By Gbenga Adebayo
SIR: Connectivity is the very lifeblood of our nation. Without it, our access to security, family, business and other individuals are compromised.
Critical national infrastructure refers to the critical assets, systems and functions that are integral to a country’s capacity to function.
The destruction or disruption of these assets can have a catastrophic impact on the national economy, security, health and safety of the general public, as well as their ability to communicate with their loved ones and coordinate their daily lives. Critical national infrastructure includes transport, emergency services, water and telecommunications.
The services and systems provided by critical infrastructure are so intertwined into the fabric of our everyday life that a small failure or down time can cause far reaching effects.
Persistent downtime of any critical service can grind a country to halt- stopping economic activity, coordinated security and emergency services and many every day services whose importance in our lives we underestimate.
In today’s world, global information networks are vital infrastructure. The telecommunications industry underpins services across all other industries, and is the lifeblood of any nation; connecting business to individual, business to business and individual to individual—it has become one of the key drivers of social evolution.
The UN SDGs have highlighted connectivity as a critical enabler of social and economic development. Any downtime will inevitably have severe consequences for our nation: from billions in lost revenue, to poorly planned and un-coordinated emergency response and rescue services, to the inability of Nigerian workers to participate competitively in an increasingly digitised global workspace.
Downtime does not result solely from service interruptions caused by poor weather or run-down infrastructure. Vandalism of telecommunications services is also a menace which can have a negative knock-on effect on the economy.
Indeed, it is government interference with telecommunications assets that has become increasingly detrimental to our economy. In November 2018, a state government instructed the shutdown of 150 base stations of MTN, Airtel, Ntel and Globacom.
As a result; several telecommunications sites in Nasarawa, Benue, Enugu, Anambra, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were affected.
This meant that individuals, banks, hospitals and businesses were cut off; but more importantly, it jeopardized connectivity services provided to our security agencies — the Police and Armed Forces.
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As concerned Nigerians, we must call on the government to accord the industry the necessary protections to ensure that we never again need to fear the disastrous consequences occasioned by such deliberate intrusion with the lifeblood of our nation.
We must commend the efforts of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami to ensure maximum protection of telecom infrastructures.
The minister has disclosed that plans are underway to provide Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) protection to ensure maximum protection of telecoms infrastructure.
Ahead of that, plans are set for the police authorities to provide surveillance to key telecom facilities. With the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) pushing forth the Critical National Infrastructure Bill, they have identified the crucial nature of telecommunications, and enhanced discourse around other challenges could see policy adjustments brought to the table.
The most advanced economies understand the need to secure these critical national assets. In 2012, Switzerland established the Swiss National Strategy for the Protection of Critical Infrastructure, which was updated in 2017.
Even closer to home, South Africa has been having these conversations over the last few years and recently signed its critical infrastructure bill into law in 2019.
As Nigeria strives to become a more critical competitor in today’s global digital economy; we must begin to take more seriously the need to safeguard the infrastructure required to create jobs, increase productivity, improve our quality of life and create sustainable economic growth.
- Gbenga Adebayo, ALTON, Lagos.
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