₦airaland Forum

Nduka172:
Before their inflated figures fool U

mecuries:
"This is a company that comes from south Africa a country destabilized and infiltrated by drug trade"... Now, let's pretend like it isn't Nigerians involved in this

Hightablevoice2:
There are only few limited ways to take any consequential actions towards MTN in Nigeria as a corporation. Part is, one being the size of their gigantic firm grip on the sector and also their network across Nigeria as a whole. Even with what you pointed out, while they may have many unused simcards registered to customers, MTN still holds the largest market share in the Nigeria Telecom sector, there is no denying that 6 out 10 Nigerians is an MTN subscriber. However the case may be, your proposition and notice seems is a reaction towards the treatment their home country (South Africa )has been treating other African Nationals and most extensively Nigerians.

If that be one your reasons and not just their services, the important thing to note like I said earlier is, there are only few ways to go about it that will actually be of effectively consequential than boycotting and probably affect the company's balanced root in Nigeria, but in many ways boycotting isn't one of them. MTN is too big too boycott in Nigeria and there's no better alternative remotely close to the services they provide even with how appalling you think their services are.

The first and probably the hardest one is for our domestic telecom like GLO with the help of the Federal government to pressure MTN to turn over 51% of their stake and control to the Nigerian government on the basis of National Security or under it's pretext that a foreign company will not be allowed that much access to the National Data, they can own the rest of the 49%, with the option to buy them out if they deem it necessary to do so.. if they don't like it, the should get ready to leave Nigeria.. It'd be like the ECG deal with Ghana electric company, a foreign investment company can own it, operate it and collect the bills but 51% of it belongs to the government and they can take control anytime they want...But in Nigeria, MTN being a foreign investment and a major player in the telecom sector a lot of restructuring will have to take place and more importantly to avoid any foreign and international backlash for future investments that rule will also have to spread across all other sectors as been unbiased which is why it the most difficult one. It is achievable as long as the other sectors or big players may be overlooked until they have stepped over the line and the states decides to use that part of their autonomy to punish any big corp.

The second one is outrightly or one way or the other relinquishing them of their property rights to majority of their sites where their Masses are mounted and most of their medium and small regional outlets. 4-5 closure in a month, within a year or two they will start feeling the effect. You cut them off from the grassroot, the domestic players steps in to fill those vacuums bit by bit until it becomes a National operation.

The third and probably the unethical one is just pure unadulterated vandalism to their facilities, but that will not fly if the government is not in support just as much as their government is in support of their citizens xenophobic attacks and just one way or the other have their arms fold.

But even with all these, there will also be job losses, and other ways it will affect Nigerians as well.. All in all, as disheartening as whatever the situation in South Africa has been over the past few years, we have to collectively understand those acts are merely acts of some people in the country and may not or does not reflect the entirety of the whole south African spectrum. We can not just simply come to the conclusion that the whole South African general populace is for the idea of xenophobic attacks towards other African Nationals.

And more than anything, if we are pushing for more growth within the African continent, MTN is really there in terms of telecom progress and we have to see it as an African thing and not just a south African thing. There will ways to offset what they have done, even by proxy one way or other if we want to, Instead of boycotting and trying to tear down a thriving African telecom giant.

Perhaps the AU could step in, apply more pressure on their government. However more importantly for us in the Western hemisphere of the continent, we also have to step up on our developmental game.. ECOWAS can find a proper solution to make the Western hemisphere gear towards more and more development, just as the some of the Northern part and the a few Southern Part of the continent is doing, even Kenya is rising up..

Tearing down or boycotting MTN won't fix the real the problem which invariably is change, growth, and development. Not just infrastructure alone but across all spectrum of livelihood and exercises. The only way forward will be through Africans and the only way backwards also will be through Africans. Stay with the side that moves forward. It may be slow, but forward motion is always constant. And that's just simple physics.

Nduka172:
In as much as I try to understand some valid points you tried to emphasise on
Mtn used be a telecomm giant not anymore there was a time they meant well for Nigerians I've been following this telcom company for years now
Even during the days of Mtn Lumo if you can recall they tried being innovative
Fast forward to recently they've seized improvising and have done little or less to show they have the interest of Nigerians at heart
Their recent modus operandi is parasitic and doesn't equate in value considering how the demands of Nigerians should be met strategically
Mind you I'm not encouraging mob action or occupying their premises Nigerians are too peaceful to succumb to such harsh measures
Boycotting all their product and services in Nigeria is a useful measure to prove that we deserve better and should be treated with dignity
You said something about loss of jobs but it seems you don't know much about mtn in Nigeria or you haven't been paying attention most of their premises are on rent while majority of their employees are sim hawkers that get paid considering the amount of sims they register
Mtn needs total overhauling and Nigerians don't have that kind of time
If there's a bench mark that a telecom provider has set for others to emulate its GLO Nigeria Educational bundle for students and staffs across all the textiary institutions in Nigeria
Before you say 6 out of 10 telcom subscribers use mtn remember that 3 out 5 inactive sims belongs to Mtn also
Nigerian don't deserve to stay behind we are growing massively

