I was reading a story on The Cable - https://www.thecable.ng/interview-nccs-action-mtn-400-year-prison-sentence-traffic-offence-says-okoruwa and had time to do a proper think about MTN's case.

Many might think the fine is justified because they claim being wronged by MTN in one way or another, but if we look closely what do Nigerian’s stand to gain from this fine? For one, if the money was going to be split and I got my share maybe I wouldn’t mind , that’s the selfish part of me.

But looking at the big picture, in a time when Nigeria needs investment badly, how does this fine stand to encourage foreigners to come and set up shop here. The amount MTN has paid in taxes over the years possibly will not come close to this single fine that is imposed. They invest billions in CSR through its MTN Foundation without necessarily having to do so, many beneficiaries have enjoyed their impact over the years, which of the other telcos can lay same claim. How much does the total asset MTN Nigeria cost, I’ve read lots of comments where people have said another company will buy them and I wonder is it that easy?

Fine, we may say they deserve to be punished, but reason suggests that the magnitude can be interpreted globally as Nigeria being an unfriendly market regardless that the company has been a good Corporate citizen. This is just my 2 cents (or is it kobo). I don't know what you think

@ OP, if I slap u em... Ur brain or reset...

I have been having this convo with myself for a while now and MTN really messed up not the NCC.

They messed up cos they knew there was a fine and they still decided not to follow the directive of the regulatory body because someone possibly felt "This is Nigeria. Nothing will happen". A lot of us don't really know that MTN for some reason did not handle this registration well as a lot of people who were registered had to go and register all over again.

Clearly they underestimated the regulatory agency and broke the rule. This will send a message to foreign firms coming in and also those already here that such practices will not be encouraged or overlooked.

Use the fine on firstbank and UBA over TSA too. It was a violation of directive of the regulatory body and they got fine.

To be clear, MTN Nigeria does not have $5billion. Heck, MTN's company cannot afford that much as the company is worth just $21billion. I might say they should reduce the fine as a deal but that will just make the NCC unserious so I think they should negotiate a payment plan.

Asking them to pay by Nov 17 is not the way forward.

There was a guideline that states the fine and amount of fine to be paid. In the guideline, any default of any SIM is NGN200,000.

Changing the guideline because of one player could send a wrong signal to other players in the industry. During the oil spill on US waters, BP was made to pay billions of dollars on clean up and compensation. This was as a result of the existence of a strong institution built over time. NCC is being strengthen and should be allowed to continue. Some days ago, the CBN sanctioned some banks for defaulting on the Treasury Single Account. In the banking industry, most of the indigenous banks are notorious for flouting CBN's directives and paying these fine means nothing to them. They do this because it looks so 'little' but it rubs off the benefits that ought to accrue to shareholders. Paying 4 billion naira will send a strong message to other operators that 'anything' can happen.

However, in as much as it sends a strong message about the importance of decorum, discipline, playing by the rules and renewing investor's confidence, it can also send a strong negative message if the regulator would not want to compromise or shift ground. Investment and business decisions are all about making compromise. The regulators, in deciding whether to shift grounds will determine many things such as the importance of the operator towards the creation of wealth, growth and development of the economy. MTN, having a very large commanding market share plays a vital role in Nigeria, employing thousands of Nigerians both through direct and indirect employment, paying tax and improving government revenue, stimulating the economy through continuous re-investment and transferring of man power skills and technology to indigenous Nigerians. They also contribute towards capacity building in education, health, sports and social sectors of the economy.

I suggest a compromise or a 'forgiveness' of substantial amount of the fine.

MTN is a wealthy company. With a 'market capitalization' of over $21 billion which fluctuates due to market and investor's sentiments, I believe MTN is worth more than 21 billion and my estimate will be over $50 billion. A company that has paid tax since inception of over 1 trillion naira is not a small company.

Expect MTN to either take NCC to court or serious management shake up. Also, expect a serious cut in capital spending.