Re: As Buhari prepares to name his cabinet

One of such hatchet men, under the obviously nom de guerre “Sulaiman Ibrahim”, an unknown “ICT analyst from Jalingo”, wrote an article entitled “As Buhari Prepares to Name his Cabinet” in a futile attempt, through fabrications and outright lies, to re-write the recent history of the NCC.Let me state from the outset that Dr Bashir […]

One of such hatchet men, under the obviously nom de guerre “Sulaiman Ibrahim”, an unknown “ICT analyst from Jalingo”, wrote an article entitled “As Buhari Prepares to Name his Cabinet” in a futile attempt, through fabrications and outright lies, to re-write the recent history of the NCC.
Let me state from the outset that Dr Bashir Gwandu is a very close friend.  I know him to be a man of immense competence, stellar record of accomplishment, impeccable integrity. When I first read the poor hatchet job, I thought of just ignoring it. However, let me set the records straight for posterity, and to ensure that members of the public who are not aware of these scandalous shenanigans, whether at the NCC (spanning many years) or elsewhere, do not pay any iota of credence to the stories concocted by these hatchet men.
Dr Gwandu’s accomplishments at the NCC are beyond reproach. It was, in fact, his pursuit of transparency and openness that compelled him to blow the whistle on the spectrum racket at the NCC, stirring the hornet’s nest.  
If his courageous exposé of the massive spectrum racketeering scandal at the NCC was a mere wolf cry, as they alleged, how did Smile Communication acquire a spectrum that it did not publicly compete for in 2009/2011? And, if it didn’t acquire such spectrum, how is it providing service today? Not long after he was dismissed in controversial circumstances by President Jonathan, the NCC leadership perpetrated another scandalous racket, costing the Nigerian nation over N50billion, in the sale of the 800MHz spectrum.  Those who are determined to sweep this monumental scandal under the carpet, as they have tried to do also with the fraudulent sale of the 450MHz (a premium spectrum sold to an unlicensed entity in 2009 at a paltry $6 million, as against its market value of over $50million), have a pretty good reason not to want Dr Gwandu back in the Nigerian communications sector.
Why did they also turn a blind eye to the underselling of a number of bands of highly-sought-after spectra, without competition, as enshrined by law, as well as NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman’s conflict of interest in MTS, in spite of which the firm was granted a waiver of N1billion to the detriment of the Nigerian nation.  Dr Gwandu is perhaps the single biggest threat to those who fear the prevailing wind of change, and who want to continue business as usual.  
Another ghost writer, named “Umaru Tanko”, dragged late Dora Akunyili’s name into this charade. Well, as far as I know, Dr Gwandu and the former Minister never had any issues. In fact, he never had problem with any of the seven ministers he worked with at the Communications Ministry, except the current one, who spearheaded the MTS waiver.
It may also interest the “Sulaiman Ibrahims” and “Umaru Tankos” of this world to know that Dr Gwandu is, indeed, the crème de la crème of the telecom industry in Nigeria and beyond.  He has been a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Engineering Technology (in the UK) for years. He published extensively in some of the highly-rated engineering journals in the world, and many of his published research work are highly cited. He also has a number of EU and US patents to his credit.
From what I know, as his friend, Dr Gwandu never applied for a Job at the NCC, nor did he ever present his CV (without request) to anyone. He was invited to run the Electricity Regulator that was being set up at the time, but was, however, later told that the then President (Obasanjo) had other ideas on where he wanted him.
After his unjustified removal from NCC, he went to court. The basis for his removal was ruled untenable and he was awarded N100m award in damages.  
Dr Gwandu knows his onions, as the saying goes.  Despite all odds, change, progressive change, has finally come to Nigeria, and change will come to the Nigerian communications sector as well.
 I also know that while representing Nigeria at the ITU (2007-2012), Gwandu recorded numerous notable achievements for Nigeria, including securing the 700MHz and the 800MHz bands allocation from the ITU. The 800MHz band alone was sold in at least three countries in Europe, for over 3.5 billion Euros, but which the NCC sold for only 13 million Euros.
 
  Gumel, the C. Castillo-Chavez Professor of Mathematical Biology, is of Arizona State University, U.S.