as the issuing of new numbers or entertaining any request whatsoever from the service provider. The regulator has a number of regulatory tools to get the service provider to conform or obey the regulatory rules.”
Perhaps its time Mrs. Omobola Johnson, minister of communications technology steps into the matter. It is pertinent for government to look into operators’ grievances and not wave them aside. The government cannot be transversing the globe seeking investors while not seem to be treating those already here with flippancy.
The continued beating of war drums by both parties could only send wrong signals to investors who already have enough to worry about with the al-Qaeda linked Boko Haram insurgence in the North. It is in the nation’s interest to have a conducive operating environment for all investors.
IHS Nigeria has partnered with the Osun State Government on Osun Teacher-Shift 2025, a programme aimed at transforming technical and vocational school teachers into digital-ready educators capable of driving innovation in classrooms.
The IHS Nigeria sponsored initiative, implemented by Focus Teens Foundation in collaboration with the Osun State Board of Technical and Vocational Education, targets about 200 teachers across the State’s nine technical colleges. The training will run in batches over a two-day period, with participants expected to acquire modern skills, and innovative teaching techniques.
Speaking at the opening ceremony which held in Osogbo yesterday, Titilope Oguntuga, Director of Sustainability at IHS Nigeria, explained that the project was developed to prepare teachers for the opportunities and challenges of a fast-evolving world.
She said, “Today is not just the launch of a programme — it is the beginning of a movement. This is more than training, it is a mindset shift. It is about rethinking how we prepare teachers, students, and our communities for the opportunities and challenges of a fast-evolving world.”
Oguntuga emphasised that teachers remain at the centre of national development but face increasing demands to inspire creativity, nurture innovation, and equip young people with practical and technology-driven skills.
She noted that the initiative also reflects IHS Nigeria’s four sustainability pillars — ethics and governance, environment and climate change, people and communities, and education and economic growth.
The IHS official said, “education remains the strongest catalyst for national development. But we cannot achieve this without empowering the people who will empower the next generation. With this programme, teachers and beneficiaries from the nine technical colleges will begin to think more innovatively and incorporate new systems that support STEM for the advancement of our nation.”
Oguntuga added that each school would be given routers with one year subscription.
Adedapo Ademola-Adesina, Special Adviser to the Governor on Technical and Vocational Education, noted that the State Government believes in private sector collaboration to achieve its goals for technical and vocational education, leading to the partnership with IHS Nigeria.
“We must begin by changing the mindset of our teachers. They are the ones who shape future leaders. That is why we tagged the program “Osun Teacher-Shift 2025” — shifting from the old ways to new digital teaching”, he said.
Also speaking, Sunday Eluwole, the Osun State Commissioner for Education, acknowledged that the training was both timely and necessary, saying; “this is the 21st century, and Nigeria cannot be left behind. Our schools, teachers, and classrooms must be digitalised. Teachers must first be trained in digital methods before they can pass the knowledge on to students.”
Eluwole added that Osun State, which has the highest number of technical colleges in the Country, is committed to making its schools models of digital and vocational learning.
Earlier, Muritala Jimoh, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, said that Osun State teachers are ready to shift. Jimoh noted that Governor Ademola Adeleke is prioritising teachers’ welfare in the state, hence their readiness to embrace the shift.
He called on teachers to reciprocate government’s efforts by making their minds flexible to change.
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has directed all airlines operating in the country to ensure that passengers completely switch off their mobile phones during aircraft take-off and landing.
Michael Achimugu, director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NCCA, disclosed the directive in a post on X on Tuesday.
He said the measure was part of a harmonisation of existing rules on the use of electronic devices onboard.
“Henceforth, the regulation per phones and other electronic devices in Nigeria has been unified: ALL PHONES MUST BE SWITCHED OFF DURING THE CRITICAL ASPECTS OF TAKE-OFF AND LANDING,” Achimugu wrote.
“All airlines must amend their security programmes to reflect this if different in their current programmes. No more airplane mode until regulations are reviewed to reflect evolving technological situations.”
The directive means that all airlines will have to adjust their operational manuals and cabin crew instructions to enforce the policy.
Reactions to the announcement have been mixed on social media, with some Nigerians questioning the relevance of the rule in light of advances in aircraft technology and onboard connectivity.
Sonny Echono, executive secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), has called on Nigerian tertiary institutions to urgently embrace technology in teaching, research, and administration, warning that billions of naira already invested in ICT infrastructure risk being wasted due to underutilization.
Echono made the call in Abuja, Nigeria while delivering remarks at a 2-Day Workshop on Blackboard/TERAS Adoption and Usage in Beneficiary Institutions, organized by TETFund for Registrars, Bursars, Directors of Academic Planning and ICT and Thesis Project Repository Managers of beneficiary institutions.
He lamented that despite TETFund’s early investment in digital learning platforms such as the Tertiary Education, Research, Applications and Services, TERAS, many universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education were still lagging behind in ICT adoption.
According to him, Nigeria’s rapidly growing population and limited availability of classrooms make technology the only viable pathway to expanding access to quality education.
“We are no longer confined to the four walls of classrooms. With just an android phone or a device, students should be able to access content, participate in learning, and acquire skills. There is no alternative to technology if we must prepare our youths for the opportunities ahead,” Echono said.
He decried the slow pace of transition to digital platforms in many institutions, some of which still send hardcopy requests to TETFund despite clear directives for e-submissions.
The TETFund boss stressed that robust and regularly updated institutional websites should be a minimum requirement in the digital age, describing many schools’ online presence as “embarrassingly outdated.”
Echono also cited the successes recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown when TETFund partnered states, the Nigeria Television Authority, NTA, and radio stations to broadcast WAEC syllabus-based lessons.
According to him, that year produced one of Nigeria’s best WAEC results, indicating the potential of technology to revolutionise learning.
He expressed concern that Nigeria now ranks 189th globally and 25th in Africa in education competitiveness, behind smaller countries like Rwanda and Mauritius that have leveraged ICT to transform their systems.
“Government has done its part by providing the infrastructure. But when equipment is procured and platforms created and they are not being used, that is the very definition of waste,” he warned.
The TETFund boss urged heads of institutions to champion the use of digital platforms like TERAS by lecturers and students, stressing that over time, more than half of TETFund’s education investments would have to go into ICT rather than physical infrastructure.
Echono also linked Nigeria’s underdevelopment to its failure to leverage technology in sectors such as oil, agriculture, and manufacturing, contrasting the country’s struggles with China’s rapid transformation through deliberate investment in knowledge and innovation.
“We can do the same if we decide to do the right thing. The right thing starts with our education system. The building block of every nation is knowledge,” he said.
He appealed to tertiary institutions to seize the opportunity, populate their websites with relevant data, and ensure students and staff are fully onboarded onto TERAS platform.
Earlier, Mr. Joseph Odo, director of ICT, TETFund, said interactive sessions at the workshop were designed to deepen understanding of the Fund’s digital platforms and improve collaboration among beneficiary institutions.
“This is part of our engagements with key stakeholders, registrars, librarians, ICT directors, repository managers, and academic planners, to ensure that everyone understands the interventions we are providing. The world is moving fast technology-wise, and we cannot afford to be left behind,” Odo said.
He explained that the sessions, which will hold across all six geopolitical zones, are focused on strengthening the use of TETFund-funded learning platforms, which aggregate data for planning and improve teaching, research, and learning outcomes.
Odo added that TERAS is evolving into “an educational lifestyle” that caters to students, lecturers, administrators, and even government planners.
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