MOBITEL, Akunyili and EFFC: How to Destroy An Industry 

The call came from Lagos, “your friend Johnson has been arrested by EFCC”, it was unexpected and very disorienting. I quickly jumped on to Google and there was the story, Johnson Salako the CEO of MOBITEL had been arrested by EFCC 3 days before, strange that I did not pick on the story during my daily scan of online Nigeria papers. 

Just to clarify things. Johnson Salako has been a personal friend for over 25 years since our days at Kuru. No not that one. Government Science School Kuru. I saw him about three months ago when I visited home and we exchanged text messages when the 2.3 Ghz brouhaha kicked off in the press. I sent him some expletive laced texts but Johnson in his usual calm manner said “don’t worry by the Grace of God we shall prevail”. He has not asked me to write this on his behalf and would have most likely said no if I had told him before. 

I have discussed this matter with a number of people and some in the typical Nigerian way of seeing things went “ah it is really sad o, but are you sure the guy’s hands are clean? Where did he get all that money from? We have never heard of the guy before, Erm he should go and settle EFCC”. What is wrong with us as a people? What does EFFC stand for today? Not to long ago we knew they went after corrupt people but can we say that about this once great organisation today? 

Salako for those who know him has always been a hardworking individual with a never say die attitude. Some years ago he was in London to raise money for a venture he was setting up in Nigeria. Inwardly I thought he was mad to even contemplate asking venture capitalists in London to fund a project in Nigeria but he pulled it off and that certainly led to a significant capital flow into Nigeria. 

Very long before MOBITEL, Johnson had been involved in technology, he was always on the lookout for cutting edge technology and I recall we did speak to a UK consultancy I worked some years ago and discussed starting operations in Nigeria. So when he told me he had bought into MOBITEL and they were going to roll out WIMAX, I saw it as a continuation of his interest in cutting edge technology. Under current plans, MOBITEL will be the first to roll out this technology in Nigeria. 

The arrest of Salako by the EFCC on Thursday June 25^th was the culmination of very intriguing happenings surrounding the 2.3 GHz licensing bid. I do not intend rehashing all of it as the matter has been widely reported, but what I found surprising is the fact that the Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili, had to petition the EFCC about the Nigerian Communications Commission an agency of the same Government she serves in! This is reminiscent of the Attorney General of the Federation, Michael Aaondoakaa, publicly humiliating the former Governor of the CBN over his planned redenomination of the Naira. It makes you wonder if these Government officials are working in tandem or singing from the same hymn sheet. Maybe the Yar Adua Government is better off setting up a committee to settle intra Government conflicts before settling the Niger Delta one 

Akunyili’s petition led to the brief arrest of the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Engr Ernest Ndukwe. That was not to be the last act in the unfolding drama. A3 & O ltd on whose petition Minister Akunyili purportedly cancelled the whole process openly denied writing such a petition, not just that, it was proven that the RC number and office address on the petition were fake. Was the Minister sold a dummy or was she involved in this fraud? Either case she has not come out smelling of roses. 

Moving swiftly along, the above was yet to be resolved before the newly, improved- not, EFCC went to arrest Salako not for sending a fake petition letter, not for stealing, not for corruption but for, wait for it, in the words of its spokesman Mr. Femi Babafemi “…to explain how the waiver came about and those behind it in the NCC…” when I read that I had one of those “I want to smash my laptop moments”. How did his mouth allow him say such a thing? Probably the most spurious excuse you will ever hear. 

Just to be clear, when Salako and his business partners bought MOBITEL, the company had not operated for over three years and owed NCC about N750 Million Naira in licensing fees. The new owners of MOBITEL were contractually bound to pay this sum off and applied for a waiver as reports have it. NCC knocked off N250 Million and MOBITEL paid NCC N500 Million. It is for this that EFCC arrested Salako and detained him for over a week! 

