TheNewsGuru

Tag: Okoh Aihe

  • Telecoms: The changing dynamics of a once predictable industry – By Okoh Aihe

    Telecoms: The changing dynamics of a once predictable industry – By Okoh Aihe

    The telecom sector once very predictable in performance and visibility, and even in functionality and relevance, has suddenly become a sector needing urgent attention, as it attracts responses and reactions of all shades. It is not a good place to be at all.

    Mixed reactions will be too much of a beautiful phrase to describe an industry with too many worrying concerns. The subscribers are unhappy with the quality of service they are receiving in an industry that should be matured. Data in their phones disappear like mirage. The operators agree there are issues, pleading all kinds of challenges without the readiness to admit the burden of failure bearing down the industry.

    It is a frustrating season for the subscriber. Ironically but which is a good development, the operators are making money, having returned to profitability after negotiating a 50 percent tariff increase from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which is the regulator of the telecom industry. Part of the discussion at the time was that an increase in tariff could help the operators build investable funds for network upgrade and expansion. That doesn’t seem to have happened. As they say, talk is cheap.

    The situation is more complicated than it ordinarily looks. Just this Monday, at a place not too far from the city centre in Abuja, a friend had gone to a corner shop to print out a document which, unfortunately, had refused to send because of network challenges. He walked out with phone in hand searching for signals.

    The walk was so unexpected that he had completely forgotten that his mini truck was blocking other vehicles parked at the shop. There was anger and frustration by others users of that environment who got trapped momentarily. You may call this a comic relief but it’s an unfortunate reality that phone  users have to deal with at the moment. More like a familiar Nigerian phenomenon where a bad situation simply refuses to abate.

    From all indications, the regulator which appears to be doing a constant review of the situation, admits the decline in the industry, and said last week that it was introducing a bouquet of regulatory measures to deal with the situation or even put the operators in some kind of glass casing where failure will be magnified.

    “We are putting the numbers in the public domain. Nigerians will clearly see which networks are delivering and which are failing,” Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida, told the media, adding that “this marks a new era of accountability in Nigeria’s telecom sector. When consumers are happy, operators thrive, and the economy gets a much needed boost.”

    The ultimate, it seems, is to make the subscribers find joy in the use of their phones once more. The journey to this obvious expectation has been windy and tortuous. Every planned action, including a fibre optics ring and even fibre to home, has not been successful.

    Unfortunately, fibre to home is not only laborious now but it seems to have been stripped of its psychedelic appeal by mobile technology because of ease of deployment. Even in the more technologically developed environments, mobile broadband seems to be the favoured kid on the block with the more advanced variant, 5G technology, offering high-end wireless services.

    So, it really wasn’t a shock when Maida informed his audience that internet subscription has dropped by over a million, from 142.6 million to 141.25 million, although he said that efforts were being made to reverse this worrying trend.

    Other figures from the Commission include: 171 million subscribers and 105 million broadband users. It may be safe to observe here that these were figures that came after the rebasing of the telecom industry.

    However, these figures mean very little to a subscriber facing frustration on the network. He just wants the regulator to get down and do some work that can communicate a difference each time a user carries out an activity on the network. Is that not the reason they say, it’s not how far but how well? The ‘how well’ of it is the more obvious appeal.

    The other side of the story from the NCC which deserves close observation but should be measured for performance, is the submission that apart from regulatory activities which happen in offices, the regulator has decided to put a number of information in the public space as active metrics that can be used in judging performances by operators.

    Maida said that from the month of September, which is around the corner, the regulator would initiate Quality of Experience (QoE) Portal which will showcase a Public Map for network performance based on information from subscribers,  public release of operator performance score cards, and a quarterly quality of service report.

    The intention is to put some industry activities in the public domain and furnish subscribers with accurate information that can help them make informed choices, while helping operators in engaging in more accountable and transparent practices that are best for an industry in search of stability. In the thinking of the regulator, all stakeholders have a responsibility to create a better industry with more informed engagement and decisions.

    Do we have ‘name and shame’ laced into these fresh regulatory decisions? Perhaps. But whatever it is, the industry needs some shaking to get the best out of the operators who look flummoxed under the weight of industry challenges and consumer expectations.

    There is a reprieve for them however, as Maida informed that an independent audit by PWC and KPMG,  has exonerated the operators from accusations of data pinching, adding that the confusion seems to arise from jumbled tariff structures which challenge the patience of subscribers. The regulator has called for a simplification of the process.

    The regulator which just had its board members nominated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is brimming with optimism that,  “with these reforms underway, we hope to win back consumer trust, attract investment, and ultimately, restore the quality that customers deserve.

    There is nothing wrong with optimism but there is everything wrong when subscribers feel shortchanged by operators who place more emphasis on return on investment (RoI) than respect for customers and service delivery.

  • Finally, the NCC has a Board – By Okoh Aihe

    Finally, the NCC has a Board – By Okoh Aihe

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) gets a Board at last. That is good news. There have been tons of materials written on the need for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to set up a Board for the regulatory agency which has its functions cast in the Act of the Commission to initiate policies that can shape the day to day administration of the agency.

    With nearly a two year hiatus, a wait that raised more questions than understanding, the President in one fell swoop announced a Board each for the Commission and its other embedded body, the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF)

    The statement released by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President, Information and Strategy, said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has constituted the Boards of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Universal Service Fund (USPF), both agencies under the supervision of the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy. 

    Idris Olorunnimbe, who previously served on the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) Board, was appointed chairman; others being: Hajia Maryam Bayi, a former Director, Human Capital & Administration at NCC, Col Abdulwahab Lawal (Rtd), Senator Lekan Mustafa, Chris Okorie, Oforitsenere Emiko, and Secretary of the Board, who is from the Commission.

    Dr Aminu Maida who was appointed in October 2023, with Senate confirmation in November 15, 2023, retained his position as Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), while Engr Abraham Oshadami and Rimini Makama, who were appointed by the President on February 23,2024, with Senate confirmation on May  21, 2024, will continue to serve in their positions as Executive Director, Technical Services and Executive Director , Stakeholder Management, respectively.

    Finally, things are taking shape at the NCC but it will be instructive to observe that for nearly two years, the regulatory agency, which is responsible for a sector as vital as telecommunications, operated without a Board, and was run by only three Executive  Commissioners with a substantive head. 

    This was in clear breach of Section 5 (3) of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, which says that “Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the President shall ensure at all times that there is a duly constituted Board  of Commissioners and that there are a minimum of 6 serving Commissioners on the Board at any and at all times.”

    For nearly two years there were only three Executive Commissioners. How could this ever be?  Within this period so much water went under the bridge, as the cliche would have it. 

    However, it’s not for the sake of these three Executive Commissioners that things went south at the Commission; they were appointed into an agency that was  tearing at the seams because of a previously flawed Board and Management that promoted ego above competence in dealing with an industry that called for technical understanding and agile management. They ran the system into absolute discontent, leaving it to boil from inside. 

    But there is no need crying over spilt milk, as they say; that is for those who can still afford milk in their homes. Data in the phone has even become more popular and much cheaper than milk! Which is the reason that telecommunications must work; it features more on the menu than real food. 

    For the sector to work, the Board has a crucial role to play. Thankfully, the President has given the Commission a Board, hopefully not like the type the Creator gave to the stubborn set of people in the holy books, who pressured Him into giving them a king, although they were fully informed of the type of leader that was coming to them.

    The Board is charged with the administration of the affairs of the Commission, and acts of the Board shall be deemed to be acts of the Commission. The Board works with the Management to provide a general direction for the Commission.

