FOLLOWING the success stories emanating from the Nigerian telecommunications industry, a group, under the aegis of African Students Union Parliament (ASUP), has made overture to Nigeria, for an extension of the sector’s success stories to other African countries through various exchange programmes.
ASUP, which was in Abuja to honour the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Eugene Juwah, for his hardwork and dedication to national service, said: “No matter the criticisms of public office holders’, there are still role models.”
ASUP speaker, Larota Chekibe from the University Du Kokodi, Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire, who made the presentation on behalf of his colleagues, spoke in French, saying the parliament took time to scrutinize Juwah, who he said has committed himself to service the common good in accordance with the Pan-African Ideology by using his good office as CEO of NCC to implement policies that have, among other things provided a level playing field for telecommunication providers in Nigeria; made the telecoms industry in Nigeria one of the best in Africa and around the world; protected the consumers without compromising the rights and interests of service providers; and protected and promoted the interests of consumers against unfair practices such as tariff among others.
The speaker said the youths and students of Africa wish to humbly request that the “brains here in NCC shouldn’t channel their intellectual ability and effort towards the development of the telecoms industry in Nigeria alone, but should extend same to other African countries through exchange programmes and regional conferences because the challenges facing the continent are similar and for us to build the Africa of our collective dreams, we must learn to imbibe and embrace the Pan-African ideology if we view our challenges as the same”.
Chekibe, who led the 51-member countries ASUP, said the youths need role models whose dedication to duty is exemplary, and Juwah fits perfectly into this bill. “All men were born equal but destiny makes the difference.
While some privileged few bask in the euphoria of contentment and hedonism, rare kinds like Juwah have chosen a path that mitigate the adverse effect of the economic imbalance, astute dedication to effective service delivery and Spartan Patriotism.”
Describing Juwah as “detribalized Nigerian, lover of students/youths, a charismatic personality with credible credentials of efficient service delivery, high administrative acumen, financial prudence and community service”, the students said “these are unsung realities that mark him as an iconic patriot in our African Society worthy of emulation”.
Receiving the award, Juwah, said: “This award has raised the stakes for higher commitment and dedication to service delivery in our usual transparent and robust regulation of the telecoms sector in Nigeria”.
Juwah, who received the award in the presence of NCC Director, Human Capital and infrastructure Group, Fidelis Onah, Director, Finance Services, Mrs. Abigail Sholanke; Director, Policy Competition and Economic Analysis, Ms Josephine Amuwa; Head, Public Relations, Reuben Muoka; Special Assistant (Media) to the EVC, Okoh Aihe and Head, Media Management, Sonny Aragba-Akpore among others told the students that in 2014 alone, “We at the Commission also went out of our way to intervene in spreading digital penetration in Nigeria which is our core mandate.
I am happy you mentioned scholarships to students because last year alone the Commission expended the sum of N1 billion for various projects in Nigerian Universities and Secondary Schools through the provision of laptops, desktops, digital content as well as Internet access.”
Other ASUP members at the award presentation include, Abotik Kwame Paul (University of Ghana, Legon); Nse Udoh Donald (Nasarawa State University, Keffi); Miss Oyewoga Bilikis (Federal University of Technology, Minna);. Nwankwo Henry Nkem (Nassarawa State University, Keffi), and Miss Titana Angel Ngume (University of Duala, Cameroun).
