How Minister of Communications press release sparked 5G conspiracy in Nigeria

How Minister of Communications press release sparked 5G conspiracy in Nigeria – The tech community in Nigeria is worried that the press release by Dr Isa Ali Pantami, Minister of Communications distancing the federal government from 5G infrastructure in the country has given depth to conspiracy theories linking the nextGen technology to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The Minister yesterday said that the Federal Government has not issued any license for Fifth Generation Mobile Networks (5G) in Nigeria.

The Minister, who said this in a press statement yesterday, in reaction to rumours making the rounds on social media, noted that his office has not deliberated on or released any bulk frequency spectrum for the deployment of 5G.

Various technology experts like Mr Jide Awe, on Sunday described rumours linking coronavirus to the roll-out of 5G technology as baseless conspiracy theories and misinformation.

Awe, also the Chief Executive Officer of Jidaw Systems Limited, made  this known in an interview with  Newsmen on Sunday in Lagos.

He noted that most of the misinformation on 5G came from a deadly mix of ignorance, unsubstantiated evidence and zeal.

Awe said there had always been concerns about the dangers of radiation from cell phones and networks, noting that even if the concerns might be genuine, they were unsubstantiated conspiracy theories.

Other experts have also expressed their displeasures to the statement by the honorable minister of communications and digital economy dismissing him as unfit to lead the technology sector inn Nigeria following his soft spot for 5G conspiracy theory.

After a successful trial launch in South Africa last year, MTN commenced 5G trial in Nigeria, starting with Abuja.

With the latest turn around because of conspiracy theories, the tech community is worried that the minister doesn’t have the technical knowhow to lead their technology efforts, “We cannot have a conspiracy theorist lead the Communication and tech sector in 2020”, said one of the experts.

“If we don’t roll out for infrastructure immediately, Nigeria will be left behind as the rest of the world enjoys unprecedented internet speed and usage, this will badly affect our economy” he said.