In a report by the Daily Trust, Buba Bajoga, a professor of electrical engineering who was also the managing director for some time before he retired, said that some greedy Nigerians wanted to privatize NITEL, so they were pushing them here and there.
Buba Bajoga reflected on his experience working with ministers and soldiers, particularly during his tenure at NITEL. He found competent engineers among his former students, and he emphasized the importance of teamwork. Despite facing challenges, he believed they had achieved significant progress.
However, he expressed concern about attempts by certain Nigerians to privatize NITEL, which led to disruptions and uncertainties.
Bajoga was relieved when the privatization efforts failed, but he lamented the eventual collapse of NITEL after his departure. He admitted to being unaware of the company’s current status compared to its previous prominence.
Bajoga recalled,
“Yes. I worked with some ministers. So, I found that we worked better with the soldiers. So, anyway. I came to NITEL; it was a challenging job, but I found a lot of my students in the organization holding high positions. And they were very competent engineers, and we worked as a team.
I feel that we did our best. I feel that we achieved a lot. Some greedy, I may say, Nigerians wanted to privatize NITEL and take it over. So, they were pushing us here and there.”
He continued,
“What they could not make us do as leaders of NITEL, which was government-owned, they thought they could do if they took it over one way or another.
There were a lot of problems with the privatization anyway. Of course, I’m glad that the whole thing collapsed.
After I left, NITEL itself collapsed. They were not able to buy it. And I know little of what NITEL is today compared to what it was before. Of course.”