Chidiebere Nwobodo
I feel each twenty ninth April ought to be celebrated within the telecom business as “GSM liberalisation Day”, to honor exceptional affect Dr. Mike Adenuga, Jr., made within the sector that led to democratization of cellular community providers throughout the nation inside the shortest potential time.
Most younger Nigerians, particularly the Gen Z era, who’ve come to be the best beneficiary of liberalisation of the telecom sector, are but to completely admire what Globacom led by Dr. Mike Adenuga, Jr., did to crystalised GSM revolution within the nation.
Social media has modified the life-style of Nigerians, particularly the youths, by giving them entry to data, connectivity and alternatives. Right now, we now have loads of the youthful inhabitants incomes a good residing as content material creators on social media.
On-line companies have actually reworked the world of enterprise and supplied much-needed simple of doing enterprise due to GSM providers, a part of which is captured in web connectivity. All these reforms wouldn’t have been potential if Dr. Mike Adenuga, Jr., didn’t take the bull by the horn to open up the sector by low cost cellular traces and name charges.
When GSM anchored on the shores of Nigeria and adopted by the entry of two overseas legacy cellular operators in 2001, Nigerians got the misguided impression that cellular line providers had been solely reserved for the wealthy and higher center class, as results of exorbitant worth of proudly owning SIM playing cards and the recurrent price of constructing calls at per minute billing system, at the moment.
The 2 legacy cellular operators (MTN after which Econet) had the higher hand within the GSM rollout, albeit oligopolistic maintain on the telecom market. All of the pleas made by Nigerians to those operators to cut back price of SIM playing cards and think about per second billing system as obtained in different climes, fell on deaf ears.
Theses overseas legacy cellular operators insisted that per second billing was virtually inconceivable, owing to the much-needed assets to increase community infrastructure for higher protection. As regards price of SIM playing cards, they maintained that it will somewhat go up on account of market forces of demand and provide than decreased.
Nigerians resigned their destiny, surrendered to financial enslavement, continued paying by the nostril to purchase SIM playing cards at thirty thousand naira and above, and made calls at ridiculous fee of fifty naira per a minute.
Regardless of the upsurge in demand for cell phone providers and corresponding demand for SIM playing cards and growing market shares, legacy operators nonetheless didn’t yield to intensified demand for costs of SIM playing cards to be crashed and calls fee change to per second billing system.
Gross exploitation of Nigerians who had been determined to entry GSM providers expensively provided by these legacy operators, lingered hopelessly till Globacom was launched two years after in 2003. The sport was modified from this auspicious second.
The grand entrance of Globacom into the market broke the duopoly of legacy cellular operators. The run ably led by The Bull, Dr. Mike Adenuga, ignited stiff competitors by no means seen earlier than within the business. The honeymoon was over for monopolistic tendencies.
Earlier than Nigerians might say Jack Robinson, Globacom broke the camel’s again of duopoly. The primary indigenous cellular operator crashed the worth of SIM playing cards and launched per second billing system. Every little thing that was beforehand propagated as inconceivable by legacy cellular operators was made potential by Globacom.
Inside a brief time period, SIM card worth crashed from thirty thousand naira to 200 naira! Legacy operators who didn’t anticipate this stage of competitors had been caught napping. In different to stay in enterprise, they’d no choice than to rethink per second billing system. Nigerians received as a result of Globacom got here.
Telecom business boomed. Nigerians began owing cellular traces; having been made inexpensive by the competitors introduced into the business by Globacom. In lower than 20 years, lively cellular traces moved from few lots of of thousand in 2003 to greater than hundred million subscribers.
All due to a real patriot like Dr. Mike Adenuga, who got here to the rescue of Nigerians from the financial stranglehold of cellular operators. Glo’s aggressive community growth and guerilla public relations gave legacy cellular operators a run for his or her cash, to the advantage of Nigerians. Globacom grew to become the catalyst that propelled telecom revolution within the nation.
Quick ahead to 20 years later, one other Adenuga arose in aviation sector within the particular person of Allen Onyema beneath the platform of Air Peace, to proceed the struggle in opposition to overseas companies exploiting Nigerians in our land. Adenuga and Onyema share loads of traits—patriotism, foresight, braveness, to take a dive into the ocean of uncertainty to avoid wasting Nigerians drowning out of financial exploitation by imperial pursuits.
Overseas airways made Nigerian flying public to move by the attention of the needle simply to pay for flights tickets. The outrageous fare they had been charging us didn’t solely perforate our pockets economically however put in depth strain on the naira, of which buffeted Nigerian economic system.
Think about an unsightly scenario the place Nigerians had been made to pay extra, for instance, a six-hour flight to London from Nigeria whereas South Africa to London, nine-hour flight on the identical airways, was extremely cheaper. Nigerians type to know the rational behind this injustice being meted out to us, not one of the overseas airways supplied cogent solutions.
Overseas airways had been fleecing Nigerians flying out and in of this nation. It was an industrial scale exploitation and wickedness. In some unspecified time in the future, it appeared as if we didn’t have a authorities to guard us from harsh fares being charged us by overseas airways. These elected to defend Nigeria’s pursuits within the aviation sector had been colluding with these vested overseas airways to bleed us to loss of life.
Overseas airways noticed the nation as “free-for-all” goldmine. Nigerians had been painfully paying exorbitantly whereas overseas airways had been smiling to the banks, exerting an intense strain on the native foreign money, and on the identical time blackmailing the Central Financial institution of Nigeria with non launch of trapped funds. We noticed hell!
When Air Peace beneath the formidable drive of Allen Onyema started making strategic strikes to fly Nigeria-London and different profitable cum busy worldwide routes, overseas airways noticed him as an “intruder” and “meddlesome interloper” coming to remove “feeding bottle” from their mouth.
All method of obstacles had been thrown at Air Peace to frustrate it from venturing into London route, the Airline remained resolute in its quest to interrupt monopolistic stronghold of overseas airways and kickstart wholesome competitors that may result in crash of the ticket costs, to the advantage of Nigerian flying public, who’ve been subjected to every kind of ill-treatment.
Like what Dr. Mike Adenuga did to legacy cellular operators, Allen Onyema noticed this problem as a chance to struggle for his nation as a real patriot and he displayed undisputed doggedness. He threw in full weight into the wrestle, persevered till he broke by the glass ceiling.
Since Air Peace launched its Lagos-London route on thirtieth March, 2024, the nation’s aviation business has by no means been the identical—and would by no means be once more. The quickest rising indigenous airline crashed flight tickets from N15m (Enterprise) to N4m and N3m (Economic system) to N1.2m. Overseas airways have joined the bandwagon, crashing their very own tickets, too.
That is the spirit of Dr. Mike Adenuga, Jr.! Like Globacom, like Air Peace! Globacom led on this line, Air Peace has adopted. Nigeria won’t attain its full potential till strategic sectors of the economic system are peopled by those that share enterprise beliefs of this entrepreneurial colossus.
Regardless of his quite a few humongous philanthropic gestures, I feel the most important “philanthropy” Dr. Mike Adenuga, Jr., has accomplished to Nigerians was to make cellular community providers out there and inexpensive to us. Historical past might be sort to him. Simply think about what Nigerians are going by within the palms of monopolistic DSTV.
Extra fruitful years to the telecom disruptor cum sport changer. Comfortable 71th Birthday, sir.