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Slug:In Borno State, "Helloing" is a Horrowing Experience By Adeaze Okonkwo
One of the greatest dividends of the present democratic dispensation in Nigeria is the boom in telecommunication which has been made possible by the introduction of the Global system for Mobile (GSM) phones into the country. Although there are few pessimistic Nigerians but no one in this widest imagination had thought that by now, people of the most interior parts of the country, could “hello” out to person outside their domain, just at anytime of the day or night. Today, the reality of this development does not only stare us in the face but also excites our bone marrows; putting laughter to both the brightest and dirtiest of teeth alike. Point blank, though it is an indubitable truism that new vistas have emerged for Nigerians in the sphere of telecomm but the bitter pill of the matter is that Nigerian in Borno state are yet to enjoy the fullest of what this present innovation of offers.
Again the performance of MTN, V-moble, Globacom, M-tel and other wireless services providers has not only brought life and succour to a hitherto sector- in-limbo but has also opened a new business horizon to a lot of unemployed citizens. The obvious proliferation of umbrella-made call stands along the streets of the country is an indication of hardworking and adventurous indications of the people of Nigeria. However in spite of this new business ground, the roadside dealer in Maiduguri Borno state is still engrossed in hardship, borne out of a desire to survive a crunchy economy. He goes through tough times dealing with GSM providers, the public and the environment a t large. Whether he can survive the situation, remains a million dollar rhetoric question. Perhaps only the federal government can raise cogent answers to such a human query.
As a matter of fact, though the arrival of GSM in Borno state was belated, it was however greeted with much euphoria and excitement, especially among residents of Maiduguri Metropolis, who up until now remain the largest beneficiaries of telecommunication services in the state. It is also true that some neighbouring local government such as Barna, and Monguno are yet to be fully covered on the GSM network, reports of efforts made by one of the service provider by MTN to bring helloing signals to people of the areas in question have remained in the basket of speculations as residents continued to wait and hope in vain. Part of the frustration is that a good number of them embark on many hours journey to Maiduguri before they could commune with others through phone. Most often, they are exposed to dangers of the road, which otherwise could have been avoided. It is not surprising to see such travelling callers with a long list names and contact numbers of people which indicates that such persons are on a delegated mission on behalf of some less privileged ones. It also shows that such opportunities to visit the metropolis, comes once in a while so, one have to make all the calls in the world at one time. What a pity?
More so, for people in the rural areas, unlike most of their counterparts in the south, there is no need hoping for nothing or building castles in the air for something that might tale, perhaps a century to actualize. Truly, it does seems a lot of Borno indigenes and residents are still incommunicado and bitterly ostracized in this sector from the rest of the Nigerian state.
Take it from a more obvious angle even in Maiduguri, where all the mobile phone service providers are rooted on ground, network service is always erratic. “No network or “No service has become a normal comment heard among residents of the metropolis with evidence of frustration written all over their faces.
Interestingly quite a lot of persons are engaged in phone call business in many stops along the streets of Maiduguri. Although these small scale operators help in alleviating the trauma of callers in the city, especially in terms of proximity and cost. They are also not spared by the cyclone of hard experience associated with mobile telecommunication business in the state.
Mohammed, one of the roadside dealers in phone call in the university of Maiduguri campus complained, “it is true that one start with a small capital when compared to other businesses but the tariff is always high that we find it difficult to make profit on what we have invested”.
Zainab another operator at Mairi Kuwalt, a suburb of Maiduguri, pointed out that their major constraints lies with securing a good end strategic location to pitch stand in other to attract greater patronage from people. In her wards, the problem is not about the high tariff, even after buying booster of about N9000.00 every month; the problem is finding a good place to do the business because with more calls, we make more money to cover both expenses and profit. But it is hard to get such a good location because Maiduguri is a small town”.
“For those of us in the post office area of this city, we do cover our expenses and make profit because we have a lot of customers. But our major problem is that we are exposed to insecurity because of the location. This location is littered with a lot of people and vehicles. We are at risk because a vehicle may develop break failure and we can easily fall victim”. These were the words of Kenneth, one of the roadside GSM phone call operators at the post office area of Maiduguri Metropolis.
Indeed, whether it is high tariff or troubles connected with location or fear of insecurity, the vanishing point of the matter of is that GSM roadside operators in Maiduguri cannot be absolved from suffering numerous impediments to successful mobile telecommunication operations in Bono state. Borno state is in fact a virgin land that is begging for exploration. The clarion call herein, is for the major actors and stakeholders in the GSM telecommunication sub-sector to take advantage of this opportunity and strive harder to sustain efforts towards improving services to the indigenes and residents of the state. Government could also develop new mobile telecommunication policies to guide a nd guard stakeholders and operators in the industry so that services will be equitably distributed to every facet of the country. By so doing, though “helloing in Borno state could be a harrowing” experience at the moment but a glimmer of hope for a better future would not be a bad idea.
BY ADEAZE OKONKWO Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri, Borno State
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