Tag: Okoh Aihe

ITR: A good regulatory action plainly misunderstood – By Okoh Aihe

It can be a puzzle sometimes how a seemingly good deed can generate so much controversy and even have a day in the court. It is even more puzzling when such a deed is anchored on the law setting up an organisation with a view to helping an industry and its operators.

I had thought that the recently inaugurated International Termination Rates (ITR) by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the regulator of the telecommunications industry, was such a cute idea and had the potential of releasing more financial oxygen into a market that was getting inebriated with misfortunes.

Oh, no pretences. Our market has not been very exemplary. The huge population that remains our unique selling point (USP) on the continent is getting increasingly poorer with frustration written boldly on the faces of those who walk on the streets like apparitions. People are losing their esteem and heading towards the edge. The auguries are not the best at the moment, and have not been for a long time.

Yet I look at the position of the law apropos the action of the NCC and I tell myself, what a smart move! Really the regulator needs to leverage on the power of the law and be able to genuinely grow the sector without further mishandling, which is why industry observers and some operators are very unhappy with the amount of latitude given the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy to gyrate in the regulatory process like a drunken elephant.

The NCC does not fix prices for products and services for the telecom operators. Instead the regulator makes determination which sets price floors after some painstaking research work and industry and other stakeholders engagements. From experience I can state without equivocations that NCC has never unilaterally carried out any such delicate and all-important action without engaging the relevant communities. Any industry without such checks is heading for the rocks. I won’t point to the power and the road sectors!

Let me tell a little story here. Nearly two decades ago, I was in South Africa attending a programme in Cape Town, when some good news came from home. In the cool of the evening, I needed to spend some time with my family on phone. A young man I had always known took me to the water fronts, to what looked like a well-made up business centre and called Australia to give him Nigeria! I spent time on that call and the entire charge was less than five South African Rands which at the time was less than one US dollar. Much later I would realise that the call was simply dumped on a Nigerian operator without the operator benefitting from it. Such practice is prevalent in any industry without control or proper regulation.

Until the coming of Dr Isa Ali Pantami to the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, some of us had thought that the Nigerian Communications Act of 2003, was nearly cast in stone to give us a telecommunications industry that would attract the participation and envy of the world. That was achieved. It is in following that tradition that the regulator made a new Determination for ITR which took effect on January 1, 2022.

The Commission provided a legal basis for its actions as follows:

The Commission’s functions and duties are set out in the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 (the “Act”). Section 4 of the Act lists the Commission’s functions, to include the facilitation of investments in and entry into the Nigerian market for the provision and supply of communications services, equipment and facilities (section 4(a)); the protection and promotion of the interests of consumers against unfair practices, including but not limited to matters relating to tariffs and charges; and availability and quality of communications services, equipment and facilities (section 4(b)); and the promotion of fair competition in the communications industry; protection of communications services and facilities providers from the misuse of market power, or anticompetitive and unfair practices by other service, or facilities providers (section 4(d)). 6. The Commission has general responsibilities for the economic and technical regulation of the communications industry (section 4(w)).

In furtherance of its functions, the Commission procured the services of Messrs Payday Advance Services Limited, to carry out a study while intimating the industry of its various actions in the entire process before arriving on the following Determination:

a) The International Termination Rate for voice services paid by overseas carriers for terminating international calls on local networks in Nigeria shall be 0.045 United States Dollars (USD- US$)

b) The 0.045 US$ is the floor price for ITR services.

c) The ITR will be paid in US$ and so operators will receive an increasing rate in Naira terms should devaluation continue.

d) ITR rate (US$) only pertains to the cost of bringing traffic into Nigeria. Operators will continue to pay the regulated MTR.

e) The ITR of 0.045 US$ is the floor which is the minimum that can be charged. Operators will be free to negotiate a rate above the floor rate and is dependent on commercial negotiations between the operators and international carriers/partners.

Riding on the whims of a lay man, I had thought this would help animate the Nigerian operators who would have to receive Dollars for their services even as they settle the international operators with Dollars, especially as the Nigerian currency seems to be failing and has little capacity to protect those who depend on it for international transactions. Sometimes some grains of sand find their way into a good meal!

Observe that the Determination opens a window of negotiations between operators. While the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) fixed $0.053 for international operators, the Nigerian International Data Access(IDA) operators would have to cough out $0.062 per minute for the same services. Really most of the IDAs are struggling to find a foothold in the industry and would be considered justified to reason that the MNOs want to wipe them out. They raised a red flag.

I have the information that the NCC has made some conciliatory moves by way of making all the relevant stakeholders understand it’s template of action. That seems to be the best way to go instead of throwing the industry into a fight that may further weaken the sector and add to the confusion that seems to be the forte of the present administration.

Having said that, I want to observe that what may have come into play in the process of negotiations between the MNOs and the international operators on one hand, and the MNOs and the IDAs on the other, is the volume of business transactions which may weigh more in favour of the international operators who radiate traffic all over the world. Even then where is the little aphorism of “be your brother’s keeper?” Without waiting for an answer I am pushed to reason that the industry will be richer and better served if the MNOs will find a way to accommodate other players without pressing for niche returns on every transaction. It makes more sense to build a much bigger industry that will have a place and profit for all on the long run.

April 13, 2022
Troubling stones in the noodles of technology – By Okoh Aihe

By Okoh Aihe

For most of last week Obollo Afor and Okpella were on my mind. The more I look at the soaring cost of products and services in the broadcast and telecommunications industries, the more enamoured I was on these two towns in Enugu and Edo States respectively, that could provide some really good fun on a road trip, when life used to be good and people could have some bit of fun on the road thinking of the next stop to have some welcoming native delicacy and hospitality.

Each time we headed towards Obollo Afor on any of my several trips to this beautiful gateway town in Udenu Local Government area of the state, my mind was on the bottles of groundnuts and very attractive bananas displayed by the road side. It was always very nostalgic to haggle with the natives and get the best deal but all the time just enjoying the joy and peace they seem to carry on their heads.

The same with Okpella in Edo North where they have some of the best groundnuts in the country. One nut fills your mouth, leaving a lasting taste. Before the road became messed up and bandits took ownership of whatever was left of it, Okpella was one of the most important trading points on the road, where one could literally fill a vehicle with assorted foodstuffs – groundnuts, plantains, and even banana and snails. Giving somebody a bottle of groundnuts from Okpella in Abuja or in my town somewhere in Edo state could be more pleasing than a bottle of good wine.