Hightablevoice2:
Before I respond to some of the intels you also laid forth, I'd like to express that I also do not see MTN as being a supportive company or corporation in the broader sense towards the Nigerian growth in anyway close GLO's initiative in the Nigerian growth. Especially in the education sector.

However with restraint, I also I am of the understanding they MTN as a corporation are playing on the field of quarterly reports, earnings and dividends for their shareholders and their capital growth. For any shareholder MTN EBITDA is a strong module. It's not just in Nigeria they are operating that way, it extends across all their territories. Be it West, East, and the Southern African nations. Any assessment to them shows MTN's first priority is profit.

Now in the wake of understanding this as a private citizen, analyst or a consulting firm, to get in a rather preferable party, there are a lot of hurdles along the way to work through.
Prime example, MTN took over banking in GHANA with their Mobile Money platform. Ghana government is still wrestling with how to divert the funds locked in MTN coffers back into their banking sector. Unsurprisingly, up until now it has been an insurmountable feat. While majority of Ghanaians have at least 2,000 GHC in their MTN Momo wallet, most have less than 100 GHC balance in their bank account. A major problem for the Ghanaian government as it stalls growth. MTN remains a big hurdle for Ghanaian banks which ought to be loaning those funds out to SMEs and other sectors like their housing sectors which will foster economic growth, build houses, infrastructures, and improve medium household income across major spectrum. However that balance is locked within the MTN system, even if they bank with the Central Bank of Ghana, one way those funds are locked in their balance sheet and which they don't necessarily see the need to release back to the country to expand growth but rather use said balances to expand their market capitalization and earn dividends for their major shareholders.

Now I do not dispute your analysis having following the company for sometimes and seen their modus operandi, mine assessment of it is Nigeria as country is very reliant on MTN keeping their lights on and services available because they are so much of a backbone to the telecom sector in Nigeria. The government in one way or other adherence to MTN is simply on the basis that as discomforting as it is, they are also very much needed in keeping a part of the nation's engine active and that is communication. This is the basis of my own opinion that boycotting them will be inconsequential. Unlike GLO, MTN has stopped embedding themselves as a part of the Nigeria project for a long time, and even right from the get go they have been much focusing on marketing to corner the market. But even as how glaring these are, their profit margin still rises year in year out. This basis are not just a byproduct of luck but a continuous unrelenting campaign to be the biggest telecom company in Africa, and extensively in Nigeria as one of the biggest economy in Africa and the biggest in any black nation on planet earth.
Realizing all these and wanting a change to their stand in Nigeria, the most effective mitigation is for the Nigeria government itself starts the operation on pruning MTN. Certainly one way is reminding MTN and making them understand the Nigeria market is a major contributor not only to their market capitalization but also their profit margin and that is if not the largest.

Now again in terms of boycotting, my assessment of it's implementation is it won't have a decisive impact on MTN. In active records, at least 10-15 MIllions Nigerians if not more have an MTN sim card they have been using for years. And these users have their business contacts, family and other important aspect of reaching them tied to that SIM card. I do not see those people boycotting MTN. And then there's the ones that uses it for internet accesses, and not just individuals but offices, small firms and all that. Keep in mind people have been complaining about MTN tariffs for a very long time, while other networks reduced their tariffs MTN still kept their original tariffs, or sometimes as they do reduce it a little bit or reroute the tariffs, the other networks that reduced and cut their tariffs still do not outsell MTN. Those incentives from those other networks is enough to boycott MTN totally but the reality is MTN is sailing high. Infrastructure is the reason for these.

With all these, a major conclusive way to prune MTN has to start from the grassroot, not just about pricing. But their major infrastructure like those masses. The less masses they have installed or mounted the slower their services become and then having our own domestic network stepping in to replace those services. Either by buying them out bit by bit or constitutionally reducing their access to national data, any other means to prune MTN in Nigeria won't go far.

Privatisation of the Nation's Telecom sector without overhead coverage is the result of what MTN is enjoying today. The same mistake would have happened with the Fintechs, but in some way that was avoided, even though that sector too now is becoming a menace bit by bit.