Underwater fiber optic internet cable lying on the ocean floor. (Photo: Imaginima/Getty Images)
Eko Hot Blog reports that telecommunications companies (Telcos) have expressed fears that the construction of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway may lead to the destruction of submarine cables laid beneath the earth surface at the Lagos axis.
The telecom operators made their fears known to the Federal Government at a recent meeting between members of the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and the Federal Ministry of Works.
At the meeting, which was led by the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Mrs. Olukorede Keisha, the telcos called on the federal government to immediately engage with them for proper mapping and relocation of the submarine cables.
They are worried that the cables could be damaged, and internet connectivity disrupted when the Lagos-Calabar coastal road construction begins.
According to the operators, several submarine cables like SAT-3, MainOne, Glo 1, WACS and ACE, which came from Europe, covering thousands of kilometres, with landing stations in Lagos, are likely to be damaged if they are not re-routed before the commencement of construction work on the proposed Lagos-Calabar coastal road.
The Telcos warned that if the submarine cables were not properly relocated before commencement of the road construction, it would likely cause serious damage to the cables and disrupt internet connectivity across the country.
ATCON members also drew the attention of the federal government to the current challenges they are facing with SAT3 submarine cable that was improperly relocated during the construction of Eko Atlantic City in Lagos.
According to them, SAT-3 was poorly relocated during the Eko Atlantic project and up till this moment SAT-3 is still experiencing power failure and its efficiency has been seriously compromised because of the unprofessional re-routing by the road workers.
ATCON members therefore advised the federal government to engage meaningfully with telecoms operators for proper relocation of all the seven submarine cables that have landing points at the shores of Lagos, to avoid total Internet disruption across the country.
Responding to these concerns, Keisha said the meeting was called to further deliberate on the planned construction of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.
She said the meeting became necessary because the Federal Ministry of Works realised that there were some telecoms infrastructures buried along those corridors, which must be carefully relocated and aligned with the master drawing of the project.
Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, lamented that the government failed to carry telecoms operators along when mapping the coastal highway.
“Federal government did not consult telecoms operators when mapping the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway,” Adebayo said.
“We suffered telecoms cable damage during the construction of Lagos-Ibadan highway and we will not want to suffer such damages on the Lagos-Calabar coastal high way, because of the ripple effect it would create on internet connectivity across the country.”
He therefore called on the federal government to begin consultations with telecoms operators in order to have meaningful discussions on the relocation of the submarine cables and the cost implications for the relocation.
Earlier this month, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, had an exchange with Laila Johnson-Salami, an Arise News correspondent, where he mocked her accent instead of answering her question.
Minister of Works, David Umahi
During a briefing, Johnson-Salami asked if the Lagos-Calabar coastal project had gone through an environmental impact assessment (EIA) as required by law.
“The EIA Act of 1992 states that an EIA must be approved by the federal ministry of environment before the commencement of any project, unless an exemption has been given,” Johnson-Salami said.
Before this, the journalist was interrupted by Umahi who said he was raised in the village and was having difficulties understanding her ‘phoné’, a slang for phonetics.
“I am sorry, I cannot help the way I speak,” Johnson-Salami replied.
Umahi asked for an interpreter, to which the journalist said: “You have enough people sitting next to you.”
When the correspondent insisted on clarifying if the project had environmental approval, the minister said “it is federal government that gives approval, not you… we have approval”.
Johnson-Salami asked if the minister could share the preliminary or final approval for the project with the media, but he did not give a definitive answer.
“Everything in order,” Umahi replied.
The exchange elicited reactions from social media users, with many criticising the minister for his attempt at mocking the journalist and evading the question.
In March 2024, businesses, government operations, and individual Internet usage were disrupted after major undersea cables near Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire suffered significant damage.
Before the cable cuts were fixed, Nigerians experienced poor Internet speed for some days.
In 2023, two submarine cable systems, which also service the Nigerian market, suffered damage off the coast of West Africa.
Click below to watch our video of the week:
Augustine University matriculated 279 students during its 10th Matriculation Ceremony for the 2024/2025 academic session.…
Eredo LCDA, led by Hon. Ismail Monsuru Akinloye, distributed Christmas gifts to pupils in 13…
Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan was hospitalized early Thursday after being stabbed by an intruder…