The same feeling I got some years ago after having a ride round the Maiduguri metropolis one night and stopping at some point to buy apples which made my dinner that night. I looked at the joy of the locals and really never had the urge to return to Abuja but for family and the daily grind to eke a living.

Pray, where is the concourse between Obollo Afor, Okpella and Maiduguri, and telecommunications and broadcasting? I am only trying to look at the very little things of life to throw some light on price and cost movements in some other elite sectors we consider indispensable. A bottle of groundnuts is selling for N1000 in some places, so the excitement of a road trip to that part of the East and Edo State has diminished naturally, and that part of Maiduguri that was like a dreamland is no more accessible as bandits and other infernal beings have quartered the environment for their suzerainty.

The journey of a bottle of groundnuts from N350 in Okpella or Obollo Afor to N1000 has so much to say about the price increase in DSTV subscription or even the threats by telecom operators to increase rates if the cost of diesel and other ancillary costs for service delivery are not modulated to accommodate reality. What has been impossible for us to admit or properly acknowledge and then begin to seek ways to ameliorate things, is the crushing impact of a failing system that has pushed more people to rummage the garbage bins for daily survival.

Yet we would wish that things remain the same and that prices of goods and services are as fixed as the hard back of a tortoise irrespective of the fickleness of the Naira and the obtuse discombobulation in the entire ecosystem. So, instead of getting down to do their job, some lawmakers at the National Assembly would whine one day that broadcasting is a social service, why should one pay so much for DSTV when NTA, AIT, CHANNELS and TVC, among others, are free? In a deregulated sector, where investors have ploughed in a lot of investments, some guys would go to court to seek the intervention of the judiciary in putting on ice a business decision influenced by the vagaries of a market that has increasingly become a puzzle to experts and professionals.

But here is the reality that stares us in the face. DSTV is a luxury item, like a Mercedes Benz car or Lamborghini or a Louis Vuitton bag; you are under no compulsion to buy one. It is better that we clean up NTA to make it a better station rather than harassing DSTV. In effect, DSTV offers subscription services. Both Multichoice and Star Times offer pay TV channels with contents paid for upfront. Pay Per View which demands premium payment for premium contents, like Wrestlemnia 38 of last weekend, has nothing to do with Pay As You Watch which is akin to the Pay As You Go on mobile services. It is inept to equate the two and rather sinful not to consider the business model of the service providers before forcing conditions on them. A friend suggested that most Nigerians are used to entitlement mentality, getting freebies without contributing any little sweat or cash.

While our attention is focussed on what individuals should pay to enjoy esoteric taste, I will once again want to point out that the broadcast industry is facing serious challenges and that time has come for the National Assembly to work with the regulator, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to avoid imminent chaos of international proportions. What is happening to the Digital Switchover (DSO) process? Can the Minister who hijacked the process from the NBC give the nation an update?

I had written recently that one day Nigerians would wake up and be unable to receive some television channels or be able to make a phone call because of soaring diesel cost and the operating environment that was getting increasingly difficult . I had no inkling that the Kogi State government was working earnestly towards achieving that state of anomie until the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) threatened, last week, that they would shut down operations in the state if the government does not stop harassing them with obnoxious taxes.

Through the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KIRS), the government has been shutting down telecom facilities as they demand for taxes most of which hardly exist in any book.

“This issue is likely to lead to a total communications blackout in the entire Kogi State, parts of Abuja the Federal Capital Territory and possible impact on service availability in some parts of the following States: Nassarawa, Benue, Enugu, Anambra, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara, Niger States. These are States sharing borders with Kogi State,” the operators have warned.

This is my little question. If the telecoms industry is so vital that the Nigerian Government, in 2020, mulled the idea of declaring the facilities Critical National Infrastructure, why would any state hallucinate into shutting the facilities which are deemed very critical to the health of any government and its various operations?

Meanwhile, some very interesting things are happening in the telecommunications industry; some policy flops and some little blackmail, either by way of confusing the people or probably just harassing them into silence in the face of overwhelming failure in nearly every sphere of life, security most affected. It might just actually be an orchestrated diversionary spin! The days ahead will be interesting and, on these pages, we promise to serve some salubrious delicacies.

April 6, 2022
Some observations and nuggets for the NBC Board – By Okoh Aihe
By Okoh Aihe

My phones were ringing nonstop last week, like a lone tap in a village square at a remote end where some politicians have demonstrated some high end benevolence to the people by way of assuaging their error of judgement in ever trusting a politician. The taps in the village square, where they still exist, run nonstop. Such fate befell my phones for no convenient reason.

Messages were also pouring in. Have you heard? Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture has appointed a lackey to chair the Board of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). Some were ready to talk about the relationship between the Minister and Alhaji Lateef Bolarinwa, the newly appointed Board chairman, whom he has used to disaggregate, albeit unsuccessfully, the concourse of politics in his native Kwara State.

Why would anybody ever serve me this kind of information at a time this nation should have declared emergency in nearly every area of life – security, economy, aviation, the power sector, petrol, diesel, cooking gas and please don’t add kerosene, because that is for the ordinary people who enjoy nobody’s love and care.

I can agree that I have kept track with the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) since it was created in 1992. I have also followed closely some of the Ministers of the Information and Culture Ministry which houses the parastatal – Prof. Sam Oyovbaire, Chief Dapo Sarumi, Prof Jerry Gana, Mr Chukwuemeka Chikelu, Dr Frank Nweke Jr, and Prof Dora Akunyili of blessed memory. Quite a number of them with their own style of politics, predilections and governance style that could at once be irritating but also very attractive and exciting. In all their weaknesses and strength they built a broadcast sector that is unfortunately panting for more help today.

Alhaji Mohammed has been the Minister of Information and Culture since the inception of this administration. Whether by a trait in persona or in the fault lines of this administration, he has managed to roil the skin-deep peace of so many people to the extent that even his good deeds become poison in appreciation.

On this matter of the appointment of the Board Chairman, I do not blame him. You may say that the Board positions have been vacant for over a year, why is he just acting now? My little answer: this government has never been known to act with speed otherwise, the nation wouldn’t be in such a dire and decrepit state.

