By EMEKA AGINAM

THERE are renewed protests in the telecommunications sector against the Federal Government’s inability to enforce the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council Act, (NIPC) of 1990.

The Act has to do with local content and expatriate quota and those clamouring that it should be enforced in the telecoms sector are saying that it will ensure the inclusion of local contractors and engender adequate youth employment.

The protesters are saying that although non implementation of local content law is not limited to telecoms sector alone, there was danger in the trend which if not reversed urgently, perennially pins Nigeria down as a digitally colonized nation by the western economies.

At the forefront of the protest is the Lead Advocate, Constitutional Rights Advocacy Initiative, (CRAI), Barrister Ikechukwu Ikeji. According to him, major contracts and employments presently are given only to foreign expatiates while smart Nigerians who can as well deliver the same jobs are left behind.

Less than 10 per cent human capacity control in telecoms:
Ikeji, at a press conference with IT Journalists in Lagos last week disclosed that Nigeria has less than 10% human capacity control in telecoms market  in spite of the impressive growth of the  industry.

However, he is not alone in the struggle. The Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has also condemned the trend saying that it was killing local enterprise.

Raising his own voice, ATCON President Engr Lanre Ajayi said that “I would like to join the call for Government to devise strategies that ensures an improved participation of local companies in the Nigerian Telecoms sector. Big telecoms companies should be encouraged to patronize the services of local companies.

“A situation where such big companies award contracts to foreign companies only for such contracts to be subcontracted to local companies should be discouraged. Local companies should be supported to grow in order  to have capacity to employ more Nigerians”.

He said that ATCON was working on a self regulatory scheme that would ensure that member companies conform to certain code of conducts which, hopefully, would fascinate other companies to do business with them. It is believed that with enhanced confidence in member companies of ATCON, those of them that provide support services to other telecoms providers would receive better patronage.

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Earlier, Ikeji had condemned the practice of mobile network operators awarding in-country services that were provided by local firms to foreign equipment vendors who in turn repatriate the proceeds to their countries, saying that only would continue to promote capital flight.

Network operators depend on foreign vendors
He also lamented that mobile network operators were over dependent on foreign vendors who even import towers and equipment shelter that could be locally fabricated, thereby encouraging capital flight.

“This has created series of hardship and unhealthy competition for the local firms in the industry, some of whom have been forced to close shops and return their employees to the labour market, thereby defeating the government policy on job creation,” he said.

He added that if the situation is not reversed, it could diminish job creation capacity at a time when the country was expected to reap the benefit of the liberalised telecoms sector.

He said that jobs that were previously done by Nigerians were now being done by foreign players to the detriment of youth employment in the country.

Fabrication of equipment
According to him, at the beginning of GSM in the country, local companies were involved in fabrication of equipment like towers, equipment shelters, among other ancillary services. But today, reverse is the case.

He noted that the benefits accruing to indigenous players were insignificant compared to the level of investment to the sector.

Need for local content legislation:
According to him, local content legislation is part of the inevitable structural changes that developing and ambitious economies  must engage in.

By enacting local content act in all areas of the economy especially telecoms, there will be reasonable access to opportunities for domestic firms contrary to what is presently obtainable.For him, there was need for immediate intervention in enforcing local content policy as provided for in the Nigeria Immigration Act and the NIPC Act of 1990 Laws of the Federation to check the ugly trend in the telecoms sector.

Part of the intervention, according to him would be to create a local content unit in the Communication Technology Ministry to take care of local players that have been left behind in employment and awarding of contracts.

Replicate oil & gas local content in telecom:
Ikeji further argued that enacting a law that will replicate the oil and gas local content legislation in other critical sectors of the economy starting from the most urgent like the telecommunication, would create enabling environment for local players .

“We cannot continue like this. This is not good for our economy. We hate any form of colonization. What is worrisome is that Nigerians are beings used to the same contract given to foreign players. Nigerians have the same technical capacity like their foreign counterparts.” he said.

Appeal to government:
The appeal to government, according to him is to set up a body with a mandate of enforcing our local content participation and technological advancement especially in the telecoms sector and every aspect of our national lives. Other economies like South Africa, Australia and Malaysia, have developed their own telecom local content strategy.

“It is even worrisome when you watch or listen to broadcast and digital commercials in Nigeria, and see that models used are mainly foreigners. There is difficulty in understanding the double speak in encouraging the continued beaming of  foreign sports content like the Premiership by foreign broadcast houses.” he said.

Supporting the views of CRAI, a group of telecom consultants and legal practitioners under the aegis of Youth Arise for Nigeria,(YAFN) noted that Nigeria may miss the opportunities of digital economy if foreigners were allowed to do major contracts in the country .

The National Publicity Secretary of YAFN , Mr. Liborous Oshoma, said that lack of local content has led to massive entrance of foreigners and foreign companies in areas of the telecoms industry where indigenous operators are known to have the required capacity.

He said that YAFN investigation had revealed that over 900 cell sites recently deployed by mobile network operators in Nigeria were done by foreign equipment vendors and technology companies such as ZTE, Huawei, Ericsson, Alcatel -Lucent and Nokia-Siemens.

According to him, the situation has remained like this due to the Federal Government inability to enforce the local content policy in the telecoms industry.