Did I hear you say wonderful metamorphosis? Yes EFCC has gone from the prosecutors of the corrupt to debt collectors. According to EFCC the waiver was illegal and without the approval of the government! I swear you couldn’t have made this up. First it is clear that those at EFCC don’t know what constitutes a government. Secondly if the federal Executive Council has to sit and approve a mere N250 Million (about £800,000) then we are in trouble. 

EFCC it will appear have not been swayed by the letter written by NCC that MOBITEL was over billed for the period in question and did not do anything wrong. They were hell bent on punishing Salako and MOBITEL. It makes you wonder what the real agenda is or whose script the EFCC are playing out. Lets assume for a moment that NCC did not over bill MOBITEL. What is wrong in NCC granting a waiver to MOBITEL? Governments world over grant waivers and discounts as a tactical move to achieve a long term strategy of creating jobs and growing their economies. Will a successful MOBITEL not employ Nigerians? Will they not pay taxes to the same government EFCC are part of? 

It is evident that there is more to this than what EFCC have said, the arrest of Salako gives credence to talks within the industry that there are some people out to stop MOBITEL from rolling out WIMAX as planned as that will impact their own business plans negatively. The Akunyili and Ndukwe spat is nothing but a side show. EFCC and Akunyili need to reassure Nigerians that they are not acting out the script of a puppet master hiding in the shadows. Akunyili should not destroy the one industry that has grown year on year in Nigeria. 

Patrick Okene

 UK

Robot  # 1 | 05.07.2009 10:02

MOBITEL, Akunyili and EFFC: How to Destroy An Industry The call came from Lagos, “your friend Johnson has been arrested by EFCC”, it was unexpected and very disorienting. I quickly jumped on to Google and there was the story, Johnson Salako the CEO of MOBITEL had been arrested by EFCC 3 days before, strange that I did not pick on the story during my daily scan of online Nigeria papers. Just to clarify things. Johnson Salako has been a personal friend for over 25 years since our days at Kuru. No not that one. Government Science School Kuru.I saw him about three months ago when I visited home and we exchanged text messages when the 2.3 Ghz brouhaha kicked off in the press. I sent him some expletive laced texts but Johnson in his usual calm manner said “don’t worry by the Grace of God we shall prevail”. He has not asked me to write this on his behalf and would have most likely said no if I had told him before. I have...Read the full article.

Dapxin  # 2 | 05.07.2009 10:29

. Secondly if the federal Executive Council has to sit and approve a mere N250 Million (about £800,000) then we are in trouble. That sort of diminishes your flow perhaps makes your motive slightly suspect as. Thats a 1/4 of a Billion =N= and if our money isnt so worthless, I guess the tempting generic counter-argument that we are talking teleKoms here wouldnt even crosss my mind... But that is beyond the issue at the mo. half followed the events as they unfold, and all I can say is; that woman - Mrs. ReBrand is one sorry pass of an egoBag. A classic case of a a faux-paux packed in a gele and kente, placed in a furnace and made into a cylinder with green-white-green on its covers. Its now cooled down into a cylinder and Yaradua grabs it, and fits it into a square hole. Of course, it fits. but its a shoddy fit. Andy Roddick leading in tieBreaks. Go down you are mr. Federer. Oda bo.

emj  # 3 | 05.07.2009 15:31

Eherm, Akunliyi lacks proper understanding of the situation and wanted to be seen as doing something...which for most part of what went down is unfortunate....it comes to me as no surprise that she's flexing muscle with Ernest Ndukwe. Efcc has for ever been reduced to a debt collector...and i wonder what their real role is this days........it's quite clear to everyone in the know that Mobitel was overbilled and being ruffled for no just reason............i hope that Efcc will obey court order and the company executives seems to have more finesse than all this cowboys/girls:p http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/07/05/mobitel-boss-salako-regains-freedom-on-court-orders/ Following the recent tussle between the Minister of Information and NCC on the issue of the recent bid rounds for the 2.3 GH spectrum license and the subsequent involvement of the EFCC, industry watchers have commented that the resultant power_play which culminated in the unlawful arrest and detention of the Mobitel boss may have sent negative signals to other credible local and foreign entrepreneurs keen to invest in Nigeria’s fast_growing Telecoms sector. Is this how she's going to rebrand the country? Powerplay and displacement..throwing tantrums:)