I want to observe here that the fault is in the law setting of the NBC, National Broadcasting Act CAP N11, which concentrates lots of powers in the hands of a serving and supervising minister and also creates instability for the board. It will take a minister of high sense of calling and discipline not to take advantage of the provisions of the Act. Quite a number of politicians in our national space have never been known to enjoy such attributes.

Under the Composition of the Commission, the Act states as follows:

“The chairman and other members of the Commission shall be persons of proven integrity, experience and specialised knowledge in the broadcasting industry or who by reason of their professional or business attainment are on the recommendation of the Minister and with the approval of the President capable of making useful contribution to the work of the Commission.”

And also, “the Chairman and other members of the Commission shall be citizens of Nigeria who shall be appointed by the President on the recommendations of the Minister.”

For a long time the board appointment has really not taken cognisance of the finer details of the Act; for the appointees to have track record in business, broadcasting, law, engineering and other professions. Especially under this minister, the last board headed by former Minister of State for Communications, Alhaji Ikra Aliyu Bilbis enjoyed no peace or prestige. It was a cocktail of misunderstandings between the board and the minister until their tenure expired and were sent away with scant respect.

It is a matter of morality who the minister decides to appoint but such action must leave a space for the judgement of history that may confine present messianic heroes to the realm of opprobrium. It is also in the interest of such appointee to find a good space in such history for his sake and the health of the society.

While I am really not too bothered about the residual past of Alhaji Bolarinwa I will want to bring the following points to his urgent attention. They are as follows:
- The NBC used to be a flagship parastatal with the workers always walking with a swagger while wearing a smile. But in the past seven years the NBC has suffered a deficit and decline. It will be the responsibility of the new board, working with the Director General, Mr Balarabe Shehu Ilelah, to reinvent the system and bring smiles back to the faces of loyal workers who have almost become a shadow of themselves. The healing process must star immediately. The workers need to find their happiness again and be given the opportunity to do their job professionally.
- The new board must bring life back to the flagship project of this administration, the Digital Switchover (DSO), which has nearly hit rock bottom in spite of efforts to resuscitate it. The process missed the first switchover date from analogue to digital transmission in 2015 and another in 2020. I am sure as the coming of tomorrow that this administration will not complete the process but let there be some milestone achievements. The new board must lead the drive.
- The present Broadcasting Act creates instability in the broadcast sector in that it gives only three years to board members as tenure. The Act says “the Chairman and other members of the Commission shall hold office for three years renewable for one further period of three years only.” This is rather steep. I had pointed this out when I spoke to a sub committee during the review of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code. For instance, the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 prescribes four years for the board while also creating two Executive Commissioners that can bring legacy experience into the industry. The new board should encourage a review of the Act.
- There are insinuations that the new Code suffers serious conflict of interests because of certain personalities who tried to smuggle some harmful clauses into it. As I write, those clauses remain and industry operators are afraid that at some point some individuals could be in a position to corner the broadcast industry or ruin it entirely. The new board should do necessary due diligence and act on such claims.
Broadcasting, just like other genres of media practice, is very sensitive and should be handled with some tact and brilliance. My little counsel, though unsolicited, is for the new board chairman to hang his political paraphernalia in his state and get down to work so that the industry can begin to breathe some fresh air. Two opportunities are open to him: to take actions that will undermine the broadcast industry or do a damn good job and write his name in the record books. I suggest the latter.
March 23, 2022
Technology: The shape of things that are here – By Okoh Aihe

It would have been pure entertainment or at best a comedy of errors if the issues being discussed did not have the capacity to elicit a tragedy of epic proportions if allowed to unfold uncontrolled. As in their manner to intervene in matters of national interest, members of the National Assembly were venting their spleen on the near epidemic failure of the aviation sector, delay in flights, postponement or outright cancellation of flights, and then pouring salt on injury, the price hike that came – a flat N50,000 as baseline for a one way flight.

Emotionally, the airline operators could be guilty as charged. Even the body language of the lawmakers evidenced the guilt. But for me, it was the story of the snake looking at the stick instead of looking at the person holding the stick to snuff out its venomous life.

What will the air operators do? Charges at the airport are annoyingly multifarious. Have you ever tried to do an analysis of a ticket to determine how much really goes to the operators? Plus all that is the cost of aviation fuel that has flown up to the geostationary orbit, nothing is likely to bring it down except there is divine intervention up there. And I would never say here that God has abandoned us as a people because without Him this nation, in my opinion, would have been long gone.

I started with the story of the aviation industry because that is one field I have always prayed should not fail. Now reality stares us in the face and the auguries are horrible but the lawmakers want the airline operators to offer services with tears and sorrow and still remain safe in the skies! That is not the way it works. Even magic works for those who make determined efforts to achieve results.

As we drove out from my little end of town into the city of Abuja this fateful night, a couple of nights ago, it suddenly dawned on me that the aviation pain is only a poster but painful externality of the failure in nearly every strand of life in our nation, and there doesn’t seem to be anybody worrying enough to continue to shout about such failure which effects are paralytic.

This night, as in previous nights and the others that have followed, there was no light anywhere, except the audacious intrusion in the dark, of those who could go to the filling stations to rough out a fight and buy diesel for their generators at a cost that has joined the aviation fuel in the geostationary orbit. And people are struggling up there to buy and run a life a way from a government that would never stop to inconvenience them with despotic incompetence.

It suddenly occurred to me that we could wake up one morning and find out that Nigeria has achieved a state of nihilism, a scandalous retrogression to the age of darkness, from which our heroes past have tried to redeem us.

It occurred to me that one could wake up one morning and find out that AIT and Channels TV stations are off the air because they could not continue to buy diesel at nearly N700 a litre to run their operations. When I made this observation, my friend told me that such development would titillate the morbid sensibilities of a government that wouldn’t want the people to have alternative channels to talk about its crass incompetence and a seeming apathy to the pains besetting the people.

At this rate only the NTA, the government station, would be on air because it gets subventions from government. But in there is the painful irony. Should the nation get to that degree of failure, even NTA will not be on air for too long a time because the budget it receives from government can really not buy more than sandwich in a TV market.

The signs are not good and the politicians are shopping for the next fellow to go to the seat of government where, it is whispered in hush tones, that a foreign construction company fuels the generators. Where the leaders, when they are around, live in surreal bliss, when the people fight for life or fight each other in pitch darkness, manifesting transferred aggression manufactured in the unfeeling hearts of their leaders.

