At a packed dinner in Budapest, Hungary Tuesday night, the Secretary-General of International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Mr. Houlin Zhao, applauded the way Nigeria managed her transition from incumbent to opposition party government to the acclamation of the world.
Zhao said the maturity showed by Nigerian political leaders and the peace that trailed the transition were indicative of a nation truly set to welcome investors especially investors in capital-intensive telecoms sector, stressing that where there is no peace, there would be no business.
An elated Zhao who earlier in the day declared open the Nigeria Day at the event said he was happy at the telecoms success recorded by Nigeria over the years, a feat he said has helped to benchmark telecoms growth in other emerging markets across the world.
He noted that while telecoms growth is slowing down in Europe especially the deployment of new technologies, it is growing in Nigeria. “For example, I have noticed that 4G which is still being contemplated in some parts of Europe is already deployed in commercial service in Nigeria”, he said, describing Africa as the most dynamic continent offering opportunities and partnership to investors.
He singled out positive media attention he has been receiving from the Nigeria media as a gesture of partnership, adding that he would continue to also promote Nigeria telecoms business through his office. He specially thanked Political Economist magazine for the good and robust coverage it has given him in his young tenure in office.
This year’s edition of the ITU Telecom World focused so much on small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and Nigeria led the charge by sponsoring some SMEs to the event. This was not lost on the ITU scribe who specifically recognised the abundance of skill and talents in ICT field in Nigeria, stressing that the focus on innovation by Nigeria this year (Nigeria theme at the event is: Innovation: Driver for Positive Change) attest to her focus on building capacity and encouraging innovation in ICTs all of which will form the bedrock of her emergence as a super power in ICT in the coming years.
Earlier, the Executive Commissioner Technical Services of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Engr. Ubale Maska who represented the Acting Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Professor Umar Danbatta, in his welcome address said telecoms became a huge socio-economic factor in Nigeria in 2001 when the NCC organised the Digital Mobile Licence with the rollout of GSM services same year by successful operators.
He said telecoms now contributes over 10 percent of the nation’s GDP, with over 107 teledensity and well over 150 million connected lines and attracting over $32 billion dollars in investments, adding that the Change mantra of the new government means that investors can now do business in Nigeria with an assurance of the safety of their investments, stability in government policies and zero tolerance for corruption which in time past negated the growth of many investments.
According to Maska opportunities abound in broadband market which beckons on investors with open arms, stressing that for a nation adjudged to have one of the highest Returns on Investment (RoI) in telecoms, he expects investors to take advantage of the potentials in broadband. He disclosed that the NCC is currently working on licensing more players in broadband, adding that now is the best time for investors to make the switch to Nigeria.
Also speaking, Festus Daudu, an engineer representing the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communication Technology, Dr. Tunji Olaopa told the audience that Nigeria is the first African country to launch a communication satellite in orbit and this is a testimony to the fact that the nation is forward-looking. He said the population of over 170 million guarantees investors of a ready market.
Daudu is the Chairman-designate of the forthcoming World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) to take place on 2 – 27 November 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland. His nomination was unopposed, a feat never before achieved in the 150 years history of ITU, noted Zhao. “This is the first time an African would be chairing the WRC and that African is a Nigerian”, the ITU scribe noted in his earlier speech, stressing that this underscores the growing respect the global community has for Nigeria for her progress in telecoms.
Nigeria’s Ambassador to Hungary, His Excellency Muhammadu Yunusa, underscored the cordial relationship between Nigeria and Hungary. He said Nigeria presents the best market for investors in diverse fields ranging from telecoms to agriculture, manufacturing and petrochemical. According to him the rich deposits of minerals in commercial quantities in Nigeria in enough incentive for investors to invest in the country especially at this moment when the wind of positive change is sweeping across the nation.
