₦airaland Forum

The Nigerian Telecommunications Commission yesterday disclosed that about 250 million substandard phones were sold annually in the country.

The acting Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, who gave the figure during a stake holders meeting on ‘ Combating Counterfeit and Substandard ICT Devices Programme in Abuja, noted that the damaging impact of the substandard products on the economy cannot be quantified in socio-economic terms.

Specifically, he lamented the damaging effects of the products on a broad spectrum of the national life, saying that the ugly development poses grave danger to the health, safety and privacy of buyers and the nation’s environment.

He said” counterfeiting is a growing economic problem affecting a wide range of products in the ICT sector, mobile phones are especially targeted with some 250 million counterfeits sold annually. This number constitutes about 15% to 20% of the global mobile phone market.

“Apart from the obvious negative economic impact of this ugly trend on the manufacturers of genuine products, government, authorized dealers which include brand evaluation, loss of revenue, copyright and trademark infringement, unfair competition, loss of tax, cost of compliance with applicable national legislation, national security and loss of employment opportunities.

“This menace also poses danger to the health and safety of consumers equally breaching the privacy of consumers. Collective efforts is urgently needed to curtail counterfeiting in ICT,” Danbatta added.

Also speaking, director EMEA Mobile Manufacturers Forum, Thomas Barmuller, stressed the need to address counterfeit phones due to the hazardous substances which he said were not only a risk to safety, health and economic development,, but was a tool used for transmission of deadly viruses.

According to him, investigations has shown that the incidence of malware, spyware and SMS Trojans has increased dramatically especially with the usage of fake smart phones.

He however called for increased consumer education through communication strategy both at the national and regional levels, to create awareness on the negative effects of counterfeit phones so as to enable consumers, manufacturers and operators link to a trustworthy source.

He added that, “it is necessary to work with stake holders to address the situation by developing communication campaigns, build awareness and support reforms in key markets.”

Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State on Saturday presented N100,000 cash assistance and clothing materials to each of the parents of the 219 girls abducted at the Government Secondary School, Chibok.

He presented the items while interacting with the parents in Maiduguri, noting that the gesture was a directive from President Muhammadu Buhari.

“I met with the president last Thursday in Abuja and he directed that I should meet you and console you over the missing girls.

“The president urged me to extend his heart-felt greetings to you on the issue,’’ he said.

Shettima added that Buhari assured him that the missing girls would soon be rescued going by the renewed military offensive on the insurgents.

“The president assured me that the missing girls would soon be re-united with their families as efforts are being intensified to rescue them,’’ he said.

Shettima said that it was based on that grounds that he invited the parents for the interaction at the Government House, Maiduguri, to deliver the message.

He said that the abduction of the girls had affected the livelihood of the parents as some of them had not been able to engage in any economic activities since the incident occurred.

“The money is not a ransom or a kind of compensation for the missing girls; it is to provide a kind of relief to the parents, who have been devastated by the loss of their children,’’ he said.

He said that government would unfold a plan for rehabilitating the girls once they were rescued by the military.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Boko Haram insurgents abducted the girls on the night of April 14, 2014.(NAN)

Nigerian is known as the capital of music in Africa. With many talented and creative singers and upcoming music artistes seeking desperately for recognition in this industry, the country can boast of a handful of talented singers from different genre representing Nigeria just like our sporting prowess.



For a secular artiste, endorsement from corporate bodies is a big advantage. The cash involved is a symbol of stability and having arrived.



So, when the telecom companies courted artistes branding them as ambassadors, it was a welcomed development sought by both big and small artistes.



MTN, Globacom, Etisalat and Airtel have all unveiled artistes as their ambassadors while existing ones have been renewed this year.



Airtel endorsed five artistes so far in 2015 and they are 2face Idibia, Phyno, Patoranking as well as fast rising comedian Akpororo and Big Brother Africa (BBA) host, IK Osakioduwa. MTN also renewed its contracts with its brand ambassadors, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Don Jazzy and Iyanya.



Olamide’s deal was also renewed with Etisalat with the likes of Seyi Shay coming on board. Burna Boy, Omawumi, MI, Bez, Flavour also had their endorsements renewed with Globacom.



Most times, the sums of money involved are hidden and shrouded in secrecy as no one really knows who got what. Other corporate firms have lined up to reach out to the younger generation via this endorsement strategy. The following is an estimate of who’s got the biggest endorsement among our musicians.



P SQUARE – N180M
The pop duo have been in the frontline of entertainment in Africa. The star singers, Peter and Paul Okoya known as P Square have been dominant Globacom ambassadors and their deals have been a subject of envy among colleagues. The Alingo crooners are a hardworking set of dancers and singers. P Square’s deal with the same outfit goes for N140 million. One of them, Peter Okoye is the face of Olympic Milk deals swelling their endorsement status. The singers definitely have other deals but these are what is known so far.



