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Tag: Okoh Aihe

  • The wrong call for telecoms tariff hike – By Okoh Aihe

    The wrong call for telecoms tariff hike – By Okoh Aihe

    I am an unrepentant apostle of telecom tariff hike. Some guys will nearly put my head on a chopping board for this, as it looks almost surreal for anybody in his right senses to advocate for an upward cost review of products and services at a time so many people are being pushed into multidimensional poverty by an economy that has resisted every jab to return it to good health.

    I will be a little selfish here. Having enjoyed GSM services since 2001 when the technology hit the nation with coordinated frenzy, I do not want to return to a world without phones or where services could be poorer than they are now. My little knowledge of the industry continues to warn that things are going on a downward spiral and except urgent measures were taken to stem the fall, it is possible to return to that state of nothingness where mobile phones will become history. Just like NITEL.

    God forbid. Yes. We pray sometimes when God has given us the capacity to resolve problems even by just learning from other nations of the world who conquered such problems decades ago. Building an effective telecommunications sector cannot be classified as rocket science.

    Plus the selfish dread of returning to a world without phones, was the realisation that the push for a digital economy which has become so psychedelic in Nigeria cannot happen without a robust telecommunications industry. The process will at best be likened to that of a dreamer who is trying to build a skyscraper without a reasonable foundation. A utopian freak you may call him. The truth  here is that a digital economy must ride on a robust telecommunications sector. Digital economy is about connectivity which telecommunications provide. My village sense teaches me that the sector must have enough blood in the system to be able to cater for the worries of others. If truth be told, network quality has been declining at such a rate that we didn’t need a soothsayer to foretell the future of the industry.

    The service providers had a basket of complaints – a troubled economy, volatile exchange rate, soaring cost of diesel to power generators at the base stations, inflation that remains stratospheric and sundry other issues that make business a nightmare in our world even when we live in denial and build utopian scenarios. However, their most pungent observations were the industry tariffs that have remained the same for over a decade even when prices of other products and services have more than doubled or tripled within the period.

    For me, tariffs remain the low hanging fruits provided by the operators for the government to begin to resolve the issues of the sector and I was and still of the opinion that the government needed to have done something long ago, at least to keep the ordinary fellows connected to their people in other parts of the country or even other parts of the world while allowing the operators to enjoy a whiff of relief.

    It was good to hear last week that the Tinubu administration was ready to grant a tariff hike but that information, served by Dr Bosu Tijani, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, further caused me a lot of sadness, quite ironically.

    Rising from a stakeholders meeting with Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) last Wednesday, the Minister said: “You have seen over the past weeks that there has been agitation from some of these companies to increase tariff. They are requesting for a 100 percent tariff increase. But it will not be 100 percent. We are still looking at that study and NCC will come up with a clear directive on how we will go about it.”

    So innocently put. I am sure the operators will be enjoying some level of comfort and expectation at the moment. But let me state here what is wrong. Tariff regulation remains in the purview of the NCC and not the Minister who is the head of the ministry. The Minister should only be concerned about policy issues and not the tiny details of daily industry regulation.

    This is stated under the Functions of the Minister in Section 23 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, the first of which is “the formulation, determination and monitoring, of the general policy for the communications sector in Nigeria with a view to ensuring, amongst others, the utilisation of the sector as a platform for the economic and social development of Nigeria.”

    Section 25 (2) is also very clear about the relationship between the Minister and the Commission, wherein it states that, “In the execution of his functions and relationship with the Commission, the Minister shall at all times ensure that the independence of the Commission, in regard to the discharge of its functions and operations under the Act, is protected and not compromised in any manner whatsoever.”

    The regulator lost its independence under the Buhari administration and was also highly compromised. The Minister, Dr Isa Pantami, working with a pliant regulator, approximated by Prof Umar Danbatta, usurped the decision taking process of the Commission in a most unbridled manner. In a classic case of regulatory capture, the NCC became helpless and the industry suffered even more.

    The regulator and industry are yet to recover from such capture. What happened in the past shouldn’t be a new normal. It was a grotesque travesty of regulation that didn’t portray our nation well. Dr Tijani shouldn’t go on that track that wasn’t good. This writer was informed that some regulatory decisions by the Commission under this administration were put on ice by the Minister who, from findings also, doesn’t enjoy so much love from some workers at the Ministry. Let me inform him voluntarily too that the industry also holds him in suspicion although respect for his office may not allow this to be noticeable.

    In plain speaking, the government shouldn’t be seen fixing tariffs for telecommunications, just as it cannot fix prices for diesel, petrol or even air tickets. I have been reliably informed that the NCC is engaged in a number of cost based studies that will help it arrive on reasonable tariffs very soon. The Minister alluded to this. But it will be much healthier for the industry and the entire business ecosystem for the government to keep away from regulatory activities in order to boost the confidence of those who want to invest in a free economy.

    The Minister also said something profound. “I think what the world is talking about today is meaningful connectivity. You want to have access to very good quality service,” he noted.

    He couldn’t be more correct. Connectivity can be helped by the Minister’s policy decisions. Some decisions had been taken in the past that petered out or painfully grew into pecuniary benefits for a few.

    There were programmes designed to accommodate the underserved areas of this country, just the same way such far flung communities are connected in other parts of the world. For instance, what has the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) been doing lately? How many communities has the Fund affected in the preceding years?

    In fact, I think the first connectivity we need should happen between the Minister and the regulator on one hand, before the industry on the other. There is so much that should be happening between them in order to create the kind of telecommunications infrastructure that is able to shoulder a digital economy.

  • From America to Nigeria, good technology possible without pains – By Okoh Aihe

    From America to Nigeria, good technology possible without pains – By Okoh Aihe

    The tech industry promises to be very interesting this year. It will bring excitment, it will also inflict pain. Nations will go after each other and try to sabotage each other’s growth where possible. Others will expand growth and dominance and even extend it to conquest as manifest display of strength. The weaklings will lap up the crumbs from the master’s table and remain ever so grateful in that beggarly position. But the world will continue on a swing, on a roll that has little accommodation for the laggard.

    In a few days, Donald Trump will return to the White House as the President of the United States of America. He has been there before. He was also in show business. And he is well aware of the powers reposited in his person and office; there is no need swearing that he  will take maximum advantage of such powers. Americans like to associate their President with chutzpah. Donald Trump is an embodiment of such euphoric feel.

    His beef with China will continue. Under him America will not allow China to maintain a clear lead in niche technology like 5G and then 6G that is already dancing around the corner. Semiconductors will enjoy more attention and more coveted, even new laws, just anything to slow China down. But you can’t blame a man who wants his nation to enjoy some advantages over other nations of the world. It was the plank of his campaign – America First.

    Donald Trump will impose his own image and likeness on the tech sector to such an extent that the local and international markets will buckle under the weight.  He will meddle with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and plant the people that will pursue his vision with aggression beyond cohesion. The Social Media that has not been very kind to his kind of lifestyle, with a lot of focus on Iife in the past, and sustained hubris, will come under intense scrutiny. Granted that big tech companies are already flocking around him as a show of support or even penitence but that may still not cut a deal.

