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NaijaGist Nigeria

This blog is about my views on Nigeria, the world, and technology.

Monday, May 22, 2006

MY GSM NETWORK LEAGUE

The Global system for mobile communication (GSM) was launched in Nigeria in 2001. Econet wireless, now Vmobile was the first network provider to launch GSM services in Nigeria. Then came MTN, MTEL and finally came the glo-mobile network. Having experienced the services of these network and interviewing other consumers of telecommunication services, I have come up with a league of GSM networks in Nigeria.
The standings on this league was based on network performance on the following: audio service quality, data service quality, average on time of network, technology. And more.

glo

Glo mobile

Glo mobile is a subsidiary of Nigerian’s second national carrier Globacom. Glo mobile was the last GSM network to deploy in Nigeria. However, glo mobile remains the most innovative and aggressive of all. The GSM network operators in Nigeria today. The network currently boasts of about 6.5 million subscribers, less than 3 years after it switched on its services. This makes glo mobile one of the fastest growing networks in the world.

Glo mobile can be described as a pace setter as most of what Nigerian GSM subscribers enjoy today were introduced by the company.
Glo mobile introduced the one dial philosophy. Before glo mobile launched its network in Nigeria, Nigerians never knew that it was possible to dial a number once and connect through. Then subscriber had to dial a number for about four to seven times, before the call gets through. These days the situation has changed, since all networks have now embraced the one dial philosophy, although some of them are still struggling. Another first for glo mobile is the per second billing system. Nigerians were paying for calls on a per minute bases for there calls until glo mobile came to the seen and introduced a pay by the second system that Nigerians had been yearning for.

The massive growth in mobile telecommunication penetration in Nigeria would not have been possible without glo mobile. Glo introduced the N1(0.8 cents) SIM pack. This enables lots of Nigerians to subscribe to GSM networks. Prior to then, Nigerians were paying between N6000 ($49) to N20,000 ($161) for GSM SIM packs. Today, Nigerians are effectively paid to own SIM packs, all thanks to glo mobile.

Glo mobile is also first in technology innovation,they were the first network to deploy 2.5G technologies in Nigeria. Glo mobile was also the first network operator to introduce mobile internet, mobile banking, multimedia messaging services (MMS) .Glo with pride

V-mobile: mobile formally Econet wireless was the first GSM network to switch on in Nigeria, but lack of capital hindered their progress. However since the re-branding of the company a lot of progress has been made by the company. V-mobile now boasts of high quality voice services, in addition the overall service quality of the V-mobile network has greatly improved. Infact, most people I interviewed seem to suggest that the V-mobile network is the most improved GSM network in Nigeria. V-mobile seems to follow the good examples set by glo-mobile in the telecommunication industry.

MTN

MTN:

MTN is known as that network that fails all the time.
MTN seems to spend more money on media advert, rather than invest on improving the quality of its services. They seem to forget that adverts work only when you have a good product. However, this marketing strategy seems to be working for MTN now, but for how long? Nigerians are not becoming more literate and technology savvy and such a marketing strategy is bound to fail in the Nigeria of the future. MTN is known for charging the highest tariff in the industry, even though they do not match it with high quality services. MTN was using the slogan "the best connection” before glo-mobile came into the seen. However, when it was obvious to them they were no longer the best connection, because of the emergence of glo-mobile, they changed their slogan to “everywhere you go” to emphasize that the MTN network was the most deployed network in Nigeria. However, now that glo-mobile also claims to be everywhere, one wonders what the new slogan for MTN would be?

MTEL

MTEL:

Mtel is a subsidiary of the government owned first national carier, NITEL. MTEL is the under achiever of the industry. Infact, Mtel is 4th in the league because there are only four companies in the league. Mtel does not advertise, infact I can not remember the last time I saw an mtel ad. Mtel also lacks innovation. However, the only thing that mtel can boast of is having one of the lowest tariffs in the industry.

Friday, May 12, 2006

3G in Nigeria soon,3 what?

