Experts in the nation’s information and communications technology (ICT) sector have called for the promulgation of enabling laws to protect ICT consumers and telecom subscribers in order to avert the consequences of the financial crisis going on in the banking sector.
They said the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Senate should tinker with the National Communications Act (NCA) 2003, which is currently undergoing review at the national assembly, to ensure that telecom consumers’ rights are protected in the event of collapse of any telecom network.
The experts, who spoke exclusively to Financial Standard, citing the winding up of some operators, said lessons from Nigeria’s telecom history has made it imperative that subscribers’ rights should be uppermost in the minds of law makers and the regulator.
Engineer Titi Omo-Ettu, vice president, Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (Coren) and chief executive officer, Telecom Answers Associates, said “Presently there is no law in the telecom sector that protects consumers. We should think of how to protect the subscriber. Few years ago Mobitel failed and nobody asked questions. MTS of old and EMIS folded up and closed shop.”
He said “In the ensuing wreckage, no one cared what happened to the real stakeholders-the subscribers who had made investments in such network. It is time our law thought in this director. There is something for our legislature to keep in mind as they attempt to edit the existing Act.”
Omo-Ettu noted that “If the NCC decides tomorrow to wind up a telecom company for failure to operate, it should as well ask itself what it would do with the subscribers on that network. The regulator has a responsibility to the subscribers.”
A number of telecom operators have seen bad times and are no longer operating optimally. For instance, Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (Nitel) and Mobile Telecommunications Limited (Mtel) have not lived up to its obligations to subscribers as the two networks have fallen into bad times due to poor management of their privatisation by the Federal Government.
ZOOMmobile, Nitel, Omatek Computer Plc, Mobitel Nigeria Limited, MTS First Wireless, Communications,Trends Limited and Broadband Technologies Limited were among the information technology (IT) and telecom companies published in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) debtor list recently.
Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (Atcon) defending the financial health of telecom operators said only moribund companies  were listed on the debtor list by the CBN and cannot be used as index for measuring the effect of the CBN action on the nation’s telecoms industry.
He said the “Telecoms industry is healthy and sound. Telecoms companies such as MTN, Glo, Zain and the CDMA operators that are up and running and are not listed as debtors are indicative of the healthy state of the Nigerian telecoms industry.
“If these operators that are up and running approach the banks to secure loan, they definitely would get it because they have never been listed for non-performing loans.
 So, I can tell you that the industry is healthy and the ongoing action of the Federal Government through the CBN is not indicative of any negative effect on telecoms industry. So, in this case, telecoms operators are protected and safe,” Ekuwem stated.
Meanwhile, Mr. Chris Uwaje, vice president, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (Ispon) in his submission queried the relevance of foreign software in risk management stating that government should come to aid of indigenous software industry so that risk management mechanisms could be built into them.
Uwaje noted that what CBN action has shown was that modern banks are no longer owned by individuals but by stockholders. He called for ICT legislation which should make the banks come into the ICT sector and investor instead of the current practice of trading instead of developing the sector.
According to thee CBN list, Nitel is said to be indebted to Intercontinental Bank Plc for the Nitel Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) Project Account to the tune of N3, 593, 779, 589.40 guaranteed by Transcorp.
Nitel is also listed as indebted to Oceanic Bank to tune of N7, 829, 277,000. Mobitel Limited is listed as owing Intercontinental Bank plc N 1,380,781,422. Omatek Computers Plc on the other is listed as owing Afribank Plc N1, 649, 380, 634.77 (Afribank) guaranteed by Mrs. Florence Seriki, Fola Adeola and Dr Tim Farinre.
Three other technology companies mentioned include Broadband Technologies Limited N150,939, 298.17 owed Finbank Plc; MTS First Wireless owe Union Bank N9,849,331,689 guaranteed by  Chief W.W. Briggs; Communications Trends Limited owe Union bank N1,127,361,164 guaranteed by Engr. Uzo Udemba and Barr Ada-Ugo Udemba; Intercellular owe Finbank Plc N157,554,403.51; Reliance Telecommunications Limited owe Finbank N800,896,080.76

Software developer challenges govt on legal protection

By Kunle Azeez
Programos Software Limited, one of the indigenous software developers in Nigeria, has harped on the need for government to put appropriate legal framework in place in order to protect the nation’s software industry.
Mr. Amos Emmanuel, chief executive officer, Programmes Software, speaking in an interview recently, said that Nigerian government has not demonstrated enough commitment to protect the software industry in the country so as to bring about the needed growth in the information and communication technology (ICT) sub-sector.
He pointed out that while the local software companies have been developing several innovative and problem-solving solutions that local companies have continued to patronise, the apparent lack of interest on the part of the government to support such efforts through good legal tools that can further give vent to local efforts has remained indeterminate.
Emmanuel said although in the area of market share, most companies in Nigeria still patronise foreign software solutions, the level of local software adoptions by local companies has also been impressive. He said the patronage being received by local software vendors in Nigeria currently is attributed to the capabilities of the local solutions to deliver values for the end users.
“I want to state that all these foreign software banking solutions that are being brought into Nigeria really don’t deliver total services for the local companies.
We still have Nigerians bringing fantastic solutions that compete favourably with the foreign solutions used by the banks and the oil and gas companies, among others in Nigeria. The quality and standard of these local software solutions have been found highly useful for businesses,” he said.
Emmanuel, while citing Programos’ locally developed software solution which is being used on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and large number of stock broking firms in Nigeria as a solution that has continued to serve the nation’s economy in the past few years, said a reasonable number of businesses in Nigeria have built confidence in local software solutions.
“Local products have actually performed a lot better than foreign ones because locally- developed software solutions and applications are able to provide appropriate solutions that address the activities and processes of organisations with local factors into consideration. That is why locally-developed software solutions have been able to perform a lot better with local supports.
The local providers have been doing well over the years. They are beginning to offer intelligent solutions that address specific business needs of local companies. Whereas, some foreign options are not fit for organisation’s business profile and still lack local support,” he added.
While explaining the negative effects of the current global economic crisis the survival of software industry in Nigeria, following the inability of some clients of most indigenous software developers to pay their bill and the resultant negative implications on the operations of software companies in Nigeria, Emmanuel said government must be alert to its responsibilities of shielding the software industry from negative economic consequences.
He however noted that software engineering, which brings about automation of processes, actions and tasks, is critical to Nigeria’s quest to attain its Vision 2020. He said this explains why developers in Nigeria are of the view that Nigerian government has not due attention to the industry in the area of enacting appropriate laws that can adequately protect locally-developed solutions and discourage the foreign ones from flooding the Nigerian market.
While urging the government to enact the right legislations to protect local software solutions, Emmanuel stressed the need for software providers in Nigeria to develop innovative solutions that can address critical needs of local companies, adding that developing solutions that put specific needs of local companies into consideration is the only way to compete with foreign solutions in Nigeria.