Ernest Ndukwe delivers keynote speech at African Telecom Hall of Fame Inaugural Lecture during NITTA 2009
.......crowned Pillar of Telecom in Africa as IT & Telecom Digest at NITTA 2009
Record-breaking NITTA 2009 holds at the Grand Ball Room of the Eko Hotel, Lagos!
Challenge 2010!
Beyond numbers, what else is there for Nigeria’s ICT sector? In 2009 like in other years, the nation dominated the African continent in virtually all aspects of ICT development indices – number of users, teledensity, foreign direct investment and to a large extent in infrastructure development, among others.
These mileages were achieved essentially on the strength of the country’s massive roll out in telecommunications and the lending hand offered by the continued drop in the price of computers which makes it possible for more citizens to own the tool.
Otherwise, there was not much change from the trend that has shaped the country’s ICT sector in the last decade or so. Thus, going by this line of thinking, it would appear that 2010 could appear quite predictable.
NDUKWE STEPS OUT... IN A BLAZE OF GLORY
Champion For All Times
Everyone who carries a mobile phone in their hand in Nigeria know of one man as the miracle worker of the 21st Century in a country where doom and gloom are the order of the day for headlines. His appointment was uncelebrated; yet, his tenure has been cerebral, hence without a dull moment. Now, however it’s time to move on; but for the country, it may well be a time of uncertainty after a decade of predictability in a sector now most loved. By MKPE ABANG
February to Hate
Next month is February 2010. And, for the Nigerian telecom sector, it is no ordinary February; no; not after events of the last 10 years. In that month, 10 years ago, Engr. Ernest Chukwuka Anene Ndukwe was appointed into the hitherto not-so-exalted, but during whose tenure it has become quite exalted, office of the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission.
Emerging from merriment – with tears in your eyes?
If bad news be the staple of demons, then we have just emerged from one hell of a year; 2009 –what a year! At last we can all come up for air.
Few can claim to have gone through the year unscathed by the harshness of the economic climate, the avalanche of global cynicism, and the tormenting ubiquity of bad news. But then, show me the man or woman who would say they did not learn a lesson or two from it all.
Many people would probably have learnt never (again) to put their trust in banks – that branch of the modern capitalist system that always tends to doubt your creditworthiness but then doles out tons of unsecured loans to those they regard as better credit risks, but who in reality are nothing other than better story-tellers.
Ironically, this is the very sector we praised in this column last May as the one index by which a “country’s pride can sometimes be measured.” At the time First Bank, UBA, and Intercontinental Bank just made the Forbes 2000 list, becoming, as we argued then, “our collective claim to fame in corporate achievement in recent years;” (“Time to praise our banks”, May 2009). They were Nigeria’s only Forbes 2000 companies. Since then, news of reckless lending seems to have overtaken the Nigerian banking sector, with threats of government takeover, liquidation and labour retrenchment sweeping through even those of them that ought to have grown immune to such – by reason of longevity, at least.
Welcome to the year of mobile hypocrisy
Congratulations! You have just survived 2009, the year many began on a very promising note, but midway into it,
they started to feel the pinch so badly that they thought it was the year of Armageddon. Never mind that the financial situation across the world is still very taxing. But you, you are strong and purposeful; so you have made it into the year of the African World Cup! Congratulations!.But just as you are waking from the delirium of a feeling of having survived the worst year – as many have termed 2009 – don’t kid yourself. You are about to face one of the most challenging years of your life. No, not that the financial crisis will get worse; of course there were already signs of recovery even as 2009 packed its bags and took flight. But mark my words: mere signs, there was no proof of recovery yet.
Oh no! You’re not about to hear of those prophesies from self-acclaimed prophets of doom. Look, this is reality; as real as daylight. So, gird your loin, very, very well, lest the whirlwind of mobile hypocrisy that’s about to assail you in 2010 sweeps you off your feet. For, you may never be able to find your feet again if you let that happen to you. It is so that you can prepare in time, that I am about to warn you. Ignore this piece of well meant advice at your own peril.
Supported By :
Land of challenges and opportunities
By James Middleton
The prospect of consolidation among African and Middle Eastern operators has provided much fuel for the industry rumour mill in 2009, but the apparent collapse of talks involving the disposal of Zain Africa as well as those between Bharti and MTN has not diminished the appetite for expansion.
African telecoms operators faced several challenges in 2009. The global economic downturn, a fiercely competitive landscape, and pressure to expand networks into rural areas have tested the mettle of the region’s carriers both big and small.
And yet, forecasts show that mobile subscription growth was still set to increase by 26.6 per cent year on year in 2009, with the total number of active subscriptions to exceed 473 million by the end of the year. This figure is projected to increase to approximately 800 million by 2014, by which time SIM penetration across the region should reach 70 per cent.
It is this stellar growth that has attracted interest from both domestic and foreign investors. Yet progress on the region’s big Mergers and Acquisitions deals—the prospective sale of Zain Africa or a stake in Zain; and the cash and share-swap deal between Bharti and MTN—appears to have stalled.
EBULLIENT
He stands towering above his environment and that could in a way explain the reason he sees what others fail to see. Chaim Zach does not see images of goodness around him; he acts to bring them into reality, merging his dream with his passion for excellence, laced with the unrestrained love for humanity.
Since Zach got enchanted with Nigeria, there has been no separating the visionary and his vision. A Jew by birth but Zach is more Nigerian than most native Nigerians. Everywhere in the country he goes, he sees opportunities knocking and sometimes he must have wished he could do all things at once.
Three areas of human life appeal to Zach; and these areas he rightly recognises as the fundamentals of life. They are food, shelter and health and these are the same elements that form the essence of human existence. Could this man be playing out the Creator’s script? A Jew, he ought to know better; little wonder he does know better. But it has not always been this way for Zach.
Before Nigeria, the 60-year-old was busy at the same time having fun running a boat yard in the United Kingdom and seeing nature in its beauty, then all that was altered just with a visit to Nigeria. Where those before him have seen hardship, failures, and disadvantages, Zach saw another Canaan – a land overflowing with milk and honey.
BREAKING NEWS!:Zain’s Group CEO, Dr. Saad al Barrak, resigns.*Jeffrey Hedberg finally takes over from Thami Msimango at Multi-Links Telkom.*Barcelona awaits the world for Mobile World Congress.
OTHER NEWS:IT & Telecom Digest @ 10, charts fresh course.*Main One Cable inches towards launch date.*Samsung’s B Series mobile phones hit Nigerian market.*Harris Stratex now Aviat Networks.