The Nigeria communication commission (NCC) recently announced that third generation (3G) mobile communication technology will be launched in Nigeria soon.
This announcement was made by the executive vice chairman of the NCC, Engr. Ernest Ndukwe last week. Also speaking on a Nigerian television Authority (NTA) network interview the minister for communication, chief Cornelious Adebayo, said that the 3G networks will enable Nigerians to experience more efficient data services, which will make it possible for Nigeria to experience better multimedia services.


Indeed the news of Nigeria going 3G is good. The basic GSM operates at about 14.4kbit/s, although with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) this figure increases to about 170kbit/s at favourable conditions. However, with this limited bandwidth, voice remains the dominant service offered by most networks in Nigeria. Although GPRS, most especially through the glo mobile network, now delivers mobile internet and other multimedia service but it is still limited in bandwidth.
3G promises higher bandwidth.

Presently it is possible to deliver wireless broadband access to a lapto0p via a data card. The speed of such a connection with 3G can be more than 350kbit/s. This means that with 3G pictures, videos and other heavy documents can be downloaded with laptops or mobile phones more efficiently 350kbit/s is significantly larger than the data transfer speed of most cyber cafes in Nigeria. Higher quality television programme can be delivered to a mobile phone with 3G.

However, how ready is Nigeria for 3G? With most network operators still struggling to deliver higher quality voice services demanded by Nigerians I will say we are not ready yet. More than four years after the switch on of GSM networks in Nigeria, Nigerians are still complaining about the quality of services. Some of the complaints include; high tariffs; credit being deducted without delivering any service; networks going off at anytime, in fact some networks are known to go off anytime it rains; most networks do not have a transparent billing system; and so on.



To my opinion the only network currently ready to deliver 3G services in Nigeria is the glo-mobile network. Glo-mobile have been delivering high quality voice and data services via the GPRS system, in Nigeria since 2003. Going by developments all over the world, the 3G standard that will be deployed in Nigeria will be the Universal Mobile Telecommunication s system (UMTS). This is because UMTS has been shown to interoperate well with GSM-GPRS.
It is hoped that the unified license regime will be applied in deploying 3G in Nigeria.

Nigeria should emulate the United States, where new licenses were not auctioned for 3G, rather existing operators were allowed to use their existing bandwidth to deploy 3G. This will introduce innovation in the industry and reduce the cost of deployment.

However, internationally recognized network operators, like T-mobile, Vodaphone, Hutchison and Tele-2, should be attracted into Nigeria by the government to deploy 3G networks. These operators will inject the much-needed capital, which is required to improve the service quality and give Nigerians more choices.

My final analysis is that Nigeria is not ready for 3G now, but with proper planning, in drawing out the framework; greater capital injection in the industry and a better standard of living in Nigeria, we will be ready before 2009.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

NIGERIA:THE NON INDIGENE SYNDROME

A recent report by human right watch, says that Nigerians living in areas where they are not considered as indigenes face all sorts of discrimination, even though they have lived in such areas for a long time.

According to the report state governments regularity deny access to jobs and basic services to such people seen as non-indigenes. They went further to say that is one the major factors that lead to the now regular ethnic and religious violence in Nigeria, as poor communities struggle over control of limited resources.

According to the author of the report, Chris Albin-Lackey in a BBC interviews “it is really a failure of leadership on the part of the federal government of Nigeria that has allowed this to happen”. He went on to say, “by denying non-indigenes access to certain economic and educational opportunities they (community leaders) are seeking the favour of their indigenes.

But, how true is this report? My answer is very true. This is a reflection of the everyday happenings in Nigeria. Everyday Nigerians face all sorts of discrimination in various states and even in the Nigerian federation.

In the early 1980s my dad’s uncle lost all he had (restaurants and houses) in Zaria during ethnic clashes. This happened even though he had lived in Zaria for so many years and was the leader of the community of people from my ethnic group in Kaduna State.The interesting part of the story,was that an indegene of Zaria employed by him fulltime to be responsible of the slaughter of cattles for servicing his numerous restaurants might have learnt about the attacks before it occured but did not inform him.If he had done so may be he would have saved my dad's uncle from losing everything.

This allegation has never been confirmed since the employee has never been seen since then. But this allegation is based on the fact that he did not come to work on the faithful day. Infact according to the story my dad’s uncle was about to send someone to ask after him. However they immediately heard about the riot and fled for their dear lives.

