The current comatose state of the Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL) was caused by its management which was induced by multiple government interferences.

  This was the view of the book: “The story of NITEL: A Giant In Comatose”.

The views of the book, written by a former IT editor with Daily Independent Newspaper, Mr. Aaron Ukodie, was supported by two current NITEL staff, who felt sorry for the state of NITEL, after a thorough review of the book was done at the book launch in Lagos recently.

Addressing a number of participants, who attended the book launch, he narrated the sorry state of NITEL in a brief summary, and concluded that the story of the company, the nation’s national carrier, beginning from 1985 could not be told in a day.

He described NITEL as a giant in comatose, said it went down as a result of multiple interferences by government and corruptive tendencies and maintained that this sorry position could still be revived if government begins to show sincerity of purpose in its interest in the ailing company.

He also said, government companies could still be run well if there are less government interferences.

Supporting this view, deputy general manager in charge of operations for Adegboyega Babalola, Mr. Adegboyega Babalola said, the company could still survive and compete with other telecom companies if government shows more commitment to its true survival.

Also speaking at the book launch, deputy general manager in charge of NITEL SAT 3, Mr. Innocent Nwokocha, said he was glad when he was told that a book on NITEL was being launched.

According to him NITEL deserves a book launch for the reference purposes owing to the pivotal roles it played in the nation’s economy in the past.

Nwokocha regretted that NITEL, which was once a money making organisation, had turned out to be a burden to government, owing staff salaries for over 22 months.

Reviewing the book, Enyi Moses-Nwagwu, Chief Executive of IT World, who declared himself a witness of the unfolding events that have contributed to the woes of the company, commended the author for his courage to write about NITEL, which he said, many Nigerians had long written off.

According to Enyi “It is really disheartening that NITEL that used to be a money spinner has become a money “guzzler”. He said it is worrisome that a company that once boasted of billions and billions of naira has been so castrated that it presently owes over 22 months salary arrears. “It is in fact heart breaking that NITEL has been so sucked that those who sucked the company dry are today richer than the company itself”, he added.

He also said, Ukodie and other ICT journalists were well-placed to tell the story of NITEL because they were privileged to witness history as it unfolded. “To cover NITEL in those days as journalist was no mean task because it was fraught with dangers. “In the first place the company staffs were barred from speaking or interacting with journalists”. “If any NITEL staff was seen discussing with us and a story breaks the next day, the staff stood the chance of losing his or her job.

According to Mr. Enyi, the story of NITEL should have been the story of Telecommunication in Nigeria. Perhaps it was up to the year 2000 when telecommunication in Nigeria suddenly acquired a life of its own, veering off at a tangent unfettered to the queasy giant while abandoning NITEL to its taciturn fate.

“Obviously the bane of NITEL, he said, has been directionless and unpatriotic leadership. “Given different circumstances, the emasculate giant can spring back to life”, he said. “NITEL holds enormous potentials as it begs for an informal leadership imbued with patriotism and the task unencumbered by indecision, inconsistencies in policy formulation and implementation, political patronage, government interference and meddling, government bureaucracy, ethnocentrism and corrupt practices”.