How NCC boss, Danbatta, tranformed Nigeria’s telecom sector in six years

The applause which greeted President Muhammadu Buhari’s reappointment of Prof. Umar Danbatta as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), from industry stakeholderssome months ago, must have been informed by certain indices which deserve premium consideration.

One of the summarizing notes would be because Prof. Danbatta has succeeded tremendously in transforming Nigeria’s telecoms sector, especially in the areas of improved quality of service, infrastructural development, consumer empowerment/satisfaction, research and development, improved stakeholder relations, as well as significant increase in active mobile broadband penetration.

Even the President had acknowledged Danbatta’s stride in developing the telecom sector when he noted that his reappointment was part of efforts to consolidate the gains made in the sector in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS).

From his performance scorecard in the past six years, Prof Danbatta can be described as a round peg in a round hole for magically stabilizing the telecommunications industry with his many impacts on the industry landscape.

In 2016, shortly after he was appointed, the NCC boss being aware of the enormous job before him engaged with local and international media, as well as stakeholders in the telecommunications sector on the strategic vision of the NCC.

Consequently, the EVC came up with a plan for achieving his vision – The Strategic Vision Plan, also referred to as the “8-Point Agenda,” is a roadmap to guide the operations of the Commission for the five-year period, 2015-2020. The 8-point agenda included facets of Danbatta’s strategic thrusts such as Facilitate broadband penetration; Improve the quality of all telecom services by promoting the availability of reliable critical infrastructure; Maximize the availability of Spectrum to provide diverse and affordable services; Promote ICT innovation and investment opportunities in ways that will increase investment in youth and SME.

Others include  Facilitate strategic collaboration and partnerships with relevant stakeholders; Protect and empower consumers from unfair practices; Create a competitive market for ICT services that will promote competition, inclusive growth, new investments, job creation, and consumer satisfaction; Ensure regulatory excellence through effective regulatory framework, strict compliance and enforcement monitoring; among other obligations.

It is worthy to note that most of the focal points in the Strategic Vision Plan (SVP) have been actualized while other areas are being improved upon.

Another significant landmark achievement of Danbatta-led administration in the NCC is the fact that Nigeria’s telecommunications industry has continued to contribute a greater share to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the nation, reaching 12.45 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, from 8.5 percent in 2015.

This as well has impacted to a large extent on the growth of Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector in general. Report for the second quarter of 2020 as compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), showed that ICT contributed an unprecedented 17.83 percent to the GDP. It is worthy of note that the ICT sector grew by 6.47 percent in Q1 2021, making it the fastest-growing significant sector of the Nigerian economy.

More so, as at 2015 before Prof. Danbatta took over the leadership of NCC, Nigeria’s broadband penetration stood at 10%, peaking at 31.5% by the end of 2018. What this means is that Nigeria’s broadband penetration steadily increased by about 10 percent in a year, against the average annual increase of about 1.7 percent. Currently, broadband penetration reportedly stands at 45.02 percent as at December 2020. There have also been calculated steps to achieve a reduction of connectivity cluster gaps from 207 to 114, as well as increase in the level of 4G coverage by 30%.

The NCC under Prof. Danbatta has been able to tackle the issue of excessive Right of Way (RoW) charges and vandalism of telecommunication infrastructure, which has plagued the sector for decades. This move has resulted in improved effective service delivery by telecom companies.

It should also be noted that NCC in 2019 successfully supervised the execution of the Proof of Concept (PoC) trials of 5G telecom services by MTN Communications, a leading network operator in Nigeria. The Commission considered that the deployment of 5G will be beneficial for the socio-economic development of Nigeria.

Aside that, 5G would also provide massive machine-type communications where a lot of devices would seamlessly connect and independently interact with the internet without human intervention.

Furthermore, before assuming office in 2016, there were 47,000 kilometers of fiber optic cables laid across the country. However, five years after the implementation of the SVP coupled with sustained high regulatory standards provided by the Danbatta-led NCC, there are now 54,725 kilometers of fiber cables laid across the country. Prof. Danbatta pointed out that the licensing of six Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) to deploy fiber infrastructure across the six-geo political zones will also help galvanize increased connectivity.

Again, one of the most popular consumer initiatives by the NCC boss was the introduction of the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) directive, which has led to a rapid reduction in the number of unsolicited messages to consumers. Prior to that time, consumers would receive tons of unsolicited messages and in some instances duplicated bills. Preceding this initiative was the declaration of 2016 as the ‘Year of the Consumer’ by the Commission with elaborate programmes celebrating the centrality of the telecom subscriber to the regulatory activities of the Commission.

In 2019, the NCC also facilitated the listing of two telecom companies – MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa – on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The arrival of both TelCos was indeed a huge boost to the stock market, and they have since joined the ranks of the country’s most valuable companies for investment.

The NCC is also the co-driver of the Revised National Identity Policy, which requires Nigerian citizens and residents to link their SIM cards to the NIN database. This was deemed an important step in ensuring the safety and security of all citizens.

The biometric system is expected to improve access to government services, support private sector services and enhance both the country’s national security and digital economic development.

The policy also indicates that apart from security and development planning, the process to link SIMs to NINs will help increase the National Identity Management Commission’s (NIMC’s) database as the network user database swells.

With EVC’s unquenchable flare to achieve greater strides, NCC has commissioned 23 Emergency Communication Centers (ECC) across Nigeria with a clear plan to activate the Centre in the 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The project will interconnect Nigerians to emergency response agencies such as Fire Service, Police, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ambulance services and more. Danbatta’s success in rewriting the narrative of the ECCs attracted local and international awards in 2019 with the Security and Emergency Management Awards as well as the International Public Relations Award which were conferred on him.

With all these achievements, Prof. Danbatta has indeed led the charge to drive Nigeria’s industrial revolution and knowledge-based economy leveraging on telecommunications.

These achievements and others too numerous to mention earned him the Prestigious Zik Leadership Award organised by the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre (PPRAC) in December 2020.

Past winners of the highly revered award include the late African icon and President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, late Ghanaian President, Jerry Rawlings, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Honorable Yakubu Dogara, former Speaker House of Representatives, and other notable personalities who have impacted the society positively.

No wonder Milton Friedman said – No arbitrary obstacles can prevent a person from achieving great heights in a position for which his/her talent fits. Without mincing words, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta is an unstoppable game changer in the telecommunications industry.