Awon, one of the 25 communities that lacked telecommunications network coverage in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State now boosts of telecommunications network after a special report by The PUNCH.
Residents of Awon, the headquarters of Kuturmi, confirmed this to our correspondent during a visit to the community on Friday.
The PUNCH had in a published on May 29 and 30, 2023 titled, “Banditry: Absence of telecoms coverage fuels killings in Southern Kaduna” reported that Awon; Kigwali; Katambi; Akwaya Daji; Kurmin Tsohuwa; Impi Kuturmi; Impi Kadara; Ankuro, Kurmin Taba; Ariko; Ungwan Maikasuwa; Ungwan Luka; Apale; Saminaka Kuturmi; Igoh 1 and 2; Akama; Atara; Iriyo; Ungwan Waziri; Ungwan Toka; Ungwan Ali and Asewe lacked telecommunications coverage.
Our correspondent had visited the bandit-ravaged communities to report on residents’ ordeals unaware that bandits had attacked one of the communities on April 3, 2023, a day before he visited.
The report chronicles how the absence of network coverage placed residents under the yoke of daredevil bandits who freely kill, maim, and kidnap their victims.
A retired military officer and a community leader, Jonathan Abayi, said they usually travel 28 kilometres to make calls to the police anytime the community was under attack.
He said the bandits would have accomplished their mission before the arrival of security personnel.
Also, the report detailed how farming which is the mainstay of residents and other businesses had been paralysed as a result of the absence of a telecommunication network.
Also, neither a conventional bank nor a microfinance institution was present in the communities. Additionally, there was no Point of Sale operator spotted in the communities due to lack of telecommunication coverage.
However, among the 25 communities, only Awon has a telecommunications network.
Although residents of Awon are excited about the network’s presence, our correspondent noted that the network does not cover long distances.
It was observed that the network signal was stronger in the town, while there was no coverage in the Idokuru area, which is three kilometres away.
Also, our correspondent could not access the internet during his visit to the community.
However, speaking with our correspondent, Abayi said the security situation in the community has improved since the presence of the network.
He said the personnel of the Nigerian Army recently foiled an attack on the community after a tip-off from the residents.
“We are happy that there is a network in our community for the first time ever. A lot of things are taking shape. The security situation has been improving since the network came. Early in the week, soldiers did not allow the bandits to accomplish their mission. They were able to get here on time after they were alerted. ”
Asked what the community leadership was doing to ensure every area in the community gets covered, he said, ” You are correct with your observation.
“We have been promised a bigger one that will cover a longer distance than this. That, we were told would cover the entire district. But I am happy from this spot, I can make calls anywhere.”
On his part, Enoch Elisah, who in April told our correspondent that he missed a job interview as a result of the absence of a phone network in his community wants the internet connection to be fixed.
“Yes, we can make calls now but as you have observed yourself we cannot access the internet. We still need them to see to this. We need the Internet for a lot of things like searching for opportunities and applying for jobs online. We need to begin to do what our contemporaries in other places are doing on social media.”
Yakubu Tanko lamented that residents experience network failure between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. every day.
It is working but there is an issue we are faced with, from 8 pm to 9 pm, we can’t make or receive calls during this time every day. It normally says the network is busy. Notwithstanding, we are happy we can call from our houses in the town. We also need network coverage, say residents of other communities.”
Aware of the presence of the telecommunication network in Awon, residents of other communities have called on the government to fix theirs.
A resident of Impi Kuturmi, Josephine Everi, cited the incessant attack by bandits as the reason the government should provide them with a telecommunication network.
She said, “The network problem is affecting us, especially in the aspect of insecurity. The bandits still find it easy to operate in our community. They have killed and kidnapped a lot of people. If we had a network, I believe that the community would be better secured.
“We would be able to alert neighbouring communities and security agencies to come to our rescue. We need the government to help us. We have been crying for a very long time now. We want the government to help us fix this so that we can live in peace.”
A resident of Kigwali, Sabo Isah said, “I have lost a job interview due to the absence of a network in my community. The issue of banditry has been thriving because of it. If they approach any village if there is a network, we can easily get to inform ourselves. We need the government to help us.”
When contacted, the engineer in charge of the project who gave his name as Damilola promised to get back to our correspondent. However, several calls to his line were not answered as of the time of filing this report.