D’BANJ- N160M
D’Banj’s Globacom deal is close to N100 million according to findings.
In October 2014, D’banj signed a lucrative endorsement deal with Apple/Beats By Dre. The amount of his deal is undisclosed but should be nothing less than N50 million. The Kokomaster also got his own customised headphones which will be launched in December. He also became ambassador for Cîroc drink in Nigeria along with Banky W. ‘The Feeling the Nigga’ crooner posted a bottle of Ciroc and Banky W posting a picture with his best friend, Tunde Demuren and captioned it ‘Showtime’.



WIZKID- N128.6M
With his N45 million MTN deal almost doubled by rival telecom giant, Globacom, Wizkid is a man that knows his onions. According to a source, Globacom doubled the amount MTN paid Wizkid last year to land him on their side. Wizkid shared several photos of him and Glo Bounce logo with “200% and $$$” as tags. The superstar is a major coup for the Mike Adenuga-led company which doesn’t have many A-List artistes on its brand ambassador list. Wizkid reportedly got N120 million from Glo on a two-year deal which means he will be paid N60 million every year. His 25th birthday last June was marked with a renewal of his contract with Soda giants ‘Pepsi.’ He shared the good news via his Instagram page. He captioned the post – “3years with one of the biggest brands in the world, Pepsi! Looking forward to another 2 years! Done deal! $$ Proud Pepsi ambassador!! ”
For the last three years, Wizzy was worth about $350,000 in the Pepsi deal and now a renewal of the contract. No wonder the Jaiye Jaiye crooner could afford to replace his crashed N25 million Porsche Panamera last year with a brand new one just two weeks after the bash.



IYANYA – N125M
Iyanya has a N60 million MTN deal. Since he dropped Kukere, the Ibibio hiphop singer who won the maiden MTN Project Fame Contest in 2008, has made a lot of money from his jaw-dropping endorsement deals with top brands. His endorsement deal with MTN is worth N60 million and also has a $350,000 endorsement deal with Zinox Computers and a N35 million deal with a phone manufacturing company, Solo Mobile, where he also received a 2014 Prado SUV.



DON JAZZY- N100M
Don Jazzy has become the face of hiphop music in Nigeria, even making Forbes’ List as one of the richest artistes in Nigeria. The CEO of Mavin Records isn’t only making money from his star-studded record label, he also has very lucrative endorsement deals including one with Loya Milk where he got nothing less than N50 million. His N25 million deal with MTN has been renewed upwardly. Not much is known whether his endorsement with Samsung Africa has been renewed. So, his endorsement deal is in the region of N100 million.



BANKY W – N100M
R & B Singer Banky Wellington popularly known as Banky W is smiling to the banks with his whopping N100 million endorsement deal with Samsung Mobile as well as his endorsement with MTN.



TIWA SAVAGE – N90M
The singing bird and mother of one has an MTN deal worth N30 million and must have gotten it reviewed upwards.
Apart from her very successful music career, the first lady of Mavin Records also has a number of juicy endorsement deals worth several millions of naira. Her MTN deal is reportedly worth N30 million. Other endorsement deals include contracts with Pepsi, Forte Oil and Maggi which has made Tiwa the richest female singer in Nigeria.



OMAWUMI – N75M
The Bottom Belle crooner has a Glo deal worth more than N25 million. Omawumi shot into limelight after becoming the first runner up at the 2007 West African Idols. She is now one of the highest paid female artistes charging up to N5 million per show. She is also one of the singers with the highest number of endorsement deals. Glo deal is said to worth N25 million. Others include including Konga worth between N5–10 million, Mortein and Malta Guinness.



DAVIDO – N50M
HKN artiste, Davido has a N30 million MTN Pulse deal. The Gobe and Aye crooner has deals with MTN Pulse and Guinness Nigeria. While the Guinness deal’s amount is not known, his MTN contract is reported to have made the Omo Baba Olowo N30 million plus richer.
Considering that Davido has a billionaire father, he may not rely on endorsement deals except for a status symbol. The artiste however has done much good for himself by working hard to become a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.



OLAMIDE – N50M
The rapper has his contract with Etisalat renewed. He got a mouth-watering deal two years ago. Other deals are on line for the indigenous rapper who has created the niche and become a success story in Nigeria’s hiphop music industry.
The incredible rapper and now CEO of Chocolate City, MI and his VP, Ice Prince are also in the class of the biggest Nigerian artistes with great endorsements. MI is a Globacom ambassador while Ice Prince pitched his tent with Etisalat.