How Obasanjo’s govt convinced ‘reluctant’ MTN to invest in Nigeria — Jerry Gana

A former Minister of Information, Jerry Gana, has provided insight on the pivotal role played by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration in convincing South African telecom giant MTN to invest in Nigeria despite initial reluctance.

Gana, who recounted the challenges faced in transforming Nigeria’s telecommunications sector, praised Obasanjo’s leadership quality during his eight years as President.

The ex-minister spoke on Thursday at a press conference to announce a four-day International Conference of the African Biblical Leadership Initiative, scheduled to be held in Abuja from October 21.

The ABLI initiative, themed “Value-based Leadership Model for Africa,” would focus on raising a new generation of transformational leaders in Africa and Nigeria in particular.

Gana revealed that there were less than 500,000 telephone lines in the whole country when Obasanjo’s administration came on board, adding that he wrote a memo to the former president on the need for the country to embrace the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM).

The ex-minister was speaking on the need for courageous and strong leadership and its impact on national development.

“One of the reasons I really appreciate Obasanjo is that he is a man of character and solid courage, who, when he sees a good thing, is able to back it up. Leadership is very important. We wrote a memo to him on this new telephone line technology, GSM. It wasn’t in Nigeria then, but someone brought us information that a new technology was emerging.

“I wrote a memo to him as Minister of Information, saying we were aware of something that could help resolve the telephone issue. So, he accepted the idea, then we proposed the National Communication Commission,” he stated.

According to him, MTN was initially hesitant to invest in the country, but he led a federal government team to South Africa to convince the telecom giant to take the opportunity.

“We argued that without people with the technology to implement it, we might fail. Then, we got information about a South African company that we needed to convince to show interest. We flew to South Africa and met with MTN, saying we had this new technology being advertised.

“We wanted people with the technology to come, buy, and show interest because it had to be done properly. We couldn’t just give it to anyone because they weren’t interested in Nigeria. They hadn’t been here, so we had to convince them. I told them, ‘You don’t know what Nigerians are like; we’re many, and we like talking. When you come, you’ll make money.’ They invested, and now they’re making billions. Now, I don’t think they even remember me.”

He argued that it was also the Obasanjo administration that literally brought the internet to Nigeria, saying, “Someone gave us information that this technology would be powerful in a few years.

“We discovered one person had the internet domain address in Nigeria then, teaching at Yaba College of Technology. I wrote to Mr. President, requesting permission to appoint a director knowledgeable about this emerging technology. Obasanjo approved. That’s why I like young people; they just came, and we’re training and training. The whole thing is now beyond me. I’m just giving you an example of some things that come from ideas.”

On the state of the economy, Gana took a swipe at banks and the ‘gatekeepers’ for failing to create an enabling environment for local and foreign investors.

According to him, investors have been discouraged from doing business in the country.

While identifying high exchange rates as one of the biggest bottlenecks affecting ease of doing business in Nigeria, the former minister blamed financial institutions for deliberately weaponizing forex and failing to make it available for prospective investors.

The former Social Democratic Party presidential candidate said, “The banks are getting richer. They should be facilitating growth. They are frustrating things, and it is most unfair. If I were in charge, I would take away their licences in no time. Why are you doing this to the economy of Nigeria? It is not right. You are supposed to be a goal-setter, not one who frustrates things. They are too selfish and don’t want the rest of Nigeria to get out of poverty.”

“Nigeria, with its over 200 million population, is a good market. We have people and the resources for potential investors to throw in their money. The truth is that they like to come. During our time, they came. The influx into Nigeria was huge. But what is happening is that the gatekeepers of the economy (banks) are doing everything to frustrate investors not to come here with their money.

“For investors to be encouraged to bring their money to invest here, we must address the critical issues, and we will be out of the woods in no time. The return on investments we have in Nigeria is one of the highest. So we urge you people in the media to appeal to the gatekeepers. Of course, you know them.”

Gana, also the chairman of the National Planning Committee of the event, said the conference would focus on raising a new generation of transformational leaders in Africa and Nigeria in particular.