The man returned to his home town with nothing no pensions, no gratuity and no money. He had to depend on his sons and his nephews and nieces for the rest of his life. This was a man who was once considered rich. He died a broken man in the mid 1990s.

In the late 1990s, the Enugu State government introduced a policy that led to thoudsands of non-indigenes in the civil-service losing their jobs. This is now popularly called the non-indigene policy. Proponents of the move then, said that this will create more employment opportunities for the indigenes of the State. These non-indigenes were sacked without any form of compensation (no pensions, no gratuity, and no apologies).

The madness of the non-indigence policy was that even women who were indigenes of Enugu State but now married to non-indigenes also losed their jobs. This policy is still in place till today.

Nigerians face discrimination daily on the bases of ethnicity, state of origin, religion, political affiliation and so on. In Nigeria today gaining admission is easy for people from the northern part of Nigeria while students from the South find it hard to gain admission.

Although the human right watch recommends that the federal government of Nigeria should legislate on the matter in order to end it.But in addition to that and based on my experience of other laws in Nigeria I think proper enlightenment campaign should also be used to educate Nigerians on the need to stop such discriminations.

The successes of Enyimba football club in the Nigerian and CAF champions leagues can be used as a case study. Enyimba FC won the CAF champions league back to back in 2002 and 2003.Enyimba FC have also won the Nigerian league for 4 times in 5 years and is the current champions of the Nigerian premier league.

The successes of Enyimba FC can be attributed to their signing of good players from all over Nigeria and Africa without discrimination.The failure of some clubs that introduces the indigenisation policy in the selection of players in such championships can also be used to show what lies ahead of any state that uses the indigenisation policy as its criteria for selection of human resources.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

AS CHINESE PRESDENT VISITS NIGERIA


Chinese president Mr. Hu Jing Tao addressed a joint section of the Nigerian national assembly on Thursday, the 27th day of April 2006. This is part of activities lined us for his two day states visit to Nigeria, his second in 3 years.
President Hu was on a states visit to Africa, which also took him to Kenya. Earlier on Wednesday president Hu visited Morocco where he signed a number of deals with king Mohammed VI.

Also on Wednesday China signed a deal worth $4 billion for 4 oil-drilling contracts in Nigeria. This is 1 of 7 co-operation agreements signed between Nigeria and China during the visit. Other deals signed between Nigeria and China includes the acquisition of a controlling stake in the Kaduna refinery by China, the construction of a 2500Mw hydroelectric power plant and the building of an ultra-modern railway system in Nigeria.

Nigeria on the other hand hopes to increase non-oil export to China. Trade between Nigeria and China is worth $2.8 billion ,with Nigeria contributing less than $500 million. Nigeria hopes that by increasing non-oil exports, this unfavorable trade imbalance will be over-turned.

These deals cut across the 3 of the 5 sectors in Nigeria that I consider key, if Nigeria will ever reach the promise land, where ever that is. The 3 sectors are the energy sector; the transportation sector and the non-oil export sector, while the other 2 key sectors are the education sector and the health sector.

An ultra-modern railway system in Nigeria will have a positive impact on the Nigerian transport sector.
This is expected to decongest the roads, which currently is the only means of transportation in Nigeria. It could also have some positive impact on the cost of transport, most especially for transportation of goods. The prices of goods, especially agricultural products, differ a great deal between areas were they are produced and other parts of Nigeria. This difference can be as high as 300% and this is often attributed to the high cost of transportation in Nigeria.

Nigeria also requires huge investments in the energy sector. This is why the news of a 2500Mw electricity generating capacity to be built by China is good. More of such investments are still needed in Nigeria in order to improve the economy. Most businesses in Nigeria today run on generators, which increases the cost of goods and services from such business. Currently, I receive an average of about 10 hours power supply in my home, this is an improvement from the average of 3 to 4 hours I used to receive at the beginning of the year. There is huge demand for electricity in Nigeria, unofficial figures shows that last year Nigerians spent over 250 billion naira about $2billion on generator importation.