    No doubt, there is a long list of expectations in the basket of the Board awaiting clearance from the Senate. And this is expected, as the sector has fallen out of its golden status to a level that is difficult to understand but very annoying. The quality of network experience is very poor, buildout is below expectations and operators adduce sundry reasons, some very ludicrous; there is discontent within the Commission, and for the very first time since 2000, the Commission is finding it difficult to meet wage bills. Even the very simple matter of staff promotion has become the stuff of social media, and even some quasi serious media, which do not understand how staff promotion works in an establishment. 

    On another serious note, the Commission has nearly lost its regulatory independence consequent upon a troubling inheritance from the previous administration, and stakeholders are expecting this Board to rescue the soul of the agency from those who hold it hostage. 

    Reacting to an article, titled: For telecoms, quality of service remains stubborn, published July 23, 2025, in this column, a reader wrote: “Why won’t there be quality of service issues when it is now desktop regulation that is happening? When staff visit to check the MNOs activities is considered frivolous trips? Self regulation in a country without regulatory infrastructure to detect service lapses from the office is funny.”

    The foregoing is very serious communication but it obviously adds some perilous edge to some of the issues the new Board will have to sort immediately. 

    While it is important to begin to set an agenda for the coming  Board, let me observe three names on the list that are particularly striking for different reasons. They are: Idris Olorunnimbe, Hajia Maryam Bayi and Chris Okorie. 

    My take off point is Bayi. Her appointment has received loud acclaims from her former colleagues, not for selfish reasons but because they know her capacity as a human capital development expert. Once she had the opportunity to head the Human Capital and Administration Department, building staff capacity occupied the front seat. She could smell out training programmes anywhere in the world that could benefit staff of the Commission. She was highly trusted by both staff and management and that offered her salubrious opportunities to resolve frictions and suspicions.

    Plus congratulations, her former  colleagues have been offering a bucketful of advice on what to do to reignite the passion that was at the Commission. The one from Dr Steven Andzenge, a former Director at the Commission, was particularly instructive. I have his permission to reproduce it here. 

    “My Sincere congratulations to our amiable Maryam Bayi on her appointment to the Board of the Commission. She will come to the Board as a former management staff with deep insight on the workings of the Commission, how it was and where it should be going as a Regulatory Commission.

    She will be an effective guide to the other Commissioners and with her wealth of management experience, deep knowledge of Human capital, she will ensure both internal and external operations of the Commission will be met. A special commendation for this well deserved appointment and our prayers are for her.

    “May the Government also continue to identify and equally pick other Former management staff to be of service to the nation in various other Executive or Non Executive roles as NCC has produced deeply knowledgeable versatile management staff who can add value to various other sectors,” he wrote incisively.

    In Bayi, President Tinubu has made the right pick as she brings a rich pedigree to the Board. 

    But the same cannot be said of Chris Okorie, an innocent man,  whose inclusion smells of malevolent infusion. One can see the efforts of the President to ensure some gender presence on the Board, which easily explains the choice of Princess Emiko from the South South. 

    Who is Chris Okorie?

    Okorie, from the information available to me, is also from the South South, but obviously chosen because he could well be taken as coming from the South East denied representative on the Board.  

    Yet the Act in Section 8(1), under Appointment and Tenure of Commissioners, states very clearly, that Commissioners shall be appointed by the President in accordance with Section 7 of this Act, from the 6 geo-political zones of Nigeria subject to the confirmation of the Senate. Those who made that pick have thrown us into a season of onomastics!

    The question is, who hoodwinked the President into breaking the law which he swore to keep, except you are saying the Nigerian President is above the law, which has been a sustained tragedy of a nation that has not really risen beyond expectations and optimism. 

    There is copious evidence that Okorie once tried to seek a ticket to the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly from Etim Ekpo – Ika Constituency in 2019. This may not just be a social media smear. Check the congratulatory messages. Again, this may just be an innocent man being drawn to the inexorable vortex of needless controversy.

    But provenance, dear friend,  cannot be a secret. It carries with it legacy bloodline relationships that can never be hidden from the social media or even the sentry eyes of people genuinely concerned about fairness and equal representation. The President needs to take a second look at the list. The South East needs a voice on the Board of the NCC.

    And finally for the new Chairman. There was once an Ahmed Joda, who could storm the Villa without an appointment and argue with President Olusegun Obasanjo, make demands or even disagree with him, all for the love of the telecoms industry. There were others after him, some of whose tenures pailed into interregnum.

    Can Idris Olorunnimbe ever carry that level of boldness? Let me remind him of the word of the Alchemist, in the book with the eponymous title, The Alchemist. “Courage is the quality most essential to understanding the Language of the World,” he told the young man,  Santiago, who was on a magical journey to seek his own destiny or personal treasures. 

    Like Santiago, there are so many young people at the Commission whose future and destiny are conjoined with the capacity of the new Board to perform. The Chairman should not disappoint them or be inebriated by fumes from idle talks in offices. 

    The Commission needs immediate and urgent attention. The  Chairman should take full advantage of the glorious opportunity given him to write a good story. Or will he squander his moment in the sun?

    The choice is his. Welcome on Board. 

  • From 9Mobile to T2; telecoms sector still underwhelming in service delivery – By Okoh Aihe

    From 9Mobile to T2; telecoms sector still underwhelming in service delivery – By Okoh Aihe

    When the article, Don’t let 9Mobile die, was published in February 2022, the service provider had nearly 13m lines. It was struggling for life and had so many people wishing it well. It had commitments it could hardly meet and some of us thought it was better for relevant stakeholders to work for its survival than let it go under because of implications that could be far-reaching.

    We wrote at the time, “From all indications, 9MOBILE needs understanding and support from all the various stakeholders, so that it can muster enough gusto and courage, once more, to begin to meet its obligations to its creditors, suppliers and services providers. The regulator should pay more attention to the corporate governance activities of the mobile operators in order to keep abreast with their financial health. Or know when some tricks are being played.”

    Has this come to pass? Has the sun returned to the spot where 9Mobile has hibernated for a long time?

    Last week, the organisation announced a name change to T2. An interesting name really, which resonates. Obafemi Banigbe, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), was quoted to have said at the occasion, that, “this is not just a logo change, it’s a total evolution of who we are, why we exist,  and how we deliver value.”

    9Mobile has had quite a story, a little chequered, I should add. Coming into Nigeria in 2007 on the platform of Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Limited (EMTS), with serious financial infusion from the UAE (Mubadala to be specific), the company traded as Etisalat, 9Mobile in 2017, and now T2. The market may only be hoping that this should not be the tale of the rolling stone that gathers no moss.

    It was understandable when the chairman EMTS, Thomas Etu, told the gathering that, “Today marks a new beginning for the 9Mobile business. The march has been tedious. The journey has been exhausting.”

    Etu said it was his belief in the nation that prompted him to invest in the company that has had a share of business misfortune. He must be a bold man, and the nation needs more of his type.

    The story of the service provider can frighten anybody but Etu. From its prime days of over 22m lines, the fortunes of 9Mobile, now T2, have plummeted to 3.2m lines, according to January 2025 figures from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). It may actually be less. But has 9Mobile reincarnated in T2 to defeat all the demons that once troubled its existence?

    I wouldn’t know whether the excitement from the NCC provides any answer. A source at the Commission could only sketch the picture of greater things coming the way of the newly rebranded company.

    “EMTS has met the regulatory requirements to do what they are doing now. They have made the necessary payments and have gotten the regulatory approvals needed,” the source told this writer excitedly.

    I am not that excited at all. In that February 2022 article, we wrote:

    “In spite of the excitement I see around me, the future I see of the telecommunications industry doesn’t present a sustained hope. Except there is a turn, some analysis might be needed at some point to warn those who build imaginary bridges of hope in the skies.”