Just as I was thinking about this article, the power grid collapsed totally leaving the entire nation in total darkness. This is the other thing that troubles my heart. You could wake up one morning and discover painfully that your phones cannot work because the mobile operators – MTN, Airtel, Glo and 9MOBILE could not continue to run their base stations on diesel. The phones are the most important pain relivers for most Nigerians, as they bury their pains inside the contents and pretend, like the ostrich with head buried in the sand, that the world out there is euphoric.

Even with the co-location policy put in place by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), making it possible for service providers to run as many base stations from a unique site, there may still be at least 50, 000 base stations operated by co-location service providers like IHS, American Tower Company (ATC), and SWAP, among others, to provide services to operators across board. Of all the major operators in Nigeria only Glo still runs its base stations independently. But the point at issue, is that since the Nigerian government failed in its promise to provide power to mobile operators at the dawn of a telecoms renaissance in 2001, the base stations spread across the nation, except in states where there are serious security challenges, are powered by generators. There are two generators per site. Just do the little math of buying diesel at N700 a litre to power the generators, the amount could be humongous.

So, it is not impossible to wake up one morning and all the networks are down. The operators are unable to power their equipment because of the cost of diesel, and they too will be agitating for a raise in tariff. Unfortunately for them and very fortunately for the subscribers, the telecoms service providers operate in a deregulated market where the regulator has a strong voice. Tariffs don’t just go up that way. The regulator will have to do a determination before setting a baseline tariff for the industry.

I am afraid to conclude here that the socio-economic fabric of the nation is fractured and salient voices are going into perplexing acquiescence of evil. It is wrong to continue to harp on the elastic endurance of Nigerians in the face of oppressive conditions or even evil. The rope is getting too tight. We shouldn’t wait for a wrench before waking up from a satanic sleep to do the needful and provide a little relief for the people, a comforting baseline to validate their humanity.

March 16, 2022
War has no respect for telecoms or broadcasting – By Okoh Aihe

By Okoh Aihe

War is no war game. It is not reality TV or the world of make-believe. It is no time for make-up, pyrotechnics or stunting. What you see is what it is. Reality. Death. Disaster. And destruction in the extreme and very extensive.

The weapons of death find a grotesque means of expression. And the after-effects and the body counts can be inaccurate because some are interred in the debris for eternity.

War is not a good thing. It destroys life. Destroys civilization. And takes humanity back to the age of barbarism. At least what is left of humanity. Life carries no meaning and hopelessness becomes even more nourishing than summarised finality.

War is worse when there is a little bit of psychotic mix, some dolorous hubris wrapped in phantasy. Those who instigate wars become villains forever and history reserves for them a foretaste of damning hell. Condemnation for them is in perpetuity.

As I watch live television of the Russian army raining down bombs on Ukrainian cities, I am pained to observe that this is not reality TV; this is a comprehensive disaster unfolding before humanity. The immediate and after-effects will be very overwhelming and may serve as a lasting condemnable hold on the conscience of those who, in their powerful positions, prevaricated or totally refused to do something when daring actions were exigent.

So innocence and helplessness are traumatised when not completely mangled, and those who thought they had earned a right to peaceful life have been bombed out of their homes and into a life that may remain strange to them forever.

War is not good. In Ukraine, telecommunications and broadcast facilities were targeted and bombed. TV and phones have become a luxury to people on the run who are now unable to connect with their loved ones trapped in the country because of martial law declaration and may not be able to connect with them ever again. War is not good.

War is not good. President Putin of Russia is becoming increasingly insular. For declaring a war on another country, businesses including communications and broadcast companies are taking a bolt out of Russia by way of protest. And the government is doing even more by making it impossible for their people to connect to the rest of the world. The world is against Russia, they say. What an irreverent myopia.

Ordinarily, the country lives in a world of its own, some kind of bubble that is very surreal. It’s worse even now. Last week Putin signed the ‘fake news’ law which criminalises the ventilation of news in dissonance with the authorities of Russia and could send journalists to prison for up to ten years. For instance, it may be fake news to even suggest that Russia is losing soldiers in the war with Ukraine or that some of her fighter jets have been shot down. No. You must have the permission of the authorities to ever traverse that route. These are desperate times and more desperate measures may be on the way.

Fake news is not strange to us in this part of the world. Methinks fake news provides a lot of blanket cover for any government that is failing in its responsibilities to its people. Otherwise, why would one be afraid of alternative views and suggestions or even of any information that is discomforting to the few but salubrious to the majority in the main.

When people were shot at the Lekki Toll Gate during the #EndSARS protest on October 20, 2020, they said it was fake news. When the power generating authorities in Nigeria cannot give power to the people and businesses, they say it is fake news, when bad fuel is imported into the country and helpless motorists have to spend days and nights at the filling stations, they say it is fake news. In fact, the reality of the pain we carry in Nigeria is fake news. Everything is on a roll, and el dorado is the smallest of realities that we enjoy.

Watching Russia and Ukraine brings my attention to my country. Just another look at the two countries, I realise how much damage politicians can cause without ever pausing to think that Armageddon which their actions instigate most of the time spares nobody. Why will they not ever moderate their greed, excesses and lousiness?

The Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have fought assiduously to make telecommunications facilities critical infrastructure, thus making it an offence for anybody to go on a wilful damage of such infrastructure.

Oftentimes, the actions of politicians lay no expediency to such critical thinking. They make appointments without thinking of the consequences. They make laws and boast they can do anything and nothing will happen. So, they threw away every suggestion to comfort the Nigerian woman in the just amended constitution. Oh, nothing will happen. And the cauldron boils within, with some fragments of discontents, waiting to find an expression one day. Perhaps, a very violent one.

I look at Russia and Ukraine fighting each other, one powerful nation against an easy-going one. I also look at our nation and the contradictions within, the crevices that are getting wider every day, soaking in a lot of blood. And the politicians have hardly taken any serious measures to restore peace and confidence back to the land. But such lethargy and ignoble inaction would always come to an end, not always a pleasant one.