Any investment in the petroleum refining capacity in Nigeria is commendable. This will impact on the cost of transportation in Nigeria and reduce the cost of business. The cost of preparing meals in Nigeria will also be reduced, as most Nigerians cook with kerosene.

The benefits of these deals will only be felt if the investment is channeled appropriately. Past experience of Chinese investment in Nigeria leaves a lot to be desired. During the military junta led by General Sani Abacha, such deals where signed to improve the railway system in Nigeria. Uptil now nothing has been seen on the ground.The problem with investments from China is that it is not monitored and hence does not impact on the citizens of the country.

In addition goods from China are often substandard and poses a treat to the life of people. According to regulatory authorities in Nigeria, most especially NAFDAC and SON, most imports from China are fake and substandard.Also Chinese investors in Nigeria engage in sharp practices. These include not paying taxes, faking other well known products, copying CDs, underpaying their workers forcing there employees to work longer hours and so on.

However cheap goods from China remain the saving grace of most Nigerians. The so called “GSM revolution” and the nollywood boom” would not have been possible without the importation of cheap GSM phones, Television, VCD players, and VCD from China.

Monday, May 01, 2006

ENVIROMENT FRIENDLY BRAKE PADS

A team of scientists researching at the university of Benin, Nigeria have designed and tested brake pads made with palm kernel shells as friction base material, speaking on a television programme ‘Voyage of discovery’ on the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, the team leader Prof. A.O.A Ibhadode said that the brake pads have successfully passed through laboratory trials and that field tests will commence within the next few weeks.

Brake pads are very important in moving vehicles. Brake pads absorb the kinetic energy of a moving vehicle by friction thereby causing it to stop. The kinetic energy of the moving vehicle is converted to heat by the brake pads through friction in order for the vehicle to stop. The heat is dissipated to the surrounding environment. In addition when the brakes are applied particles of the friction base material, which is currently asbestos are also released. Asbestos is known to cause cancer and other terminal diseases.

Each time a brake is applied by a driver particles of asbestos are released into the atmosphere. This particles in the atmosphere may be inhaled by pedestrians. This raises health concern on the use of asbestos as friction base material for brake pads.

This is why this research finding is important. Asbestos cause diseases but with palm kernel shells there will be no health or environmental concerns. Palm kernel shells are bio-degradable and are natural. Palm kernel shells are currently agricultural wastes in Nigeria. This research if successful will make it a raw material for brake pad manufacturers and put more money in the hands of farmers.

A member of the research team Dr. Ishaya Dagwa of the Federal Polytechnic ,Muba, Nigeria commenting on the research said that of the nine additives used in making the brake pads, which include brass, iron, calcium oxide and quartz, only resin is not locally available in Nigeria. He added that this will reduce the cost of brake pads since most of the additives can be sourced locally.

The local availability of the additives in this brake pad is bound to provide opportunity for local entrepreneurs to supply raw-materials for the environment friendly brake pad manufacturers. It is hoped that this will create more employment opportunity for people in Nigeria. It is also hoped that this will make the Nigerian government to invest more in research and development (R and D) in institutions of higher learning in Nigeria.

According to prof. Ibhadode, as part of the field test, samples of the environment friendly brake pads will given to drivers throughout Nigeria. The drivers are expected to use the brake pads for 6 months and report on its performance. He also revealed that they are talking with brake pad manufacturers and that 1 of them have declared interest in the environment friendly

THE THIRDTERM BID


As the Nigerian National assembly begins a new legislative section, all eyes are on the honourable members to see how they will handle the most debated proposal of the constitutional amendment committee, which is the elongation of the tenure of presedent Obasanjo to enable him have another shot at the presidency of Nigeria. president Obasanjo’s tenure runs out in May 2007, at which time he must have served 2 terms of 4 years each. It is alleged that the president is interested in remaining in power beyond 2007.

The amendment will elongate the tenure of the president and governors from the present 2 terms of 4 years each to 3 terms of 4 years each. This is now popularly known in Nigeria as the third term bid. For some people there is nothing wrong with the third term bid. For such people the thrdterm bid will only give president Obasanjo 1 more term of 4 years, implying that he will be in power for the next 5 years. However, it must be said that an elongation of the tenure of the president to 3 terms of 4 years each will give Obasanjo the green light to be in power for the next 13 years and not 5 years as Nigerians are made to believe.

