By Levinus Nwabughiogu
For years, connectivity in Bende was not a given however a quest. To make or obtain a phone name, residents traversed a kilometre or two, shifting from one location to one other in quest of a sign. Opportunities misplaced. Development stalled. Progress retarded. It felt like a throwback to the darker age of the 18th century.
Excitedly, the protracted wait, fear and seeming disappointments got here to an finish on Friday, October 16, 2026 with the commissioning of a digital telecommunications tower alongside the Umuahia-Ohafia Road, Bende. With that singular mast put in, the lengthy odyssey for dependable communication has been concluded.
This improvement is one more strategic intervention, a improvement streak made doable and attracted to Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State by Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, PhD, CFR, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
To these acquainted along with his political trajectory, it’s hardly stunning. Kalu has cultivated a particular philosophy of illustration. Every alternative secured in Abuja and certainly, the world have to be redirected residence. This precept has change into the defining ethos of his stewardship, the hallmark of his mission to Abuja because the consultant of the federal constituency. Ultimately, that is the rationale Bende has been made a constant beneficiary of federal presence.
Since his emergence on the thresholds of National Assembly, his imprint has been seen throughout very important spheres of social and human developments. Roads have been constructed, hospitals established, faculties constructed and rehabilitated, well being centres based and constituents empowered via real enterprise grants reasonably than token gestures.
Yet in current occasions, industrial and social life had change into more and more constrained by poor digital connectivity.
So, when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu permitted the National Universal Communications Access Programme, NUCAP, beneath the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Kalu promptly positioned Bende for consideration. Graciously, the President obliged him and the Ministry, to its credit score, chosen Bende, not Lagos or Abuja for the take off of the undertaking.
For functions of recapitulation and accentuation, NUCAP is a deliberate federal initiative to lengthen dependable cell and broadband connectivity to communities underserved by industrial networks. It envisages the deployment of roughly 3,700 fashionable, renewable power powered telecom towers throughout rural, riverine and onerous to attain areas, with the target of connecting practically 20,000,000 Nigerians presently excluded from fundamental digital providers. In choose places, the towers will likely be complemented by public WiFi and digital studying instruments. The programme, understandably enhances Project BRIDGE, the 90,000 kilometre fibre optic spine, and NIGCOMSAT satellite tv for pc protection.
Its dividends are far reaching. Enhanced market entry for farmers and merchants, expanded monetary inclusion via cell banking, improved entry to emergency, instructional and healthcare providers, and strengthened communication for democratic processes, together with BVAS operations.
At the commissioning ceremony in Bende on Friday, carried out by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani on Friday, Kalu spoke to human expertise, intentionally avoiding technical distractions.
He mentioned: “For those who have always enjoyed reliable network service, connectivity may seem ordinary. For a rural trader whose payment repeatedly fails, a student who cannot join an online lesson, or a family struggling to contact a doctor, it is anything but ordinary. It can determine whether an opportunity is secured or lost. Where a person lives should not determine the limits of what that person can become.”
He distilled the intervention into the up to date, lived realities of his constituents.
For monetary inclusion, connectivity, he mentioned, is the financial institution itself, positing that with out it, cell functions, Point of Sale (POS) terminals, agent banking and digital transfers falter.
For training, connectivity is a classroom with out partitions, enabling a baby in Bende to entry on-line tutoring and studying sources past his quick setting, whereas lecturers can even upskill and broaden their pedagogical horizons.
In healthcare deliveries, it’s a lifeline, permitting frontline employees to seek the advice of specialists, transmit outcomes securely and coordinate referrals.
For democracy, particularly because the 2027 normal elections strategy, connectivity is voice. Citizens want correct data and a channel to interact their representatives. Emergency and electoral officers additionally want dependable communication.
“Our children should be able to receive online tutoring and access learning materials beyond their immediate environment. Our young people should be able to apply for scholarships, acquire digital skills and explore opportunities without travelling elsewhere simply to find a signal. The talent is already here in Bende. We must provide the connections through which that talent can grow.
“Citizens need access to accurate information. Communities need channels through which to raise concerns, seek clarification and engage their representatives. Electoral and emergency personnel need reliable communication. These towers must serve the whole community,” Kalu echoed.
Underscoring the strategic location and proximity of Bende to neighbouring States of Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi, Kalu famous that funding in its connectivity yields advantages that transcend the native authorities space, facilitating commerce, mobility and inter group relations.