    Already one of their own is in the inner chambers enjoying some deserved advantages. Elon Musk threw his cash in the fray to campaign with Donald Trump, he couldn’t have made better investment. He is the founder of SpaceX which created Starlink, a satellite megaconstellation with about 6,714 satellites working as at November last year out of a projected 42,000 satellites.

    The strength of the US telecoms sector is in fibre to homes which makes triple play an enjoyable feature. But Starlink is designed to provide low cost Internet to remote locations. In most parts of the world, including the US, dealing with connectivity in underserved locations is spearheaded by the Universal Service Fund. But there is also the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program in the US which places fibre optics as the surest connection to high-speed internet. There are fears however, that the very visible presence of Elon Musk in the Trump administration will influence attention to shift to satellite as the best alternative internet connection to remote and underserved communities.

    Elon Musk’s influence will not be confined to America. Already Starlink Services LLC, has coverage in over 100 countries, including Nigeria where it has a cocktail of licences to provide telecommunications services. Starlink and its local partners are dropping terminals across the nation for more affordable internet connectivity. If he markets his connection with the most powerful man in the world, the Musk way, he can only conquer more territories of the world for Starlink and other business operations.

    Just the way that Starlink has come into our world with little announcement, some other nondescript operators may still find their way to the country except the industry faces proper regulation. With strong signs already popping up in different places, the telecommunications industry may witness a shaking. The operators, with their backs to the wall, will continue to press for higher tariffs in order to remain in business.

    Tariffs therefore will be a major issue this year. The Nigerian consumers who couldn’t do anything about fuel hike and soaring food prices, will suddenly find their voice and venge their anger on the hapless telecommunications sector. The easiest thing to do is to go to court to stop whatever the operators and the regulator may want to do.  It is not impossible that the regulator will want to stay on the side of the consumers but how long the industry can continue to take losses on behalf of the consumers or subscribers in this case is an early decision the regulator will have to make this year.

    The handshake that goes beyond the elbow means a different thing. The relationship between the operators and the subscribers have since soured, and it shouldn’t be a parasitic one indefinitely. Both parties should nurse a healthy relationship to the growth and good of society.

    Without using harsh words for 5G licensing in Nigeria and introduction of its services, let me say that I am not expecting any miracle growth in the sector, for the simple reason that operators are still struggling for funds to remain in mainstream business, without ceding emphasis to what may be termed prestige business. Something has to give for 5G to do well in Nigeria, including victory over hunger and endemic poverty.  5G may not find traction until the later end of the year.

    We already observed that technology may inflict pain this year. Let me state what you already know, that Social Media afforded people a lot of opportunity and latitude to speak their minds and even release harmful effluents at times. They call it freedom of speech but others have argued that what you call freedom of speech can harm others gravely.

    The Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act 2015, amended in 2024, has suddenly become a convenient weapon in the hands of those fighting the excesses of loud mouths and light and loose fingers. For careless and even harmless words, some people have become guests to the various security arms or have even ended up in the court. I am a fanatical supporter of the Act because, even now, I still believe that it has the capacity to cure the ills of cyberspace but also want to warn that the content can be interpreted so loosely to trap even ordinary minds without the intention to hurt or hate. Without doubt, there are mischief makers that must be made to reap the reward of their wickedness but, I am afraid, there are a number of simple minds that could pay painfully as the year unfolds. Dear friends, beware of the Cybercrimes Act.

    Broadcasting may continue to enjoy some disreputable silence except something is done urgently to return fire to the industry and ignite low-hanging programmes that can stir the industry to the fore. The Digital Switchover (DSO) must be given a new approach if Nigeria is ever to successfully implement the switchover. This will demand that present desultory rhetorics be changed for something more pragmatic while subterranean manoeuvring for personal advantage and benefits should be given a moral thrashing. May it not be said that Nigeria, with all its human capital, technical competence and even track record cannot complete a simple process that smaller countries on the continent have since completed.

    In all these bubbles, the answer remains simple: the regulators will have to develop  the gravitas to speak simple truth to this government, about urgent steps that have to be taken for the country to enjoy only the good side of technology and avoid the pain. Very good results are possible without needless torture.

  • On telecoms tariffs, let the Act decide in 2025 – By Okoh Aihe

    On telecoms tariffs, let the Act decide in 2025 – By Okoh Aihe

    As the year 2024 raced to an indeterminate conclusion, there was some theatre of the absurd playing out in the telecommunications industry. Tariff occupied centre stage. There was a reported tariff hike in the industry which was immediately denied by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), also reportedly.

    Just before the final bell could ring on the preceding year, the Association of Licensed Telecomunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), released a blistering statement on the state of the telecommunications industry, saying the industry could start service shedding (load shedding for proper understanding, evoking the painful failure of the power sector) if the travails of the sector were not resolved urgently. Quite a handful and so much baloney, if you permit the use of that word.

    My humble appeal in the immediate is for the regulator and the operators to stop playing dangerous games with a sector that approximates the possibilities of a nation if properly handled. They are both playing at the precincts of the law. I will explain.

    Is tariff review expedient in the telecoms industry in the face of a fickle economy? Many positions have been canvassed. As always, the subscribers don’t want to hear of any increase having been pauperised by some of the polices of this administration. The same policies are making life very difficult for ALTON members who have raised the alarm that telecom service provisioning may grind to a halt. Nigh impossible, you may want to say but nobody wants to hear such a laced threat becasue telecoms remain the only standout achievement of a limping democracy since 1999.

    The regulator takes a position that is undertandable. Standing on the pillars of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, especially in Sections 108 and 109, the regulator says it is backed by the Act to regulate tariffs and such responsibility should therefore not be rocked by those who operate in the industry. It is a cocktail of provisions.

    For instance, Section 108 (1) says: Holders of individual licences shall not impose any tariff or charges for the provision of any service until the Commission has approved such tariff rates and charges except as otherwise provided in this Part.

    Section 109 would add, “Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 108 of this Act, the Commission may intervene in such manner as it deems appropriate in determining and setting the tariff rates for any non-competitive services provided by a provider mentioned in Section 108 (1) of this Act for good cause or as the public may require.

    Further expanding its responsibilities based on the aforementioned Sections of the Act, the regulator in November 2024, released the Guidance on the Simplification of Tariffs in the Nigerian Communications Sector ( as Ammended).

    “The Commission hereby issues this Ammended Guidance for the simplification of tariff pans, bundles and promotional activities that include tariffs. This Guidance is designed to enhance transparency, improve consumer understanding and foster fair competition amongst licensees of the Commission,” the regulator stated.

    The position and powers of the regulator have never been questioned by any of the industry stakehollfers. What the operators are saying, for instance, is that some of the regulations by the Commission are so stale that they have little or no impact on modern business operations that can lead to growth or renewal of the industry.

    Plus the letter addressed to the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC in November 2023, titled: State of the Nigerian Telecommunications Industry – Repositioning the Industry for Sustainable Growth and Development, wherein the operators lamented the dwindling investments and fortunes of the industry, ALTON, at an End-of-Year Dinner with Industry Stakeholders on December 29, 2024, again pressed the panic button that the telecoms industry was under siege.