    The story of 9Mobile might be stirring in T2 but the larger industry remains in trouble, plagued by sundry challenges that shouldn’t be associated with an industry that is 24 years old.

    Just this Tuesday morning (yesterday), a friend woke me up, screaming on the phone, what is happening to the telecommunications industry and why should the regulator allow a service provider to run a mega million promo when the quality of service is very bad?

    The anger is understandable. Even in my humble abode at the nation’s capital, sometimes I have to move from room to room searching for network signals. This may translate into a hyperbole but it demands that the regulator has to be more aggressive in forcing operators into bulding out facilities that can improve quality of service instead of continuing emphasis on subscription uptake.

    While emphasis here is on telecommunications, it can be nauseating to contemplate some of the things  happening around. A fellow builds a couple of bridges with government money and the person becomes a hero. A politician does not meet the job descriptions (JDs) he or she assigned to self but must still feel entitled to parcel out the air we breathe. So, we have walked into a situation where progress is measured with the standard of those who believe they are doing things the right way, even as hunger devastate a majority of the people.

    Just anything can happen and the people accept it as fated and continue to suffer. The other day the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) raised serious concerns about service disruptions becasue of disruptions to the supply logistics of diesel to cell sites across the country.

    “We have received credible reports that members of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA), on Tuesday, blocked access to diesel loading depots in Kaduna, Lagos, and Koko (Delta State), preventing the distribution of diesel to thousands of telecommunications sites operated by one of our key members, IHS Towers,” ALTON informed in a statement.

    Just like that. Because the diesel suppliers couldn’t be patient enough for an ordinary trade dispute to be resolved, they had to put the entire telecommunications sector in jeopardy so that both service providers and their subscribers could have a measure of their importance. This is insane!

    We normalise too many bad behaviours and it doesn’t stand well for the country. In almost every sector, including even the supply of social amenities, failure is normalised and excuses are in abundant supply. Since there is a regulator that we can readily point to in the telecommunication industry, bad behaviour and failure shouldn’t be normalised, while excuses should be forbidden.

    The telecommunications sector is in bad shape except the regulator is the only one not seeing it. The user experience presently doesn’t tell a good story. I am suggesting therefore, that a moratorium be placed on all kinds of promos in the industry while the regulator should bend over backwards to nurture 9Mobile, now T2, back to life. It is in our collective interest for the industry to do well.

  • Niger State appropriates broadcast regulation to self – By Okoh Aihe

    Niger State appropriates broadcast regulation to self – By Okoh Aihe

    There is a side of the politician that we don’t readily credit, to our own disadvantage. The average politician believes he is God and everything moves at his word. He looks at the ordinary fella with imperial arrogance and expects servile response to even his flatulence.

    He promotes arrogance and ignorance over knowledge. He takes his place and seizes your space, and expects you to be impotently genuflective in acknowledging his greed.

    Or how do you ever describe the action of the Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago, who ordered a radio station in his state to be shut immediately, directing the Police Commissioner to do his job.  At his word! The governor is in charge and he doesn’t want anybody to ever doubt his executive powers by engaging in actions that make the state uncomfortable.

    The governor who spoke at the APC caucus meeting, accused the Badeggi Radio station, FM 90.1,  of incitement, and directed the Commissioner for Homeland Security and state police commissioner to shut the station and withdraw its license.

    “Governor Bago also accused the owner of the station of incitement of the people against the government and directed that the license of the radio station be revoked,” Bologi Ibrahim, Chief Press Secretary, made the anger of the governor known.

    Continuing, Ibrahim said the governor has  directed “the Commissioner for Homeland Security and the Commissioner of Police to seal the radio station, and emphasised the need for the security operatives to profile the owner of the radio station as his station promotes violence.”

    Ordinarily, the governor wouldn’t deserve any response, but those who are shouting outrage, know the power of the executive governor; he is in charge of the state, his party is also in charge at the national level, meaning that the governor has infinite capacity to do damage.

    The station has asked the governor to channel his grievances through the right channel, which is the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the regulator of the broadcast industry.

    “The right thing to do is to write to the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for investigation. NBC has a schedule of our programmes and we are being monitored every day.

    “So, the governor should write to NBC and let the regulatory agency verify our contents and programme to establish if they contravene any of the NBC codes or ethical provisions,” Abubakar Shuaib, Director of Operations Badeggi FM, stated in his response.

    That was a very smart response but others are not so conciliatory in their reaction. The truth is that broadcasters in Nigeria operate according to the Nigerian Broadcasting Code put in place  by the regulator. The laws are not cast in stone but strong enough to create some level of decorum in the industry.

    There is a deluge of reactions, all pointing the governor to the limit of his powers. The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Amnesty International (AI), Media Rights Agenda (MRA), International Press Institute (IPI), and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), among others, have all condemned the governor’s action, demanding a rescind of his action immediately.

    The NGE particularly described the governor’s action as “a blatant attack on press freedom and democracy,” noting that “the arbitrary closure of media houses reminds us of the dark days of military rule.”

    The Guild, in the statement signed by its President, Eze Anaba, and General Secretary, Onuoha Ukeh, warned that such action was dangerous to the nation’s democratic system, while asking the governor to channel his grievances through legitimate channels.

    It has been a frenzy. However, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi, who is image maker for the Nigerian government, had earlier taken a bold and very brilliant position, when he told the governor directly that the power of broadcast license revocation resides in the NBC.

    His response was a clear testament that the governor was acting on his own and not in line with the Tinubu government’s understanding of broadcasting or the way it would want the media sector to be treated.

    “While acknowledging the concerns raised, the Ministry notes that the suspension of broadcast licenses falls within the purview of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), as stipulated by law,” the minister said in a statement.

    The minister appealed to all the parties to remain calm, assuring that the NBC has the necessary mechanisms to resolve the issue in a clear and impartial manner.

    Metaphorically, that’s the way to douse a roaring fire threatening to do damage. But it is not the first time that a Nigerian politician would think that the world revolves around him, with all the executive powers laced into his well-starched agbada, to take such drastic decisions, no matter how arbitrary.

    In the weekend of October 14, 2022, governor of Zamfara State, now Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, ordered the closure of six stations which include: the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Gasau, Federal Radio Corporation, Pride FM, Al’umma TV, Gamji FM and Gamji TV.

    A bewildered nation, especially the Human Rights community, rose in defence of the stations. The NBC immediately requested the governor to rescind his withdrawal order and apologise to the people of his state.

    “The NBC has clearly notified the State Government of the gravity of the illegality and requested it to expeditiously reverse the directive and apologise to the people of the state. We also urge the Security Agencies to ignore the call to restrict Staff of the affected Stations from conducting their legitimate duties.”

    That was in 2022. We are in 2023. The politician has hardly changed. The colour remains the same. And the anger is as voluble as ever, threatening fire and brimstone at the smell of the tiniest scent of a perceived wrong, especially if the media channel is not politically aligned.

    Unfortunately for those easily aggrieved, the media practitioners have their job cut out for them and must have to report every news, including those that puncture the ego of the self-acclaimed mighty ones. Fortunately, the law provides a leveller, especially where rightfully applied. I am happy to observe that media practitioners have enough capacity to shout at the roof top to denounce bad behaviour and make people even more uncomfortable.

    The point has been well made. The NBC was created by an act of parliament, National Broadcasting Commission Act CAP 11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria. 2004, to regulate the broadcast industry. The Act also empowers the NBC to work with broadcast professionals and other stakeholders, to create a Code that can serve as the Bible of broadcasting in Nigeria.

