The success story of the Nigerian telecommunications industry which is being savoured today by all and sundry and which led to the country being referred to as the fastest growing telecom market in the world could not have come without the efforts of some men and women of the pen profession, who took it upon themselves to project and profess the golden opportunities in the country’s mushrooming telecom industry then.
And today, while they continue to preach the gospel which has attracted multi-billion dollar investments in telecommunications to Nigeria, they stand tall as key and respected stakeholders in the industry.
One of such people is Mr. Aaron Ukodie, a seasoned and accomplished journalist who, even before the telecom liberalisation and the GSM revolution, had taken serious interest in specialising in reporting Information and Communications Technology in Nigeria. For Ukodie, this year, 2015, marks 30 years of his journalism career in the Information and Communication Technology sector, having started journalism as Communications reporter in the Guardian in July of 1985. Since then, he has put all his years of journalism in the sector, remaining steadfast and committed to reporting, educating, entertaining and informing the populace, and making his modest contributions to one of the most vibrant sectors of the economy.
Interestingly, Ukodie is not just a reporter but a seasoned writer who has authored several books contributing to knowledge about the industry and, as a show of his commitment to the industry’s growth has also decided to mark his 30 years of ICT reportage with a public presentation of three books: The Privatisation of NITEL: An Archetypal Government Agency, Path to ICT Development and The Lead Story.
While The Privatisation of NITEL records the many failed efforts to make the company play leading roles in the ICT sector and the almost 15 years bid by BPE to privatise it which has culminated in its successful sale to NATCOM in 2014, Path to ICT Development traces the story of Nigeria’s ICT development from 1960 to 1992 when the NCC was created and in 2001 when NITDA and the IT Policy were established. It records the evolution from the digital mobile license to the watershed marks in mobile phone deployment and data uptake to the current efforts in broadband development.
The third book, The Lead Story captures the development of the ICT media in Nigeria, from a pioneer’s perspective. It is a book that promises to be of benefit to young journalists and media managers in various organisations. In his words, “it is my view that the books offer great value as they capture the history of the development of one of the most outstanding sectors of the Nigerian economy, and present a model for other agencies.” Certainly, the industry will yet tap from the knowledge of this icon from those books.
Before now, Ukodie has written many other books about the growth and development of the industry, which include: Phones 4 All (2003); 50 Years Of ICT In Nigeria: The Story, The Players (2010); Nigeria @50: NITDA In National Development (2011); and Olagunju: Strides of a Potter’s Son ( 2013).
Born in 1959 in Anibeze, a village in Bayelsa, Ukodie , attended the University of Ife, graduating in English Studies, after secondary school education in Oproza Grammar School, Patani, Delta State and Government College Ughelli. He also obtained Certificate in Media Enterprise from School of Media and Communications at Lagos Business School.
A man of multiple experiences, Ukodie once worked with the Nigerian Ports Authority and British-American Insurance Company Lagos between 1977 and 1979. He also taught English Language at School of Legal and Islamic Studies, Misau, Bauchi during Youth Service in 1984 and thereafter became a reporter, Senior Reporter, Correspondent, Senior Correspondent and News Coordinator at The Guardian Newspaper between 1985 and 1991. Having worked in many other media organisations in senior capacity, including being IT Editor/Deputy Group Business Editor at Daily Independent, Ukodie, who later became Chairman, ICT Publishers Alliance, established his own Magazine, e-world in 2009, through which he continues to promote the telecommunications and ICT in general in Nigeria.
A well-travelled man, Ukodie has in the course of his journalism voyage traversed many countries of the world, including: United States, Germany, Finland, Holland, Belgium, Spain, India, South Africa , United Arabs Emirate, Egypt among several others. As the industry welcomes another three blockbuster books from the stable of this erudite pen pusher to mark his 30 years of robust ICT reportage, we cannot but wish him many more successes in the years to come.