Makinwa Adetoro is currently a senior Business Development manager for West, Central, and Southern Africa at Baicells Technologies Co. Ltd, an international company that offers disruptively priced and technically innovative 4G LTE and 5G NR Access Solutions. He holds a Master’s degree in Engineering (Radio Frequency and Microwave Design for Wireless Systems) from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. Additionally, he holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the Metropolitan School of Business and Management, London, United Kingdom. He is a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and registered engineer, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and has previously worked with Huawei and EnergyGrade. In this interview with ATHEKAME KENNETH, he spoke on a number of issues, including the Nigerian economy and the role telecom industry in driving digital transformation, among other issues. Excerpts:
How has the telecommunications sector contributed to Nigeria’s economic growth in recent years?
The contribution of the telecommunications sector is very obvious to everyone in recent years. We have lots of services online now, from e-commerce, digital banking and government services. All these are made possible by the telecommunications sector; so, we can say telecommunication has contributed greatly in recent years. From the Q4 2024 report by the Statistician General of the Federation, the telecommunications sector was highlighted as one of the major contributors of economic activities to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with 13.94% in the quarter 3 of 2024.
What role does the telecom industry play in driving digital transformation across various sectors in Nigeria?
We cannot talk of digital transformation without digital infrastructure; so, the bedrock of digital transformation is the digital infrastructure. As we continue to see expansion of digital infrastructure across the country, this will mean that people can access services from even the remotest part of the country.
Can you elaborate on the impact of the telecommunications ecosystem on employment generation in Nigeria?
From the contribution of the telecom sector to GDP, we can see the telecom ecosystem contribution; we can see a lot of agencies, banks, PoS operators who rely solely on telecom services for their daily operation, and a lot of businesses have transitioned from physical offices to online services because of available and reliable telecom services. On a big scale, we now have many data centres in Nigeria where Nigerians are employed both in construction, operation and maintenance of these infrastructures; they were not there years ago. We are still hoping to have more investment in this sector which will create more direct and indirect employments.
How do you view the sector’s role in improving financial inclusion in underserved regions of the country?
The sector is very critical in providing financial inclusion in underserved regions, we now have mobile money and all you need is just your mobile number, once you can have a telephone service you can also bank, we have seen an increase in number of active bank account to excess of 230 million recently and this is due to extension and provision of telecom services in rural communities which has also help the rural dwellers to be financially inclusive.
Read also: Telecoms tariff hike: Be fair in your service delivery to customers – Nigerians urge telcos
How effective has Nigeria’s regulatory framework been in fostering growth in the telecom industry?
I must say the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) which is our regulator is far ahead in the region, we have seen many African countries trying to copy our templates; so, like Oliver Twist, I will like to implore the leadership of NCC not to rest on their oars; they have to continue to be on top of their game.
What policy changes do you think could further accelerate telecom penetration in the rural areas?
We have about 3.6 billion people that are not connected to the internet in sub-Saharan Africa, this is the highest in the world, for us in Nigeria, we have left telecom in the hands of the Federal Government and operators for years, the sub-nationals need to also play a role. I’m happy states are creating ministry of communications and digital economy/information communication technology (ICT) now; they should not stop at that, they should invest, we have a lot of rural communities and the business case does not favour the operators to invest in these communities, sub-national governments should step in, provide incentives to operators, provide infrastructures, tax holidays etc. This will help our goal for universal coverage.
How has the introduction of 5G impacted or poised to impact Nigeria’s economy?
Firstly, we have to look at the investment the deployment of 5G Technology is bringing. We are going to continue to see investment in deployment of this technology for the next 10 years or more. Currently, we have seen more than 250m USD infrastructure investment from the three 5G Licensee and this will continue for some time; also, a lot of start-ups have been able to scale up their portfolios with use of 5G.
What are the biggest challenges facing the telecommunications industry in Nigeria, and how can they be addressed?
The biggest challenge today in Nigeria is the exchange rate, that’s the monster!!! high operation cost, Fiber cuts, right of way issues across the country. For me, I think aside from implementation of cost reflective tariff, we should see import duty waivers and tax holidays; the sector has taken too much in the past and till now to ensure we continue to enjoy services. I will also love to see the full implementation of Critical National Infrastructure Law; the number of fiber cuts is alarming. Something has to be done.
How does the ecosystem deal with issues like high operational costs and inadequate infrastructure?
This has been a very big challenge in the past few years, with inflation and exchange rate problems; the telecom sector is probably the most affected sector of the economy. The price of all the inputs has gone up in the past few years and the tariff remains the same. This is why you will see today all the operators are calling for cost-reflective tariff as a way out.
What opportunities do you see for telecommunications to drive innovation in other sectors, such as agriculture, health, and education?
There are very big opportunities and we are beginning to see this. We have Telemedicine now in Nigeria, patients can connect to their doctors remotely now, we are beginning to see the impact in Agriculture people can monitor their cattle’s now for wellbeing, physical location (Against cattle rustlers), environmental conditions in the farms (poultries) and farmland are being monitored remotely, etc. Even in the education sector, we have online classes now, on demand video of lectures, etc. Yes, we still have a long way to go but we have lots of opportunities in this sector.
How has the adoption of technologies like IoT, AI, and cloud computing been embraced within Nigeria’s telecom ecosystem?
We are Johnny-on-the-spot in Nigeria, to be frank with you we have seen a very high level of adoption, people are seeing the benefits and as such you don’t need to campaign too much for the adoption.
In what ways is the telecom sector supporting Nigeria’s transition to a digital economy?
We cannot talk about the Digital economy without the telecom sector, all the services of the “Digital economy” rely on the telecom sector. We will see more in the months/years ahead as we continue to attract more investment in this sector.
How does Nigeria’s telecommunications ecosystem compare to those in other African markets?
We are African first for sure, other African countries look unto us for adoption. So, we are well ahead in this sector.
What lessons can Nigeria learn from global telecom leaders to strengthen its ecosystem?
We have a lot to learn. We need to start to domesticate some of the technologies. One thing we have in our favour is the population, over 70% of our population are below 30; so, we need to see how we will continue to take care of this digital natives who rely on internet for virtually everything
How is the telecommunications industry contributing to achieving Nigeria’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
Telecommunications industry is a critical element in achieving parts of the 17 SDG Goal if not all. If we can do more in ensuring deep broadband penetration, we will do well with achieving the SDG goals.
What efforts are being made to ensure gender and socio-economic inclusivity in telecom access across Nigeria?
Currently in Nigeria, we do not have restrictions relating to gender for telecom access in Nigeria. We are doing exceedingly well in this regard.
What trends do you predict will shape the future of Nigeria’s telecommunications sector in the next decade?
We are going to see a massive shift in ways we do things. So, we must be prepared, the digital natives rely on the internet for almost everything. So, we must be prepared ahead to meet their expectations. Government will have to adopt e-governance at all levels, and people should be able to access all government services online in the next decade. The digital natives will see this as a right, we must be prepared.
How can the telecom industry prepare for the increasing demand for data and connectivity in Nigeria?
The preparation will be in terms of digital infrastructure and adoption of hybrid infrastructure. The Federal Government is adding additional 120,000km of fiber infrastructure; this is good but we need more, where we cannot have fiber we should have satellite so that we can meet the demands of the end users, more data centres across the country and importantly we need to be able take the capacity that are just in the shore of Lagos to remotest part of the country.
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