Can Nigerians Ever Trust TSTV Founder, Bright Echefu, Again? 

What has Bright Echefu got to offer this time around? Can he be trusted? These are the questions that are agitating the minds of many Nigerians when the businessman launched his latest Pay-TV, LUFT TV.

The uncertainty swirling around his new venture is somewhat expected. The man has broken the hearts of his lovers, not once but twice, three years apart.

Echefu came out with Telecom Satellites Limited, TSTV in 2017. Touted as the first and only fully indigenous Pay-TV operator in the country, TSTV entered the industry on October 1, 2017, with enticing offerings that raised the hopes of many Nigerians. Its decision to launch on the country’s Independence Day was said to be symbolic of a declaration of ‘freedom’ in the Pay-TV industry.

He promised Nigerians ‘heaven and earth’ as excitement rented the air while many saw it as a way to finally escape from the shackles of DStv and GOtv. But the promise faded soon after the launch. He staged another comeback three years later with the promise to offer Nigerians the best Pay-TV experience. However, it was yet another failed promise, as its service remained intermittent, leaving subscribers who had invested in the company’s decoders with constant complaints.

TSTV completely went off the radar again in March last year and has remained absent to date with no particular explanation to subscribers beyond intermittent apologies for ‘technical glitches’ during its active days.

Society Watch gathered that TSTV is currently embroiled in a N380 million fraud-related case filed against it by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). So it was not surprising that when he unveiled  LUFT TV recently, many listened to his statement with complete incredulity.

Echefu spoke about the TSTV, which has remained off the radar severally, saying it is not dead. He hinted that TSTV subscribers would soon be onboarded onto LUFT TV.

Like the popular quote “Promises are worse than lies. Because you make others hope for something that you’re not sure you can give,” it is doubtful if many would ever trust him again for the third time.