A former Director of Public Affairs at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Tony Ojobo, has strongly tasked the newly constituted board of the Commission to prioritise staff welfare, motivation and regular intellectual development towards a sustainable telecom industry.
Ojobo, who spoke in an article he released to the media over the weekend, among others things, tasked the new board to urgently “conduct a comprehensive staff audit to ensure that existing staff can effectively regulate the industry and ascertain if staff are adequately motivated to deliver on their assignments.”
He also spoke on the need for the board to work with NCC management to ensure effective recruitment process.
“Recruitment into the commission should recognise competence, capacity, and cognate experience. Inexperienced staff should be trained to be able to contribute to the progress of the organization. The bottom-up approach of the commission in its regulatory processes should be sustained,” Ojobo said.
While noting that the NCC has been acknowledged in the past to have a rich legacy of excellence, impartiality and professionalism, Ojobo stressed the need to ensure that the core values of the commission, the professional and excellent corporate culture that is composed of a world-class human capital is maintained.
Ojobo, a consummate public affairs professional, who has carved a niche as a consultant in corporate communications, strategic management and leadership development, retired from the services of the Commission in October 2018, having served in various capacities while at the NCC.
While noting that there has been concerns among stakeholders over the prolonged delay in constituting the Board of NCC, Ojobo urged that, now that the board has been constituted led by Mr. Idris Olorunnimbe as Chairman Board, there is a urgent need to begin to address critical issues affecting the industry, with greater attention paid to staff motivation, development and welfare, among others.
“It is on that note that stakeholders welcome the recent constitution of the board of NCC by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. There have been concerns, and worries amongst stakeholders about the declining quality of services and other regulatory challenges in the country. Regulating an industry, which drives the digital economy without a board is a panacea for chaos and retrogression.
“Now that a board has been constituted, it is important that the screening, confirmation and inauguration of the board, should be carried out expeditiously. The Commission needs the intervention of the board to resolve a number of challenges currently plaguing the industry. The telecommunications regulator has remained without a board for too long, the longest thus far since full liberalisation, and it has contributed to the myriad of challenges witnessed in the sector.”
Ojobo said the current board would have a lot of work to do, and should hit the ground running after confirmation by the Senate and inauguration by the Minister of Communications Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani.
He urged the board to urgently address issues such as; the amendment of Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, which cannot effectively address emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and issues bordering on technology convergence.
He listed other matters of urgency include the declining quality of services, which should be holistically examined; ascertaining the immediate causes of the decline and address them; examining the outstanding issues and challenges the services providers currently contend with, and ensuring a quick resolution.
“The board with the Management should urgently conduct a stakeholders summit to directly take notes of issues plaguing the industry, and address them expeditiously,” Ojobo said.
Speaking further, the former director reminded that the board could draw from the expertise of erstwhile staff of the commission, with institutional memory, expertise and experience to provide guidance and advice.
“Fortuitously, Hajia Mariam Bayi, the former Director of Human Capital and Infrastructure, is on the new board. It is hoped that new the board can benefit from her experience. The newly constituted board should provide the needed guidance to the Executive Vice-Chairman, Dr. Aminu Maida to move the industry forward. Time is not on the side of this board. The industry is in an emergency state, and urgent intervention is critical,” he added.
Ojobo, however, warned that previous successes of the Commission could lead to complacency, and lack of innovative regulatory initiatives, thus hindering innovation and development, urging the Board and Management should work harmoniously together to avoid such complacency.
“The board and management should ensure that their belief systems do not shape the organizations regulatory actions in a retrogressive manner, but they should rather be progressive. The vision of the pioneer board and management, the mission and core values that has placed the country on global regulatory map should be sustained. I wish the new board success as they navigate through the challenging regulatory issues currently confronting the sector,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ojobo also reflected on how the Commission became a one of the world-class telecom regulator, at inception of liberalization, tracing this to effective and regular staff capacity-building, training and motivation, which positioned the staff of the Commission to be ahead of the industry and licensees to be able to carry out their regulatory oversights and not the other way round.
He said:
“In furtherance of the desire to build a world class regulator, the Commission embarked on series of board and management retreats, workshops, and training programs to craft the vision and mission of the organization, define core values, and build a corporate culture centred on diligence, hard work, selflessness, goal-driven and focused staff, with eyes on the ball.
“There were several international trainings and partnerships with similar bodies such as; the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the US; United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI), OFCOM in the UK, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) among others. The exposure of the Commissions’ staff to various specialised trainings, conferences, and the activities of the commissions’ staff in the various Working Groups at the ITU, led to the building of one of the most respected regulator in the world.”