This is why I make this appeal, for the politicians and our lawmakers to make laws that protect the people, laws that guarantee life and offer tomorrow as a better alternative. Without equivocation, war is war, whether it is between nations or among the nationalities within a nation. In the eventuality of a war, everybody suffers, everything suffers. It doesn’t matter whether telecommunications have been declared critical infrastructure or not, war burns everything, war takes everything down, including telecommunications and broadcasting. Telecoms and broadcasting are the first to be attacked in order to keep the people in the dark. War is not good and can hardly be a preferred alternative for dispute resolution.

March 9, 2022
For 5G and Electoral Act, two important days in 2022 – By Okoh Aihe

By Okoh Aihe

There was a seeming deconstruction of reality last week. The second winner at the 5G auction, Mafab Communications Ltd, made payment of the balance of the $273.6m license fee on deadline day, February 24, 2022, thus completing the allegory of a David taking Goliath down with just an ordinary stone from a sling. In plain terms Mafab wrecked every expectation of impossibility as a rookie player by doing the nigh impossible in a field where even giants stayed with their inner cautionary voices.

A few hours later, the people’s will prevailed as President Muhammadu Buhari signed the amended Electoral Bill into Law. The politicians have been forced to accommodate technology in the nation’s election system which they had earlier bluntly refused, holding unto straws as they journeyed to the past. There was an outrage that overwhelmed their political craftiness and personal greed. They had to eat their shame and listen to the people.

On the above, this administration has earned a perfect score within hours as the President can at least point to something elevating, a rare feature in a country where nearly everything is on a downward spiral. For instance, the nation’s power sector is challenged extensively, and nobody is saying anything. To add more pain to that crippling difficulty, the fuel queues have returned as a crowning shame to the importation of bad fuel for which nobody will be punished. Impunity has weight and space in this administration and those who fought for power are unable to apply it to resolve problems, except to wear the appurtenances of its glory.

I am of the opinion here that the conclusion of the 5G auction process and the signing of the amended Electoral Bill are good signs that our humanity as a people is not totally interred yet. It is a welcome development that INEC would not have to consult with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to determine if there was enough digital capacity in an environment for election results to be transmitted electronically.

The President’s pen carries a punch. From February 25, 2022, INEC has been empowered by law to ensure that votes count and taken through secure electronic channels. I am happy the President has signed his way into glory, at least, for once.

There will always be a nexus between telecommunications and every other sector of the economy or the entire fabric of the nation’s socio-political system. With 5G, life will be transformed and transactions supremely influenced. This is why we cry for the telecoms sector not to be unduly adulterated by political viruses.

One can therefore understand the excitement last Thursday when the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, announced a final closure to the exercise which began December 13, 2021. The auction money was in government’s vault, waiting for the kind of justice that happens to every money that goes into the Federation account.

“I wish to officially announce that NCC has received and confirmed payments from MTN and Mafab for their acquisition of 1 slot of 100Mhz each in the 3.5Ghz spectrum auction, which was successfully conducted by the Commission on December 13, 2021. They both met the deadline of February 24, 2022 as set by the Commission”, Danbatta informed.

Good news can come like a flash of light in the heart of darkness. To millions of people stranded on the roadside and thousands on fuel queues, or yet for several millions of people across the nation running for cover from an undeclared war, this piece of information will have little meaning. Yet it is good execution of processes like this that helps in building better life for the generality of the people. Unfortunately, successive governments have mismanaged most of our opportunities.

But this is Danbatta’s day and we must listen to him. “Arising from this and on behalf of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, the Board and Management of the NCC, I wish to congratulate the MTN and Mafab for this feat, as we look forward to accomplishing other deployment timelines in the 5G deployment roadmap, as articulated in the National Policy on 5G Networks for Nigeria’s Digital Economy”, he stated.

This is where the real work begins, the rollout stage, time to demonstrate the real tech and financial capacity that constitute the enigmatic content of the big and the rookie operator. No insults intended here because it will really be inappropriate to weigh Mafab and MTN on the same scale, only if for the sheer reason that while the latter has operational experiences across Africa and other nations of the world, Mafab is only reading to break out of its cocoon. MTN actually paid nearly $16m to secure a preferred band.

This writer is mindful of the words of the EVC that “we look forward to accomplishing other deployment timelines in the 5G deployment roadmap, as articulated in the National Policy on 5G Networks for Nigeria’s Digital Economy.” Much as we support this idea to the hilt, we want to recall again that there are aspects of the policy that may encumber the rollout plans of the operators. There are some personal concerns and selfish details expressed in the policy that may not support the business projections of the 5G operators.

Thankfully, the government is promising to support their rollout efforts with good enabling environment for their operations. This is well said because rollout is going to be expensive and challenging. This is the more reason the NCC should allow the operators to rollout as per their business plans instead of directing them on places to commence services. Rollout dates and targets should take precedence over cities and states of service deployment.

I already observed that service deployment will be expensive and challenging. For this reason, I want to suggest that Mafab, which is proving to be a giant killer, should be given some tax holiday when it commence services. The young organisation will need every support and encouragement to survive in a new terrain. I will go a step further to add that MTN’s investment in 5G be considered for tax rebate as well.

My thinking is that the advantages of, and opportunities from 5G are so multifarious and overwhelming that the regulator must deploy every trick in the regulatory books to escalate the progress and success of the operators who are bold enough to plow in investment to introduce life-changing niche technology to the country. Yes. More housekeeping is needed to regulate the telecommunications industry with a view to providing a better and more protective business environment to those with the large hearts to bring in new funds.

All the same, congratulations are in order for the NCC and also the Nigerian President who signed his way into the history books last week.

March 2, 2022
Flutterwave beams hope to a new generation demanding more from their government – By Okoh Aihe

By Okoh Aihe

It was last week. I saw a copy of Thisday newspaper and my eyes were fixed on the picture of this generation of Nigerians – young men and women, and even boys and girls, who were rocking the investment world with their brilliance. The vivacity of that picture enchants. The rambunctious smile on their faces spoke more of a victory lap into the future.

This is Flutterwave, a young company founded by young Nigerians, that is living the dream of a unicorn. It has just raised another $250m to expand its services across the nations of the world where it operates, especially Africa and the Middle East. The net worth is about $3bn for a company that is only six years old!

You can only understand this feat when you extrapolate that Flutterwave is a year younger than this administration that has given the nation seven blighted years of pain and sorrow, with more people going into extreme hunger. Yet within this period a young organisation is raising funds from the international community to power its business and continue to retain investment interest and enthusiasm.