K_Station  # 4 | 05.07.2009 18:34

Dear Patrick, After reading your piece I feel strongly that there's definitely something here we're not being told. If the NCC, a government agency under the Ministry of Information, appropriately gives Mobitel a waiver (or a discount) for N242 million in old debt, it doesn't make any sense at all that another government agency (the EFCC) will be hounding Mobitel for the same amount of money! So I went to the EFCC webpage, and good enough, there was an EFCC press release earlier today on this case: http://www.efccnigeria.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=658&Itemid=34 I found it curious that according to the EFCC, both Mr. Salako and Adeyemi Akisanya (Mobitel Chairman) even though acknowledged that they got the waiver/discount through an NCC letter dated October 17, 2008 yet they "promised to refund the same"! In fact according to the EFCC, Johnson Salako paid back N48 million (through a bank draft) only hours after the initial interogation (on Monday June 22, 2009)! Salako and Akisanya also committed to paying off the balance of N195 million on June 25, 2009 according to the EFCC statement! Now if the above are true, it raises serious questions on why any company through its executives will attempt to pay back discounts that were properly negotiated and waived, especially since you supposedly have the legal proof of waiver? Did Salako and/or Akisanya engage in any back deal with anyone at the NCC to facilitate this "waiver" or "discount"? Why did Mobitel not seek legal redress if they have nothing to hide, why are the executives so quick to "settle" (of course if the EFCC account is accurate)? I hope the truth comes out for all to know but this whole thing smells of some back deals that apparently backfired; the ongoing rancour between the Minister of Information (Akunyili) and the NCC Chairman (Earnest Ndukwe) may not have helped matters too. Like most business deals in Nigeria, this one smells of corruption; in this case, I think someone in Mobitel has skeletons in their cupboard. http://efunreni.blogspot.com/

Law Mefor  # 5 | 06.07.2009 04:29

Leave Dora alone to do her job. If the former Ex-Vice Chairman told us this processes/people are wrong, then, Dora may not be playing out any script.

Dapxin  # 6 | 06.07.2009 05:46

=Law Mefor;369354>Leave Dora alone to do her job. If the former Ex-Vice Chairman told us this processes/people are wrong, then, Dora may not be playing out any script. where her job is ?

Ph3y  # 7 | 06.07.2009 07:00

EFCC is just a puppet that dances to the highest bidder's tunes.....They don't act on just any petitions o......Once you submit your petition, you also must drop "operational fees" so that they can act on the petition. They don't even read your petition. They just check out the name and address of who you're reporting.So God help you if the accusation against you is false...... My guess here is that they did not investigate this particular case.... They just checked who was being indicted and on what grounds.....then they made arrest….. I have a quiz for us all though based on the above….. Qweshion: What then is the difference between the “rebranded” EFCC and the good ol’ Nigeria Police?:confused1:confused1 Whoever gets the answer would get a chilled drin of their choice from me……..:D

