When I told a friend that I was going to do an article about the HiTv saga: loosing the licence to beam the English Premier League (EPL) to Nigerians for the next European football season commencing in August, He warned me that the article will receive unfavourable responses as most cable Television viewers in Nigeria liked or preferred the DSTV (Multichoice) package and for them it was a welcome development.
My concern was and still is that Nigeria is important and so any success recorded in Nigeria is a clear indication that Africa is on track to attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s), this fact is true considering the population of Nigeria and so I wonder if we know this simple fact.
The biggest news in the corporate agenda in Nigeria last week was HiTv (an indigenous cable television company) loosing the licence she acquire last year supposedly for 3 years to a major continental rival DSTv a Nigerian company working in collaboration with Multichoice South Africa.
The question on every ones lips was: How can a company sitting on a gold mine not protect the mine with every thing there is? And as expected there were many answers: some rumours others backed with fact. A friend told me Nigerians lack the entrepreneurial skill to effectively manage large corporations, Others thought that the Banks in Nigeria were a disappointment to the business community, some even say that how can the government allow an indigenous company go under when BAILOUT has now become a global measure taken by governments to prevent ailing enterprises from going down, the American and UK governments were cited as examples.
It was reported that the reason why the right to the EPL was revoked was because the Banks could not give the required financial guarantee to the EPL by the agreed deadline. This is sad in a country that boast of nearly or more than 20 functional bank, some with branches in the UK and other west African countries. Don’t get me wrong Banks are not registered as Charity and so are in the business for profit, but we also know that its not all transactions that are “quick wins” some investments are long term investment that will facilitate economic growth and whose profits often times come after some years of persistent marketing , packaging and some time re-investment.
Multichoice/DSTv did not reap the benefit of its investment in Nigeria in their first attempt it staggered until today it’s a major foreign income earner for its investors and the Republic of South Africa. I was told that like HiTV DSTv is a Nigeria owned company, this could be true but even the lay man in Oshodi market (Lagos) knows that some percentage of it income must be shared with its mother company in South Africa. I might be wrong but as at the last count there was no Nigeria company operating successfully in South Africa This Day News papers and Globacom tried it I heard, the result is there for us to see.
Back to my point, for the government of Nigeria whose responsibility to the business community is to provide an enabling environment for business to fold its hand while an indigenous company employing Nigerians and paying tax to the FIRS loose its most lucrative commodity of trade because it could not be protected by the Governments and Bank in my opinion is UNACCEPTABLE. We saw government bailout programme in developed economies in the world why is that of Nigeria different???
I am one of those who strongly advocated for the pull out of Government in the Private sector but as I said before the government has a duly to provide the environment and regulations: these could also be financial support to local entrepreneurs this is why we have local or external reserve. I recall couple of years ago when the US government announced that because she has enough food reserve some selected farmers where paid off to stay off the farm for a year this is an example of Government being responsive to its people. Some body said ours are too busy with the politics of Government House and Houses of Assemblies or State Vs National allocation that the business of true governance is left at the mercy of God.
It was reported that Multichoice made so much from the just concluded World Cup in South African that she was able to pay ($40 million) requested by EPL for a 3 year period what she could not pay last year. What is my point? Foot ball is big business so hosting football event is also big business, Nigeria have hosted 3-4 continental/global foot ball event in the last 11 years starting from Nigeria 1999 how has those event change the face of sport or local companies, has the sport authorities ever told us the profit they made from these event and how that was plunge back into the economy? South Africa has shown us. DSTv shows that Nigeria Premiere League (NPL) atleast so they tell us, if DSTv will pay $40 million to air the EPL for 3 years, they should at least pay $2million annually to air the NPL, if this has been the ongoing arrangement we need to know why the development of the league is so slow which is what DSTv who even air the South African league to Nigeria more frequently that they air the NPL promised Nigerians.
I think it is time we begin to ask ourselves if we know the true meaning of Government and may be redefine the concept of Governance as we look ahead to the 2011 elections. That the government and the financial systems in Nigeria could not support an indigenous company against external competition is UNACCEPTABLE - a failure of government and the financial system in my opinion.
I also agree with all those innovative Nigerians who believe that HiTv failed to live up to the bidding, it is true that a lot still needed to be done in terms of quality and packaging but all these come with time a year is to quick to judge a company operating in an erratic environment as ours.
Let me illustrate why I think the Government and the Banks should be interested in the HiTv investment: We assume the number of subscriptions to DSTv is 3 million and assume an average subscription charge of N4000/month. DSTv there fore reaps a whooping N12 Billion in a month and by implication N144 Billion annually which equates to $1 Billion annually. Why should these funds not be controlled by an indigenous company who will plunge it back into the Economy? How many registered company ion Nigeria or even the world makes generate an annual income of $1 billion in a year? I rest my case.
We need to speak out, the textile in the North went under no body is talking about it many more have gone owning to power and funds we must redefine the role of the banking/financial sector in the economy. Nigeria can not make meaningful progress if the work force (potential tax payer) is unemployed not to talk of attaining the MDG’s. Nigeria is far too important to fail……..
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