    In the statement titled: Before the Final Call – Telecom – As Sector Under Siege, ALTON chairman, Engr Gbenga Adebayo, warned that “if nothing is done, we might begin to see in the new year grim consequences unfolding, such as Service Shedding; Operators may not be able to provide services in some areas and at some times of the day leaving millions disconnected, there will be significant economic Fallout, because businesses will suffer from lack of connectivity, stalling growth and innovation. There will also be National Ecnomic Distruption where Key sectors like security, commerce, healthcare, and education which rely heavily on telecom infrastructure, will face serious disruptions.”

    The dumbest reaction to what one may describe as ALTON’s hysteria is to call it cheap blackmail, because such position obfuscates the real issues ailing the industry at the moment, from forex volatility to escalating cost of service delivering, and even from market hostility to dwindling returns, ALTON has a basketful of mixed fortunes. The members are not in a good place at all and are looking for the best possible way to deliver their predicament to government without causing chaotic response from the economy and investing public.

    Quite a few voices, even from the regulatory authority, have told this writer that the industry and the regulator should stop playing games. They validate their position with the explanation that a price regulation was done for the industry a long time again which created a Price Cap of N50 and Price Floor of between N19, after a review over a decade ago which increased the mobile termination rate (MTR). They explain that once a band of between N19 and N50 was created, the operators had the latitude to play within the band, raise and reduce tariff if they like without reverting to the NCC for any approval.

    “We don’t set prices. What we do is set a Cap and a Floor. Within the space, the operators can play. There is a tariff regulation since about 2005. You have not reached the Cap, why are you asking for an increase,” an NCC source told this writer.

    “Once a Floor and a Ceiling have been put in place, playing wthin the band doesn’t need the approval of the NCC,” another source affirmed.

    Perhaps in trying to enjoy this regulatory latitude, the operators in 2022 requested for, and got a 10 percent  tariff increase on Voice and Data services from the NCC. The Commission reversed itself after a few days, saying the priority of the Minister Isa Pantami was to protect the citizens and ensure justice for all stakeholders. An NCC source told this writer that the reversal was unilaterally done by the minister who coerced the regulator to receive the fall.

    At the time, NCC lost the voice to proclaim the provisions of the Act in Sections 108 and 109 which have no tolerance for the meddlesomeness of a minister or even the President of the Republic if he wanted to supervene. The operators did not also test the provisions of the Act in the Court.

    One operator confessed in trepidation that “it’s already very tough doing business in Nigeria. We don’t want the government to come after use with all its powers.”

    Here are a few lessons for me and I think also for the government. Some businesses are already operating in fear in Nigeria in spite of President Tinubu’s effort to attract investors to our dear nation. The source of that fear must be conquered in order to create a conducive business environment. The NCC must abide by the Act and do the needful for the telecoms industry and it’s operators without resorting to puerile emotions about protecting citizens. Afterall, some of the investors in these operations  are also citizens who with their efforts are trying to promote the good of the land.

    In the New Year, the regulator must look beyond emotions to do a good job. This is wishing you all a lovely and more peaceful and productive 2025.

  • Not a good story for telecoms as year ends – By Okoh Aihe

    Not a good story for telecoms as year ends – By Okoh Aihe

    I have had the unenviable opportunity of living in two states and the Federal Capital Territory in the past three months. All the time, my phone is my most prized item because it connects me to my base and my family. It is really cool to be able to reach out and be reached at any time, but one can confess here, very painfully, that it has been a drag, so frustrating that you try to confirm to yourself that GSM operations in Nigeria have climbed over two decades.

    That is the real story. So when the calls refuse to connect, when the calls drop when they connect at all, everything is attributed to network failure or network congestion which ought not to have been after two decades. But that is where we are in the country; instead of constant and gradual improvement, we witness debilitating decline and begin to make promises for a better tomorrow that may never come.

    What is the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) doing, they ask me. Things have never been this bad, they conclude.

    Things have been worse, if you permit me to aggravate your frustrations. But that was pre-2000 when the nation hardly had phones. But the phones came;  instead of building on recorded and globally recognised progress, things have progressed more in error, further exacerbated by unstable economy and even more unpredictable regulation and policies.

    The signals are not good in most parts of Abuja, in significant parts of Delta State and in Edo State. Who should be doing something, they ask. Simple answer. It is the government; it’s the regulator and the operators forming the third leg of the significant trio. The subscribers are just there waiting to receive good services which they have either paid for (pre-paid) or willing to pay for (post paid). But the case is much more complex, far beyond what is visible for the eyes to see or even just roll up into a puzzle, in the realm of incomprehensibility.

    Look at it this way. The government is in dire straits and needs more money, so they ask the tax men to go after everybody, including the mobile operators, especially with the kindergarten reasoning that the operators have too much money. The regulator is part of government and does not have the gravitas to tell the government that too much tax can kill the industry. While the ministry is spinning one policy after the other, some so totally irrelevant if not oppressive to the industry.

    So, who should be doing something. As the regulator, the NCC should be accountable to the nation on what happens in the industry. Unfortunately, after a brilliant start over two decades ago, the regulator has found itself struggling for a place in the ladder of importance.

    In trying to give a respectable picture of the indsutry it regulates, the NCC said somewhere, “The industry has been a driving force in the nation’s economic transformation, contributing significantly to GDP growth, job creation, and innovation across multiple sectors. By enhancing connectivity, the industry has enabled businesses, from agriculture to finance, to operate more efficiently, reach wider markets, and improve productivity.”

    Something sweet to say any way. But at the moment, the NCC is struggling for reinvention in order to get regulation going. Instead of quality of service with data from the operators which should meet the targets set by the regulator, the regulator has introduced a new approach which they call Consumer Experience, which has more to do with “a composite index that reflects how consumers feel about the services they are receiving from telecom operators.”

    From the look of things, so much is expected from the operators but they too have their bucket of complaints. They complain of too much pressure from the regulatory environment, including some kinds of financial demands and other pressures that make doing good business in Nigeria a mirage.

    Even before this concept of Consumer Experience was hatched, the operators, since 2023, already complained of myriad of macroeconomic challenges that were making life difficult for them. And of course that will rubbish whatever euphoria that should have been linked with whatever experience the consumer should have.

    They include: the upward trajectory in the inflation rate from 11.98% in 2019 to 21.34% in 2022 and currently 27.33% in 2023; rapid devaluation of the Naira eviidenced by the recent upward rate of 68.5% from N461/$ in December 2022 to N777/$ as at the end of September 2023; and sustained rise in energy prices with diesel currently retailing at an average price of N1,004/litre from N250/litre in January 2022.

    These were 2022/23 figures. The story has since changed, confounding the operators even more. Currently, the Naira is valued at N1656  to 1 US Dollar; inflation stands at 34.5%, while a litre of diesel sells for N1,200. These figures fly in the face of whatever the industry, including MTN, Airtel, Glo, Etisalat and indeed, ATCON, had complained about.

    The operators also observed then that despite these adverse economic headwinds, the telecommunications industry remains the only sector that has yet to effect any general tariff increase for its services in the last 5 years due to regulatory and political restrictions limiting the MNOs’ ability to react to the increased cost of doing business.

    They equally complained of bureaucracy and increasing over regulation of the industry which didn’t use to be the story of the sector. But they can observe changes that are adverse and the industry is reeling in pain. The Ministry, on the other hand, has been more involved in promoting new policies when not instigating new Bills at level of the parastatals.

