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NIGERIA
A new business climate |
 Business - Economy - Lean and clean - Core issues - Home truth -
Oil business - Private sector - Banking 
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INTERVIEW
WITH:
ALHAJI MOHAMMED ARZIKA, OFR
THE HONORABLE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS
August 2d 1999 |
Forbes: nigeria is attracting the international attention due to its democratic process, what will be the role of the ministry of communications within this process?
Alh. Arzika: Our role is directly related to the role of nigeria as the largest black African nation within the context of the west African nation, African continent and of course of the world. nigeria wants to play and sees herself, basically, as to play an important role in the development of Africa in particular and humanity in general. My ministry sees its roles as one of promoting telecommunications generally within this largest African nation. We have already identified tele-communications as probably the most important key to modern day development, information is power and unless people are informed, unless there is immediate communication between people, virtually all aspects of socio-economic live can not go on. So my ministry is devoted to the development of telecommunications in line with the modern rapid development in the area of telecommunications. We also want in particular to bring the rural areas which have not been very well connected to the rest of the world into the modern day telecommunications development. We are modernizing the present day telecommunications systems. We are expanding it and in the process of expansion we are bringing more areas particularly rural areas into the system.
Forbes: The government is modernizing the telecommunications industry. Nitel has been scheduled for privatization. The slow approach to the privatization of Nitel may mean that any improvement may take longer that what is being scheduled?
Alh. Arzika: Well probably Nitel’s privatization has been slow, but since President Obasanjo has come into power at the beginning of June, he has given it the much needed push it requires; he has appointed a committee headed by the vice-president to head the activities of converting Nitel into a semi privatized company. The decision has been taken and publicly announced that Nitel is going to be partially privatized immediately and also simultaneously we have started I the search for a private second carrier which is a competitor to Nitel. I said in the process of this, the vice president has been appointed to head the committee. And only last week we held an international seminar in Abuja, we invited expatriates from al over the world to give us their views on how best and how fast we can learn this process through. And we got very useful ideas and suggestions. This has been converted into a booklet of recommendations, which I think we want to take to deliver to the vice president later this afternoon, from where , within the next week the document will reach the president from where I think within the next one week or two the president will make a latest policy statement on the development of telecommunications.
Forbes: Regarding this process of modernizing the telecommunications, the opening up of to the private sector has been done in such a way that private operators have to lease lines from Nitel directly. Don’t you think that a further liberalization will attract more easily major partners to the sector?
Alh. Arzika: Certainly in fact leasing lines from Nitel is not the main thrust of our policy, we want people to come and set up a parallel area rather than lease lines form Nitel and for this policy statements already made and actions are already in progress to see the materialization of this . so people who are leasing lines from Nitel , I think are people who are looking for quick services. And we are even anxious that this people do not end up as virtual carriers, that is carriers that are not on their own. We want, although we would not stop them from leasing lines form Nitel; in accordance to commercial practices – our emphasis is more on their setting up a parallel system, to give competition to Nitel. So that we have policy that will partially privatize Nitel and this is going to be between 30-40% and the government is already mentioned 40% but this will be finalized very soon. You partially privatize I the short run and in the medium run you are going to privatize Nitel and along with that, parallel to that is the invitation and commissioning of a third carrier to give Nitel competition. In order to make all of this possible you will have to de-monopolize it but also de-regulate it and deprive it of some of the privileges that it was enjoying. All these being done, we are going to as a matter of necessity set up a level playing ground and we are coming up with regulations through the hospices of NCC , the regulating agency which not only the new carriers but Nitel and any other existing operators must be subject to . By the time this is through Nitel will have to go and look for license to cover its operations. And in the process while this is through, it will not enjoy any privileges over and above the send other carriers are enjoying.
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Forbes: NCC (nigerian Communications Commission) seems to have an ambiguous role in these industry because of the dominant presence of Nitel. Could you clarify the roles of both institutions?
Alh. Arzika: It is true the NCC decree, Decree 75 did not empower it to license Nitel, that is it did not cover Nitel. But since we are looking for second and third carrier, three is no way we should have different carriers on different laws, so in effect NCC decree or law must have to be re-visited and there is plan for that and in the process of this re-visitation we are going to create a level playing ground. A single law which all operators must operate on. And it is going to be on the basis of competition.
Forbes: Your main strategy will be based on pure competition?
Alh. Arzika: Yes, competition, de-regulation, and liberalization.
Forbes: Not only domestic operators but also foreign investors are eager to know how the government is planning to resuscitate, rehabilitate the communication infrastructure in nigeria.
Alh. Arzika: We are opening up and inviting everyone to come and participate.
Forbes: Communication means being in contact with the rest of the world, now that nigeria is opening up to the rest of the world, what are the priorities of your Ministry in order to improve the relationship of nigeria with the rest of the world?
Alh. Arzika: I think if we look at the problems between us and the rest of the world, there are 2 areas, one is the socio-political and the second is economic-commercial and on the socio-political, I think only about a year ago we can do without some parts of the world and we could do without the US and go to China. I think that has been reversed this has been reversed, we are now open and friendly to all countries as being evidenced by the tour of President Obasanjo even before he was sworn in. He has extended a hand of friendship to all the rest of the world and in the area
(second area) economic-commercial our answer is de-regulation, liberalization and competition again, therefore the second phase we are apprehensive about in inviting certain investors for certain areas to come an invest . Now I think we are realizing that the world is a global village and the only way for real development is through competition and liberalization..
Forbes: How is the ministry of communication planning to promote international investors into the communication sector?
Alh. Arzika: That is one of them, and you are going to help us to do so. And only last week we had an international seminar in which we invited people from all over the world, as well as our nigerians. We’ll give copies of our conclusions. but what I can tell you is that we benefited tremendously from the opinions of the views we have got. We are also prepared to participate in other seminars and other similar activities in order to project what is happening in nigeria.
Forbes: Do you have any scheduled agenda or any scoop for us?
Alh. Arzika: Something is in the pipeline, we are going out to participate in the next ITU exhibition coming up in Geneva in October. The world conference exhibition of all major players in the telecommunication industry, and nigeria is planning to go there in a grand way to make our presence and policies clearly known.
Forbes: As a last question, what is your last message to our 4 million readers?
Alh. Arzika: My final message is that the Obasanjo administration is sincere, we want to open the telecommunications sector to outside investment, that we welcome investors from all parts of the world and that we are going to treat every investment, not only with sincerity but with transparency and with the social justice that it requires. It is going to be open and whatever is said will be faithfully implemented. That is all . |
© World INvestment NEws, 1999.
This is the electronic edition of the special country report on nigeria published in FORBES Magazine,
October 18 th issue.
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