VANDALISM OF TELECOMS ASSETS
All stakeholders should do more to contain the crime
For years, the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) and sector operators have bemoaned the incessant destruction of telecommunication infrastructure and the significant negative impact it has on the quality of service to the consumers. These acts of sabotage, according to the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), have significantly disrupted network services, causing widespread connectivity blackouts, leading to degradation of services that severely impact millions of subscribers. “Critical components such as power cables, rectifiers, fibre optic cables, feeder cables, diesel generators, batteries, and solar systems are vandalised and stolen from active sites,” ALTON said recently. “These are not mere materials, but they are the backbone of our digital economy, security systems, and national communications grid.”
This is a major source of concern, especially for a country that is striving to catch up with the rest of the world in digitising its economy. Especially when the contribution of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been growing steadily in recent years. This is the more reason why the goose that lays the golden egg must be protected through a concerted effort of all the stakeholders.
We recall that following the growing threat of vandalism of facilities in the sector, the NCC had in 2017 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). The objective was the protection of telecommunication facilities in the country.
The regulator has also been in the vanguard of advocacy against the menace of the destruction of the facilities, which includes theft of generators, batteries, and even fuel at Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) as well as relentless fibre cuts by both vandals and government officials during road constructions. Sadly, the problem persists. It is indeed unfortunate that at a time the nation is facing serious economic challenges, there are unpatriotic elements bent on sabotaging government efforts and throwing their fellow citizens into hardship. It is therefore time that the authorities took serious measures against these criminals.
There is no doubt that the incidents of theft and equipment vandalism are costing the nation huge sums of money. But more worrying is that the immediate consequence of this criminality is that life is made more difficult for law abiding citizens. There are also disruptions that are inadvertent, especially from road constructions in some of the states. There is therefore a need for collaboration between authorities in the states and the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to prevent damage to fibre infrastructure during road construction, rehabilitation, and expansion.
The National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) of the federal government is aimed at repositioning and diversifying the economy by taking advantage of the opportunities that digital technologies provide. The policy is supposed to help curb the over-dependence on oil and gas as the fulcrum of the economy. And, going by data from the National Bureau of Statics (NBS), the telecoms sector has shown potential to act as a catalyst for diversification of the economy.
What is particularly worrying is that the security agencies have a long history of tough words that have been of no effect as the criminally minded people within the society get more and more emboldened. It is incumbent on all the critical stakeholders to come up with a solution that will work. But the bottom-line remains that we must protect these vital assets of the nation from the grip of criminals. On that score, we also call on host communities to help by way of real-time intelligence and information to security agencies. They should consider it a patriotic duty to join in the fight against the vandalism of critical national assets like telecoms equipment.
