By Mercy Peter
Challenges bedevilling the telecommunication sector, especially obstacles to the deployment of the optic cables across the country dominated discussion at the recent stakeholders meeting, NewsSpecng learnt.
The Nigerian Government plans to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables across the country. TheWorld Bank is expected to fund it with up to $3 billion.
Stakeholders at the Sixth Edition of the Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFO) in Lagos recently, expressed the fear that the project which is to be implemented through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) might be scuttled by the states.
They explained that with the lingering current issues with the states over Right of Way charges, multiple taxation, and levies, the multi-billion project might just be a mirage.
PIAFO focused on Nigeria’s renewed strategic agenda for the digital economy.
They stressed the need to ensure the successful implementation of the project which was announced recently by the Federal Government to complement existing connectivity for universal access to the internet across Nigeria and provide the Nigerian digital economy with the backbone infrastructure it needed.
The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, stressed that the success of the 90,000 kilometres fibre project hinges on the state governments taken ownership.
“For the project to succeed, I think the governments at sub-nationals should take ownership. This issue of state governments seeing right of way as IGR should be a thing of the past. We can’t talk about the digital economy on one side and the government is seeing those who provide the services as sources of revenue.
“The government has always come up with good policies, but the implantation, particularly when they are tested far afield, is the biggest problem. Governors will go to Abuja and say ‘in my state, I will give the right of way free of charge.’
“When you go to such a state, they may give you the right of way for zero or one Naira, but they will give you developmental levy, education levy, state impact levy, ecosystem levy. When you add all of these together, it is more than the right of way charges. So, who is playing who?” He queried
Executive Director of Broadbased Communications, Mr. Chidi Ibisi, in his paper presentation, ‘Harmonizing Nigeria’s Fibre Deployment Strategies for Effective Implementation’, said while the government’s SPV initiative was a good plan that could help the country bridge its current digital infrastructure gap.
He however said that the government would need to address current challenges.
He said, “The issues of high cost of Right of Way (RoW), destruction of fiber by road construction companies and vandals all need to be addressed for this new SPV initiative to be successful.”
The Group Chief Operating Officer of WTES Projects Limited, Mr. Chidi Ajuzie, on his part identified the informal RoW by hoodlums in states as a major challenge.
He said: “For states, a formal right of way is set and some states are adopting it but the informal side of the right of way is where the complexity has come today.
“If I’m trying to lay fibre in some communities here in Lagos, the first thing that happens is the so-called land owners (omo onile) come out and a different set of people will keep coming from one street to another and they charge you.
“How do we achieve adequate broadband infrastructure in this kind of situation?” He asked.
On his part, Dr Ayotunde Coker, the Chief Executive Officer of Open Access Data Centre (OADC) pointed out the need for the private sector to execute the fibre project.
He said: “The World Bank can put money into the government but it needs private sector partnerships as the execution engine and that’s what we’ve been pushing in Africa.
“The key thing is that when the World Bank puts the money in, it should engage the private sector, figure out the policies that it needs to do and enable the private sector to execute them effectively and make it as open as possible. With that, they can achieve what they are trying to achieve,” he said.
He further stressed the need for the country to learn from past errors in ensuring the success of the project.
He said: “Meaningful broadband is what we need, rather than just a huge set of megabits per second implementation. We need superhighway fibres. We need the distribution of these backbone that allows us then to fan out.”
He added, “if you are a state governor and didn’t participate in it, the state won’t grow and it’s going to impact your state.”
The convener of PIAFo, Mr. Omobayo Azeez, said the conference was to create a midpoint dialogue platform for digital economy stakeholders across both the public and private divides.
He said the essence is to brainstorm, exchange perspectives, clear grey areas, harmonise thoughts and create a sense of collective responsibility towards accelerating our collective prosperity through technical efficiency.
He said the new digital economy blueprint of the federal government does not only sustain existing policy directions, but “it also challenges us on the possibilities of attaining new frontiers.”
