Telecommunication subscribers have lamented poor network connectivity since the commencement of the nationwide protest against bad governance in Nigeria.
WikkiTimes reports that the #endbadgovernance protest against economic hardship and insecurity started on Thursday across the 36 states of the federation plus Abuja.
In some places, the protest went peacefully while other places especially in northern Nigeria recorded cases of violence, looting of public and private properties.
With curfew experienced in some parts of the country including Borno and Kano states, poor network connectivity has also become a restraint to many.
Many subscribers of different service providers who spoke to WikkiTimes in different locations across northern Nigeria have expressed their frustration with the latest development.
Rukayya Ahmed Bello, a student of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, said she has been having troubles using her MTN to access the internet since Thursday.
“It is unusual because at first I thought I ran out of mobile data but it persisted and I later realized others were complaining as well,” Rukayya said.
Salaha Muhammad from Gombe narrated the same ordeal, saying her airtel network has been poor since Thursday. According to her, this has affected some of her online banking transactions which in turn impacted her business negatively.
Hayina Pagiel from Adamawa State decried that the network has been so unreliable recently that she has been unable to access the internet since the protest began.
She reported having problems with accessing her WhatsApp and Facebook accounts using her mobile data.
Another subscriber, Taraba-based Comr. Aliyu Musa, explained that he has been experiencing network challenges over the past two days.
Comr. Musa, whose activities rely heavily on stable internet connectivity, shared his thoughts on the situation, attributing the network problems to the ongoing protest, which he believes are contributing to reduced traffic.
Similarly, Salamatu Nuhu in Jigawa shared similar experience that many people around her have complained in that regard.
“Network connectivity as well as calls have been terrible. Many people had trouble with their bank notifications,” she said.
Speaking to WikkiTimes, Abuja-based Airtel subscriber Rabiatu Usman reported having difficulties that is similar to the experiences of other subscribers.
WikkiTimes could not independently verify if government is involved in the glitches experienced by the subscribers.
However, Peoples Gazette had earlier reported that the federal government was working with the telecommunication companies to limit access to the internet to Nigerians during the #EndBadGovernance protests in the country.
WikkiTimes attempts to verify the alleged connivance between the federal government and the telecom operators and other reasons for the terrible internet connectivity across the states were not successful as Airtel and MTN customer care representatives did not respond to the inquiries sent to them as at the time of filing this report.