    The consequential effect is that the indsutry is grappling with lots of problems which coalesce into quality of service that is far below the acceptable threshold. It is pervasive and needs to be confronted frontally.

    As the year fades, it is pertinent to observe that the regulator needs to  take more concerted measures to address the problems facing the telecomunications industry. This writer is aware of the Commission’s encouragement to states to accept its version of right of way (RoW) which compels operators to roll out service across the states of the federation at zero cost. The ripple effects of such move can only be interpreted by the plethora of jobs that will be created in such states and the development that can follow.

    For the time being, telecom services across states are very poor. It’s such a dreary way to end the year.

  • Timothy Eigbona Okoh – The light shines forever

    Timothy Eigbona Okoh – The light shines forever

    By February 10, 1957, when he was born, the nation was trapped in the vortex of a fierce struggle for Independence. The locals saw hope in the future of a country that would emerge from the clutches of the colonialists. They had reasons to hope, just like everyone across the country who was old enough to know the difference between white and black. That was the way they described us, black folks.

    In the heat of that agitation,  I am not sure they even understood the concept of freedom, two young people from nondescript backgrounds, Jonathan Aigbonifoh Okoh, from Ikekogbe Ugbeggun, and Josephine Ilobekemen Ugba, from Idumoli Ugbegun, found love. They too were ready for a new Nigeria, brimming with optimism that, one day, God would bless them with children who would now also have a say in the new country.

    God saw their hearts, innocent people, and began to bless them with the children they prayed for. But one by one they died, leaving them quite forlorn at the time, but they never gave up. On the date earlier mentioned, another male child was born to them. In agreement, they named him Eigbona, meaning that this one is not destructible, unlike the rest. The other name, Timothy, was added. Full name – Timothy Eigbona Okoh!

    In his young days, Timothy lived with our most senior Uncle. Mr Michael Ojeabulu Okoh. We grew up to meet him as a teacher, a good one for that matter, and quite itinerant, as he taught across the old Midwest State, now Edo/Delta. Timothy went everywhere with him, growing up alongside his children.

    His other siblings, including me – and there were quite a number of us as our Dad had three wives – quietly envied him because he lived with a teacher and teachers were the big boys in the society, the middle class, in our own estimation.

    He rarely came home until our Uncle was transferred to Ugbegun to teach in his home town. We lived in the same family house but we lived apart as he still stayed with our Uncle.

    He had always been an embodiment of peace, like a dove that hurts no one. He was like that growing up. But one day we fought. I am sure am the one who initiated the trouble. Our father didn’t beat me but spoke to me very solemnly and that changed the concept of our relationship until it grew into a father figure relationship since our parents went on their journey.

    He would finish his early education at Ikekogbe Primary School before proceeding to Uhumuode Grammar School, Ehor, where a proud son of Ugbegun, Anthony Aimonode, was the Senior Prefect. He started life as a teacher, just like our Uncle, and it was in the process he met his lovely wife, Juliet Opute, who was also a teacher. He would later attend the College of Education, Igueben, before proceeding to the University of Benin where he earned a degree in Geography.

    Away from teaching,  Timothy worked in three organisations in Lagos, in the following order: SATREX, Premier Hospital, Zinox and back to Premier Hospital. It was while at SATREX, a technology and commodity distribution company, that he met a UNDP approved development and human capital expert. Together, they would train a lot workers in the Republic of Benin. I always enjoyed some pride on his behalf each time he shared his experiences.

    The experience earned helped him to become a top Human Capital Manager at both Zinox and Premier, although he would stay much longer at Premier where he retired into senior citizenship. Timothy always left an impression wherever he stepped into. When he worked in Zinox, his impact was so profound at Premier where he had worked earlier that the management piled pressure on him until he returned to the organisation, one of the topmost hospitals in Lagos State.

    While in Lagos, he worked on his faith and became a big pastor in the Redeemed Church. One would always enjoy some swagger each time I told people my brother was a big pastor in Redeem. He never joked with Church money. He would hardly talk to anybody each time he was making his Accounts and Returns at the end of the month.

    At Uromi, he simply retired into the work of God and I have the feeling that he enjoyed some groove doing so.

    The Okoh’s family is quite large. We enjoyed the beauty and the bragging rights of being large but we also have our fissures. Timothy was the bridge builder, reaching out to everyone, to the seniors and even the younger ones, counselling where counsel was needed.

    Timothy was not demanding and would not put pressure on anybody for anything. He was a contented fellow. Instead he would always be more concerned about the welfare of others. For example, the last two conversations we had were about quickly fixing the borehole at home so that the locals could have water this season. and the light bills that must be paid. In fact, he paid the last one, the day he took ill, if I remember correctly.

    He was the father we had back home. and would stay in the gap for any of us. Like the father he was, he bore every burden and pain without complaints.

    When we were small, as young children, we didn’t have electricity. There was oil lamp, kerosine lamp, and then gas light. Only a few people had gas light at the time, and they were rented to light occasions.

    I just realised that gas light made the people happy and euphoric. And sometimes, it went off to their extreme displeasure. God’s light is forever. Doesn’t ever go off, like gas light.

    My Brother, Timothy, with his extraordinary life, showed us a little bit of that. God’s light. Now he is in that environment where the light is forever.

    “He was a burning and shining light,” according to John 5.35, “and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.”

    He has left us with that light to live forever with the one who originally created light in Genesis 1.3

    Timothy Eigbona Okoh is blessed with a lovely family, a great son, Odianosen, and three beautiful daughters – Itohan, Eseohe, Eghonghon and Engr Mercy Udeh who was concluding the process of being your next big daughter.

  • Let the NBC be – By Okoh Aihe

    Let the NBC be – By Okoh Aihe

    I am not about to write an elegy for the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) yet. Afterall, the regulator of the broadcast industry is not dead although it suffered jeopardy recently. Besides, I have written quite a number of them lately, including the one for my elder brother whose health was mismanaged by a teaching hospital that exists only in name.

    My point of discourse this morning is the judgment secured by Multichoice, late November, against the broadcast regulator which released the cable TV operator from meeting some new regulatory provisions to the regulator. I have followed some media reports on this matter and my heart is bleeding inside. It is not just because the NBC lost the case or  whether it deserved the loss, the pain derives from the wider implications of such judgment.

    Mind you, I have nothing against the judgement or Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, who gave the judgement, instead, he has earned my respect for making such informed bold declarations that could affect the industry to no end. For a regulator, the NBC is castrated at this time and all people of goodwill, who love the broadcast industry,  should be interested in the regulator managing its way back to relevance. NBC is in a regulatory nightmare and needs help urgently.

    There are too many issues involved and they are more subterranean than simple.

    I will attempt a disentanglement before returning to the judgment. The National Broadcasting Commission Act CAP N11, Laws of the Federal of Nigeria, 2004, gives a lot of powers to the regulator to superintend the broadcast industry, including raising funds for its operations apart from budget allocations from the government.

    Apart from licence fees, the Act particularly states in Section 14, 2a, as follows: There shall be paid and credited to the fund established pursuant to subsection (1) of this section – such percentage of fees and levy to be charged by the Commission on the annual income of licensed broadcasting stations owned, established or operated by private individual(s), Federal, State or local government.

