By Isiaka Mustapha, Editor-in-Chief, People’s Security Monitor

The Akwa Ibom State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Mr Jonathan Olariche, has called for greater adoption of non-kinetic strategies, including community engagement and public enlightenment, to address the growing threat of vandalism of telecommunications infrastructure.

Olariche made the call in Uyo on Thursday when a delegation from American Tower Corporation (ATC), one of Nigeria’s major telecommunications infrastructure operators, paid him a courtesy visit.He maintained that relying solely on enforcement and security operations would not provide a sustainable solution to the destruction, interference and disruption of critical national infrastructure, stressing the need to secure the cooperation of host communities.

According to him, a well-coordinated non-kinetic approach involving dialogue, trust-building and sustained public sensitisation would help address the underlying causes of hostility towards telecommunications facilities and encourage residents to take responsibility for protecting them.“We need to adopt community engagement and trust-building approaches.

This will help us win the acceptance of host communities,” he said.The NSCDC commandant assured the ATC delegation of the command’s readiness to strengthen collaboration with the company through public awareness campaigns and community-based initiatives aimed at protecting telecommunications facilities across the state.

He specifically proposed the organisation of town hall meetings involving traditional rulers, community leaders, youth representatives and other stakeholders to educate residents on the importance of safeguarding telecommunications infrastructure.

Olariche explained that telecommunications facilities were critical national assets whose protection was essential to effective communication, economic activities, emergency response and national security.

He noted that damage to telecommunications infrastructure could disrupt essential services, affect businesses and undermine the safety and convenience of millions of Nigerians.Earlier, the leader of the delegation and ATC Security Supervisor for the South-South region, Mr Michael Ekweogwu, disclosed that the company’s operations were facing challenges arising from the activities of some host community members.

Ekweogwu explained that in certain communities, engineers were prevented from accessing telecommunications base stations to carry out routine maintenance and repairs, thereby threatening the reliability of network services.

He also identified difficulties encountered by contractors in gaining access to facilities to refuel generators, adding that some community members allegedly made excessive financial demands that disrupted the company’s operations.

According to him, these challenges could compromise service delivery and increase the operational difficulties associated with maintaining telecommunications infrastructure in affected communities.He appealed to residents of host communities to cooperate with ATC and other telecommunications operators, stressing that protecting the facilities was a shared responsibility.“Please work with us to protect telecommunications infrastructure in your communities. This is in our collective interest,” Ekweogwu said.

The engagement underscores the importance of stronger partnerships between security agencies, telecommunications operators and host communities in protecting critical national infrastructure against vandalism, unauthorised interference and operational disruptions.

The NSCDC, which has a statutory responsibility for the protection of critical national assets and infrastructure, is expected to play a central role in strengthening surveillance, public enlightenment and community cooperation to ensure uninterrupted telecommunications services across Akwa Ibom State.