Telecom shutdown: How FUDMA Students, Community Meander Through 7 Days of Silence 

Telecom shutdown: How FUDMA Students, Community Meander Through 7 Days of Silence 

By Sadiq Usman and Abubakar Abdulazeez

Members of the Federal University Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA) community, residents of  town and neighbouring communities have breath a sigh of relief following the restoration of telecommunication services after a week-long shutdown.

It was one week of disruption to businesses, social engagement, learning and heavy burden on students seeking money to buy food.

The outage was part of security measures adopted by Nigerian security forces to cripple the activities of bandits terrorising communities and bring them to their knees.

However, the measure came at a significant cost to the local population, affecting communication, business activities, and educational pursuits—particularly for students.

During the shutdown, many staff members, students, and residents adopted the ingenious ways to communicate, including going atop hilltops, mountains, and storey buildings in desperate attempts to get network signals.

The Dutsin-Ma rock, a prominent landmark in the area, became a temporary communication hub for those seeking connectivity.

Saifullahi Dahiru, a fast food and tea vendor, described how the outage devastated his business operations.

“My business was drastically affected with low patronage, and people were trooping into my shop for credit due to lack of cash. I had no option than to close the shop because I was running at a loss.

“I am happy the network is back and my business is moving smoothly.”

For Abdul-Alim Basiru, owner of a business centre opposite FUDMA’s Take-off Campus, the network blackout proved particularly damaging to his operations.

“I used to source materials online for research, assignments, and projects, but could not do so due to the absence of network,” he said.

“I normally collect waybills of rims of papers from Kaduna, but I could not communicate due to lack of network. There was no patronage.”

With the network’s return, he said “my business is beginning to regain its momentum.”

He prayed for “a better and safer Nigeria,” appealing to the government to find lasting solutions to prevent such challenges in the future.

The challenging situation highlighted the difficult balance between security operations and maintaining essential communication infrastructure, as residents expressed hope for sustained connectivity alongside continued security measures that do not necessitate prolonged network suspensions.

The economic impact of the network blackout was immediate and severe, with local business owners recounting significant financial losses.

The Point of Sale (POS) sector, which relies heavily on network connectivity, was particularly hard-hit.

Al-Amin Muhammad, a POS vendor, said the closure of networks services was a devastatingexperience.  “it has really touched my business; it nearly crippled the business because I had to stop coming to shop.”

He revealed the depth of his struggles: “People were collecting loans and some tried to defraud me, and I started spending from my capital. This challenge was very disturbing.”

Since the network’s restoration, Muhammad reported that “patronage is appreciating day by day without any disruption.”

He called on the government to “speed up by bringing an end to insecurity and provide an uninterrupted communication network so that we can run our businesses and daily activities without problems.”

For students, the network outage created academic and personal crises.

Hamza Aminu, a final year student in the Chemistry Department, bitterly described how the outage slowed his research work and nearly led to starvation due to his inability to access money with which to buy foodstuffs.

“The outage caused a lot of havoc to me personally. I could not access study materials for my project work nor communicate with my parents for five days, and it slowed my small business online.

“I am happy, energized, and grateful for the restoration, and I plead with the Federal Government to bring a fast solution to the insecurity in the country,” Hamza said.

Halimatu Abdulaziz, a 100-level student from the Faculty of Education, revealed how the situation affected her academic activities, as she was unable to access online study materials or communicate with classmates regarding assignments and group discussions.

Similarly, Mubarak Sanusi, a final year student from the Business Management Department, welcomed the restoration of telecoms services, saying it would make life easy for students and other members of the public who depend largely on the internet for learning and keeping in touch with their loved ones.

The impact of the communication blackout extended its reach to the transport sector, with drivers and their families experiencing significant disruption.

Abubakar Nuhu, a commercial driver said “I was having difficulty connecting with my family. I suffered enough to reach out to them, but I am glad now as my business rejuvenates slowly.

“I must commend the Government for trying to curtail the lingering insecurity affecting many parts of Nigeria.”

Dalha noted that “the network disruption affected both official and personal communications, making it difficult for staff and students to access information and perform certain online tasks,” underscoring the university’s dependence on digital connectivity for its daily operations.

Mr. Titus Ngwe, Desk Officer of the National Universities Pension Management Company (NUPEMCO), however, said “the situation is far from normal, making browsing and phone calls is still very difficult.”

Ngwe recounted a particularly telling experience: “I have ascended the famous Dutsin-Ma rock on three occasions to get network signals. It was a very stressful experience.”

Expressing happiness over the revival of the network, he appealed to the authorities and telecommunications companies to “consider providing Sterling network as an alternative in the future situations of this nature.”

Members of the university’s administrative staff also felt the weight of the disruption.

Malam Usman Dalha, an Assistant Registrar in the Registry Department, summed up their experience as “challenging and stressful for members of the university community.”