    The NBC was in order when it placed a 1.5 percent charge on earnings of the broadcast operators within the Nigerian jurisdiction. This was later raised to 2.5 percent under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. There was nothing wrong with that as well.

    This was given further clarification in the 2019 Nigeria Broadcasting Code in Section 10a and 10b wherein it stated as follows: The Broadcaster shall – a. Remit to the Commission 2.5% of its Annual Income; and b. The Annual Income referred to in ‘a’ above  shall be Gross Annual Income.

    Something I must state here is that the regulatory house is like a trading post. There are so many things to sell – licenses, services, knowledge and much more, just so that the regulator could raise money and sometimes become richer than the country.

    In the market there are always a lot of haggling and negotiations for those who want to enjoy a little price advantage especially in these hard times. One thing you should also know is that the fact that the 2.5 percent charge exists didn’t really mean that Nigerian operators were paying it. A number of factors made payment impossible, including very challenging business terrain which we have continued to deny its existence and crushing effects.

    It is in following that market practice, that is as old as history, that top management of the NBC, some years back, negotiated with Multichoice and reached an agreement for a flat payment of N800m annually. This writer was told that Multichoice had paid that money without fail.

    But something happened recently and there is no need for details here. A renegotiation wasn’t called for between Multichoice and NBC, instead a flat rate of N4bn annually was imposed. Besides, the regulator was asking for all kinds of financial papers beyond the annual reports.To worsen matters, some externalities intruded in the process, with some attitude, an industry person told this writer, was disrespectful and demeaning.

    That was a mistake. Only a few big organisations want to go down without a fight. Multichoice is not one of them. The organisation went to the Federal High Court in Abuja to seek protection. Multichoice and Details, through their counsel, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), sought to find out if NBC is entitled to more information beyond the annual audited account and whether the term , “gross annual income,” as enshrined in the NBC Code is the right expression. The counsel also wanted to know if the N800m flat rate between the regulator and his clients since 2020 was binding. Justice Omotosho granted the protection and reliefs with some level of aplomb and brilliance.

    “The proper and lawful income to impose a levy on is the net income. In the United States, companies pay a flat rate of 21 percent on profits after expenses. Similarly, in the UK, a 25 percent tax is imposed on company profits,” Onigbanjo seemed to lecture his audience.

    He acknowledged the significant capital demands and expenses to run a business like Multichoice and said it was only fair for these expenses to be deducted before the Annual Operating Levy is paid. He was emphatic that it is the actual profit after deductions that should be taxed.

    Justice Omotosho also ruled that the agreement to pay N800m as the Annual Operating Levy for the years in question was binding.

    Quite a few industry voices have hailed this judgment as good for Multichoice, and more so for the industry. They say that, sometimes, it is good for this kind of dispute to arise in order to test the laws guiding an industry. They noted however, that this particular case is different and exacerbating because some people have codified their personal businesses and interests into the law protecting the broadcast industry.

    So, if this case and the attendant judgment could lay some ghosts to rest, why is my heart bleeding? No regulator wants to be stripped of its  powers and it’s not also good for the industry, at least, the ones I am conversant with – broadcasting and telecommunications, to feel the whiplash of an audacious judge who could rise beyond emotions to do a damn good job.

    It is simple regulatory wisdom for regulators not to get too enmeshed in court cases with operators. For one thing, every industry needs harmony to thrive, and for another, some operators can be so rich that they become richer than their jurisdictions and can hire the best lawyers in the world to deal with any situation. However, the worst nightmare comes for the regulator  when defeated in court and is stripped of some powers. For this reason, they teach you at the global regulatory fora to avoid situations that can quickly grow into embarrassment.

    For God’s sake, the NBC is a regulator of note but there are too many things happening there that are too fuzzy and even puerile to enable the organisation perform. There is sharp descent at the regulatory institution and this should be halted.

    Chief Obafemi Awolowo of blessed memory once declared that government is a continuum. Believing in that declaration therefore, I want to observe that it was very uncharitable for the organisation to openly rubbish the efforts of some of the Commission’s previous and present workers – that they overreached themselves and didn’t have the powers to go into negotiations with the broadcast operator. No now, a giant doesn’t thread on needles without punitive results.

    Let’s stop kidding. The nation’s business terrain is so challenging that we should deliberately encourage those bold enough to bring their cash into the operating environment , and also push the regulator to develop a clear head and build better capacity to really grow an industry. Or does the broadcast industry not need growth?

  • The system failed my Brother – By Okoh Aihe

    The system failed my Brother – By Okoh Aihe

    This is not the kind of material I want to be writing at this time but necessity has placed it upon me to do so, in case somebody finds it useful and may want to act for the good of society.

    Writing technology can sometimes place the writer at that hyper level of fantasy where you believe that nothing can go wrong beyond the capacity of technology; even rocket science becomes an easily achievable feat as people are building spaceships for tourism, a little fun in the air where the big boys  splash some cash to mock the misery of humanity.

    And you think that with all these gizmos around, nothing can go wrong. Make that urgent call, call a professional, resolve your health emergencies no matter the difficulties imposed by our challenging environment. Something is possible. Something good is still possible in the year of our Lord 2024 in our dear nation Nigeria.

    Afterall, OBJ gave us telephones since 2001 and the sector has survived some unbelievable level of human greed and plunder to become a lasting testimony to his audacious administrative choices and decisions. You can actually make that call. He made it possible.

    At this point, it is possible to nurse the little fantasy that Nigeria can be part of the global telemedicine community where a doctor in Indian or Dubai or even the United States can address a health situation in Nigeria. Technology has made that possible; abrogate travels but achieve health feats. Let me observe here that even our leaders favour medical tourism and prefer to visit these places and more instead of enjoying the possibilities and provisions of technology.

    So when my elder brother, Timothy Okoh, developed a medical emergency on the night of Wednesday, November 20, 2024,  the family thought they had taken a wise  decision by quickly rushing him to Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH), Irrua, Edo State (the Teaching Hospital for Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma). Where else should urgent health issues be tackled if not at a teaching hospital!  No ambulance services. Never mind. Improvisation is our second nature in this part of the world.

    Coordinating activities was nearly seamless. Afterall, OBJ has made it possible for us to talk. Everybody, even from distant lands who were on the phone that night, was comforted that our brother was in good hands.

    I just believe that the right knowledge supported by modern gizmos can save a life. My cousin, Alex Iyayi, gave me that assurance over twenty years ago. He was coming to see me at the Holiday Inn, Sandton, Johannesburg, when an emergency flashed on his gizmos to immediately return to the hospital where he worked.

    He worked at the Pretoria Heart Hospital. When he joined me at the hotel later that night, he was equipped with all kinds of gizmos and I wondered aloud if he had left health practice for technology. “No, these are for emergency calls. No matter where I am, the hospital should be able to reach me. I was on my way here when they called. I just went to flush a heart. Heart attack doesn’t kill anymore except in extreme cases.” That conversation has been with me ever since. This was about 20 years ago.

    Tim walked into the hospital, which they also call Otibho Okhai,  an eternal memorial to Commodore August Aikhomu’s maternal family tree, a befitting lasting tribute to a humble family which raised such a high performing child, that has since gone to fellowship with his ancestors.