My mind only goes back to a young fellow who visited the country at the advent of mobile telephony (GSM) in early 2000. It was a propitious moment for him as he refused to return abroad but instead choosing to set up a value added company in Nigeria. In no time this fellow had made so much money that returning abroad only became illusory. This young generation seeks something beyond the understanding of the dodos, custodians of ancient history who are afraid to admit that their time is far gone.

A statement from the organisation called the feat “a validation of African talent, innovation and its young inspiring people. It is also a huge endorsement in the growth of the business, innovation and technology landscape in Africa.”

Flutterwave’s latest backers, it was revealed, include some of the world’s most respected investors led by B Capital Group, and with participation from Alta Park Capital, Whale Rock Capital, Lux Capital, among others. Several existing investors who also participated in previous rounds also followed this round, including, Glynn Capital, Avenir Growth, Tiger Global, Green Visor Capital,and Salesforce Ventures.

Flutterwave was founded in 2016 by three young Nigerians, namely: Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Olugbenga Agboola and Adeleye Adekoya. With headquarters in San Francisco, California, and operations across some African countries – Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and some other seven countries in the continent, Flutterwave, according to its Wikipedia page, is a Nigerian fintech company that provides a payment infrastructure for global merchants and payment service providers across the continent.

In March 2021, Flutterwave secured an investment of $170m, bringing the fintech company’s valuation to $1bn and achieving the enviable status of a unicorn. The $250m raised in series D funding has brought the company’s valuation to $3bn. For this young organisation, it seems the only way to go is up.

The pertinent question therefore is what are the investors paying for? The organisation, as reported, served some details.

“Since inception in 2016, the Flutterwave team has been on a mission to create endless possibilities for customers and businesses in Africa and the emerging markets. The Series D fundraise comes on the back of an impressive run of five years in which Flutterwave has processed over 200M transactions worth over $16 billion to date across 34 countries in Africa.

“It also follows a year of rapid growth for the brand which now serves over 900,000 businesses across the globe. In 2021, Flutterwave launched a range of new products including Flutterwave Market for merchants to sell their goods via an online marketplace and, most recently, Send, a remittance service that empowers customers to seamlessly send money to recipients to and from Africa.”

Flutterwave seems to be demonstrating a rare cluster of fintech creativity and the investing community is acknowledging their efforts by demonstrating that investment is blind to colour and race when the idea is right and the business plan solid.

What therefore is the lesson in this? Simple. The future belongs to the young generation of this nation. The government should give them a little space in business and polity to express themselves and pull the stars down to the earth, if you permit that hyperbole.

Even in the midst of this dreariness going on in Nigeria, there is hope rising. Flutterwave acknowledged the role of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which, through some new policies, has created some windows of opportunities for new ideas to sprout. There was the news only recently that some tech startups have raked nearly a billion dollars of investments into the country. The story can even be better if the nation responds in the affirmative through the provision of a more enabling environment for business.

A primary party in this ecosystem is the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) whose responsibility it is to further animate the telecommunications sector to enable operators provide a superstructure that can support more complex but rewarding operations. It is easy to see that a nexus between the Commission and the Central Bank have created some glaring opportunities in the economy.

But my first reaction here is that the NCC should be left alone to properly regulate the industry by a minister whose contumelious hold on the industry could instigate a crisis of unanticipated proportions. Those with their mouths wide open for political patronage are too selfish to contemplate the extensive damage the minister is inflicting on the industry.

Having said that, I am optimistic that the coming of 5G will unleash a new wave of development and creativity, and also enhance the speed of transactions and the movement of big data.

One would think the the NCC is acknowledging this role and ready for a rejig of operations when it’s chief executive, Prof Umar Garba Danbata, said in a statement last week, that “the Commission was irrevocably committed to the implementation of various regulatory initiatives and programmes, in collaboration with all stakeholders in the telecom ecosystem, towards bridging identified gaps and shortages in critical telecom infrastructure in the country.”

That sounds very seminal but one would only pray that the Commission sticks to lithe regulation and damn every extraneous influence exerting debilitating pressure for parochial benefits.

February 23, 2022
DSO: Nigeria goes to Egypt for help – By Okoh Aihe

By Okoh Aihe

In my neck of the wood the snake is not a likeable animal at all; not just that it crawls on its belly to its eternal shame but more of its subtlety and venomous wickedness. Twice I was an unfortunate victim of its wickedness. The first nearly left me blind. The second with a crooked finger. So, when you see the snake, especially around the home, there is nothing about cruelty to animals, it’s either the snake goes or you go. In that situation it is not who kills the snake, man or woman, that matters, the expected result is for the snake to die. Desperation.

More in the similitude of a fight in the ring getting rough and deadly, you throw the punches with both hands, even with eyes shut. All that is important is to fight yourself out of trouble. Desperation.

As I read the story of the a Nigerian team going down to Egypt to seek help for the implementation of the Digital Switchover (DSO) programme, never mind what the scriptures say about those who go down to Egypt for help in Isaiah 31:1 (Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help), my only wish was for the ultimate result to come, no matter the jurisdiction it would come from.

The journey from analogue transmission to digital commenced in 2006 as per decision taken by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and was pegged to end in 2015, although each jurisdiction and country was encouraged to choose its speed but the journey had that termination date.

However, Nigeria has not been very fortunate with the process. 2015 wasn’t a reality and 2020 was also sadly missed. And now the country is at that point where desperation creeps in. Desperation. You can now begin to understand the journey to Egypt. Desperation.

This administration made it a programme of choice to be implemented because of the overwhelming advantages including its capacity to unleash job opportunities and also affect the financial fortunes of the country. Migrating analogue to digital means that broadcasters would have to vacate some spectrums which would then be sold for huge amounts for telecommunications services.

But first thing first. There must be a migration away from the analogue system of transmission for the nation to have open access to the funds at the end of the tunnel. For a nation that has not been creative in so many fields of endeavour, compelling it to hang perilously to only a major source of funds – crude oil – which is not even refined in the country any way, it is very little surprise that Nigeria has not been able to pry intricate opportunities open, including opportunities from digital migration.

So we pass the buck without wanting to be involved in processes that will challenge the intellect. In Nigeria the DSO should be implemented by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), with policy support from the Ministry of Information and Culture. During the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, the NBC was the arrowhead of implementation. But not any more. The Ministry has taken over now and it has been behind the force of movement or DSO launches we have seen in parts of the country.