There is nothing wrong with the thirdterm bid if that is what Nigerians want. However, with the allegations of bribery of $37,000 to every member of the constitutional review committee and $1 million to every member of the senate and house of representatives that support the amendment, one may be tempted to ask whether the opinion of Nigerians will even count on this issue. The thirdterm bid is wrong if the law is broken in order to achieve it. The thirdterm bid is wrong if money that should be used for the development of Nigeria is used to bribe the honourable members of the national and state assemblies in order to achieve it. The thirdterm bid is wrong if it leads to the destruction of lives and property in Nigeria.

Proponents of the thirdterm point at what they call “good governance” which they say will continue if the tenure of the president is elongated. They also claim that president Obasanjo is the most suitable candidate of all those who have declared there interest in the presidency of Nigeria.This to me is nonsense, an Atiku, an IBB, a Rochas or even a pastor Chris can do much better. Nigeria needs a proactive leader at this stage of her development and Gen Obasanjo is not just proactive. This completely disqualifies him as my candidate for 2007.

A lot have been said about the debt relief recently granted to Nigeria by the Paris club. Infact this is one of the main points used by the proponents of the thirdterm bid. However, it must be said that the debt relief took too long in coming. Why did it take more than 6 years for the government, led by Gen. Obansanjo, to reach an agreement with the Paris club. As far as I am concerned getting debt relief for Nigeria is very simple.

All the preseident needed to do was to show the members of the paris club, that Nigeria is a country of about a 140 million people, of which about 60% of them are living on less than a dollar a day. That Nigeria has decaying health, energy, education and transportation infrastructure. That Nigeria borrowed little ,paid so much and is still owing so much. Most importantly the president should have appointed the right people who would have introduce “good governance” and transparency as early as 1999. This would have given the Paris club confidence that the money saved, if the debt is cancelled, would be well spent on projects that will impact on Nigerians.

Nigeria would have gotten debt relief as early as 2002 if the president was more proactive in handling the issue. It must be said that the cost on Nigeria, due to the delay in securing the deal, may have been well over $6 billion.This figure includes the about $1 billion per year used for debt servicing between year 2002 to 2005 and accruing interest on debt stock. $ 6 billion would have greatly improved the decaying infrastructure in Nigeria. This is the price Nigerians have to pay for electing a leader who is slow in response to national issues.

Another area were president Obasanjo administration has failed is in the power sector. In 1999, when Obasanjo administration came into power, Nigeria had 2000Mw electricity generation capacity. Today, more than 7 years later, Nigeria boasts of about 3500Mw. This is an increase of only 1500Mw in 7 years. It must be added that no new electricity generation capacity was added before 2004. Why did it take so long for this administration to discover that the problem of the power sector has more to do with electricity generating capacity than any other factor? Why did it take up to 4 years before any action was taken on the issue. These and more are questions for the Obasanjo administration.

The delay in providing electricity generating capacity has led to epileptic power supply in Nigeria. Most businesses in Nigeria, today runs on generators, which increases the cost of running businesses in Nigeria. The high cost of running business in Nigeria has also led to the loss of foreign investment, as investors will prefer to invest in other countries with low cost of entry like Egypt, Ghana, China, India and more. The cost of low generating capacity on Nigeria cannot be quantified. This is the cost of not having a proactive leader as president. The cost will even increase if the thirdterm bid succeeds.

The response of president obasanjo on the problems of the aviation industry, that led to 3 plane crashes, which took the lives of over 150 people in 2005, supports my claim that the president is not proactive. Despite the numerous publications on national dailies on what is popularly known as the disaster waiting to happen” and the near air mishaps no action was taken by the Nigerian government in response to the incidents. Even when the first plane crashed no positive steps were taken by government to prevent further crashes. Infact it took three plane crashes in about 2 month before any action was taken by the government. I must also add that the death of the late first lady of Nigeria, Chief Mrs. Stella Obasanjo must have contributed in any action being taken. The loss may have made president Obasanjo to realize what it means to lose a loved one.

