MTN says Nigerians will lose jobs yet they can’t control their people to stop xenophobia. Apostles of freedom decry that the cord of economic slavery is stronger than its political counterpart. Mental slavery, though, appears to me the greatest and worst of human bondage. Diplomacy, those who know contend, is the ability to tell someone to go to hell in a way that he looks forward to it or does so happily. I therefore find it hard to fathom that all the economists, scholars and diplomats Nigeria is endowed with seem to be watching helplessly while our mostly unfriendly neighbours take our economy and citizenry captive.
Something must be fundamentally wrong! Looking at the way South African big businesses are riding roughshod on Nigeria’s economic space, at the same time, South Africans are unleashing mayhem on Nigerians and other African nationals doing small businesses in South Africa, one is left wondering: did Nigeria waste its hard-earned resources to liberate South Africa from apartheid, so as to replace it on the chain of economic slavery? Mr. President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, if this is what the bulky files being handed over to you are all about, we the people of Nigeria are vehemently opposed to it. ‘Our mumu don do’.
I understand that it is beyond the immediate control of businesses, particularly the private sector businesses from South Africa operating in Nigeria, to stop or control xenophobic attacks in South Africa, but I take exception to their representatives adding insult to injury through provocative, unguarded and arrogant utterances. I have waited in vain for any government official, either Nigerian or South African, to call MTN Nigeria to order for reportedly insulting Nigerians by throwing it right in our faces that an attack on the company could cost Nigeria 6,000 jobs. So, is that what this whole thing is all about? Rather than sounding so arrogant, shouldn’t they be seeking ways to at least pacify an aggrieved country whose citizens are being massacred on the streets of South Africa? How many Nigerian lives are at stake in South Africa because of the monster of xenophobia?
How much have these people lost to these despicable xenophobic attacks? These are Nigerian citizens whose wealth and wellbeing translate and reflect directly on Nigeria the same way the company’s profit, taken largely from Nigeria, reflects directly on the South African economy. Shouldn’t South Africa businesses in Nigeria, knowing how much profit they rake in from this country, be mounting pressure on their home government to halt the xenophobic attacks in South Africa to avoid reprisal attacks on South African businesses elsewhere? MTN, for instance, is reported to be in operations in 18 countries across the world, but Nigeria alone contributes over 50 percent of its global profit after tax, reported to be in excess of $6 billion. Simple courtesy should have taught them to treat Nigeria more kindly and with greater compassion.
Again, if divide-and-rule strategy peaked in South Africa in the form of apartheid, South African businesses mustn’t take that divisive culture with them wherever they go. This is why one is also sad that MultiChoice charges different rates on its uniform bouquet in Nigeria and South Africa. Why should this be? And now, we hear that MTN is about moving its dominance of the telecommunications industry to monopoly with the acquisition of a rival company, Visafone! I may not be an expert in this area, but I hear that if this move is allowed to stand, we may go back to the days of per second billing not being possible because there would be no competition to ensure that Nigerians continue to derive value for spends on telecommunications services. And it is also very annoying to hear South African businesses in Nigeria dominate the media with tales of how much they are paying to the Nigerian government in taxes with no mention of the staggering amount they are remitting to the South African economy.
By the way, tax payment is no donation; neither does it in any way represent favour to the government or people of the country to which it is paid. Companies that fulfil tax obligations are only obeying the law. This is a perfect example of what the western press used to do against the continent of Africa. Often, when neocolonialism is discussed, I hear diplomats decry that the western media are telling the story of Africa their own way, from their own perspective. The African voice is never heard. This creates a dangerous imbalance in global view, giving a wrong perspective of Africa. Now our South African brothers seem to be testing this drug on us. What makes this one worse, is the effrontery of splashing it in the face of Nigerian media. Right in our faces! But they are not solely to blame. It appears that from experience, these businesses have learnt that Nigeria is led and represented by people who will not defend its interest.
Successive Nigerian governments have not been known to show much care for Nigerians at home, let alone those in the Diaspora. That is why sceptics often say that life is cheap in Nigeria. It is up to General Buhari to prove these sceptics wrong! Mr. President-elect, we voted for change! And change we want. It is the opinion of this writer that diplomatic relations (trade or otherwise) should be symbiotic and mutually beneficial.
If the Nigerian government has provided conducive environment for South African businesses to thrive in the country without let or hindrance, it behoves on the government of South Africa, in the spirit of reciprocity, to do the same for Nigerians doing business in South Africa. And South African businesses in Nigeria must learn not to offend the sensibilities of Nigerians. One good turn, it is said, deserves another. My points are rather than cautioning their home citizens against xenophobic attack on Nigerians, MTN in its bullyish nature says an attack on the company could cost Nigeria 6,000 jobs. So, is that what this whole thing is all about?