From all indications there are serious challenges. The journey to Egypt was to source for funds from the African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank). The team was led by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, whose efforts at pushing the project was keenly acknowledged by the President of the Bank, Benedict Oramah. The Minister rehearsed some of the progress made in the DSO programme in Nigeria and also stated that at the moment, financial requirement was putting a drag on the speed.

The financial request of $165m was placed on the table by Godfrey Ohuabunwa, Chairman, Set Top Box Manufacturers Association of Nigeria. The amount is broken down in the following order: $125m for Set Top Boxes, $30m for signal distributors and $10m for marketing and promotion.

It is gladdening to know that Afreximbank’s Oramah promised to help build a support package for Nigeria and then use the country’s template to assist other African countries who are struggling with the DSO programme.

It is worth observing that the trip to Egypt is a clear indication that action has not completely stopped in pushing the DSO programme and even more heartwarming that there was a ready heart willing to give a helping hand. But this has not put paid to the desperation that is becoming palpable.

Last time the NBC got money for DSO, it was a one-time approval of N9.4bn by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for legacy debts in order to rescue the entire programme or transition from looming collapse. This was in February 10, 2021.

There seems to be something very wrong with our style of implementation and this may not be the fault of the NBC. This explains why in spite of a rippling motion, there is hardly any tangible headway forward.

Look at it this way. Before the ITU decision in 2006, the city of Berlin initiated the first switchover in 2003. Luxembourg, which you may call a very small country in Europe, was the first country to do a complete switchover in September 2006. An industry source told this writer within the week that Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania have made more progress in the DSO programme than Nigeria.

Is the NBC getting the needed support from other arms of government apart from the apparent lordship of a supervising minister? For the DSO to gain traction in America, the Congress got fully involved, making all the necessary laws and fund approval for the programme to sail smoothly. When there were three setbacks in December 2008, February 2009, and finally June 2009, the Congress was in the picture and played its role completely. Is the National Assembly of Nigeria so involved in the process that the last fund approval was made by FEC? The DSO is an important project; why is it left for the NBC to carry with its arms tied behind? Why is it so difficult for us as a people to get into situations that would challenge the intellect or demand rigorous interrogation?

An industry source has advised that we must change the method of implementation and decide whether to go full digital or not. “We are still essentially transmitting analogue in Nigeria because everywhere they have a DSO launch in Nigeria, they equate a city to a state.” The source frowned at this development, arguing that the fact that a launch was done in central Lagos or Kano city does not mean the whole of the state has been covered.

My source who is highly knowledgeable in the industry suggested a retooling of the entire process which would require the NBC to cover a state completely, do a switchover from analogue to digital, before heading for another state. It will then be possible to create a switchover map which the NBC can follow diligently and rescue the programme from a near state of anarchy. And stop desperation!

February 16, 2022
Great expectations from 5G and the nigh impossible – By Okoh Aihe

By Okoh Aihe

The meat of the antelope is very sweet, Prof Ola Rotimi wrote in one of his books, but what happens while the meat is cooking. Great line I love immensely. As I watched the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, launch the 5G Policy last week, those words played in my head while staring blankly at the television.

I don’t want to stir the line of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations but in moments like this, even the beautiful TV fails to provide any succour or solution to any troubling thoughts. Reality looks very remote and dreams become castles in the air.

Speaking at the launch of the 5G Policy, the President directed the national security apparati to take advantage of the technology in solving the nation’s well documented security challenges when it comes on stream.

In the words of the President, “5G technology is significantly faster than earlier digital technologies and it provides near real-time communication. This can play a key role in boosting our efforts towards enhancing security across the nation. It will enable our security institutions to effectively deploy robotics, autonomous vehicles, augmented and virtual reality to address any security challenges that we face. To this end, I hereby direct all the security institutions to immediately leverage 5G when deployed in order to beef up security in the country,” he said.

Quite a number of people are talking about the advantages of 5G technology, and the President should not be an exception. After all, at the auction conducted by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in December last year, a license fetched $273m. Two licenses were put in the market and they were picked by MTN Nigeria and new entrant, Mafab Communications, respectively. A President in charge of this great country in dire need of cash wouldn’t fail to recognise the track of that windfall.

Plus the monetary returns are some of the advantages of the technology which the President listed. “5G technologies offer a number of benefits that can support virtually every sector of our economy. For instance, it can enhance connectivity, improve healthcare, support education, foster smart cities and boost agriculture, among other advantages that it gives. It will also support security institutions with real-time communication,” he painted a convincing picture of hope.

Surrounded by top government officials, the programme looked like a campaign ceremony; making clarifications and pontifications, and, in fact, giving rare hope, even if such hope was in the distance. It was far from a campaign. For a fact, campaigns have been over ever since, and the entire season of the President is nearly over sans a few months.

While the meat of the antelope is cooking, what do we do? 5G is still months away but there is a major security challenge all over the country which demands urgent action. Spectrum winners are expected to make payment before the end of this month and there are no indications that the operators will roll out services immediately after payment.

My fear is that too much expectations are being piled on 5G . Experiences down the road should warn us to tread on the path of caution. Here is the gist. Over a year ago, the government came up with the NIN-SIM Policy which would compel phone users in the country to register their SIM cards, which details must be in synced with their NINs. Although there was initial hoopla, the process was hailed as capable of helping to resolve some security issues. Records from the joint Committee handling the exercise indicate that about 73m NINs have been properly reconciled with SIMs. As I write this material, there are no indications that such security challenges have abated because of the magic of the exercise been jointly executed by the NCC and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). In fact, those who find it difficult to mind their own business say the situation is more complex and the body count is mounting.

Next was the well thought out idea to shut telecom services across some states of the federation especially in the north. It was reasoned then that with telecom services shut down in these areas, the terrorists and bandits and whatever name they bear from the pit of hell, would find it difficult to communicate and coordinate their evil activities. Again there are no proofs that some good results have been achieved except that what is playing out on the streets of the affected states and in some forests, clearly demonstrate a bizarre journey to anarchy but for the gallantry of the nations’ security personnel.