    The NBC has not been derelict of its responsibilities except when politicians want to take its place through blatant regulatory capture, which is inimical to the industry and investment. There is need to call for caution, for politicians to understand that abuse of power, like just putting a lid on a station for whatever reason, is shameful incivility that should have no place in the schedule of a nation aiming for growth.

    Governor Bago should do the right thing. It is a matter of honour and a display of strength to acknowledge a failing and right it immediately.

  • What will Canal+ bring to the Nigerian pay-TV market? – By Okoh Aihe

    What will Canal+ bring to the Nigerian pay-TV market? – By Okoh Aihe

    The  playing field for pay-TV business is about to change, not in the way we expected or are canvassing at the moment, but in a much more significant way. Competition will be more intense and competitors over-awed. Operators will square up for what is about to come, and the regulator of the broadcast industry will be more agile now than ever before. It is a new season. It is a new dawn, and the die is about to be cast for a business episode that may grow into a behemoth.

    The announcement, last week, by Canal+ that it has crossed the final regulatory hurdle of the South Africa Competition Tribunal to acquire Multichoice, signalled the end of a sustained period of negotiations, the end of Multichoice as pioneer operator on the continent, and perhaps the entrance of a disruptor of the broadcast business into new markets where it didn’t have any footprints. Yet, Multichoice lives, and may only go through an apotheosis.

    An excited Maxime Saada, Chief Executive, Canal+, said in a statement that  the approval clears the way for us to conclude the transaction in line with our previously communicated timeline by October 8, 2025.

    “I am excited about the potential this transaction unlocks for stakeholders… the combined group will benefit from enhanced scale, greater exposure to high-growth markets and the ability to deliver meaningful synergies,” he enthused.

    There is nobody in Saada’s position who will not enjoy a splash of gloat after closing such an octopal deal. His mood is illustrated in the following details.

    Canal+ is present in 25 African countries through 16 subsidiaries and has eight million subscribers, according to the French group.

    While MultiChoice operates in 50 countries across sub-Saharan Africa and has 14.5 million subscribers, it says. It includes Africa’s premier sports broadcaster, SuperSport, and the DStv satellite television service.

    From all indications, Canal+ is beyond excitement about the deal which cost a whopping $3bn. “It is a hugely positive step forward in our journey to bring together two iconic media and entertainment companies and create a true champion for Africa,” Saada gushed.

    Canal+ belongs to the Vivendi group, a hugely successful multi-sector organisation based in France. Founded 40 years ago as a subscription-TV company, according to its information profile, the global media and entertainment company, has 26.9 million subscribers worldwide, and over 400 million active subscribers users on its video streaming platform. With studio facilities for content creation and distribution channels across continents, Canal+ is also a strong over-the-top (OTT) player.

    Earnings last financial year stood at €6.4bn ($6.8bn) which it generated in 195 countries although it had operations only in 52 countries, which is now about to change with the acquisition of Multichoice.

    It is safe to assume here that Nigeria is part of the high-growth markets Saada spoke about and needs to be treated with some level of respect in this transaction. The country has never been shy in stating its strategic importance to the operations of Multichoice. Proof. Economic headwinds and forex volatility and disenchantment by subscribers recently impacted the earnings of the operator.

    For instance, in two years, from March 2023 to April 2025,  when the pay-TV operator lost 1.8m subscribers, 1.4m of them, approximately 77 percent, were from Nigeria. Between  April and September 2024 alone, Multichoice lost 243,000 subscribers. For any subscription business, this is a prelude to disaster. The operator promised to remedy the situation, but has it?

    It wasn’t always like that. Its precursor M-Net came into Nigeria in 1994, and two years later, brought into our homes the breathtaking images of the Nigerian Soccer Team winning a miracle gold at the Olympics in Atlanta. Since then, the industry has grown even more. M-Net has become Multichoice. The creative industry which began to create home videos in the early 90s, has grown into Nollywood, making Nigeria one of the biggest film producing countries in the world.

    The broadcast regulator has mandated broadcasters to take a certain percentage of programming from local content. Both Nollywood and Multichoice have benefited mutually, to the extent that when the latter lost its flagship sports programme, exclusive hold on the Premiership to a Nigerian broadcast promise, HiTV, it simply created more Nigerian channels to survive the times. The writer was told then that the operator’s revenue never dipped for once.

    Nigeria has a rich culture, great writers, great and vibrant youths creating programming and content that have arrested the interest of the world. The entertainment sector –  Nollywood, Music and broadcasting  – is creating a slew of global superstars, making Nigeria an unmissable rendezvous at the moment.

    But what will Canal+ pitch in Nigeria? Saada says, “in 40 years, the CANAL+ group has become a global media and entertainment powerhouse. The next chapters of our story will be written with all of you.”

    This is good for the story books, to keep investors happy and hook subscribers with some romanticisation and anticipated fantasies. The truth that cannot be overlooked here however, is that in 40 years, Canal+ has grown into a huge organisation with premium pay-TV channels, streaming services and content production and distribution facilities across Europe and Africa. It also calls itself a content aggregator, meaning it is able to mobilise a lot of content from owners and be able to use the same to the benefit of stakeholders. It also has financial muscle and coverage that can intimidate any broadcast ecosystem.

    However, the market is not always about cash, power and even reach or coverage. There is always the place for relationships which is needed to create peace and harmony in an operating environment. In the preceding years, Multichoice has lost its place in the hearts of the people, and even its relationship with the regulator. At the moment, the organisation is in court with the regulator and also with some operators.

    It’s not about who is right and who is wrong but the ability to manage relationships. Some think that success has bred so much arrogance in Multichoice that it can conveniently be compared with Nza, the bird, in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, who became so arrogant that it challenged its personal god to a wrestling match. Business doesn’t have to be done with that level of irredeemable haughtiness.

    This writer can assume that there will be some regulatory challenges for Canal+ as it enters the Nigerian market. Such challenges have been addressed or are being addressed in the South African market. I expect the same to be done in the Nigerian market which has so much to return in cash and creativity. But above all, I expect Canal+ to make peace with the regulator and other industry stakeholders, like the fowl that gets into a new environment with only a foot until it is fully welcomed before dropping the other foot. There is always a place for peace for business and creativity to thrive.

  • For telecom, quality of service remains stubborn – By Okoh Aihe

    For telecom, quality of service remains stubborn – By Okoh Aihe

    Just when you think you have seen it all, something happens to convince you very strongly that all that journey is a circlical movement which has not taken you far from the point of departure at all. Like peddling away on a stationary bicycle at a fitness centre. Or expending so much energy and achieving very little result.

    Is that the story of the nation’s telecoms industry? Just when you think so much progress has been made in the industry, something happens immediately to question your claim.

    My friend is on a little get-away at the moment. Each time he calls home, the family members have to be moving from room to room searching for signals. Just like it was at the advent of the GSM era when people had to climb trees in some rural areas or look for high grounds in search of signals in order to make calls. One of my friends comes from one of those locations. They were even lucky. They had signals to search for. Some didn’t have any.

    Frustration, because of drop calls and very bad data and WhatsApp  connections, is hitting fever pitch. As it was in the beginning…..

    Quality of service (QoS) has remained a perennial problem in the telecommunications industry and the experience has spinned out of control in the past few months with all kinds of reasons and excuses being adduced.

    So much has  been written on this subject. Some actions have been taken by the regulator, the industry and even the government, and the journey is not half way done. Whether it is increasing tariffs, appealing to states to waive right of way (RoW) charges, or taking some other regulatory measures, it’s all about quality of service and improving the quality of experience by subscribers.

    Within the week, I typed quality of service into my rack and lots of materials tumbled  out. Just from this writer alone, not from the entire media ecosystem in the country, including writings by some of my colleagues who have tended to carry the weight of the industry on their shoulders; at times making suggestions on how to grow the industry. It has always been about quality of service.

