Though banished by the West due to the controversies surrounding privacy and security issues, Chinese technology giant Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. is cherished in Africa. Huawei components make up around 70% of 4G networks across the continent with many areas upgrading to 5G technology, led by Huawei. In Nigeria’s economic capital Lagos, the first 5G masts are already set to enter service.
The merits of Huawei’s devices according to Gbenga Adebayo, the leader of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), are low prices, attractive terms, easy to work, and a performance guarantee. Moreover, Huawei’s transactions are handled directly by the Exim Bank, responsible for Chinese foreign investments.
But experts are concerned. They say that Huawei is programmed to steal military information or sensitive information relating to the security of a country. The system has vulnerabilities for cyber-attacks for military and industrial espionage. China’s National Intelligence Law enacted in June 2017, they point out requires Chinese companies to collect secret information. The Chinese companies are obliged to cooperate with intelligence services, including compelling installation of ‘back doors’ and providing private data to the government. African leaders, the critics say, are oblivious of the issue of digital foreign interference as it is a new phenomenon. It is alleged that the so-called ‘middleboxes’ that are hidden from the end-user act as distribution stations to forward information and are capable of filtering and manipulating information.
The critics allege that authoritarian African governments see the benefit of customized censorship mechanisms and surveillance in the Huawei infrastructure that can be used to cling on to political power.
