SmartyPants:


I may agree with you over point 1 but on there rest:

Re 2:

2. South Africa will drag Nigeria to court? Lol...Just like they dragged us to court when MTN was slammed with fines right? They are already paying the fine. They have reportedly payed 330 billion naira of the fine. So your post holds no water. If they are slammed with another fine, they have no option, than to pay.

That was a justifiable cause. South Africa would never have won that case. Slapping punishments on MTN and others for no reason is a violation of international law.

Re 3.

3. South Africa will take action against Nigerians living in their country...Are you remotely joking? What could be worse than what is currently happening? Or what other action, probably line Nigerians up in the streets and gun them down? Or ban Nigerians from going to South Africa? What could be worse than loosing human lives and properties in South Africa?

There is a clear distinction between South African citizens committing crimes against Nigerian citizens, and a South African state policy of punishing Nigerian businesses. I was clearly referring to the latter. Despite the regular outbursts of xenophobia, Nigerians remain that country doing business becasue the business environment is still conducive. That would change if the South African state implements an aggressive, reciprocal policy towards Nigerians.

Re 4:

4. MTN can NEVER exit the Nigerian market. Take that to the bank. Nigeria is their biggest cash cow. MTN Nigeria led the market share growth with 12.2% growth in the first half of the year, more than any other country they operate in, including South Africa (3.3%). They have more than 55 million subscribers in Nigeria, 20 million more than the subscriber base in South Africa.

We are dealing with a big picture of cause and effect. If Nigeria punishes MTN then how will Nigeria continue to be a cash cow for them? It is one of two things:

a. Nigeria punishes MTN to a significant enough effect that the company is troubled. This will only be the case if the company stops making profit. If that happens the company has no incentive to remain in the Nigerian market.

b. Nigeria punishes MTN but not enough to block their profits. The company itself may be bothered but not to a scale to warrant the SA government taking action.

Re 5.

5. Global investors affected? Nope.This is simply Nigeria vs South Africa, not Nigeria vs the world, with Nigeria only taking reciprocate action against the inhumanity meted out on its citizens by the host nation, South Africa. Investors are not dumb. They understand. Nigeria still has Africa's biggest GDP. Our solid 200 million population cannot be ignored by investors, it's our strength. Even with all the supposed insecurities in our Nation, tech firms are raking in record amounts of staggering investments.

Of course, global investors will take note and stay clear. today your dispute is with South Africa and you are taking it out on their innocent business entities. Tomorrow if your dispute is with India it means you will take it out on Indian business entities.


Note: I've never said Nigeria should do nothing. There diplomatic avenues of resolving the current channels. These include the African Union, The African Commission on human and People's Rights, and of course the UN.

1. That was a justifiable cause. South Africa would never have won that case. Slapping punishments on MTN and others for no reason is a violation of international law
This is the reality and world of corporates...If the government wants to get you, they will get you. Once your business grows big VERY big, you become susceptible to lapses & loopholes which can be exploited by government. Google, Facebook, Uber etc are been fined left & right by different governments in different jurisdiction for the most "negligible" reasons. It is the reason why in large corporates, they have executive positions for lobbyists to handle issues like these.

2. We are dealing with a big picture of cause and effect. If Nigeria punishes MTN then how will Nigeria continue to be a cash cow for them? It is one of two things

It is akin to asking if Nigeria is touted to be a very difficult place to do business (insecurity, policy somersaults, corruption, dwindling economy), how are businesses still surviving & making money?
MTN will still want to remain in the Nigerian market, especially when they know it is only going to be temporary (the xenophobic attack). If they leave Nigeria, where will they go to? There's absolutely no market in Africa, that can give them the billions they make here...they know that.They were slammed with a massive fine & have been embroiled in dispute with the CBN, have they left? NO. They dare not; that will be the end of MTN. Their best bet is to weather the storm, subtly lobby and cajole their government to caution their senseless citizens and let them know the repercussions (even if hypocritical).

3. Of course, global investors will take note and stay clear. today your dispute is with South Africa and you are taking it out on their innocent business entities. Tomorrow if your dispute is with India it means you will take it out on Indian business entities.

It is normal for disputes to arise every now and then but it can never stop investors from cashing in when they need to. The Pros outweigh the cons in this instance, for investors. What are the chances Nigeria will have a spat with India, America, China etc? What is the precedence of relationship between Nigeria & all these countries? Investors know and understand that. Afterall, xenophobia has always been in that country for over a decade, how many times has Nigeria taken action? Has MTN not waxed stronger over the years in Nigeria? Investors look at those stats

Ok

Mophasa uitepost=81847752:

Troops should be immediately sent to Johannesburg and Pretoria ASAP