Listening to the president make a speech is a very boring experience, although I must confess that his presentation skills have improved over the years. President Obasanjo takes all the time in the world to make his presentation, like if time is of no essence to him. A presentation that will take president Gorge W. Bush of the United States or prime minister Tony Blair of Britain 15 minutes will take president Obasanjo of Nigeria over an hour to make. The president reads and speaks slowly and this seems to be part of his character. President Obasanjo is slow that explains why he is asking for 3 more terms in office so that he can take all the time in the world to turn around Nigeria.

Nigeria needs a smart, proactive, charismatic articulatetive, and pragmatic leader, who will move this nation forward. Nigeria requires a leader who will identify problems before they occur and solve them. Nigeria needs a leader who will uphold and institutionalize democracy rather than uphold and institutionalize himself. These are the qualities president Obansanjo will never have even if he wants to.

Nigeria requires a leader that will continue with the one good legacy that I believe the president Obasanjo administration has given Nigeria. This legacy is that with the right people appointed to head ministries and parastatals ‘good governance’ can be achieved. This legacy is the secret of the marginal success of president Obasanjo in his secondterm in office. I believe that any proactive and charismatic leader that follows this example will achieve much more in 4 years.

THE THIRDTERM SAGA

On Tuesday, the 25th of April 2006,the national assembly of Nigeria began a new legislative section. This legislative section is expected to be the most important legislative section of this tenure. This legislative section is important, because part of the agenda is the review of the Nigerian constitution.

The present Nigerian constitution is a product of the military. A lot of inadequacies have been noticed in this constitution. This include the marginalisation of the Niger Delta region which is by far the highest contributor of resources to the Nigerian coffers;immunity to criminal prosecution for the president and governor; and the over centralized structure of the Nigerian State.

The constitution review committee of the national assembly have proposed some amendments to the constitution. This include the creation of one more states in the south-east geo-political zone, removal of the immunity of governors from prosecution, an increase of the share of the revenue allocated to the Niger Delta region from 13% to not less than 25%; and an ellongation of the tenure of the president from the current 2 terms of 4 years each to 3 terms of 4 years each.
However, of all the proposed amendments to the Nigerian constitution the one that has generated the most heat and debate is the elongation of the tenure of the president and governors to 3 terms of 4 years each. This will enable the president of Nigeria, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, whose tenure expires in May 2007, to remain in power beyond 2007. This tenure amendment, which is alleged to be supported by Gen. Obasanjo is pulling the nation apart. This proposed amendment is now popularly called the third term bid.

Proponents of the third term bids hinges there support on the need for continuity of the anti-corruption drive of the Obasanjo administration. They claim that if the president is not allowed to continue most what they called “good governance” introduced by this administration will be abandoned. According to them some of this achievements include the debt relief recently granted to Nigeria by the Paris club; huge investments in telecoms sector ,most especially in the deployment of GSM in Nigeria, the achievements of Nigeria food and drug regulator, NAFDAC; the anti corruption drive of the government; huge foreign investment in all sectors in Nigeria; and transparency and accountability in government.

Opponents of the third term bid, on the other hand points at the selectivity in the fight against corruption; the failure of the government in the energy sector; the brutality of the police and other security apparatus of government; and the breakdown of law and order in various parts of Nigeria as some of the reasons why the president should not be allowed to continue.

As the members of the Nigeria national assembly resumes sitting, it is important that the overall interest of Nigeria is considered first in their deliberation on the third term issue. However, with allegation of bribery from both sides it seems like the interest of Nigeria is hanging on a balance.

It must be said that this is not just about the third term it is also about the fourthterm and the fifthterm, which may even generate more heat and might even make the American prediction of a disintegrated Nigeria come true soon. The warning by the United States director of national intelligence John Negroponte ,that the third term bid if allowed to succeed will result in unrest in Nigeria, must be taken seriously. The thirdterm must not be seen as a do or die affair, so the honourable members of the Nigerian senate and the Federal and State houses of assembly must ensure that the unity of Nigeria and the views of Nigerians whom they represent are considered first.