Website design By BotEap.comIt was boundless joy when two of Nigeria’s leading GSM operators announced their presence in August 2001. The operators were granted licenses to start operating and revitalized the economy. MTN and Econet now Zain became major players as Nigeria’s first GSM operators. People sigh with relief that the sector that since then had been dominated or monopolized by the National Telecommunications System (NITEL) has finally broken up.

Website design By BotEap.comEconet was first to go live in August 2001, that development made Nigeria one of the first countries on the continent to join the rapidly changing telecommunications elites at the time. In the latter part of that same year, MTN also began operating paving the way for competition. Having a mobile phone in those days was like having a private jet, it was a luxury. The obnoxious cost of mobile phones and network lines made mobile phone thieves or thieves on the prowl. The ostentatious display of phones by the wealthy was enough to send a poor man to his early grave in frustration.

Website design By BotEap.comA call per minute cost up to 50 naira, a network line also cost up to 30,000 naira, and the phone cost 20,000 naira, which is about 35 US cents, $200, and $135 respectively. Judging by these numbers, I’m sure you’ll all agree with me that they were, in fact, on the high side, which made it a germ in the hands of the rich. A country where the minimum wage is around $60 a month, so it was more like robbery in those days.

Website design By BotEap.comThe two operators were busy smiling at their banks, making money with impunity from their innocent customers despite the abysmal, bizarre and embarrassing services provided by these operators, but as there are no proper structures, the proper authorities established that they made them go. about their normal business with little or no concern for the satisfaction of their customers.

Website design By BotEap.comNine years have passed on memory lane, curiously we have almost twenty of them today. An average person would have thought that with so many of them around, it would create stiff competition that would drive them to better services and cheaper rates. Unfortunately, the opposite is the case. A major comparison in terms of charges between Nigeria and other African nations will leave one in a sordid frame of mind. Take Ghana and Nigeria for example, having lived in both countries I can in fact make a clear statement with little to no error in my analysis. The differences regarding charges between the two countries are huge in terms of money.

Website design By BotEap.comIt is interesting to note that it is much cheaper to call to other or to the same networks in Ghana, to make calls to Nigeria than to make a call to the same network in Nigeria let alone to other networks or to make international calls, development will only leave the poor in complete poverty. It saddens me that the relevant authorities are very aware of these unfortunate incidents, but they are less of a concern as long as they have the money to buy “Recharge Cards or Minutes”, so who cares.

Website design By BotEap.comTo top it off, their conscience has long been bought by some of these companies, the development that has subjected them to being puppets. Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa with 150 million people which makes it stand out from other nations, one of the advantages will be that there will be more people on various networks compared to other countries with less population. Meaning; more money for GSM operators. Also, the more affordable your services are, the more money they will have in their hands because it will give an average person a chance to pay for their services. This is working in China, even in Ethiopia, the second most populous African nation, so why can’t it work in Nigeria?

Website design By BotEap.comThe population has a lot of advantages, so I’m still in shock because so far they can’t take advantage of that opportunity. Unfortunately, the operators know exactly what they are doing, but with no one to check their excesses, keeping up is their lullaby. They chalk up their frivolous charges to all sorts of flimsy excuses, such as; paying a lot of money before they were granted their operating licences, the lack of basic infrastructure such as power supply. One will begin to wonder what went wrong with the management of these companies, they have every other avenue available to make up for power shortfalls, that is, if there are any. The large population is one of the main advantages they have, but they prefer to avoid the obvious truth.

Website design By BotEap.comNigeria is not the only country without a regular power supply, but you will all agree with me that the rates in those other countries are much cheaper than what you get in Nigeria. Ghana has only 22 million in terms of population and the only difference between the two countries is that Ghana can boast of a regular electricity supply so what other excuse do they have to give us? It’s disgusting

Website design By BotEap.comThe most annoying part of these practices is that they have various means of scamming people out of their hard-earned money through a series of fictitious money-making scams called “Sales Promotions.” They splash out a plethora of yummy freebies just to fool the unsuspecting public. I have seen people invest their entire life savings in such companies in an attempt to win some of these prizes, but at the end of the day, it has been an exercise in futility. The management of these companies needs to be reviewed because they are gradually deviating from their original assignments. Imagine a company that was granted a license to operate as a telecommunications company that now conducts financial practices when it is not a financial institution.

Website design By BotEap.comIt will be interesting to note that by the time 100,000 people send messages to the special code generated for these “promotions”, they will have covered the cost incurred by the dummy packages, so imagine 2 million people sending messages to the same code, at a very annoying high fixed charges. , it’s really sad. Instead of channeling these energies into better services, they are putting more stress on their already overburdened customers.

Website design By BotEap.comI suggest that the competent authorities investigate this urgently. I am glad that the current president Jonathan is not part of the cabal that indulges in corruption, I hope that something drastic is done as soon as possible to control the excesses of these GSM operators because they are really subjecting many people to mental and financial problems serious. torture everyone in the name of buying airtime to talk to family and friends.