NITEL employs more telecom engineers in Africa–DBI boss

Remmy Nweke

Despite the lukewarmness in the public sector, the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) has been pronounced as having great collection of telecom engineers on the continent.

According to the chief executive, Digital Bridge Institute, Utako-Abuja, Dr. Olasupo Ogunfemi, “NITEL has the greatest collection of telecom engineers in Africa.”

He made this assertion at a telecom and information technology (IT) high-level meeting in Lagos.

Nigerians, he said, are very enterprising, stressing that is what made the rollout of telecom networks in different parts of the country, a success.

He enthused that in some rural areas in the country, Nigerians even without formal education are using one or two technology tools to boost and extend service rollout at their communities.

Dr. Ogunfemi, therefore, advocated that getting expatriates to run the newly privatized NITEL, would cost lots of money and defeat the purpose of the privatization.

Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) operator, he said, can now tell better, having spent so much at the initial stage of rollout on expatriates.

With the enabling environment provided by the government, DBI boss said, enterprises would benefit immensely when they train at DBI, which he said, is a government institution but is being run as a private entity.

“DBI was created directly to cushion the lack of manpower development in ICT sector for the nation and on the continent as a whole,” he said.

DBI management, he said, is streamlining its activities so as not to go back to the government cap in hand asking for resources.

According to him, DBI courses, are very interactive and hands on approach.

The summit was put together by the City People media group with the theme, “Taking Advantage of Opportunities in Telecoms Sector.”

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