    But it can be very exhausting, to write on the same topic over the years and you are not sure anymore if anybody is reading. Is this how frustrating it can be for a writer? Now I understand the experience of Okinba Launko. Years ago when Cordelia was being run in Daily Times and The Guardian by my mentor and friend, Prof Femi Osofisan (Okinba Launko), I had told him excitedly that the column was a must read every Sunday.

    Expressing surprise, he told me that he was almost stopping it as it didn’t appear anybody was reading, as there were no responses. It is heart-warming that venerated film director, Tunde Kelani, has turned the novella into a movie. It would never have happened at all. I can vouch for Kelani’s attention to details.

    Again, it is always about quality of service and the issue remains stubbornly. Let’s return to the materials on the rack. The first material was published with the title, A friend and his Nokia in a challenging telco environment, on May 17, 2022.

    “My friend lives in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and naturally feels entitled to the good things coming from the seat of government; or modified slightly, feels entitled to the enhanced quality and bounteous provisions for the status of a country’s capital, the way other capitals of other countries of the world are treated. By way of living the life, he used to walk with some kind of gait, a little swagger which unfortunately has been humbled by reality. Yes, reality is a metaphor that sticks closer than the skin.

    “My friend called me within the week and was effusive at the other end but reality intruded. The phone simply went dead while he talked on. When we reconnected much later after several attempts from both ends, the first words that left his mouth was,  “I am returning to my Nokia 3310.” For me the laughter came very naturally and then, of course, irony quickly obliterated it.”

    This other quote is taken from another material published on November 1, 2023, under the title: For Telecoms and Broadcasting, let the eagle perch and services improve.

    “The flipside is that for an industry that has operated at peak level for over twenty two years, it is difficult to continue to plead excuses. As my old man would say, it is only the lazy farmer that would attribute failure to his farming implements. The telecoms subscribers in Nigeria need action and improved service delivery and not excuses about the Nigerian operating environment that has nearly turned inside out.”

    There are several other materials that can be taken from the rack, all on quality of service, and the story has hardly changed. How can an industry enjoying a boom suddenly hit a nadir? As it was in the beginning……

    The other day, it was the regulator instructing operators to always report service disruptions on their networks, including force majeure. A protracted outage would attract some compensation and even sometimes, punishment. So, how do you hold an operator responsible for a cable damage somewhere deep in the south or a bandit activity on the network somewhere up north. I would never understand that but failure on the network continues. As it was in the beginning……

    Perhaps as an intervening exemplification of the complexities of the the challenges confronting the industry, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), early July announced that some sudden migration on the platform of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), has impacted all the mobile networks, causing some troubling confusion, including service delivery. Although the exercise is claimed to have been concluded successfully, my experience on the various networks does not validate that claim. As it was in the beginning…….

    Ikenna Ikeme, General Manager, Regulatory Affairs at MTN, has also added a cautionary voice. Speaking at the MTN Media Innovation Programme in Lagos, he appealed to Nigerians to take telecom infrastructure as national assets that shouldn’t be vandalised no matter the situation, pledging that MTN intends to remain, to grow, and to keep contributing positively to the nation’s development.

    As you can see, quality of service remains an issue. As it was in the beginning….

    The government seems to be throwing everything in the ring to mitigate the issue. Since June 2024, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed an Executive Order declaring telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure that is protected by law, which also criminalises the activities of vandals. The government expects the law to be obeyed but that has not happened!

    The regulator is taking some actions to reinforce the current thinking of the government. In a fresh campaign through a Facebook post, the NCC wrote: Protect our connectivity. Stop vandalism! Cutting telecom cables or damaging masts disrupts calls and internet access, putting lives, and businesses at risk.

    Only those from the kingdom of the wicked will fail to agree with the NCC or even in their own wimp imagination, refuse to understand the ubiquitous importance of telecommunications. I appeal that we, at least, try to get one thing right. There is no road infrastructure connecting the states, no water, no light and no safety.

    We can start from telecom. Let’s make it work, instead of adding it to the list of failures. It will be for our common good.

  • A stakeholders’ contributions to the Broadcasting bills – By Okoh Aihe

    A stakeholders’ contributions to the Broadcasting bills – By Okoh Aihe

    I have my respect for people who consign things to intellectual discourse in order to earn deserved results. They democratise contributions and provide ideas to flagellate intransigent presentations, myopia and even subterraneously sponsored positions in order to present a truth that renews the society.

    The Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO) provided such an opportunity last week.

    CEMESO holds no broadcast license but, as a non-governmental organisation (NGO), remains a primary stakeholder concerned with the efficient running of the nation’s broadcast ecosystem through ensuring that the legal framework provides enough structure to hold up the system.

    So, with financial support from the European Union, CEMESO gathered a constellation of personalities from diverse backgrounds for a Stakeholders’ Summit on Reform of the Broadcasting Legislative and Regulatory Framework in Nigeria.

    Such action was like restoring order to a chaotic system or trying to make sense of a bedlam. At the moment there are four different bills in the National Assembly, all of them focusing on the broadcast industry and the NBC Act, giving the impression of everybody trying to have a piece of a fallen elephant.

    Thankfully, although the industry is challenged, it has not fallen yet. CEMESO provided a platform for a dispassionate discussion of the various bills in order to present an informed position to the National Assembly.

    There are three bills from the House of Representatives  and another from the Senate. The bills include: National Broadcasting Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2023 (HB.620, National Broadcasting Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2023 (HB.1270), and National Broadcasting Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2003 (HB, 2039). National Broadcasting Commission (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2023 (SB. 134) is in the upper house – the Senate.

    CEMESO made a forensic presentation on the bills in order to put enough stuff in the basket for participants, including academics, regulators, broadcasters and other stakeholders.

    Here are some insights into the bills:

    Bill HB 620 seeks to amend Section 14 of the NBC Act to mandate that all funds received by or on behalf of the Commission be paid into the Federation Account within 24 hours of receipt or by the next working day.

    Bill HB 1270 proposes a fundamental shift in Nigeria’s broadcasting framework by mandating that all satellite and cable television subscriptions be offered on a “Pay As You Watch” (PAYW) basis.

    Bill HB 2039 Introduces new regulatory powers that would empower the NBC to develop and enforce codes of practice on market conduct, competition, and content acquisition. It prohibits exclusive licensing arrangements that restrict access to broadcast rights, particularly where such rights enjoy significant public interest.

    Bill SB 134 seeks to repeal the existing National Broadcasting Commission Act, No 11,  Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and enact a new legal instrument that addresses the dynamic realities of today’s media and communications landscape . It aims to provide for the transition from analogue to digital transmission of broadcasting services, and to promote quality audio and video delivery, and the efficient management of the spectrum.

    The diversity of the bills are clearly indicative of the plethora of interests in the sector, from  subterranean to genuine concerns for the industry. For two days, these issues and even more, were carefully discussed and debated with each contributor trying to express an advantage considered fitting for the industry. The issues also revealed wider divergences of opinions, some not too far away from ignorance and grandstanding.

    For instance, industry issues like Pay As You Watch and exclusivity of content look more commercial than regulatory, while the lingering migration from analogue to digital television, in what is called the digital switchover (DSO), to me, is more deserving of regulatory intervention because of the far-reaching implications beyond expected benefits.

    From the foregoing, it is clear that apart from the bill at the Senate which seeks a repeal and reenactment of the NBC Act, the other bills focused on an aspect of the industry in what they describe as amendment.

    Apart from lack of depth, the bills appear too superficial to deal with the complexity of the broadcast industry which gets daily complicated with new technologies. There was general agreement that the current law is too inadequate to cope with arising issues in the industry.

