he xenophobia expressed today in South Africa is not merely a barbaric and cowar

dly attack against the others . It is also aggression against South Africa itself.
It is an attack against the Rainbow Nation which South Africans proudly proclaimed
a decade or more ago. Some South Africans are staining the name of their mother
land. They are attacking the feelings of gratitude and solidarity between nation
s and peoples. It is sad that your country today is in the news across the world
for such inhuman reasons.
History was allowed to repeat itself. Voices were heard spreading hatred with im
punity. That is why we are joining our indignation to that of our fellow Mozambi
cans and urging you: put an immediate end to this situation, which is a fire tha
t can spread across the entire region, with feelings of revenge being created be
yond South Africa s borders. Tough, immediate and total measures are needed which
may include the mobilization of the armed forces. For, at the end of the day, it
is South Africa itself which is under attack

MTN Nigeria on Monday warned that should there be attacks on its facilities, it
might be forced to close shop and 99 per cent of its over 6,000 workforce in the
country, who are Nigerians, would be thrown into the labour market.
It also said that calls for the boycott of its services were unjustified as such
an action would affect its support chain, which could cause another 500,000 Nig
erians to lose their means of livelihood.
The company stated this in Lagos some hours after two groups protested in its Ab
uja and Benin offices against the killing of foreigners in its home country, Sou
th Africa.
According to the Corporate Service Executive, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Wale Goodluck, th
ere are only 12 expatriates working for the company in the country, compared to
a workforce of 6,000 Nigerians.
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ns of 6,000 job losses
Xenophobia: MTN Nigeria warns of 6,000 job losses
April 21, 2015 : Ozioma Ubabukoh 77 Comments

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Corporate Service Executive, MTN Nigeria, Wale Goodluck
Corporate Service Executive, MTN Nigeria, Wale Goodluck
MTN Nigeria on Monday warned that should there be attacks on its facilities, it
might be forced to close shop and 99 per cent of its over 6,000 workforce in the
country, who are Nigerians, would be thrown into the labour market.
It also said that calls for the boycott of its services were unjustified as such
an action would affect its support chain, which could cause another 500,000 Nig
erians to lose their means of livelihood.
The company stated this in Lagos some hours after two groups protested in its Ab
uja and Benin offices against the killing of foreigners in its home country, Sou
th Africa.

According to the Corporate Service Executive, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Wale Goodluck, th
ere are only 12 expatriates working for the company in the country, compared to
a workforce of 6,000 Nigerians.
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Goodluck said, So, if people go ahead with their threats to attack our facilities
, what that means is that we may be forced to close down the business in Nigeria
and about 6,000 Nigerians that make up 99 per cent of our workforce will be une
mployed.
Then, when you look at our support chain, we have about 500,000 Nigerians gainful
ly employed. So, boycotting our services simply means destroying so many other N
igerian businesses and making over 500,000 other Nigerians to lose their jobs.
This business supports a lot of businesses across the length and breadth of Niger
ia. Many of the businesses that are affiliated to South Africa are in the retail
space, supporting the growth of Nigeria and employing so many Nigerians.
He noted that the company had spent in excess of $15bn on capital expenditure gr
owing the telecommunications business in Nigeria.
We see no revenge of Xenophobia and we commend the role the Nigerian High Commiss
ioner in South Africa has played; at least there has been no fatality on the par
t of any Nigerian, Goodluck added.
"Our biggest concern is the lives that have been lost in South Africa and the li
ves of Nigerians that are endangered there. As a company, we serve over 60 milli
on subscribers and we feel the concerns of Nigerians and those whose lives are a
t risk," he said.

