No wonder telecom in this country is crawling!

Just imagine earning less than a 100 as a telco employee .....when telco should stand almost same platform with oil.

Econet to vmobile to zain to Airtel sipping datadata

James Ibori the destroyer!

No be today o

K

Strive a man I respect so much. You are a blessing to our world.

segebobo:
If this man is saying the truth, I admire his courage.
If only we know the effects of corruption, duplicity & lies on the society as a whole. It's one of the reasons why despite the abundant resources we are blessed with, we still depend & look up to the whites for even the most basic things

He should mention the other influential business man if he is as bold as he claims. Why did he mention Ibori? Because the man dey jail. Until he names people, the article is shallow jare.

Someone will definitely be the last to make GSM phone call in Nigeria.
That's life!
And this man has a whole lot of courage for saying this. Well, Ibori is out of power and as a matter of fact behind bars, so he is free to say anything.

...

If Nigeria doesn't kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria. - PMB

Hmm naija politicians being corrupt since 125AD

OP. Can you add his previous and subsequent posts for enlightenment. There's a thread like that in the politics section and i've been following the man's revelations on facebook. The posts are really eye openers to the corrupt nature of so-called anti-corruption crusaders. I just wish people can be patient enough to read all the posts.

tiwiex:

He should mention the other influential business man if he is as bold as he claims. Why did he mention Ibori? Because the man dey jail. Until he names people, the article is shallow jare.

Oga, you need to follow his posts on facebook. The thread is now on part 9 or so and he has mentioned various players in the saga including Victor Attah, Charles Taylor, EFCC officials (in good light), the Yar-Adua administration among others

Who would’ve believed then that Nigeria today would have more than 167 million mobile phones?!

Err pretty much every GSM operator in the country. They all knew they were entering into Africa's largest market so it was reasonable to dream big.

Strive is my favorite African business personality. I like the way he uses social media to share his management experiences. I once wrote an article on him.

After d call were u honoured?

Strive Masiyiwa
It’s time to play by a different (ethical) set of rules (Part 9) Nigeria 3

__ Beware the company you keep

The state government of Akwa Ibom held 15% of the equity in Econet Wireless Nigeria. This state was not one of the original investors but joined us later.

After five years, the governor of the state of Akwa Ibom decided to sell its stake. It had more than doubled in value in dollar terms, which meant it had been a good investment.

The state governor, an elderly gentleman called Victor Attah, sent a message through a friend that he wanted to see me in London to find out if I was interested in exercising Econet’s right to buy its shares. I agreed to meet him in London.

"I want to sell the shares to build an airport before I leave office," the governor explained.

The governor was accompanied to the meeting by a British lawyer who sat quietly taking notes. His name was Bhadresh Gohil.

With a wave of his hand, the governor said, "Mr Gohil is our legal advisor here in London. I have instructed him to handle all our negotiations with you."

The meeting did not last more than 30 minutes, as the governor was on his way to catch a flight to the U.S.

We agreed with Mr Gohil that we would meet with my own advisors a few days later to start the process.

A few days later, I went to his office with a professional banker who advised me on such transactions. We met in the lawyer's plush London offices. He was confident and smooth-spoken as he explained how much we were expected to pay. Then he explained that our money was to go to a "Special Purpose Vehicle" (SPV) before it was transferred to Nigeria. It was a sophisticated structure and he showed me a drawing of how it would work. I wrote it all down very carefully into my notebook.

___Such corporate entities as SPVs can definitely have legitimate purposes, but this one did not!

As I quizzed him about why such an unusual structure was necessary, Mr Gohil changed tact and tried to entice me with an offer I could not refuse (or so he hoped): "I'm also the advisor to the governor of Delta State, Mr James Ibori, and if you agree to pay for these shares using this structure, we will offer you shares belonging to all the state governments. In total, you can have more than 30% additional shares. It will be enough to take control of the company. My clients just want out, and they are willing to give you what you have always wanted."

I listened to him, quietly taking notes in my small notebook. I did not give away anything, but inside I was very angry. From the design of the structure, I knew immediately that it was meant to siphon off money before it reached the state governments. It was clear there was a conspiracy to steal a lot of money.

