{UAH} Pojim/WBK:Buhari shows how to bring the mobile phone giants to heel - Comment
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Buhari shows how to bring the mobile phone giants to heel
The recent tug of war between the Nigerian government and MTN comes as an instructive development for the whole continent.
When the Nigerian government slapped a hefty fine on the giant mobile telephone company, there were people who thought that President Muhammad Buhari and his administration had gone over the top.
It needs no telling that Buhari, a retired general who had ruled as military head of state in the 1980s, wanted to confirm his reputation as a no-nonsense man of action and someone who would not brook any sign of disrespect from the big money movers in his resource-rich country.
So, when MTN failed to do as it was told, that is, to register all the phone lines it sold in Nigeria, it found itself with a $5.5 billion tab to clear. To put this fine in perspective, it was variously reported that it was the equivalent of double the South African company's annual profits for last year. That would truly be hard on any company, and MTN winced.
But let us interrogate that argument a little. The requirement that telephone companies register the names of people they sell SIM cards to has been adopted by most countries across the world, largely as a security measure against the malicious use of these telephones by crooks and criminals.
Nigeria, like so many other African countries, has its own share of these types, and the harm they can cause to our countries cannot be overemphasised.
It is even safe to say that Nigeria could be considered one of the countries on the continent most adversely affected by nefarious schemes and scams hatched by some of the smartest malefactors in the world.
But there is much worse than that, as we all know. In the wake of the devastation wreaked by the thugs of Boko Haram on the peoples of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad, it is fair to say that that whole region is at war with some of the most intractable foes on the continent. The suicide bombings, the kidnappings, the rapes and arson do not show signs of abating any time soon.
So, for anyone, any company doing business in that region, issues of security and public safety should have paramount importance, one would have thought. It is almost inconceivable that any company operating in the area, would ignore these grim realities.
It is not clear what made MTN fail to comply with the registration requirement, seeing that the same condition applies in its home country, South Africa.
In my view, it was proper to fine the company for that dangerous transgression. It may seem like idle speculation, but who knows how many people lost their lives to Boko Haram attacks facilitated by untraceable Sim cards sold by the company? How much property was destroyed, and how much psychological trauma caused?
MTN can consider itself fortunate that the fine has been revised downwards — the government having cut it by a third, after some protracted negotiations. It says something about the mellowing of General Buhari that his government could listen to the pleadings of the firm and grant them at least a partial reprieve.
Still, the fine remains big enough to make other companies think twice before they ignore the security concerns of their hosts.
But there is much more that the telephone companies operating in Africa could do, apart from paying unfailing attention to issues of security and public safety. Hardly 20 years ago, much of Africa could not tell a mobile phone from a packet of cigarettes.
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