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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo recently revealed the shocking story of how Nigeria almost lost a $280 million telecommunications deal due to the actions of General Abdulsalami Abubakar, a former military Head of State.
Speaking at the launch of “The Catalyst: Nigeria’s ICT Evolution through the Lens of Journalism” in Lagos on Tuesday, Obasanjo said Abubakar had planned to award the contract to his friends for just $3 million.
Obasanjo’s decision resulted in a massive sale worth $280 million, 93 times the initial offer. “The story of telecommunications, especially mobile telecommunications, is very interesting,” Obasanjo said.
“Before there was cellular telecommunications, we had already spent a lot of money, we invited various companies from America, France, even England, but what we got was no more than 500,000 connections.
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“People had to queue at telephone kiosks to call their loved ones abroad. And then, of course, the era of mobile phones arrived.
“When it came up, my predecessor in office tried to give it away, I think, to a friend of theirs for $3 million. And then we said, what we’re going to do is put it up for auction. The first three people to come in, I think, paid $280 million for the line. $280 million for something that was going to be given away for $3 million. That’s the first thing we did. Not only that, we were competitive.
““All three are competing. And of course, the one that is ahead in terms of spread, I think, is MTN, followed by Glo. Then, there is Econet. Now they are Airtel. Then, of course, later, we had the fourth one, Etisalat. When Etisalat came, I told them the last one we paid was $280 million. We asked Etisalat to pay $450 million. They did.
“What we have done or what Nigeria has done in the good times when things were going well, is still there and can still be done today if only we work hard and are honest with ourselves. We have to show character and attitude.”
This changed the Nigerian telecommunications landscape, introducing competition among major telecommunications companies such as MTN, Glo, Econet (now Airtel), and Etisalat.
Obasanjo further stressed that Nigeria can still attract significant investment, but only if the country creates an enabling environment. “The money to develop Nigeria is there, but it will not come in unless we create an enabling environment for it to come in,” Obasanjo stressed.
Obasanjo’s post reveals how former Nigerian leader almost sold $280 million Nigerian telecom space for $3 million first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.
