It was an event full of nostalgia as the Nigerian telecommunications community came together at the MUSON Centre in Lagos, last Thursday evening to mark 20 years of telecommunications in Nigeria.
The event was attended by the creme-de-la-creme of the telecommunications community who held sway in the past and those who continue to captain the industry today.
It wouldn’t have been complete without the attendance of the former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who kick-started the revolution in 2001. He was ably represented as he was unavoidably absent.
However, the internationally acclaimed former Executive Vice Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission, Engr. Ernest Ndukwe was present in flesh and blood. He was like the revolution personified and he was given several standing ovations for his laudable achievement.
Engr. Ernest Ndukwe went down memory lane in his speech and regaled the audience with fond memories of how it all began. He noted that the teledensity of Nigeria was at a dismal 0.4 per cent in 2000 as there were less than 400, 00 telephone lines for a population of more than 120 million Nigerians.
Engr. Ndukwe took the audience through all the stages of the establishment of the NCC and the award of Digital Mobile Licences to Global System for Mobile Communications operators. He also spoke about the market penetration throughout the intervening period.
Meanwhile, the current EVC of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta disclosed, in his speech, that the teledensity of Nigeria has since grown to 99.9 per cent as there are currently about 190.8 million telephone lines in Nigeria, while there are 140.2 million internet subscribers. He said the NCC is preparing to grant licenses for the deployment of 5G in Nigeria as the country is ripe for deployment.
The highlight of the event was the presentation of awards to important players who have helped to build the industry over the years, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The audience was entertained by the harmonious voices of the Marvelous Brothers. They rendered a number of classical tunes to the admiration of guests.
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