Mobile phone lines to hit 60 million in Nigeria by mid-2008 -IT & Telecom Digest Intelligence Report

3rd ICT Stakeholders Forum, holds May 19 as global giants, operators affirm interest in Africa's largest and fastest growing market.

Like a beautiful girl that was once the talk of the town – debonair, gregarious, enchanting and attractive – but, who, through a frivolous and irresponsible lifestyle, has lost all colour, losing one suitor after another, been in and out of marriage several times, and finally losing all colour that once made her the toast of all, the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited, either by design or by a curious twist of fate, appears doomed, and its case is not helped by its owners, who appear to be helping it to die.

The early part of the 1990s threw up some nouveau riche in Nigeria. Young men and women who had arrived, so to speak, and were desperately seeking some models in the form of articles of ostentatious value, to express their supposed arrival, to the public.

A Question for 'our' billionaires

to let us know the “who is who” on the pinnacle of the world’s money pyramid will hardly bring any personal joy to most people. Not only because few people will ever find friends or relatives on a “rich list” such as the world’s billionaires, but because although the number of the world’s super-rich has finally crossed the 1,000 mark, according to Forbes, this number is still mathematically insignificant. The world’s population has already hit six and a half billion, with more than half of this number (or 3.9 billion people) surviving on less than a two-dollar meat-pie a day.

There is another category of people the UN Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) describes as “chronically or acutely malnourished.” This cohort is made up of some 852 million people, with children comprising about 300 million of the number. One should also not forget that being the “killer disease” that it is, malnutrition and the plagues that come in its train claim nearly six million of the world’s children yearly – according to UNFPA.

One commentator has even pointed out that some of Nigeria’s poorest citizens are actually in the socio-cultural neighbourhood of Alhaji Aliko Dangote, one of those who made it into the Forbes 2008 billionaires list. He occupies the 334th position on the list. (South Africa’s Patrice Motsepe - the first black South African to make the list - is at number 503).

Forbes 2008 list, like all previous ones, gives us a glimpse – if any more was needed – of what is meant when it is said that the world is nothing but a never-ending experience of contrasts.

Did you hear the latest news?Certainly it is not from you that I will hear it. You harbinger of bad news.

Oh no! Not this time; I never carry bad news, anyway. Just that many of you always misunderstand my point of view. Well, you are not among them, I mean those who traditionally misunderstand me; that is why I have come to you. Do you remember what they said a few years ago about the South Africans taking over the Nigerian economy?

Well, you know that is not true. I mean, companies are only doing their best to invest here. Is that not all that there is to it? Look, my friend, I need to relax; tomorrow I have a lot to do. Are there no Nigerian companies in South Africa?

May be there are; but they are not dominating any sector of the South African economy. Look at MTN Nigeria; it has since overtaken its parent company in South Africa in terms of revenue. Is that

Bayo Ligali

the world economy must see the world as his/her playing field. Ironically, only a few men and women have succeeded in making the world their main forte; many others end up mere players at the fringe of world stage.

In Nigeria, since the liberalisation of the telecommunications industry, the creative ingenuity of the citizens of the country have been challenged more than ever before and subsequently, many hidden talents have shone like stars in the horizon. Yet, only a handful of the citizens of the country with the requisite training in ICT and its strategic management have risen to positions of management in these telecommunications services companies.

Indeed, occupying the topmost position in any of the three leading GSM businesses were the exclusive preserve of foreigners. After all, there is no Nigerian with international topflight management experience in this or similar industry. Even for a company as young as Econet Wireless when it commenced operation in Nigeria, its owners were more comfortable to have 28-year-old Zachary Wazara, a Zimbabwean than have a Nigerian call the shots in that company.

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