    He had a certain level  of disorientation which slowed speech and impaired ambulation.  Without being a medical doctor, I could sense what was happening. It may be the beginning of a stroke, which Ese Okoh, Tim’s second daughter, told me could “occur due to a decrease in oxygen supply to the brain. This can be due to a bleed or blockage in the brain’s blood supply. Immediate emergency treatment may help prevent life threatening consequences.”

    A Brain CT Scan actually revealed there was a little development in the brain area that should have been arrested immediately. Instead there were prevarications and dereliction of responsibilities while life ebbed towards fatality.

    Tim was still able to go to the bathroom all by himself and even ate well on Thursday evening before Ese joined from Lagos. The small problem was not attended to. That night, things took a tragic turn. The nurses entreated the doctor in charge to return for a followup assessment. By the time he came (they call him Dr Gratus, a registrar in the medical team at ISTH), he had harsh words for everybody there, including my brother’s wife fighting to bear the degeneration in the husband’s health.

    “Medicine is not rocket science. I wasn’t idle where I was,” he reprimanded them.

    When the Consultant returned the following morning, he wasn’t happy with the handling of the case, I was told. A Neurologist was needed immediately but there was none available as the one that should have been on ground, had traveled for a programme. The next available opportunity was the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) which was on strike.

    All the while, I was never told that the medical team on ground tried to reach the Neurologist for professional instructions; for them what should be a simple telemedicine practice was antediluvian, a life from the past where the doctor suffered ignorance from narrow-minded pedagogy without the augmentation of modern teaching practices and advancement and research in medicine.

    Thankfully, my friend, Dr Festus Okubor, (I don’t know if anybody ever told him he has the voice of an Angel – very soothing and reassuring in moments of extreme anguish) got in touch with the Medical Director at Asaba Specialist Hospital who told us to come immediately. But there has to be clearance and proper referral from Irrua Teaching Hospital. We must make arrangements for Ambulance services, pay the driver separately and also pay the nurse that would follow the Ambulance.

    Hours went by and time ticked on my brother. The journey to Benin would have taken about 21/2 hours instead of about 40 minutes in the days of yore. Asaba took less than one hour. Another Brain scan showed that the little development noticed in the brain at Irrua had become a haemorrhage, needing a miracle to reverse or immediate operation to drain the blood.

    My brother, Tim, couldn’t wait for that operation. Close to 10 pm of Friday night, November 22, 2024, he opted for that final journey which gives eternal bliss.

    Sympathisers from within and without the country have asked me one question: why did you take your brother to Otibho Okhai? They all have their stories to tell. Tales of failed service delivery, of neglect and abandonment even at critical moments, some level of professional recklessness and even arrogance which had only one outcome: fatality!

    The system failed my brother. I am using system as a generic word that covers institutions, technology, road infrastructure and human knowledge which, in this case, were in clear deficit as he struggled for life. No money could have saved my brother. He needed strong institutions that support and regenerate life. We are loud in words and lean in action. And very strong in political sloganeering signifying nothing!

    The family is comforted that as a Pastor, you have gone to enjoy the peace and joy of the Lord. Even our friends and well wishers say so. But they hardly know what that means. Here is an information I never shared with you. Long ago, when you were in hospital and the information came to me in the hotel where I was attending a programme, I prayed an innocent prayer to God, that I didn’t want you to die because you had stepped into the shoes of our father with grace since his demise. That night I received a visitation twice, of a kind of peace that I have not been able to capture with words. It is joy and a state of being emblematic of the glory of God. It is surreal but comforting to imagine you enjoy that kind of peace.

    The entire Okoh family at Ugbegun in Esan Central, Edo State, are saddened by your sudden departure but grateful to God for the joy, peace and the beauty of life you brought our way, as a teacher in Edo State, and a hospital administrator in Lagos. Your pleasant memories will always remain with us. So long, lovely Brother!

  • CPSG – The Centre comes with boosters for Public Sector Governance – By Okoh Aihe

    CPSG – The Centre comes with boosters for Public Sector Governance – By Okoh Aihe

    There has been a sustained conversation about cleaning up the governance structure of the public service in order to create institutions that function for the good, growth and wellbeing of the people. They say that because of the strategic relevance of the public service, getting it right at that level would put so many things to function effectively and on a roll.

    For instance, some regulatory agencies have been captured by greedy political heads while some other agencies have been wilfully traduced and redced to helplessness. Something has to give somehow.

    But the ‘how’ has always been the problem. Words are cheap, they say. How do we straighten out the public service and it’s people inebriated on the failures and waywardness of the past, a system where service is seen as favour and not responsibility, where the worst misfits from privileged homes are recruited into service to the detriment of the very best the society has to offer but who are not from favoured backgrounds?

    Words are cheap, they say. But the Centre for Public Sector Governance (CPSG), The Centre, which was birthed in Abuja last week, says it “has been established to meet identified need for improved efficiency with a unique value proposition rooted in providing tailored support  to government owned businesses, regulatory bodies and public institutions in general. Efficiency in how public institutions are run holds the key to a nation’s prosperity and advancement.”

    Words are cheap, they say. The Centre has promised to move beyond words in order to “equip target institutions with the tools, knowledge, and frameworks necessary to deliver high performing public service entities, value creation and regulatory certainty. Thus, helping to shape governance systems that truly serve the needs and aspirations of our people.”

    Chairman of the Advisory Board of The Centre is Engr Ernest Ndukwe who is also the Chairman of MTN Nigeria. He has put together a stellar cast of high performing personalities comprising Mr Muhammad K. Ahmad, Prof Fabian Ajogwu (SAN), Odein Ajumogobia (SAN) and Ms Rabi Isma.

    For as long as I have known Engr Ndukwe, even in my days as a young reporter in the broadcast and telecommunications sectors, he has always acted in the public good, mobilising talented and selfless individuals to work as a team to deliver good and selfless services to the nation.

    He mobilised fellow professionals to campaign for the deregulation of the telecommunications industry. When the lot fell on him to superintend the affairs of the industry through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ndukwe mobilised some of the best human capital in the form of a workforce to deliver a great regulatory agency that became one of the best in the world. His legacy at the institution remains permanent and has held forth at the regulatory agency that came under constant assault by rapacious raiders under the previous administration.

    Engr Ndukwe’s forte is in using the best people for the good of society always by way of demonstrating that the best exist in our nation and they must be deployed the right way.

    On hand to deliver the keynote address was Prof Adetunji Olaopa, Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) and founder, Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (ISGPP) whose paper, Strengthening Leadership and Ethics in Public Service, provided the the platform for an animated but revealing discourse by Muhammad K. Ahmad,  Mrs Funmi Ilamah, Dr Armstrong Takang, Dr Dasuki Arabi, and Ms Ayotola Jagun. The panel session was moderated by Mrs Uto Ukpanah who is Company Secretary, MTN Nigeria.

    Olaopa called the launch of the CPSG – The Centre a spirited patriotic effort by tested high-end professionals, who having bestrode the public sector governance space, and having a deep sense of the significant binding capacity and capability constraints that have been circumscribing Nigeria’s develoment journey  and her potentials, do not want to resign to the ‘siddon-look’ option, but have chosen to give back through strategic interventions as a generational think thank investment.”