    It was therefore expected that the first item in the 13-point communique was a call for the harmonisation of all relevant Bills relating to broadcasting and the regulator of the sector, which are pending before the respective chambers of the National Assembly.

    The NBC was also requested to present its proposals for reform to stakeholders for their input to ensure synergy within the industry. There is the need to bring the chaos surrounding the bills under control.

    From the discourse, it was clear that a stronger NBC will be better for the broadcast industry and even for the nation, both in terms of quality of broadcast output and the economic viability of the sector.

    The NBC team led by Charles Ebuebu, the Director-General, was there to make  their input, and so were the chief executives of the government broadcast stations. Nobody wanted their hair shaved on their behalf.

    Apart from the documentation presented by CEMESO, Media Scholar and Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Gombe, Prof Umaru Pate, in his keynote, titled: Changing Dynamics in the Broadcast Sector, gave a rich tapestry to further the understanding of those in attendance.

    For him, the Nigerian broadcasting sector faces critical reform needs, driven by the digital revolution and evolving information landscape. Key issues awaiting reform include addressing funding and technology gaps, improving content quality and credibility through stringent fact-checking and adherence to professional codes, and reforming existing laws to facilitate the sector’s transition.

    Additionally, there is pressing need to foster independence for broadcasters to investigate public officials, promote media literacy, encourage collaboration among professionals, and embrace innovation to adapt business models and ensure the industry’s reach, relevance, reputation, and resilience.

    Nobody could fault Pate on his presentation, except for all the points to be aggregated and even more, and channeled into a communique that could serve as some kind of message in a bottle to the National Assembly for their consideration in giving the NBC and the broadcast industry a new life.

    Here is an except from the communique signed by Dr Akin Akingbulu, Executive Director for CEMESO:

    “The NBC Review Bills should, among other things, strengthen the institutional independence and effectiveness of the NBC by empowering the Commission to be the final authority for the issuance and revocation of broadcast licenses, as the case may be, with transparent administrative procedures and subject to judicial review.

    “The appointment of the Board and Director General should be subject to confirmation by the Senate of the National Assembly to enhance the legitimacy and independence of the Commission.

    In addition, Board members and the Director-General may only be removed from office before the expiration of their terms for inability to discharge the functions of their respective offices as a result of infirmity of mind or body or for misconduct and upon confirmation by two-thirds majority of the members of the Senate.

    “The Federal Government should expedite action on the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting (digital Switchover) while the emerging legal framework should take into consideration the impact of emerging technologies, and ensure compliance with the directives of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).”

    A strong case was made for the financial autonomy of the regulator, for government stations funded with public funds to be transformed to public service broadcasters, free from political pressure; for the President, in the interim, to delegate executive power to grant license to the Commission, and a review of the administration of the Digital Access Fee and the establishment of a Broadcast Media Trust Fund, among others.

    Without a doubt, the broadcast sector and the regulator need help, and their plight is not assuaged by the narrow vision demonstrated in some of the bills which focussed on a shade of the sector.

    CEMESO has sent a well-considered message from the stakeholders meeting. It is my prayer that the National Assembly will have the presence of mind to review the content dispassionately. And act with speed!

  • Beyond telecoms, a stadium experience at FIFA Club World Cup – By Okoh Aihe

    Beyond telecoms, a stadium experience at FIFA Club World Cup – By Okoh Aihe

    I wasn’t rooting for Chelsea to win the Club World Cup Quarter Final game against Palmeiras. Not me. It wasn’t just because my daughter supports every Brazilian team with the belief that Brazilian footballers are very good, using Neymar as an example, which carries some truth; but for other personal reasons.

    Chelsea troubles Arsenal too much in the Premiership. And I am a Gooner! Not only Chelsea but all the other teams. Any time they play against  Arsenal, they dig in deep, playing with every sense of imagination and strength, like teams possessed by a thousand demons. Playing Arsenal becomes the real contest for them and winning gives the feel of a trophy celebration. All year round, they wear the label of that win on their foreheads. Like a trophy!

    I couldn’t be praying for Chelsea to win at all. But this very evening Chelsea is playing a very good game. I missed the goal scored by Cole Palmer in the 16th minute for reasons I will explain. Estevao equalised for Palmeiras early in the second half. But to my shame, Chelsea won with an own goal by goal keeper Weverton. Their quality of play makes the team a bigger threat to Arsenal in the coming season. The win over Palmeiras was not a fluke.

    This evening, it was more than a game. Sitting up there in the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, my mind was on so many things – the beautiful stadium, the spectators – some of them came from outside the state of Pennsylvania, the sound system, the technology, the intimidating infrastructure – there are two other neighbouring stadia – Wells Fargo Stadium and Citizens Bank Park, the connecting roads and the underground rail system, all leading to the stadia neighbourhood. It is sheer infrastructural intimidation.

    Now, I totally agree with those who introduced the idea of a FIFA Club World Cup. Although it poses a lot of challenge to the players in terms of fitness and rest in between seasons, the tournament gives the World Cup host the opportunity to test her readiness in all ramifications. The United States will host the FIFA World Cup next year, and the Lincoln Financial Field is one of the locations for the tournament.

    Built between 2001 and 2003, at a cost of $512m, the Lincoln Financial Field which is located on 1020 Pattison Avenue, South Philadelphia, is owned by the city of Philadelphia. The stadium is the home of the Philadelphia Eagles who are the current Super Bowl LIX Champions; and to a lesser degree, the Temple Owls football team of Temple University. The sports edifice of 67,594 capacity held its inaugural game on August 3, 2003, a football match between Manchester United and FC Barcelona.

    The Lincoln Financial Field is a complete package – sports, entertainment and telecommunications – well sorted and knitted to give an experience that is surreal and long-lasting. Since the inaugural, there has been sustained improvement on the facilities – the electronic ribbons or fascia, the HD video screens and seamless communication services. Among the equipment and service vendors are Panasonic and Verizon Wireless with its 5G technology.

    The communications aspect got me hooked. The attendance that evening was 65,782. There were no call drops. Data service was top notch. Messages delivered without fail. Thousands of photographers were clicking away with their phones, and images were being delivered instantaneously to locations across the world. It was a fascinating ensemble of technologies and expertise to give spectators and visitors a complete experience devoid of inconveniences and frustrations.

    After buying the Eagles in 1994, Jeffrey Lurie dreamt of building a new stadium to enhance the performance and financial returns of the team.

    “Winning the Superbowl is the ultimate goal,” he said, “Stadiums and training facilities,however, are vital elements in the success and stability of franchises on both a present and long-term basis. As an organisation, you want to assemble the best staff and players, but you also have to provide them with the best facilities and environment in which to achieve success.”

    The Lincoln Financial Field provides that dream environment, and Lurie has built a team of champions as the Philadelphia Eagles have won the Super Bowl twice – in 2018 and 2024. They are the current champions.

    In full stream, the stadium is a major financial hub. The sports facility offers between 17,000 and 20,000 parking spots across 13 lots for most of the games and activities, and the lots can be about 80 percent full on the average. Tickets go for between $40 and $90. July 4, 2025, we got one for $30, which was probably a bonus.

    The effect of the long queue of people streaming into the stadium is minimised by the availability of barcode enabled turnstiles which process tickets electronically and seamlessly, making a laborious process tolerable. But remember not to go with a big hand bag which must be deposited somewhere. Picking it up after the game is not a joke. There are two big lounges and several beverage and fastfood outlets. A bottle of water or soft drink could go for $5 but everything designed to make the spectators happy while they spend their hard-earned money.

