The recent report from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) indicates that we have recorded over 50,000 cases of infrastructure destruction in just five years, serving as a wake-up call for every Nigerian. There is a profound Hausa proverb that says, “Idan bera na da sata, dadda na da wari.” It suggests that if the mouse is guilty of stealing, the locust bean is equally guilty of its pungent odor. This captures our dilemma perfectly: while our leadership is often accused of systemic theft through mismanagement, we as citizens are increasingly guilty of the stench of local theft.
This culture of sabotage is not limited to our phones; it is a rot visible across all sectors. In the power sector, we demand constant electricity while vandals systematically strip armored cables from transformers and topple transmission towers for scrap metal. On our multi-billion naira rail tracks, the very clips and bolts that keep the trains from derailing are being unscrewed and sold for a pittance. From the theft of manhole covers on new highways to the siphoning of crude oil from pipelines, we are witnessing a nationwide trend where collective assets are sacrificed for individual greed.
The telecommunications sector is currently the hardest hit by this pattern. As of April 2026, the scale of disruption is far bigger than most users realize, with reports of 1,100 fiber cuts and 99 equipment theft incidents every single week. In 2025 alone, telecom operators recorded the theft of 152 generators and 504 batteries from mobile sites. When we scavenge lithium batteries or cut cables for personal gain, we are not just taking back from a broken system; we are disconnecting our own hospitals and silencing our own businesses.
The financial drain on the sector is catastrophic. Consider the massive capital required just to keep us connected: it costs an operator $273.6 million to acquire a 5G spectrum license for a mere 10 years. Furthermore, to stay afloat and provide capacity, companies like MTN recently entered a three-year lease for additional spectrum from T2 Mobile (9mobile) in a deal valued at over ₦4.28 billion. Every single generator carted away or liter of diesel siphoned adds to an operational cost that makes these billion-naira investments nearly impossible to sustain.
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By choosing to solve a temporary personal problem through theft, individuals are inadvertently driving up the cost of digital banking and education for 200 million people. Ironically, as the NCC begins enforcing automatic airtime compensation for subscribers this April 2026, we face a moral paradox. Is it logical to demand a refund for poor service from an operator whose equipment was dismantled by the very neighborhood requesting the compensation? This culture of local theft further scares away the Foreign Direct Investment essential for our national survival.
Ultimately, there is no policy magic that can fix a broken national conscience. While the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) Order now provides a legal shield against willful damage, the government cannot be everywhere. These installations are embedded in our local streets and are known to the community. In many cases, the silence of the neighbourhood acts as a quiet consent to the crimes being committed in broad daylight by people who are not far from the installations.
We need a community-led oversight model where traditional rulers and local watches are held accountable as stakeholders. Perhaps it is time for a state-led incentive program where communities that maintain zero-incident records for telecom assets receive priority for network upgrades or 5G rollout. By turning protection into a collective reward, we shift the narrative from one of constant policing to one of shared communal progress.
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True patriotism requires us to move beyond the “government vs. us” mentality and realise that an attack on a telecom installation is a direct theft from the pocket of every Nigerian. While our leaders travel abroad to court investors, our local actions at home often signal that Nigeria is an unsafe warehouse for technology. We must purge the saboteurs among us and embrace a new sense of economic patriotism, for a nation that cannibalises its own infrastructure is a nation voting against its own children’s future.
Written by Abubakar M. Kareto, Public Affairs Analyst and a Concerned Citizen.
He can be reached at amkareto@gmail.com