    In stating the focus of his keynote and putting the idea of the public service in perspective, Olaopa made the following observations: This has to be the starting point because the idea for the government especially in Nigeria has become so bastardised. And we all are familiar with how the public service is taken in Nigeria. To say you are working in a public institution is to mean a lot of things; One, it translates to doing whatever you like  – arriving at work anytime, utilising workspace environment for personal business, loafing during work hour, or being essentially unproductive; Indeed given this perception of the public service, it is no wonder that the Nigerian government has lost its positon as the employer of choice; and The new new generation of workers find the bureaucratic workplace too constraining and old fashioned to generate the required performance and productivity profile that undergird a developmental state.

    Olaopa recalled with some nostalgia perhaps, that the idea of the public service was also conceived to be apolitical and separated from the mandate of the politicians, just as the vocation of the public service is tied to the idea of honour. He observed that an honourable public official is the one who sees to the execution of a policy to the best of his ability, even if he disagrees with the policy choice. This is an honourable act because it demonstrates that the bureaucratic sense of duty and service overrides his personal wilfulness.

    Discussants agreed that in building an institutional culture, the right people must be employed to do the right thing, adding that if you want to fight corruption, systems must be put in place to prevent it instead of investigations after the act.

    Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, commended the mission of The Centre which includes the creation and implementation of innovative governance models to address the unique challenges faced by our public institutions thereby empowering them to operate more effectively and fulfill their mandates.

    But in a country where rich parents are buying job positions for their children and politicians doing worse by blackmailing juicy government agencies to give their children big positions even when unmerited, some people whispered on the side if the efforts of the The Centre would not just evaporate as a mirage or wishful pipedream.

    As if the whispers got into his ears, Prof Fabian Ajogwu said the idea of The Centre is ripe and both timely and essential for the following reasons – Strengthening Governance Structure, Building Capacity for Better Service Delivery, and Promoting Accountability and Transparency.

    Somebody observed that the road to perfection is always under construction. Some other persons said the journey initiated that day is a marathon. There is no doubt that The Centre has a hell of a job ahead but what is also palpable is the invitation to everyone to be part of a shared vision of a transparent, accountable, and resilient public sector.

  • No good news from the broadcast industry yet – By Okoh Aihe

    No good news from the broadcast industry yet – By Okoh Aihe

    For most of last week, Multichoice was in the news. The organisation that has  dominated PayTV business in Nigeria for over three decades, is facing consequential financial atrophy, having lost 243,000 subscribers across its DSTV and GOtv platforms in just six months,  from April to September this year,  as disclosed in its Interim Financial Reports.

    This has generated a swirl of reactions from a public that has little or no sympathy for an organisation they have often accused of fleecing them  of their hard-earned but very scarce resources. For some of these people,  it’s like nemesis coming home to roost and they can’t wait to see the damaging effect of a deserved poetic justice.

    Weeks earlier,  there was an event in Lagos obliquely related but enjoyed little media attention,  unfortunately. The Independent Broadcasters Organisation of Nigeria (IBAN), a collection of private broadcasters, invited Prof.  Armstrong Idachaba, to speak to its members on the Benefits of the Digitization of Broadcasting.

    Good thing to do. The organisation now headed by Mr John Momoh, founder of Channels Television, made the right choice. But how do you invite a speaker who would show no emotions to your concerns but remains strictly on a path to say things that may be too uncomfortable to accept?

    Until a few years ago, Idachaba was the chief regulator at the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), who knew too much about the system, having worked with the agency as a young graduate, that the government of the day refused to reward his knowledge of broadcast regulation with the leadership of the institution. All the while, he built capacity in self to become a professor and dispensed broadcast scholarship across some Nigerian institutions. Sometimes, the system looks for nincompoops to manage sensitive institutions for easy manipulation, and that is the reason such institutions are failing across the nation.

    I have looked at his presentation with one conclusion in mind: that nobody can say the Nigerian Government did not prepare for the Digitisation of Broadcasting and the Digital Switchover; instead, the policy document has suffered jeopardy to the extent that reasonable implementation has remained nigh impossible.

    One clear point. Money has not been a problem in the implementation process, surprisingly. So far, N53bn has been spent and there is nothing to show for all that money.

    Here are some more snippets from the paper. The Digital Switchover decision was taken at an ITU meeting in Geneva  2006 (GE06), setting June 12, 2015 for Switchover to be completed. The Nigerian Government instituted a Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC) on the transition in 2007. The reports of the Committee were approved by 2013, two years to the implementation deadline.

    The policy document spelt out the nature of broadcasting – Terrestrial Television, PayTV, Satellite TV, including the role of everybody or organisation involved in the value chain of implementation – Honourable Minister of Information and Culture (then), DigiTeam set up by the President, National Broadcasting Commission, Set Top Box (STB) Manufacturers, Signal Distributors, Broadcasters, and Inview Nigeria/Renmore.

    Years down the line broadcasters are looking for their own benefits within the value chain, prompting them to seek the help of a professor who is enjoying the peace and little liberty of an academic at Veritas University, Abuja.

    This is what Idachaba says of the broadcasters. “I guess this group is confused – they are unable to gain advert leverage – some have invested in digital technology – huge amounts vested on equipment – they are paying Signal Distributors, Aggregators, Satellite Providers and Content Producers. They pay several taxes to government – local, state and federal, they have huge expectations. They are paying licence fees as well. Wage bill isn’t reducing but expectations are unclear. In the last two months, their channels have been off air,” Idachaba said without equivocations.

    This is not to diminish their efforts, contributions and understanding of their operations but to stress matter-of-factly that broadcasters have been holding the short end of the implementation stick without much gain to them.

    I want to suggest that the kernel of the paper was given at the beginning where he explained the reason the DSO has not worked in Nigeria.

    “It is indeed worrisome that some of the value driven aspirations and dreams of the DSO are yet to be actualised – owing to my mind on a myriad of issues – mostly lack of focus, self-centredness, corruption, greed, and regulatory interference, even capture. Consequence of this is that the project has suffered several drawbacks, negative perception, lack of integrity and low results. Many stakeholders have been shortchanged, and left in the lurch. It is my earnest desire and prayer that we ignite the valuable potentials of the DSO to the benefit first and we stakeholders,” Idachaba submitted.

    Quite a lot of benefits to everybody – freed up spectrum to be sold at premium rates as revenue to government, create vast opportunities for creatives – Nollywood, entertainers and other content makers to fill lots of channels with digital content, opportunities for ancillary industries, and just a win-win for everybody that has a relationship with the broadcast industry.

    However, the benefits remain a mirage, although Idachaba encourages the broadcasters to be hopeful. However, permit me to add here that in spite of the factors he listed as sabotaging the DSO implementation, there are subterranean forces also fighting the process, to ensure the implementation self-aborts. The government must be courageous enough to sniff it out and nip it so that there can be a leap in the implementation.

    Apart from what you will say about Multichoice, about their increases in subscription with the arrogant display of a monopoly which ordinarily Multichoice shouldn’t be, the organisation is also fighting forces in the shadows, just like the DSO.

    Trouble has been pouring in for Multichoice as with other organisations and individuals in the country. Apart from the plunge in subscription, inflation remains bullish as the  Forex marketing continues to be volatile. Within the period, Multichoice lost a hefty $21m to the failure of Heritage Bank. Remittances have also plummeted from $91m to $65m.