___Having already pocketed $13.5m, now the government officials could easily pocket probably another $100m through the sale process that they had developed with the help of Mr Gohil and other clever advisors in London!

When I left the meeting I immediately contacted the mutual friend who'd set up the governor's meeting. The friend was so embarrassed as I explained the corrupt structure clearly designed to steal money from the state governments. He promised to raise the issue with Governor Victor Attah. A few days later he came back and said Governor Attah had claimed ignorance about the proposal put to me by Mr Gohil. He said he would speak to Mr Gohil and tell him it had to be done properly without the structures.

We never heard from them again. Mr Gohil simply vanished. A few months later we were told that the shares had been offered to a company from the Middle East who subsequently bought them. I was not privy to how they did it except that they had violated my right to buy the shares... That is another chapter in the saga, but not for now.

Fast-forward three years, long after the sale. Our lawyers in London called me one day and asked if I could come urgently to a meeting with the Proceeds of Corruption Unit of the London Metropolitan Police: "You are not in any trouble, but I think you will find what they have to say very interesting!"

This special unit was launched by the British to investigate corruption by foreign government officials who try to launder stolen money to the U.S. and the UK.

The officers asked me to explain everything I knew about the sale of V-Mobile shares to Celtel (later Zain).

I explained the history of the entire transaction and the shareholders disputes that had led to our departure. After awhile, they asked me to focus on specific events, and, in particular, my meetings in London with the governor of Akwa Ibom, and also the meetings with Mr Gohil. It became clear to me that they had a lot of information!

"What can you tell us about this structure, using a Special Purpose Vehicle?"

I explained my understanding of it. Later on, I gave them my diary in which I had recorded the details of my meeting that day with Mr Gohil.

Below my drawing of the structure, I had written in bold letters:

"This is corrupt!!!"

Not long after my meeting with the Proceeds of Corruption Unit, Mr Gohil was arrested together with one of his partners and several others. I later learned that when the Middle Eastern company bought the shares, some of the proceeds had been diverted using the Gohil structure. Some of the money was sent to a bank in London. This large amount of money was enough to alert the British authorities that money was being laundered through their banking system.

Their investigations led them to Gohil and his associates. They raided his offices and found stashes of documents, including details of the structures. Now they were looking for witnesses to help prosecute them for corruption and money laundering.

The British authorities tried without success to get other parties, including the governor of Akwa Ibom, to come out and clear their names but they refused. Officials of President Umaru Musa Yar'Aduah's government successfully thwarted all extradition requests.

I was asked to be a witness in the trial of those who had been arrested in London. I willingly accepted. Next I will tell you about my role as a 'Witness to the Crown" on behalf of the people of Nigeria whose money had been stolen. It would be the first time that someone big went to jail (in a foreign country) for stealing money from Africans.

If you can't beat them, please, don't join them.
Vanity upon vanity! Alamesia, a case study!

CR77:
Black people are too corrupt

Whites are worse. Their corruption is at a macro level.

Where are de Name checkers association??

I was expecting to see his picture.

newheartub:
Ibori and Obj must involved. corruption no be today

You forgot one man from Lagos State that time.

CR77:
Black people are too corrupt

but he is also black, but not corrupt

LieDetector:
On behalf of the Nairaland fraternity, I present you this golden trophy for being the first man to make a phone call in nigeria

children of the first page, always making childish comments.

CR77:
Black people are too corrupt

White people are saints abi


Where is Sepp Blatter and Platini?

Smh 4 u

Kelklein:
‘I made the first GSM phone call in Nigeria... then corruption chased me out’ - Mr. Strive Masiyiwa

Chairman of telecoms giant, Econet Wireless, Mr. Strive Masiyiwa, in this post on his blog —
http://www.econetwireless.com/strive_masiyiwa_blog/index.php/its-time-to-play-by-a-different-ethical-set-of-rules-part-7-nigeria-1-of-5/, tells the story of his first hand nasty experience in the hands of corruption in Nigeria while challenging all to “be the generation that fights corruption.”

same way they drove Richard Branson and his Virgin corporation out of Nigeria.

tiwiex:

He should mention the other influential business man if he is as bold as he claims. Why did he mention Ibori? Because the man dey jail. Until he names people, the article is shallow jare.

the story actually continues, he named a lot of people.

tiwiex:

He should mention the other influential business man if he is as bold as he claims. Why did he mention Ibori? Because the man dey jail. Until he names people, the article is shallow jare.