He nonetheless revealed that 16 further places requiring pressing connectivity interventions have been recognized throughout the constituency and implored the Ministry, community suppliers and technical companions to collaborate along with his workplace and group leaders to validate the websites and institute a sustainable upkeep regime anchored on dependable energy provide and immediate fault decision.
Kalu additionally expressed profound gratitude to President Tinubu and the Ministry of Communications for prioritizing rural digital infrastructure, particularly his Bende Federal Constituency, commending the Ministry and its companions for selecting the federal constituency.
“On behalf of the people of Bende Federal Constituency, I sincerely thank His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for his administration’s commitment to expanding digital infrastructure and bringing more Nigerians into the digital economy.
“I commend the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, the implementing agencies, network providers, engineers and all partners responsible for this intervention. Thank you for choosing Bende. Thank you for recognising the needs and potential of our people”, he mentioned.
Words of appreciation and acknowledgement had been additionally despatched to Governor Alex Otti for his assist for federal tasks in Abia particularly those attracted by Kalu, be it federal training establishments or a department of business court docket.
To guarantee sufficient safety of the essential nationwide infrastructure and asset, the Deputy Speaker additional appealed to the standard rulers, Town Union Presidents-General and the individuals of Bende to safeguard the set up.
Then enter Minister Tijani who provided a resonant metaphor that encapsulated the second in his speech on the commissioning.
“When you look at this tower, you may see a mast. I want you to think of a tree. When we plant a tree, it grows. It gives shade. It bears fruit. Even children who were not born when we planted it can grow up to enjoy it. That is how I want us to see this tower. Its fruits will be the farmer who finds a new buyer, the young person who learns a new skill, the trader who gets an order from another town, and the family who can finally speak to their loved ones. These are the opportunities this connection can bring”, he mentioned.
According to the Minister, NUCAP represents President Tinubu’s unequivocal mandate to deliver each Nigerian on-line.
The innovation, he mentioned, will join about 20 million Nigerians who haven’t any entry to phone and web providers.
“Today, we’re launching right here in Bende a nationwide undertaking to join shut to 20 million Nigerians who at the moment have
no entry to phone and web providers. Let me start by recognising our very pricey host, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon.
Benjamin Kalu. Your Excellency, thanks to your partnership. Thank you
for at all times bringing the wants of your communities to our consideration.
“My people, why are we here? We are here because where we live should never stand between us and opportunity.
We should be able to call our families, whether they are elsewhere in Nigeria or anywhere in the world”.
Tijani additionally evaluated the inherent advantages of the tower.
“A farmer right here with produce prepared to promote, shouldn’t have to wrestle to discover a sign to name a purchaser. A dealer right here shouldn’t lose a sale as a result of a buyer can’t discover a community to make a switch. And a household right here whose youngster is sick at evening, shouldn’t have to wrestle to make a name for assist. For many Nigerians, these struggles are a part of on a regular basis life. We should change that.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given us a clear mandate: work towards bringing every Nigerian online. Through NUCAP, we are delivering 3,700 telecommunications towers across Nigeria. Today, we are commissioning the first of these sites here. More will follow across the country in the coming days, weeks and months”, he mentioned.
This isn’t one off. The Minister promised to do extra for Bende afterwards.
“Our work in Bende Local Government does not end with this first site. In the coming months, we will keep working with the Deputy Speaker, network operators and community leaders to reach the parts of this local government that are still unconnected,” he assured.
Remarkably, the occasion went past rhetorics and featured demonstrative practicals when the crowed exited the venue of the launch for Bende Grammar School the place college students participated in a dwell digital studying session enabled by the newly deployed community. Here, the ability of the tower was examined and expectedly its transformative potential got here alive. For certain, this gladdened everybody’s coronary heart, genuinely showcasing the the Aristocracy and essentiality of the undertaking.
Incidentally, complimentary cellphones had been additionally distributed to constituents to allow quick utilization of the connectivity.
In the top, that is the story of the digital tower in Bende, first throughout the 774 native authorities areas in Nigeria attracted by a consultant who has made it a behavior of turning nationwide programmes into native progress for his constituents. This is a narrative of 1 federal lawmaker who’s so keen about giving his individuals a lofty elevate. This Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives who has discovered favour earlier than the President Tinubu and all. But it isn’t personally about him. It is triumphantly about his Bende and the individuals he represents on the National Parliament.
*Nwabughiogu, a journalist and social analyst writes from Bende, Abia State