    Here is my observation. If everything is fine about the Lincoln Financial Field, the traffic leading up to the stadium in spite of the very good road infrastructure can be a nightmare. Those attending the World Cup may either go into the stadium early or take the SEPTA Broad Street Line subway to NRG station, which is the last stop. You may also want to use the various bus routes or ride-sharing services.

    Having made that observation, let me state that I am writing this not to titillate anybody’s senses but to point out a few things that are possible in Nigeria. For instance telecommunications service providers can do better in providing facilities in big event environments.

    Any time there is a large gathering in an event centre, in church grounds or any other place for that matter, telecom services become the first victims and subscribers suffer pain and frustration. I do not know how operators do their rollout mapping and what emphasis they give to these places, but my experience at Lincoln Financial Field was different. More telecommunications investments in such environments will also mean more revenue for the operators. Just imagine the data consumption!

    Our concentration on politics, which really is a behemoth of an enterprise that feeds so many undeserving mouths, has drained us of the capacity and creativity to generate other activities that coalesce in businesses and the building of a modern economy, lasting infrastructure and a civilisation that can be handed down to generations.

    Everything is government related. Road infrastructure is by the government, stadium facilities are by the government – federal and states. Big stadium facilities in Abuja and Lagos, and across the states of the federation are wasting away. Nobody considers the concessioning of the wasting assets to individuals and organisations that can manage them effectively.

    In other parts of the world, Public Private Partnership (PPP) has grown into an acceptable practice, to attract people and organisations into contributing to building infrastructure or run facilities that can serve the public. In Nigeria, everything is politics. We don’t want so many things, including businesses, to get into the hands of the opposition. And the people suffer without end. The country is running at very low capacity and they impose a festering reasoning that we are doing well and that the story of hunger in the land is a fairy tale.

    The Moshood Abiola National Stadium with a seating capacity of 60,491 was built at a cost of $360m, and completed in 2003, the same year as Lincoln Financial Field. I can’t do a comparison here but let me observe that, apart from a few sporting events, church and social activities in the past, the edifice has atrophied into disuse. All of that money seemingly wasted. But politics is booming and the drums beat with renewed vibration.

    The story can be much better. The leadership of our great nation should help refocus the country by steering it away from the kind of politics that looks perennially divisive. The nation needs the inclusive type that encourages businesses and gives hope to the ordinary folks about a future that can be much better. Too much is being taken for granted and it doesn’t help to work towards the flipside of life.

  • The agama lizard allegory for telecoms – By Okoh Aihe

    The agama lizard allegory for telecoms – By Okoh Aihe

    When we were children and worked in fresh farms with our parents, we didn’t understand the heroic story of the agama lizard and the tall palm tree somewhere in the farm. Once in a while, you were alerted to the base of the tree by the sound from the lizard which had just landed on its stomach after a jump from the top. The agama was not only cool but nodded its head in some kind of solemn communication. We would never understand the meaning of that.

    Master storyteller, Chinua Achebe, would explain that communication much later when we were growing up in our educational pursuit. The agama lizard, which jumps down from the palm tree said if there was nobody to praise him, he would praise himself by nodding his head. This is my little attempt at summarising one of those witty tales by the master himself, which could explain the condition of a great performer lifting up his spirits if there was no one close by to do so, or if people intentionally overlooked his efforts.

    Once Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, last week, announced the N3bn contribution by communication powerhouse, MTN, to support the government’s 3MTT programme, my mind went to the story of the agama lizard, quietly doing great things but nobody was really very interested in doing any clapping.

    3MTT is an acronym for 3 Million Technical Talent, a bold initiative and a critical component of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda which is aimed at developing a local pool of technical talent for the country and the global tech ecosystem.

    “I acknowledge MTN Nigeria’s long-term support for the 3MTT Nigeria programme, with cumulative investment of N3 billion since inception.

    “This kind of collaboration is what drives our vision of building a future-ready workforce and positioning Nigeria as a net exporter of technical talent,” Tijani enthused.

    Previously, the Airtel Africa Foundation had contributed a handsome N1 billion to support the same programme, while infrastructure service provider, IHS Tower, has entered an agreement worth another N1bn with the Ministry to build learning communities across the nation for the 3MTT programme.

    Without a doubt, Tijani’s vision for the future of technology in Nigeria and the place of the youthful population, is very rich. Even when he does not enjoy my praise for his inability to persuade the President to reconstitute the Board of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), it is good to observe that the minister is on a journey into a future that accommodates the young people of this nation who were hitherto frustrated, vilified and used, in the main, as mere election cannon fodder.

    3MTT is beyond wagering for elections. It is supported by facts, figures and verifiable products. The tech talent will be trained in cohorts. The programme started with

    30,000 Nigerians, which was one percent of the 3 million target, while another 270,000 were later selected for the second cohort to bring the number to 10 percent.

    The 3 Million Tech Talent will be trained in areas of specialty including: Digital Marketing, Project Management Software, Cloud Platforms Navigation, Data Analysis and Visualisation,Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), CRM Management, Accounting Software, Graphics Design and UX/UI Design, among others.

    Tijani is lucky to be minister over a sector that has capacity, whose operators have enthusiastically embraced him with funds to bring his grand vision to life and give some fortunate ones the opportunity to aspire to a life of quality and meaning. Ironically the industry does not enjoy such understanding or deserved appreciation.

    When confronted with any challenges and they are legion, the industry attracts criticisms instead of empathy. The sector is exposed to a cocktail of taxes and not even the lawmakers who question them over quality of service and sundry payments to government, have done anything about it. The telecommunications sector is the tap with endless supply of resources that are milked from the federal, down to the local councils. Their sites are shut down at the pleasure of the state government and not many people have a thought for the investment or the fact that, in challenging times, telecoms remain a critical national infrastructure.

    Apart from the well documented fact that telecommunications provide the levers for every other sector of the economy and, I want to add, every fabric of life, I am afraid the sector is often overlooked in terms of prioritisation or scale of importance when critical decisions are being taken. For instance, after several appointments have been made by this government in the past two years, the administration has forgotten to appoint a Board for the NCC and, thus putting the agency in a knowledge deficit in terms of contributions by would-be other members of the Board. Without doubt, the activities and decisions of the Board would usually add fillip to the efforts of an agency struggling to recover from the pains of the past.

    I am happy the industry is behind Tijani in his endeavours but it is a clear case of irony, as I am not very sure the minister has given the sector commensurate support and encouragement. Yet the future of this country means more to everybody, including the service providers who are putting their money on the youth for knowledge opportunities that will transform lives and nation.

    It is still a long way ahead but the most difficult steps have been taken. And Tijani says, “As we scale the 3MTT Programme, we look forward to deepening our partnerships with the private sector to unlock more opportunities for our people and economy.”

    This sounds good and inviting, but I am told Tijani is a solo player, so immersed in his ideas that he hardly accommodates the concerns of those around him, meaning that he may have more vision than followers. He has less than two years to change his ways and give the telecommunications industry the push it deserves.

    0724 for Lebara

    The name strikes a chord in a nearly forgotten background in my being. I cannot remember at what point I used a Lebara line but I remember very well the line was easy to get and that was what I needed at the time.

    Lebara has been given the 0724 number series by the regulator. Chief Operating Officer of Lebara Nigeria, Mary O. Akin-Adesokan, says the completion of interconnectivity setup with all major mobile operators, underlines Lebara’s “unwavering commitment to seamless integration, customer freedom, and market inclusivity.”

    Lebara holds a Tier 5 Mobile Virtual Network Operator License (MVNO) which empowers it to ride on other people’s networks, given interconnectivity, to deliver niche services. I am told by an NCC source that MVNO is usually the fruit of a maturing telecommunications market. There are several hundred in the UK and USA. Quite a number have also been licensed in Nigeria.