God bless you. I like his courage for speaking out, but it won't go down well without mentioning the second person. Lagos State and Delta State respectively, then we hear Ibori name because he's in jail, tell us the other person then i will know you mean business.

Many did not read the article before even commenting. You would have commented otherwise?

After reading about this guy and the econnet palaver, Nigerian public officials/offices needs a complete/total overhaul. We celebrate criminals and thieves in this part of the world, integrity doesn't even exist in our........ Don't even know what to type sef.
Second stanza of our national anthem Comes to mind "Help our youths the truth to know"


Still wondering how we got to this junction

If two state governments(Delta and Lagos) invested in Econet and state government officials asked for $9m bribe, with $4.5m going to Ibori(Governor of Delta state). Who gets the other half of $4.5m? What happens to Lagos state, which is the second investor state?

Let us not forget that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was the Governor of Lagos state then.

Nigerians ronu!

Ok

It’s time to play by a different (ethical) set of rules (Part Nigeria 2

___As citizens, we have a duty to speak out to stop the rot

Nigeria has an agency known as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). After we had to leave the country, a few noble people at the company tipped off not only me but the EFCC about the payment of the bribes, which had by this time risen from $9m to $13,5m.

I had never actually heard about this agency myself until I got a call from the Nigerian Embassy in South Africa to say they wanted to come and see me to interview me as a witness.

A team of very senior EFCC officers came to see us in South Africa. They were solid and professional in their enquiry. It was clear they wanted to do something about it.

However, when these officers returned home to Nigeria, they got into very serious trouble. Their investigations into the irregular payments had been brought to the attention of James Ibori (Governor of Delta State)…

Soon thereafter, the most senior officer leading the investigation was demoted and sent to a remote part of the country as an ordinary policeman!

Agencies like EFCC in Nigeria sometimes have brave and gallant law enforcement officers. Unfortunately, as I observed, they’re often let down by their political bosses, and sometimes even by the courts. This can change if activism from the citizenry emerges to support their work.

___We should not only support official efforts to stop corruption but also help these agencies and organisations in their investigations. If you have relevant information about illegal activities, passing it on could make all the difference between impunity and imprisonment.

In my letter to the US Justice Department, I detailed the full history of the demands for a bribe. I had dates, times, records. I then reminded them that since the big international operator had a listing on the New York Stock Exchange, they were duty-bound to launch an enquiry. Why did I go to them?

The United States government has a law called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The United Kingdom has a similar one called the British Anti-Bribery Act. Whatever you do, make sure you never fall foul of those laws because, if they ever use them to come after you, you’re a “gonner” my friends.

A few weeks later, US officials wrote back advising me that an enquiry had been launched. They contacted the big international company seeking answers to my allegations. My contacts at the company called to tell me, “All hell has broken loose at the company.”

The parent company of the South African-based multinational sent external auditors and lawyers from London to Nigeria. They immediately dismissed all the senior executives sent to Nigeria to run the company, and they left in a hurry!

Although they fled the scene of the crime and returned to their country — after admitting even to both the US Justice Department and the EFCC that the money had been paid out – the stolen funds were never returned to the Nigerian people, even to this day.

Meanwhile, the departure of the other mobile operator did not mean we could return to Nigeria. The shareholders found another operator, this time from the Middle East.

They sold this new operator the control of the company even though Econet Wireless Nigeria had the “right of first refusal” over any sale. They simply ignored that provision in our agreement. This was illegal, both according to our shareholders agreement and Nigerian Company Law. It was left for us to take up the fight in another forum, the Nigerian courts.

To be continued…