The second area of interest, as we consider how to feed less on crude oil, is I
CT. The potentials of ICT in Nigeria are very scary. If we get our act together
and address the major challenges bedevilling the industry, our petro-centric pro
blems will be addressed. Vodafone's turnover is more than the GDP of many Africa
n countries. Microsoft's revenue is more than what Nigeria makes from oil. This
should propel the government to focus on resolving the issues that are slowing d
own the ICT sector. The services provided by telecoms companies could be woeful
at times, and they need to be told in plain terms. However, they too lose money
from poor services. They would rather the impediments are removed to enhance the
ir ability to deliver quality service.
Last week, MTN Nigeria "unpacked" its figures. They are not as encouraging as th
ey used to be. Revenue growth is dropping
and this has implications for governme
nt income and the entire value chain. As the biggest player in telecoms, MTN's h
ealth is indicative of the overall fitness of the sector. This is a company that
paid taxes and levies of over N150bn to the government in 2014
taking its total
to N1.3tr since 2001 and provides over N5 billion in revenue to the music indus
try through its caller ring back tunes. Its N500m spend is the biggest endorseme
nt budget in the country. Not to talk of MTN's impact on the income of several o
ther sectors and industries: aviation, media, advertising, hospitality and profe
ssional services, etc.
If we are really serious about diversifying the economy, we must address issues
facing the ICT sector. The N30bn MTN spent on diesel in 2014 is a national embar
rassment. Add that to what Airtel and Globacom spent and you have thousands of j
obs and billions of naira going up in smoke. MTN complains that it is being owed

over N13bn in interconnect fees by other operators, but the regulators seem pow
erless to do anything about it.

In a reaction to the xenophobic attacks against African migrants in South Africa

, comedian Ali Baba has called for the Nigerian Government to give the South Afr
ican Government a 48-hour ultimatum for all attacks to be stopped.
He also advised that failure to get a response should result in a boycott from a
number of organizations in South Africa.
Following the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa, Veteran filmmaker
, Chief Eddie Ugboma has called on Nigerians to as a matter of urgency boycott D
STV, MTN and Protea Hotels. He also said that government should nationalize MTN
because they have recouped their investment.
The former Chairman of the Nigerian Film Corporation accused Multi- Choice of de
stroying the Nigerian movie industry Nollywood. He also condemned the xenophobic
attacks on Nigerians in South Africa. Ugboma, who made this call in an intervie
w with New Telegraph in Lagos, wondered why South Africans forget so soon the co
ntributions and sacrifices of Nigeria to the fight against apartheid.
Hundreds of Nigerian protesters on Monday stormed the offices of South African c
ompanies in Abuja and Benin City, Edo State, to protest the ongoing xenophobic a
ttacks on foreigners, especially Nigerians, in South Africa.
In Abuja, the protesters, led by media personality and President of the Berekete
Family, Ahmad Isah, marched to the regional headquarters of MTN Nigeria Communi
cations Limited in Maitama, as well as Shoprite and Multichoice, owners of DSTV.
At MTN, the protesters, who carried placards with various inscriptions condemnin
g the attacks on Nigerians and their businesses in South Africa, were joined by
Nigerians in the area where the office is located.
One of our correspondents learnt that a senior official of MTN whose identity wa
s not known, addressed the crowd of protesters who wore yellow T-shirts, the tra
ditional colour of the South African telecommunications company.
The pains inflicted on foreigners, particularly fellow Africans in South Africa
is barbaric and condemnable. However, boycotting South African goods and servic
es may not provide needed solution. There are uncountable Nigerians working in t
hose organizations like MTN, DSTV, and Shoprite and
When you shun those companies, somebody is losing jobs or missing salaries in Ni
geria
What we should do is to ensure that South African Government live up to expectat
ion by protecting every citizens and foreigners in South Africa.
There must be adequate compensation to those who have lost valuables, including
all their life savings in South Africa.
ts Corporate Service Executive, Akinwale Goodluck, in Lagos, yesterday, said MTN
Nigeria is a Nigerian company with South African root, but that 99 per cent of
the company's workers are Nigerians. Goodluck, who said the company was concerne
d about several online cries for reprisal attacks and boycott of South African f
irms including MTN, Multichoice, owners of DStv; Shoprite; PEP; Protea Hotels am
ong others in Nigeria, however said the MTN Group would provide financial assist

ance to the displaced foreign nationals that will cover temporary accommodation,
food, beddings and blankets, medicals among others.
An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind". Gandhi

Martin Luther King's Acceptance Speech, on the occasion of the award of the Nobe
l Peace Prize in Oslo, December 10, 1964
nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our tim
e - the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to vi
olence and oppression
Let me tell you something that you already know: if Nigeria is going to move fro
m strength to strength, it has to be a deliberate plan. Things will not happen o
n their own.
Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggressio
n and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

The South African government should be held responsible for what is happening. O
ther African countries must hold the South African government responsible for wh
at is happening. The same government must be held responsible for what should ha
ppen in the future to correct the situation.