Nigeria's Telecommunication Networks: A Nigerian's Story

To begin this discuss, I will like to draw your attention to these two important quotes on telecommunication.
"Leadership in telecommunications is also essential, since we are now in the age of e-commerce" Michael Oxley

"Smart businesses do not look at labor costs alone anymore. They do look at market access, transportation, telecommunications infrastructure and the education and skill level of the workforce, the development of capital and the regulatory market" Janet Napolitano.

Telecommunication is an advanced form of communication. It involes the transfer, dispersal or diseminating of information in a more effective way by means of applied science - Technology. The world has evolved in a great extent to this regards. Many methods has been used in different manners from the stone age, to the bronze age and on and on until our later centuries discovered science and applied it to its simplest form in terms of communication.

Time will fail to fully outline the positive effect of telecommunication to man. It has aided communication in terms of speedy spread of news/information, cost of communicating information to those miles away, bridging the gap between the different classes in a society.
The Nigerian case has not totally been a different case altogether.

All thanks to Chief Obasanjo under whose distinguished leadership, the country witnessed the introduction of Mobile GSM.
It helped us communicate with our friends, neighbours and business associates who are far away from us. The system has evolved in many respites including but not limited to cost of purchase of Mobile phones and the Subscribers Identification Module otherwise called the SIM card and also the advent of many other telecommunication networks.

This article is specifically about the services rendered by these telecommunication networks. To the average Nigerian businessman, the mobile phone is a tool by which transactions could be initiated and sales or further contact established. Therefore bringing into mind the above quote by Janet N. describing that limitations put on labour in time past is no longer the best approach since there are other things to be considered of which telecommunication is also of utmost importance.

Michael Oxley from his expressed thoughts above could be saying nothing lesser than that the competition that exist among telecommunication networks is healthy since they are striving to be among the leaders in the industry but these quest among those in Nigeria has not been effectively managed. This is especially as it has endangered effective communication among individuals and business groups.

We are now in the period where consumers' satisfation is secondary!

We are now in the period where communication is based on the amount of money in your pockets.

We are now in the period where your account balance can be frequently stolen from by operators without remorse.

We are now in the period where operators SUBSCRIBE a customer to secret operations where their hard earned money is dutifully deducted on daily basis without notice.

We are now in the period where operators use the monies recharged by aged women in the rural areas without notice who might not be learned in knowing what frivolous packages has been subbscribed upon them forcefully.

We are now in the period where operators sale your identity (number) to online marketters to start sending you promotions unannounced. Whatever happens to consumer privacy policies!

I have been customer to some of our most recognised operators, consuming their services and I had to, at the long run quit some of them for some of these activities.

I left the MTN Network for unwarranted deductions they always carry out on my line of which when I call the customer care, the reply I always get is "we cannot do anything about".

I left Etisalat Network some years back for always disturbing my peace with promotions and unsolicited SMSs. This happened before the advent of the code invented by NCC to stop some of these SMSs. Where was NCC years back.
By popular believe, parents come before their children. By this, the Federal Government and the NCC are to be parents to these operators referring to them as our children. Why then did we witness the frivolous activities of these network providers (children) before the eventual manifestation of their parents (the FG and NCC).

Another annoying fact is the absence of effective customer care among these operators. When you call the network provider's customer care line, they keep giving you adverts and all sorts for almost 50 minutes and at the end they give you option to either by any means serve yourself through the recorded messages or hang up.

The Airtel network is the only one which has an outstanding record in this aspect.

When you put the customer first in every form of business you do, the market strength will never diminish. It is a fact!

Gain above customer satisfaction will always lead to business downturn!

Please I want to plead with our network operators to always consider the customer in trying by all means to deliver effective service. The networks I mentioned here are not the only operators with a bad service record in any aspect but by this, you as a network service provider should know that the Nigerian populace is Onyokomitaring you.

Thanks!