Adenuga @71: Celebrating the Telecom Disruptor

Chidiebere Nwobodo

I think every 29th April should be celebrated in the telecom industry as “GSM liberalisation Day”, to honor remarkable impact Dr. Mike Adenuga, Jr., made in the sector that led to democratization of mobile network services across the country within the shortest possible time.

Most young Nigerians, especially the Gen Z generation, who have come to be the greatest beneficiary of liberalisation of the telecom sector, are yet to fully appreciate what Globacom led by Dr. Mike Adenuga, Jr., did to crystalised GSM revolution in the country.

Social media has changed the lifestyle of Nigerians, especially the youths, by giving them access to information, connectivity and opportunities. Today, we have a lot of the youthful population earning a decent living as content creators on social media.

Online businesses have literally transformed the world of business and provided much-needed easy of doing business because of GSM services, part of which is captured in internet connectivity. All these reforms would not have been possible if Dr. Mike Adenuga, Jr., did not take the bull by the horn to open up the sector through cheap mobile lines and call rates.

When GSM anchored on the shores of Nigeria and followed by the entry of two foreign legacy mobile operators in 2001, Nigerians were given the erroneous impression that mobile line services were exclusively reserved for the rich and upper middle class, as result of exorbitant price of owning SIM cards and the recurrent cost of making calls at per minute billing system, at that time.

The two legacy mobile operators (MTN and then Econet) had the upper hand in the GSM rollout, albeit oligopolistic hold on the telecom market. All the pleas made by Nigerians to these operators to reduce cost of SIM cards and consider per second billing system as obtained in other climes, fell on deaf ears.

Theses foreign legacy mobile operators insisted that per second billing was practically impossible, owing to the much-needed resources to expand network infrastructure for better coverage. As regards cost of SIM cards, they maintained that it would rather go up as a result of market forces of demand and supply than reduced.

Nigerians resigned their fate, surrendered to economic enslavement, continued paying through the nose to buy SIM cards at thirty thousand naira and above, and made calls at ridiculous rate of fifty naira per a minute.

Despite the upsurge in demand for mobile phone services and corresponding demand for SIM cards and increasing market shares, legacy operators still did not yield to intensified demand for prices of SIM cards to be crashed and calls rate change to per second billing system.

Gross exploitation of Nigerians who were desperate to access GSM services expensively offered by these legacy operators, lingered hopelessly until Globacom was launched two years after in 2003. The game was changed from this auspicious moment.

The grand entrance of Globacom into the market broke the duopoly of  legacy mobile operators. The run ably led by The Bull, Dr. Mike Adenuga, ignited stiff competition never seen before in the industry. The honeymoon was over for monopolistic tendencies.

Before Nigerians could say Jack Robinson, Globacom broke the camel’s back of duopoly. The first indigenous mobile operator crashed the price of SIM cards and introduced per second billing system. Everything that was previously propagated as impossible by legacy mobile operators was made possible by Globacom.

Within a short period of time, SIM card price crashed from thirty thousand naira to two hundred naira! Legacy operators who did not anticipate this level of competition were caught napping. In other to remain in business, they had no option than to reconsider per second billing system. Nigerians won because Globacom came.

Telecom industry boomed. Nigerians started owing mobile lines; having been made affordable by the competition brought into the industry by Globacom. In less than two decades, active mobile lines moved from few hundreds of thousand in 2003 to more than hundred million subscribers.

All thanks to a true patriot like Dr. Mike Adenuga, who came to the rescue of Nigerians from the economic stranglehold of mobile operators. Glo’s aggressive network expansion and guerilla public relations gave legacy mobile operators a run for their money, to the benefit of Nigerians. Globacom became the catalyst that propelled telecom revolution in the country.

Fast forward to two decades later, another Adenuga arose in aviation sector in the person of Allen Onyema under the platform of Air Peace, to continue the fight against foreign businesses exploiting Nigerians in our land. Adenuga and Onyema share a lot of traits—patriotism, foresight, courage, to take a dive into the ocean of uncertainty to save Nigerians drowning out of economic exploitation by imperial interests.

Foreign airlines made Nigerian flying public to pass through the eye of the needle just to pay for flights tickets. The outrageous fare they were charging us did not only perforate our pockets economically but put extensive pressure on the naira, of which buffeted Nigerian economy.

Imagine an ugly situation where Nigerians were made to pay more, for example, a six-hour flight to London from Nigeria while South Africa to London, nine-hour flight on the same airlines, was incredibly cheaper. Nigerians sort to know the rational behind this injustice being meted out to us, none of the foreign airlines provided cogent answers.

Foreign airlines were fleecing Nigerians flying in and out of this country. It was an industrial scale exploitation and wickedness. At some point, it seemed as if we did not have a government to protect us from harsh fares being charged us by foreign airlines. Those elected to defend Nigeria’s interests in the aviation sector were colluding with these vested foreign airlines to bleed us to death.

Foreign airlines saw the country as “free-for-all” goldmine. Nigerians were painfully paying exorbitantly while foreign airlines were smiling to the banks, exerting an intense pressure on the local currency, and at the same time blackmailing the Central Bank of Nigeria with non release of trapped funds. We saw hell!

When Air Peace under the ambitious drive of Allen Onyema began making strategic moves to fly Nigeria-London and other lucrative cum busy international routes, foreign airlines saw him as an “intruder” and “meddlesome interloper” coming to take away “feeding bottle” from their mouth.

All manner of obstacles were thrown at Air Peace to frustrate it from venturing into London route, the Airline remained resolute in its quest to break monopolistic stronghold of foreign airlines and kickstart healthy competition that would lead to crash of the ticket prices, to the benefit of Nigerian flying public, who have been subjected to all kinds of ill-treatment.

Like what Dr. Mike Adenuga did to legacy mobile operators, Allen Onyema saw this challenge as an opportunity to fight for his country as a true patriot and he displayed undisputed doggedness. He threw in full weight into the struggle, persisted until he broke through the glass ceiling.

Since Air Peace launched its Lagos-London route on 30th March, 2024, the country’s aviation industry has never been the same—and would never be again. The fastest growing indigenous airline crashed flight tickets from N15m (Business) to N4m and N3m (Economy) to N1.2m. Foreign airlines have joined the bandwagon, crashing their own tickets, too.

This is the spirit of Dr. Mike Adenuga, Jr.! Like Globacom, like Air Peace! Globacom led in this line, Air Peace has followed. Nigeria will not attain its full potential until strategic sectors of the economy are peopled by those who share business ideals of  this entrepreneurial colossus.

Despite his numerous humongous philanthropic gestures, I think the biggest “philanthropy” Dr. Mike Adenuga, Jr., has done to Nigerians was to make mobile network services available and affordable to us. History will be kind to him. Just imagine what Nigerians are going through in the hands of monopolistic DSTV.

More fruitful years to the telecom disruptor cum game changer. Happy 71th Birthday, sir.