The Emir of Rano, Muhammadu Isah Umaru, has pledged his support for efforts to protect telecommunications infrastructure in the emirate, saying his palace would back initiatives aimed at promoting development and safeguarding critical national assets.
The monarch gave the assurance while receiving a delegation from the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) at his palace in Rano Local Government Area of Kano State during the rollout of the Telecoms Infrastructure Community Protection Initiative (TICPI).
The initiative, which commenced community entry activities this week, is designed to create awareness on the importance of telecommunications infrastructure and promote community participation in ensuring their safety and security.
Speaking during the advocacy visit, CITAD’s Community Network Coordinator, Haruna Adamu Hadejia, said the visit was part of efforts to secure the support of traditional institutions and host communities for the initiative.
He said, “The advocacy visit is aimed at getting the support of communities under the initiative.
“The selected areas are pilot communities where we will engage community leaders and discuss how they can contribute towards the security of telecommunications infrastructure.”
Hadejia said the community entry meetings were expected to strengthen local understanding of the challenges facing telecom infrastructure, assess the commitment of community stakeholders, gauge the level of acceptance of the initiative, create momentum around infrastructure protection and generate media visibility for the programme.
According to him, “The objectives of the entry meeting include strengthening local understanding of the issues, assessing the level of potential commitment by partners, determining the level of acceptance in their communities, creating traction on the issues and giving the initiative the necessary media visibility.”
Responding, the Emir of Rano welcomed the initiative and assured the delegation of his support.
“Our doors are always open to every initiative that will bring development and improve the lives of our people in the Rano Emirate,” the monarch said.
He added, “Protecting telecommunications infrastructure is a collective responsibility because these facilities are critical to communication, economic activities and the overall development of our communities.”
The emir also urged telecommunications service providers to complement their investments by implementing meaningful corporate social responsibility projects in host communities.
“I also call on telecommunications providers to give back to communities hosting their facilities through projects such as schools, roads, healthcare centres and motorised boreholes. Such interventions will strengthen the relationship between the companies and their host communities,” he said.