This is why I am calling for caution. 5G comes with overwhelming advantages but some of these advantages could be long in coming as it will take quite some time for services to be rolled out. These expectations should not push the regulatory agency into canvassing unnecessary rollout conditions that may put unbearable pressure on corporate organisations just set out to do normal business. I have gone through the Policy. Quite some contradictions in there but what jumps at me are some rollout suggestions in environments that may not support the business of the operators. Another caution too. The rollout is going to be expensive and no operator may be ready to put some of these equipments in areas where they will suffer equipment and revenue losses.

It is very reassuring that the President has promised to create an enabling environment for the operators to do business. Apart from security, power supply is part of that deal. And here I tell a little which I read somewhere. When the Egbin power station went down recently, the nationalmailonline wrote wrote:

“Nigeria generates an average of 8,000mw of electricity daily, out of the installed 13,000mw capacity, transmits an average of 5, 000mw, while distribution hovers between 3, 000mw and 2, 500mw.”

This is circumlocution in idea presentation. The problem is not with the writer but with those who supplied the figures. The summary which they tried very hard to obfuscate is that the nation of over 200m is only able to put 3000mw of electricity in the market daily. This may not do much to support 5G. There is also an inability to tell the truth. And this is also not good for business – big or small, 5G or 2G.

While so much miracles are expected of 5G, there is the need to temper our expectations with reality so that we do not pressure the operators out of the market with our bogus demands.

February 9, 2022
Don’t let 9MOBILE die – By Okoh Aihe

By Okoh Aihe

There is story that is permanently frozen in my brain. In those terrible days of the Nigerian Civil War, when Prof Chinua Achebe had gathered himself together to break news of Christopher Okigbo’s death at the war front to the family, his three-year-old son, Ike, screamed: “Daddy, don’t let him die!”

Okigbo knew how to dominate his environment. He was bold, brilliant and had lots of mischief. Those who ever met him yearned for his effervescent presence. In August 1967, he fell in a Civil War that has hardly cured the nation of its madness. And the innocent three-year old cried to the father to save his life, because Okigbo too, was his friend. A friend of the three-year old!

This story is told in Achebe’s There Was A Country. Both Okigbo and Achebe are gone but they left their marks. Each time I see a life or situation that is threatened, the frozen line comes alive, Don’t let him die.

The title of this piece, with all humility, owes its origin to the great work of one of the world’s greatest story tellers, Achebe. Slightly adapted and compressed, my appeal is: Don’t let 9MOBILE die.

9MOBILE runs a tragic story at the moment, nothing edifying about it at all. The justification could be that every business has a downtime. But this is more than a downtime. The organisation is bleeding and there is the need for inclusive search for solutions to keep the business running.

It is a private business some suggestions would come. But wait till a private business goes down, then you will begin to understand the meaning of a private business that has become a public trust because of its impact on the people.

The story of 9MOBILE which started out in Nigeria as Etisalat once read like a Nollywood story. You can bet former President Olusegun Obasanjo, hailed as OBJ by both lovers and detractors, to have his imprimatur on every good story associated with the renaissance of the telecommunications industry in Nigeria. Years after MTN, Airtel, which also started business as Econet Wireless, and Glo launched mobile services in the country, OBJ, the businessman he was as a leader, was still able to convince some businessmen in the Middle East to invest a mouth-watering sum of $400m in Nigeria. The amount was for a Universal Access Service License (UASL), which also included frequency in the 1800MHz GSM band.

Coming under the vehicle of Mubadala, a big investment company from the United Arab Emirates, the organisation readily found traction with a Nigerian company, Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services (EMTS), both choosing Emirates Telecommunications Company’s Etisalat to deliver their services. Commercial services commenced in Nigeria in October 2008. It was like marriage made in heaven. Etisalat is big in the Middle East and easily made impact in Nigeria, even having to proudly rub shoulders with Airtel and Glo which came into the market in 2001. MTN was already miles ahead.

Something happened that was not easily spotted. Whatever Mubadala brought into Etisalat Nigeria as investment was through debt financing; meaning that the money would have to be paid back by the Nigerian operation as loan attracting the agreed interest.

Before long Etisalat was exposed to a debt of $1.2bn, owed to local banks and lenders. The company was in crisis, leading to the exit of Mubadala. But Mubadala had collected its own money, leaving the Nigerian owners in limps.

There was a glimmer of hope however. The management was upbeat even in the throes of crisis. When the name change from Etisalat Nigeria to 9MOBILE occurred in July 2017, the organisation had over 20m lines. Not many operators in Africa can boast of that figure. It is pertinent to observe though that there was a sale that created more ghosts for 9MOBILE.

A question here is, have those ghosts emerged from the shadows to haunt 9MOBILE? As I write this material, not so many industry players see a bright future for the organisation. The company remains in debt, according to industry sources. Plus other encumbrances, it is owing about $140m to Huawei and another N40bn to IHS, its passive infrastructure supplier. IHS is in charge of towers and security for 9MOBILE’s operations across the country.

The subscriber base has also plummeted, down to 12, 789, 344 lines by the end of last year which translates to a market share of just 6.55 per cent, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). This is hardly the story that should be expected in a competitive market, like Nigeria.

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.

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.

For Tunde Fatunde

The death of Prof Tunde Fatunde last week crudely reminded me how much one can fight through life and at the end still ask the inevitable question, did I succeed? Fatunde was a fighter and didn’t know how to retreat from any battle irrespective of the danger. From the early eighties when we joined the University of Benin, Fatunde already picked a position to fight on the side of the people with the various tools at his disposal, including his plays that were populist. In one of those lines he put in my mouth as Hassan in No More Oil Boom, Fatunde wrote: “Our working people eat from dustbins because people like Alh. Bauchi, Prof Owokunle and others have introduced into the country the social practice of American businessmen and contractors. In the nearest future the workers and farmers of this country will no longer eat from dustbins. Our People say: When there is life there is hope. I want you to note this important fact. Nigeria is not fore sale.”

With the Uniben auditorium filled every night, those words lit some kind of fire on the campus and sent ripples even beyond. Fatunde’s words troubled the wicked in the land, and even now that he is gone, they will remain haunted by the arrows in the words. Unfortunately wickedness remains an evergreen totem and poverty has become even more epidemic. The good news is that evil has never broken the strong will of a regenerated people. Which is why Fatunde would have left with a wry smile that he did his best to heal a troubled nation. Your efforts are appreciated and may your journey across the divide be good. Go well and furnish Prof Festus Iyayi with happenings in the land.

February 2, 2022