Former President Olusegun Obasanjo recently revealed how General Abdulsalami Abubakar almost cost Nigeria a whopping $280 million telecommunications deal.
According to Obasanjo, when Nigeria was transitioning from landline to mobile phones, Abubakar wanted to award the contract to his friends for a mere $3 million.
Obasanjo stated that he stepped in, suggesting that the contract be auctioned to the highest bidder, which ultimately led to a $280 million sale.
He said this clever move not only secured a significant amount of money for Nigeria but also fostered competition among telecommunication companies.
According to Obasanjo, the top three bidders were MTN, Glo, and Econet (now Airtel), with Etisalat joining later and paying $450 million for their license.
Obasanjo shared this story at the launch of “The Catalyst: Nigerian ICT Evolution through a Journalist’s lens,” a book authored by Dayo Oketola, a former Editor of The PUNCH Newspapers.
He emphasized the importance of creating a conducive atmosphere to attract investments and stressed that Nigeria’s progress relies on honesty, character, and attitude.
He said: “The story of telecommunications, particularly mobile telecommunication, is a very interesting one.
“Before mobile telecommunication, we had spent a lot of money, we had all sorts of companies invited from America, France and even from Britain, but we did not get more than 500,000 lines.
“People had to queue at the telephone kiosk to call their loved ones abroad. And then, of course, the mobile telephone age came in.
“When it came in, my predecessor in office was trying to give it away, I think, to their friend for $3 million.
“Then we said, what we would do was to auction it. The three that came in first, I think, paid $280 million for the line. $280 million for something about to be given away for $3 million.
“That was the first thing we did. Not only that, we achieved competition.
“The three of them were competing. And, of course, the one that had the upper hand in terms of spread, I think, was MTN, followed by Glo. And then, there was Econet. They are now Airtel. And then, of course, later on, we had the fourth one, Etisalat.
“When Etisalat came, I told them the last one we did was $280 million. We told Etisalat to pay $450 million. They did.
“When they paid $450 million, the ball went in the post and then we were playing.
“That was how we got money to do what we did at the time we did it. That opportunity can still be made available.
“The money to develop Nigeria is out there, but that money will not come in unless we create a conducive atmosphere for that money to come in.
“What we did or what Nigeria has done in the good days when things were going well, are still there and can still be done today only if we put ourselves and we are honest to ourselves. We have to show character and attitude.”
Notable dignitaries present at the launch included Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, represented by Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State, Gbenga Omotoso; former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi; Provost of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, NIJ, Gbenga Adefaye; Chairperson of the Editorial Board of The Nation Newspapers, Sam Omatseye.
