OMO-ETTU; Terrific teletrafficker

ICON:
AN ardent believer in the power of education at all levels, moreso, when it has the flavour of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Mr. Titi Omo-Ettu, is no new person to the industry.
A seasoned consultant telecommunications engineer, his pioneering step to encourage the nation’s increasing number of chief executives who are computer illiterates to cross the digital divide, at the threshold of dot.com since the beginning of this century, made him to set up The Executive Cyberschuul (TEC), which has trained over 688 executives in various capacity building development programmes in Information Technology and Telecommunications Management since 2001.
He spurred a contest for the Nigerian youth known as Most Promising Web Developer Contest under the Cyberschuul Youths Development Programme (CYDP), which has produced two impressive youths as Nigerian Information Technology Ambassadors, namely, Gbenga Sesan and Edward Popoola.
Today, these youth IT ambassadors are making waves among youths locally and internationally.
Another distinguishing factor for Titi, as fondly called by pals, is of how to extend telecommunications infrastructure and gains beyond the cities to the rural people, the disabled and the poor.
If there is anything uppermost in his mind, it is to incorporate these three factors into the nation’s over-due review of the Telecom Act, which must be to accommodate changes in the ICT sector.
His vision for disabled made him to convince the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) about three years ago at its national conference to invite a physically disabled but intellectually sound Nigerian residing abroad to deliver a lecture on how ICT has been of great advantage to the physically challenged in the developed world. This he also did for the Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), two years ago.
Highly respected among his peers in the nation’s body of engineers, especially at core engineering and ICT events, Omo-Ettu has remained steadfast in serving the leadership of NSE at various stages.
It was not surprising therefore, that annually since 1992, there is no year he was not honoured professionally for one reason or the other, which made him stand out among equals.
An apparent believer in Napoleon Hill’s theory that knowledge paves the road to riches, mostly when you know which road to take, Omo-Ettu, at present spends most of his time developing training programmes in telecommunications for patronage of telecommunications’ firms. He is the managing partner of Telecom Answers Associates, a firm, which offers consultancy in telecommunications sector.
Few years ago, himself and his partners based in the United States were commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Communications to literarily switch-over the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL’s) Training Centre, Oshodi-Lagos to an international centre of excellence for telecommunications education.
Recently also, he led a technical committee inaugurated by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to study and advise the agency on the policy framework in order to restrategise the agency for the regulation of the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
Last year, he also led a team of consultants that reviewed the guidelines to facilitate the conversion of NITEL’s Management Centre, Kano into an Institute for applied ICT.
Growing up as child in Ijebu-Ode, where he was born 56 years ago, and between 1963 and 1967, Omo-Ettu attended the Adeola Odutola College also located in Ijebu-Ode, before moving to Lagos in 1968 to study at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).
He graduated with Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) in electrical engineering in 1973 and in 1990 he proceeded to the Telecom Executive Management Institute of Canada, (TEMIC). As a registered telecommunications engineer, Omo-Ettu is a fellow of NSE and TEMIC respectively, even as he is a member of several professional groups, which include, Association of Consulting Engineers as well as Nigerian Institute of Management.
Before going into private practice in 1991, Omo-Ettu, a known ICT orator, joined NITEL on graduation in 1974 and rose through the ranks to become project engineer.
On retirement, Omo-Ettu came to town with The Executive Cyberschuul’s most popular Nigerian youth contest for those under 23 years of age, which endeared the Cyberschuul to the youthful enthusiasts in the country, as well as the larger ICT community.
Through Cyberschuul, Omo Ettu provides executive manpower training in telecommunications management and information, telecommunications technology, sales and marketing, engineering, computing, regulation, the market place and Internet applications. Whereas through his Telecom Answers Associates, he exhibits expertise on network design, planning and engineering, telecommunications business studies, project and maintenance management, training and professional development, and Private Branch Exchange (PABX) services.
With over 21 personal record portfolio, including the membership of Feasibility Study Group for the establishment of the Virtual Library in Nigeria coordinated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2003 and consultant to NCC and Ministry of Communication, the respected engineer was a member of panel to re-organise NITEL in 1994 and a year later, he served in the Telecom Policy Drafting Committee and by 1996, he was nominated into the board of directors of Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation and Television (OGBC/TV). He is currently serving as a council member, Lead City University, Ibadan since 2003.
Some of the awards received by him lately include NIM’s TUYO awards for indigenous entrepreneurship, Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCON)’s National Telecommunications Merit award, distinguished service medal for Electrical/Electronic Engineer, NSE’s presidential award for commitment to education of engineers as well as various awards by engineering students and youth clubs.
A member of the Isolo Lions Club, Omo-Ettu as the Secretary of the club picked an award for service in 1997, he had presided over an NSE’s Division that emerged the best and was honoured with the presidential award in 1996.
He is looked up to as a motivator for the youth of this country, mostly in the ICT educational development. This is in addition to serving as a member, Review Committee for netel@Africa specifically for development of training courses in telecommunications for African University for possible adoption by the local universities in the country.
The controversial issue of .ng, country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) did not pass without his intervention as he represented NSE assiduously in all discussions and was key in brokering peace over the .ng feud that gave birth to the Nigerian Internet Registration Association (NIRA).
He is exceptional as a specialist in telecommunications switching, digital technology, tele-traffick engineering, network planning and management as well as network economics.
Like the Irish William Butler Yeats, of our time, Omo-Ettu, who speaks English and Yoruba fluently is a committed writer, which paved the way for his sustaining the CyberschuulNews, Shouts as well as the e-Review, and the latest addition of Cyberschuul Weekly slated as special publication.