Globacom Gains Points… As Nigerians Move to Indigenous Networks
The furore generated by the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa might be winding down, but its impact continue to be felt. After repeated evidence that South Africans might take a less congenial view of their Nigerian counterparts than otherwise expected, Nigerians at home are gradually coming to the conclusion that a known devil might be better than an unknown angel after all.
It is well documented how some ruffians took advantage of the ruckus to lay waste to the Nigerian axis of several South African businesses. They plundered and pilfered and damaged properties worth billions of Naira. And, even though the vast majority of Nigerians don’t subscribe to their destructive tendencies, there is a general shift from the positive attitude towards South African enterprises in the country.
In many cases, people are moving from SA businesses and embracing their Nigerian competitors. From banking to telecommunications, the migration, still just a trickle, might become a flood.
According to findings, many Nigerians, in a fit of patriotic fervour and righteous anger over the xenophobic attacks, are dumping other network providers for their very own Glo Mobile. Frustrated by the government’s perceived lackadaisical response to the unprovoked attacks on their countrymen living in South Africa, they’ve turned to boycotting services offered by South African companies. MTN’s loss is Globacom’s gain. The company founded by trillionaire businessman, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr, has been enjoying a deluge of new registrations in recent weeks as people ditched their MTN sim cards en masse. In response, Globacom has deployed new technology to ensure it meets the ever-expanding needs of its teeming customers
Recall that the communications sectors was an effective duopoly heralded by exorbitant costs of sim cards and astronomical call charges. That all changed when Glo entered the market in 2003 and crashed rates with its innovative per-second billing system and 2.5G technology. The company went on to pioneer many more products that have made telephony more accessible to millions of Nigerians.
Little wonder Globacom is regarded as a national trºeasure and its founder, Adenuga understands the rudiments of the business landscape enough to tame the odds and he has done just that. He also understands that to be a man of honour and substance requires indeterminate exploits at dawn through dusk in honest industry. The trillionaire titan knows that honour and longevity, like celery, flourishes in the dark shade – far from the blaze of disconcerting neon lights. And as the fallout from the xenophobic attacks lingers, the masses, having dumped their sim cards from other networks, have found shelter in the warm embrace of Glo’s quality call and data services.