    “The coming of Lebara is to enhance competition and provide niche services. They may also provide voice and data but mostly their services are niche,” a source said at the NCC.

    It is encouraging that there is always something good about the telecommunications sector in spite of all the pressure. There is always something fresh, like Lebara, like contributing life-changing sums to life-changing programmes by the minister. The sector may not go the agama lizard way, but there are those clapping for the operators, like the rural folks who are able to connect with their loved ones in the cities and receive mobile transfers that bring balm to a nearly defeated life.

  • I can’t criticise President Tinubu on the NCC Board – By Okoh Aihe

    I can’t criticise President Tinubu on the NCC Board – By Okoh Aihe

    There is something that age does to a man. It doesn’t just equip him with more rags than the Millennials, the Gen-Z or the Generation Alpha, as Chinua Achebe would have loved to put it in one of the greatest books ever,  Things Fall Apart; age slows down a man  and tempers his views with ancient wisdom.  Instead of volcanic eruptions at little irritations, age cautions otherwise.

    Now when confronted with the actions of some people in high places – private or government, and someone would ask: why would he take such a decision? Instead of a rambunctious  response as it would have been a few years ago, I can hear myself saying, he is the chief executive; you are not privy to the information available to him. Being a chief executive doesn’t have to do with age but being in a position to apply expertise and cosmopolitan wisdom in taking informed decisions based on available information.

    For this reason, I am the least qualified to ask President Bola Ahmed Tinubu why he has not reconstituted the Board of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)  which is one of the most important agencies in the country. He is the President of Nigeria. Apart from other baskets of worries, he has access to information that may never be made public. But as they say,  the buck stops on his table, a slight variation of “the buck stops here,” which was the way former president of the United States, Harry S. Truman audaciously accepted responsibility for his actions and decisions.

    The buck stops on President Tinubu’s table and he has not been negligent in taking bold decisions even if some of those decisions impact the people with reverse expectations.

    While one will acknowledge that quite a number of boards have been reconstituted since his assumption of office just over two years ago, it is also safe to observe that NCC is clearly and surprisingly missing from the list. Yet the President has his information which may make it difficult for anybody to question his reluctance and, not failure, to do so. Whatever that information may be, this is a humble reminder that the NCC is a vital organisation whose activities, in terms of last-mile benefits, impact almost everybody and all sectors of the economy.

    The status of the NCC at the moment is that it has three Executive Commissioners – Dr Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) who is also the Chief Executive Officer, Engr Abraham Oshadami, Executive Commissioner, Technical Services (ECTS), and Rimini Haraya Makama, Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management (ECSM). All three were appointed by President Tinubu but the Communications Act expects more.

    The entire communications industry of which the NCC is the regulator, rests on the solid pillars of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003. The Act details the constitution of a Board with a five year tenure for the members.

    The Act in Section 5 says there is established for the Commission a Governing Board charged with the administration of the affairs of the Commission. The Board Commissioners shall be persons of recognised standing, qualification and experience in one or more of the following fields – finance or accounting, law, consumer affairs, telecommunications engineering and information technology, among others.

    The Board shall have capacity to make standing orders for the regulation of its proceedings and meetings howsoever and acts of the Board shall be deemed to be acts of the Commission.

    The Board shall consist of 9 Commissioners made of – the chairman, a chief executive who shall also be the Executive Vice-Chairman (EVC), 2 Executive Commissioners and five non-executive Commissioners. But at  any particular time, it must have 6 Commissioners serving on the Board, which shall  be drawn from the 6 geo-political zones of the country subject to the approval by the Senate.

    The foregoing is an abridgement of the relevant sections of the Act for the purpose of this material. However, the Act also states very clearly that not even the President can remove a board member without being given an opportunity for a defence in case of misconduct and cannot also sack an Executive Commissioner without a recourse to the National Assembly.

    Things took a drastic turn at the NCC in 2015 with the coming of the APC government headed by President Muhammadu Buhari. The organisation was a major target. The Board members were swept away without being accorded any little respect in deference to their contributions to building an industry, and without recourse to the Act, even when their tenure had recently been renewed. The APC action violated the Act. That intrusion nearly torpedoed the system if it wasn’t well managed.

    It doesn’t come with any surprise therefore that with the coming of President Tinubu, the Board was again dissolved along with so many others, even though the NCC Act states otherwise. Those who harassed their predecessors out of office were now given a little dose of their illegitimate action. This appears to be the APC tonic for the telecommunications industry, but this tonic doesn’t invigorate at all; instead it has the reverse effect, putting the industry into uncertainty or what my friend, may God bless his soul, would have called a state of hugger-mugger.

    I write with some level of certainty that the three Executive Commissioners, led by the EVC, are trying their best to pick up the pieces of a regulatory institution that was nearly in ruins, but even at their best, the Board is still expedient, not only for performance but even for representation, a hallmark of democratic governance.

    An industry insider told this writer that President Obasanjo followed the letters of the Act when he appointed members of the NCC Board in 2000 as primary agents of change in the industry. Writing in June 2023, under the topic: Sustaining the revolution in Nigeria’s communications sector, Dr Tony Ojobo, a pioneer staff and latter a Director at the Commission, listed some members of the Board as follows:

    Ahmed Joda, renowned technocrat, Chairman; and Engr Ernest Ndukwe, former President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), technocrat and astute engineer, as the executive vice chairman and chief executive of the Board. Others include: Engr Olawale Ige, a former Minister of Communications, Engr Austine Otiji, a former managing director, who turned NITEL into a productive business entity, Engr Patrick Kentebe, Engr Shola Taylor, Engr Isaiah Mohammed, Engr Zimit, and Engr Don Udeh, among others.

    The team was selected based on competence and track record, and a readiness to take even a hazardous dive to give President Obasanjo the needed result.

    “Ahmed Joda’s Board understood the enormity of the responsibility placed on them and set out to build one of the most respected regulatory bodies in the world. The Board embarked on extensive consultations worldwide with regulators such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States of America and other regulatory bodies worldwide. The Commission also approached the World Bank for assistance and support. It engaged the services of consultants such as Deloitte & Touché, Detecon GmB of Germany, USAID, and Growing Businesses Foundation, among others, to assist with building a strong, independent regulatory body for the communications sector.

    As can be seen from the foregoing, there is a reason a Board is important to agencies like the NCC. It brings form, substance and structure to the operations of the agency. A good Board serves as a buffer and shields the agency from regulatory capture.

    The pioneer Board of NCC under Joda built an industry whose structures still hold forth today despite noticeable intimidations under the previous administration. Members made convivial collegiate contributions of knowledge to excite the industry and made Nigeria a telecom haven. The succeeding Board tried to build on the structure until decline and near anarchy intruded, although an NCC source would insist that the Joda era was the last Board of technocrats.

    But speaking to this writer, an industry source appealed to President Tinubu to urgently reconstitute the Board of the NCC.

    “The industry is so important that the Board must be repopulated by high calibre people who are stars in their own right. Such appointment should not be based on political gratifications but professionals in various fields of endeavour,” the source advised.

    One other thing. Without a Board, a meddlesome Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy can overwhelm the regulator and put investment in the sector in great jeopardy. I am not saying that is happening at the moment but sometimes, power can inebriate more than the strongest wine.

    Even with all their aggregated brilliance, the three Executive Commissioners at the NCC need some help; they need the profound well of experience, expertise and empathy of other well-meaning individuals who are qualified for a Board appointment in a regulatory agency, not the kind of politician that wears avarice as rubric.

    President Tinubu has information that is not available to the rest of us which makes it impossible to question some of his actions and decisions. But such information should be deployed to the overall good of the people. The NCC needs a Board urgently. Further delay could hurt the telecommunications industry in the long run.