*Engr. Ikechukwu Nnamani, President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, in a recent discourse examines the current state of affairs of the country鈥檚 Critical Infrastructure, Monuments and Business Assets, and suggests ways to remedy apparent challenges 聽

Gbenga Kayode| 绿帽献妻

The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has highlighted the components of the Nigerian state, comprising the West African country鈥檚 Critical Infrastructure, Monuments, and Business Assets as well as the role they play in the daily lives of Nigerian consumers.

绿帽献妻 reports Engr. Ikechukwu Nnamani, President of ATCON, stated this at the recent national stakeholders鈥� summit on 鈥楶rotecting The Integrity Of Nigeria鈥檚 Critical Infrastructure, Monuments And Business Assets鈥�.

Engr. Nnamani said Critical National Assets and Infrastructure (CNAI) has been described as assets, services and systems that support the economic, political and social life of a country.

Photo collage of some Critical National Assets and Infrastructure聽

The ATCON Chief noted that they cut across every sector necessary to maintain normalcy in daily life, including such sectors as Information and Communications Technology (ICT), energy, financial, commercial facilities, critical manufacturing, dams, emergency services, food and agriculture, chemicals supply, government facilities, healthcare, transportation, water supply, waste management, and education facilities, among others.

鈥淭hese assets are both physical and intangible but the efficient running of these infrastructure ensure that the citizens continue to maintain a good quality of life

National monuments and cultural heritage

Nnamani also described a national monument is a historic site or geographical area, owned and maintained in the public interest by the federal government.

Quoting UNESCO, he said the term cultural heritage encompasses several main categories of heritage including cultural and natural heritages.

Cultural heritage are cherished characteristic features consisting of physical artefacts and intangible attributes of such societies that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations.

They evolve from the ingenious activities of humans, preserved and transmitted through oral traditions or in written concrete forms across generations of human societies, he stated.

Tangible cultural heritages include products that can be touched and seen (e.g., architecture/buildings, defensive walls and tools, cowries, paintings, textiles, pestles, mortars, religious temples, dresses, pottery & potsherd pavements, monuments, books, works of art).

Intangible cultural heritages on the other hand include invisible aspects of a peoples鈥� ways of life such as folklore, kinship, norms, values, worldviews, philosophies of life, religious beliefs and practices, music, dance, festivals, traditions, language, and knowledge among others.

The President of ATCON noted that the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) manages over 51 museums and 65 national monuments and sites. Over 100 proposed sites and monuments are waiting for designation.

In respect of Business Assets, Nnamani said that they are 鈥渋tems of value that your business owns, creates or benefits from.

鈥淎ssets can range from cash, raw materials and stock, to office equipment, buildings and intellectual property.

鈥淎lthough these may be seen as private assets, the crucial role they play in the sustenance of the Nigerian economy and way of life of the citizens makes it important that they are adequately identified and protected.鈥�

Under the context of the subject matter of his discourse, he stated that protecting business assets would not be seen from a financial and legal maneuver traditionally employed to protect assets from potential financial loss, but rather from the tangible assets perspectives where the physical structures are at risk of vandalism and destruction.

Nnamani cited an example of a recent unfortunate situation, in which armed robbers attacked several banks in a state in Nigeria, and not only destroyed assets of the bank but also made away with money and there was also loss of human lives.

On state of Nigeria鈥檚 critical infrastructure, monuments and business assets

Nnamani further stressed that the state of the Nigerian Critical Infrastructure, Monuments and Business Assets, unfortunately, is not the ideal situation that will result in the maximum benefits to the citizens.

According to him, despite the key benefits that accrue to the Nigerian state from these objects, a lot still needs to be done to ensure maximum benefits to the country.

He, however, noted the key challenges being faced in the area of Nigeria鈥檚 Critical Infrastructure include uneven spread of critical infrastructure across the country; vandalism and theft; lack of cooperation by many states and local governments with private sector to enable implementation of much needed infrastructure; destruction of infrastructure as a result of security unrest in parts of the country; lack of human capital; lack of adequate funding.

The ATCON President also enumerated the major challenges being faced in the area of preserving national monuments and artifacts to include lack of maintenance culture; lack of proper inventory and identification; theft and vandalism; and the need for creations of new monuments and artifacts.

Likewise, he noted some of the challenges with business assets in Nigeria to include lack of timely protection from security organs during crises; lack of public utility and infrastructure leading to high cost of business; and lack of ideal long-term financing options.

Positive outlook and current efforts

Nnamani said despite the highlighted challenges, he was gladdened by the efforts being made to address these issues in the Nigerian economy.

He stated that the convening of a summit on 鈥楶rotecting The Integrity Of Nigeria鈥檚 Critical Infrastructure, Monuments And Business Assets鈥� is a testament that the observed challenges had been identified, and the will exists to address them.

He as well noted that the efforts by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in developing policies and guidelines to protect the critical infrastructure are very commendable.

鈥淭he latest edition of Nigeria鈥檚 National Security Strategy (NNSS) 2019, captured and emphasised the urgent need for safeguarding these assets.

鈥淜ey components of the strategy document include the objectives of identifying, classifying and prioritising Critical National Assets and Infrastructure (CNAI) and to determine appropriate levels of protection required for each CNAI or groups of CNAI; enhance the resilience of CNAI to hazards; and minimise the effect of attacks or disasters on CNAI,鈥� he stated.

Nnamani further said that the NNSS captured the propensity of the government for the development of a geographical information system (GIS)-based decision support tool which the networks of all stakeholders with contingencies and emergency responses to CNAI protection can contact.

鈥淚t will also involve the development and activation of response protocols at the National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC) for national security breaches that imperil CNAI,鈥� he said.

The ATCON President said that the NCMC would conduct periodic inspections and certification of the security preparedness of CNAI in Nigeria.

He also noted: 鈥淭he document categorically stated that institutional arrangements shall be put in place to coordinate the activities of the federal government with those of states and local governments.

鈥淭he NCMC, established in ONSA, will coordinate CNAI protection, policy development and ensure implementation and liaison across all levels of government and industry.

State and local governments are to set up corresponding structures to liaise with the NCMC at the national level to coordinate activities and request assistance where necessary.鈥�

According to him, also worthy of note is the digitisation of the Nigerian economy being led by the Honourable Minister for Communications and Digital Economy through the agencies within the Ministry, including the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

The Nigeria Digital Economy agenda has put the country on the right path towards ensuring these Critical National Infrastructure is not only developed but also well-protected, Nnamani.

About ATCON

ATCON is the premier telecommunications and ICT association in Nigeria. ATCON members cuts across nine business segments of the telecoms and ICT sector in Nigeria, namely Telephone Operators (PNL/Fixed Line Operators, MNOs/IDAs Operators), Infrastructure Providers (Interconnect, Data Centre Operators, Towers/Base Stations Providers); and Internet Services Providers (ISP) (Wholesale Segment, Retail Segment).

Others are Value Added Services Providers (VAS), Over The Top (OTT) Players, FINTECH/e-Commerce Operators, Telecom/ICT Equipment Manufacturers, Telecom/ICT Consulting firms, and Telecom/ICT Equipment Dealers.

The Association says ATCON members鈥� services are critical to the running of the economy, and have significantly contributed to the growth of the GDP of Nigeria as well as enhancement of the quality of lives of Nigerians.

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