Alley  # 8 | 06.07.2009 12:30

K_Station "I found it curious that according to the EFCC, both Mr. Salako and Adeyemi Akisanya (Mobitel Chairman) even though acknowledged that they got the waiver/discount through an NCC letter dated October 17, 2008 yet they "promised to refund the same"! In fact according to the EFCC, Johnson Salako paid back N48 million (through a bank draft) only hours after the initial interogation (on Monday June 22, 2009)! Salako and Akisanya also committed to paying off the balance of N195 million on June 25, 2009 according to the EFCC statement! Now if the above are true, it raises serious questions on why any company through its executives will attempt to pay back discounts that were properly negotiated and waived, especially since you supposedly have the legal proof of waiver? Did Salako and/or Akisanya engage in any back deal with anyone at the NCC to facilitate this "waiver" or "discount"? Why did Mobitel not seek legal redress if they have nothing to hide, why are the executives so quick to "settle" (of course if the EFCC account is accurate)? ------------------------------------------- K_station if you flip your rhetoric questions you may have a clue of what the real issues are. I don't know Salako but with what I know about Nigeria system I can say that Mobitel management elected to pay back; notwithstanding that they have approved waiver in order not to ground their business. They obviously know how frustrating it is to follow the legal process through to conclusion. Chances are that they would have lost available opportunities to passage of time. This perhaps is the goal of those behind their travails. Otherwise, why is EFCC not charging Mobitel for obtaining waiver through kick back as you implied or is EFCC just interested in collecting proceed of supposed crime and not purnishment of crime. The travail of mobitel in the hand of EFCC is a blow to YAM slogan of rule of law and madam Akunyuli rebranding song

wizard  # 9 | 06.07.2009 15:17

I'm not really conversant with this story, but could it be that WIMAX politics has surfaced in Nigeria. I could be wrong but then again I could be right. As you may well know that there is currently a technology war going on between the mobile operators who run 3/3.5/4G and operators of this new WIMAX technology. WIMAX promises to be cheaper to roll out, savings on telephony costs (over IP), twitter style instant messaging and broadband on the go. If there is anything that would kill off mobile operators, this is it. Naturally, the mobile operators say this is not the case and that their technology is equivalent if not better. If this is true then one wonders why WIMAX gets to jump through so many hoops wherever it comes in competition with mobile operators - what can I say, I guess the plot thickens. Wz

K_Station  # 10 | 06.07.2009 18:50

=Alley;369443>K_station if you flip your rhetoric questions you may have a clue of what the real issues are. I don't know Salako but with what I know about Nigeria system I can say that Mobitel management elected to pay back; notwithstanding that they have approved waiver in order not to ground their business. They obviously know how frustrating it is to follow the legal process through to conclusion. Chances are that they would have lost available opportunities to passage of time. This perhaps is the goal of those behind their travails. Otherwise, why is EFCC not charging Mobitel for obtaining waiver through kick back as you implied or is EFCC just interested in collecting proceed of supposed crime and not purnishment of crime. The travail of mobitel in the hand of EFCC is a blow to YAM slogan of rule of law and madam Akunyuli rebranding song I don't know Salako too, neither am I supporting the EFCC either. The article suggested that Salako and Mobitel are innocent and are being unfairly targeted by the EFCC, that might well be the case. However, I just don't understand how a corporate entity, after properly securing a N242 million discount with an agency of the federal government (if that is the truth), supposedly backed by a legal document, be quick to start refunding the money after a few hours of interogation??? Your argument that, "They obviously know how frustrating it is to follow the legal process through to conclusion" doesn't cut it for me because, they didn't at least try to go to court to defend their contract with the NCC! Why did Mobitel bother to have the agreement in writing (deemed a contract) if it means nothing to them at the end of the day? I also know the Nigerian system very well and almost in all cases, these deals are never done in good faith. The fact that Mobitel is not fighting for its own contract makes it look like they have something to hide. If it turns out that anyone at the NCC was paid to facilitate this deal, that would be deemed an economic crime. We are talking about N242 million public funds here, money that may well belong to millions of Nigerians. If we set aside our prejudice of government and government agencies, it could very well be that the EFCC and Akunyili are on the side of the public on this one. I have nothing against Mobitel, in fact I wish them nothing but success. But we have to remember Mobitel is not a public charity, they are out to make money primarily for their executives and shareholders. If someone is giving a private company a N242 million discount , it should at least be done fairly and transparently, nobody should be cheating the system to get ahead. I however agree that the EFCC needs to properly prosecute anyone either at Mobitel or at the NCC found wanting and not just request that the money be paid back.

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