A Nigerian, Chinonso Ezeobi, was the best graduating student in the faculty of technology at the University of Vaasa, Finland at the recent 2015 graduation and award ceremony. The feat put Nigeria on the global map.
Special Correspondent NNANNA OKERE was at the event and had an exclusive interview with Ezeobi. Excerpts
Tell us about your thesis on wireless network
The thesis topic was on “Interference management in LTE system and beyond”. LTE is acronym for Long Term Evolution, commonly known as 4G or 4th Generation wireless network.
It also dealt with 5G or 5th Generation wireless network, commonly referred to as Millimeter wave.
4G is already commercially available in most markets but 5G is expected to be commercially available in 2020 even though there are speculations that it might be available in Russia for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Interference is the main limiting factor against the gain of Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), the enabling technology to meeting the ever increasing data demand and data on the move for the evolving wireless network.
The thesis is in summary how to find an effective way to eliminate this interference challenge to allow for a full benefit of the next generation of wireless communication.
How Nigeria can benefit from this knowledge
It is a very difficult question but my attempt will be to start with the obvious. Nigeria is mainly a technology consuming nation. This means that the majority of technology is developed elsewhere and the end product brought in for our consumption and benefit.
This may also link to the fact that the cost of doing business in Nigeria is quite huge.
Because of the energy crisis, our university system does not, to the best of my knowledge, encourage research in these areas and I am not aware if there is any collaboration between international companies and our tertiary institutions to fund research.
Now to your question, Nigeria can benefit if people with verifiable foreign qualification are given opportunities in our tertiary institutions to transfer their knowledge, cultivate a very strong research culture, and our current system of memorisation as a way of testing knowledge is discouraged.
In a nutshell, what I intend doing after my PhD studies is to contribute to the development of educational system in Nigeria by way of teaching.
Staying back to search for job or going back to Nigeria?
First I will take a break to visit my family but the intention is to continue with my PhD after which I will be going back to Nigeria to settle down and teach.
Comparing Finnish educational system with Nigeria’s
To be honest, Finnish education is better. The basic things in my opinion that differentiate their system from that of Nigeria are class size, teaching and learning facilities, the way students are tested on the application of knowledge and the access granted to students to all professional journals.
Their education is tailored towards application of theories to solve current and future problems while that of Nigeria is designed towards memorisation or ability to remember things, otherwise called rote learning.
Assessment of telecom services in both countries
I will like to start by saying that I have not only lived in Nigeria but have over 10 years’ work experience in the Nigerian telecommunication industry.
The only difference in my opinion is the level of infrastructural development in both countries even though I do not have the privilege of gaining back end experience here in Finland as I did in Nigeria.
As of the time I left Nigeria in 2013, the majority if not all the telecommunication operators were still offering 3G services, but I met 4G service in Finland.
Telecommunication infrastructure in Finland is far more developed than that of Nigeria. For example, people do not depend on mobile cellular networks for internet subscription while that is the case in Nigeria.
Internet is far cheaper and more reliable in Finland compared with Nigeria as a result of good infrastructure, like fiber to home which is currently not the case in most homes in Nigeria.
In Nigeria, billing is based on kilobytes used, and fluctuations in mobile network provider due to the dynamic nature of wireless channel or medium of transmission leads to disruption in internet services (low quality of service).
This fluctuation in mobile wireless cellular network is part of what I investigated in my thesis.
How telecom operators in Nigeria can improve service
The simple solution will be to improve infrastructure but this is the responsibility of operators and the government, in this case the NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission).
The government has to resolve the energy crisis (steady power supply) which will also lead to a reduction in the cost of telecommunication services, reduce outage, reduce maintenance personnel and operating expenditure (OPEX) for operators.
I am hopeful that the fiber infrastructure road map introduced by the NCC, if implemented correctly, will bring massive improvement in the service to telecommunication consumers.
I will also like to see the network operators and vendors partnering with tertiary institutions for research so as to be abreast with the current and future needs of the industry.
Expectation from the new government on telecom infrastructure
I think the first step will be a total overhaul of our educational system to produce graduates that can compete at the world level. I must confess that I had a lot of challenges with programming courses due to my poor programming skills from my first degree.
Nigerian students are doing exploits in foreign institutions, so it is obvious from this that the challenge does not lie with the students’ ability to learn but the system adopted by our country’s educational system in teaching.
There is need for a national telecommunication infrastructure, especially fiber optics, apart from the ones being built by telecommunication operators to improve their services.
In fact, no nation will base its telecommunication infrastructure development on that of operators.
The vacuum in Nigeria is created by the death of NITEL (Nigeria Telecommunication Limited). The story of NITEL is well known to most Nigerians. The NCC should be empowered in the absence of a national carrier to take up this challenge.
I was happy with the launch of the fiber infrastructure road map; hopefully it will change the landscape of telecommunication business when completed.
Attracting diaspora Nigerians to contribute to national development
I might not be in the best position to answer this question but my attempt will be to say quota system should be removed from the Nigerian Constitution.
The reason being that if distinguished Nigerians in the diaspora are from a certain tribe, what happens? Merit in my opinion should be encouraged and this will make it easier for Nigerians in the diaspora to come home.
Time has come for competent Nigerians to be appointed to key positions instead of using geo-political zones as a basis for employment. Nigerians in the diaspora will return once they know that merit and competence is the key to getting employed.
Advice to Nigerians in Finland
Finland is a great place to live and study but the benefit of this wonderful education will only be beneficial to Nigerians when the knowledge is transferred back home.
Living in Finland is good but there must be an exit plan on how to resettle in Nigeria at the end of your sojourn here so the knowledge gained can be transferred back home for the benefit of our own development.
The fact is that it is only in Nigeria we can live as first class citizens.
Who is Chinonso Ezeobi?
I am from Ekwulobia in Aguata Local Government of Anambra State.
I had my primary education at Umuezennaofor Primary School, Ekwulobia. I attended Aguata High School, Ekwulobia for my JSCE (Junior Secondary Certification Eduation), and Okonwgu Memorial Special Science School, Nnewi for my Senior School Certificate of Education (SSCE).
I obtained a Bachelor’s degree in electrical/electronic engineering from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka with a second class honours upper division. I did my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) service with NITEL, Abuja.
I started my work career with XPT Link Ikeja, then went on to Cyberspace, Cellcom (Visafone), Airtel, LMN Ericsson and Consulting position for Aviat Netwrok for MTN project in that order.
I came to the University of Vaasa, Finland in 2013 for a Master’s degree in telecommunication, and I graduated with distinction in May 2015.
I am married to elegant and beautiful Grace, who is also a graduate in electrical/ electronic engineering from Nnamdi Azikiwe Unversity, Awka.
Congratulations for being the best graduating student in the faculty of technology and for putting Nigeria on world map
Thank you very much; I give God all the glory.
How do you feel being the best graduating student?
I feel humbled, accomplished, and a sense of fulfillment that I am leaving my dream.
Where do you see yourself in the next five years
I am optimistic that I will be a university teacher in the next five years with hope that I would have completed my PhD studies.
The aim is to give back to the Nigerian educational system at the end of my journey abroad and learning.