    There are other factors. Rise in subscription has pressured subscribers into looking at other options and opportunities. Availability of the Internet and diverse digital terminals have also influenced consumer preferences while providing more readily available choices.

    But there is another silent competition, a real market bogey. The Over-The-Top (OTT) operators like Netflix and Iroko TV, among others, are eating away at the market Multichoice has created and dominated over the years. The OTT players don’t have market presence and facilities in some of the markets they operate in, but can send signals from anywhere to cause heavy investors serious headaches.

    There is also the hatred for Multichoice which I believe is misplaced. I am here appealing that we be a little analytical and critical in our understanding and appreciation of the Nigerian market. The major telecommunications operators – MTN and Airtel – are reporting hefty losses. Many corporates are taking a scram from Nigeria while power supply is diving to an intolerable low. We are creating the kind of market situation that will discourage investors from looking our way. I think this government should wisen up and face reality.

  • Even in technology, it’s America First – By Okoh Aihe

    Even in technology, it’s America First – By Okoh Aihe

    The American Elections are over and President Donald Trump won convincingly, literally blowing Kamala Harris out of the political space. The contrarians had their emotional expectations but the big boys who spent their money for Trump and the ordinary folks in the motley crowd, had their way.

    That is the way of politics. Some get really hurt badly. That is what happened to the Democratic Party, to those who followed Kamala Harris and her smiles. They would wish they are having a very long sleep where waking up is not going to be immediate.

    Anyway, I don’t write politics; I write technology. But permit me to observe that people are attributing Trump’s victory to his unrepentant call for America First and Make America Great Again (MAGA). He was smart enough to latch on to a new thinking amongst a segment of the American population and there is nothing anybody could do about it. After all, people are free to stick to their various political consciousness and beliefs.

    Here is my point of interest this morning. Whether it is the Democrats or the Republicans, it has always been about America, it has always been about Americans, the flag and the country which they believe in and love so much. You can’t begrudge a leader for being lavish in his patriotic beliefs or being nearly psychotic in pursuing the details.

    Instead, you blame your leaders for their horrendous policies which destroy every fabric of life, including education and healthcare, policies which pursue the intelligentsia and intellectuals out of their country, to sell their knowledge to countries that appreciate and can pay some life-sustaining amounts for what is despised by their country.

    Trump has only accentuated that latent feeling with his maverick nature and star influence – real estate billionaire, billionaire friends with a large crowd who are waiting on the big boys to make choices for them while being allowed to romanticise about their involvement in the process. But let’s return to technology.

    Under the title, Technology, always about National Interest, we wrote on March 22, 2023: “For some of these nations, technology is always about national interest irrespective of the government in power. They demonstrate the veracity of the statement, government is a continuum.”

    At the time, we tried to demonstrate that no matter the government in power in America, they will always initiate policies that promote the American interest before any other thing or country. We had looked at Trump’s positon on 5G and TIkTok owned  by ByteDance, a Chinese company. Today we shall add President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on AI and President J. F. Kennedy epochal declaration on Space Technology.  It is always about America First, and please, don’t misunderstand them, as there are different levels of patriotism.

    We also gave a list of other countries who had trouble with TikTok by putting their National interest first, not out of spite or arrogated patriotic feelings, but out of pure love for their countries. They include: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Canada, United Kingdom and a host of other countries.

    However, let’s restrict our interest to America for the sake of this writing. On September 12, 2019, President Trump took a very strong position on the development and deployment of 5G technology when he said America would never leave the industry to any other country to lead.

    At the time, Chinese companies, Huawei and ZTE were in clear lead globally, but Trump applied the brakes. He rallied the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Wireless industry whose promoters readily pledged the sum of $275bn to grow the industry.

    “We cannot allow any other country to out-compete the United States in this powerful industry of the future.  We are leading by so much in so many different industries of that type, and we just can’t let that happen.  The race to 5G is a race America must win, and it’s a race, frankly, that our great companies are now involved in.  We’ve given them the incentive they need.  It’s a race that we will win,” he vowed.

    Trump didn’t play games or appoint surrogates to drive the American dream. He challenged the industry which responded so spontaneously by pledging hefty investment which they projected could yield 3 million American jobs while adding $500bn to the economy.

    Trump’s position on TikTok was not less vehement. August 6, 2020, he signed An Executive Order asking Chinese owners – ByteDance and Zhang Yiming to divest from the video sharing  platform of snackable contents for Americans to take ownership of the company which at the time was worth over $50bn.

    There is the fear that the Chinese government laces Chinese equipment and platforms with spyware thus, for instance, making it possible for the Chinese government to exploit its relationship with TikTok to  mine data which the company collects from its subscribers and gain an advantage over the US government or spy on journalists who report China, President Trump signed an executive order to the effect that TIkTok cedes ownership to American investors. He has since adjusted his position of a complete ban, saying the company needs to exist to resist Facebook, which he described as “enemy of the people.”

    This is further fuelled by the fact that China has national security laws that require companies under its jurisdiction to cooperate with broad range of security activities.

    June 9, 2021, President Biden rescinded Trump’s Executive Order but continued with the scrutiny of the organisation. He would eventually ban TikTok from government platforms and terminals. He didn’t meddle with the sensitive idea of ownership change. Mind you, Biden didn’t also do anything that could affect Trump’s policy on 5G. It’s actually all about America in taking critical decisions affecting the people. It’s about America First.

    On October 30, 2023, Biden issued an Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence. Here is what it says in the introduction: The Executive Order establishes new standards for AI safety and security, protects Americans’ privacy, advances equity and civil rights, stands up for consumers and workers, promotes innovation and competition, advances American leadership around the world, and more.

    This wasn’t Trump speaking, it was Biden. Its not about the Democrats or Republicans, it’s about the country and her people. That is what leadership is all about. The people first before pecuniary advantages. In our part of the world, it’s reverse thinking and we blame the world for being unfair, never for once thinking that some of our actions undermine nationhood and the potency of people’s power.

    Okay, let’s take a little walk back in time to May 25, 1961, when the race for space was boiling over. In his epochal  Man on the Moon speech, President John F Kennedy, declared: “Space is open to us now; and our eagerness to share its meaning is not governed by the efforts of others.

    We go into space because whatever mankind must undertake, free men must fully share……First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.”

    JFK, as he was popularly called, made a veiled reference to the Soviet Union which, in 1957, had sent the Sputnik into space. He challenged and committed America to lead the way, to put a man on the moon not a machine. The feat was achieved on July 20, 1969, when America landed Apollo 11 on the moon.

    JFK was a Republican not a Democrat. There are major leadership decisions that must be driven by patriotism and a feeling for the people. The party is irrelevant. The people and country are the only constant in the equation. During the campaigns, Trump reached out to a segment of the people and secured their hearts. They may have helped him to win the elections but what he will do will be for America and Americans.

    That formed the nexus of his campaign. There may be a little nastiness in achieving his goals but that is Donald Trump. You cannot change his character but you cannot also put his patriotism to question. It’s all about America, dear friend. Be rest assured a newly fired-up  Trump is coming  with a mission where the rest of the world comes a distant second to the patriotic fire burning inside of him which only he can interpret to the rest of the world.