Countries that have turned to privatisation as a reform agenda for economic growth and sustained development often abuse and exploit it in varying degrees. Some do so inadvertently while others capitalise on the seeming complexity of the concept to perpetrate unwholesome fraud. But this variant of economic liberalisation, which entails transfer of public assets/business to private operators, has been successfully adopted by many nations desirous of real economic growth. This was manifest in Chile in 1973 when that country moved its public enterprises to private hands. Soon after that other nations, including Nigeria joined the fray.
Aside privatisation, state monopolies can also be either commercialised or consessioned after due deregulation of a sector to encourage free participation by entrepreneurs in running such corporations that might have been opened up.
In view of the complexities of privatisation and other variants of economic development, it is therefore incumbent on any government keen on embarking on the programme to set up structures and agencies saddled with the responsibility to drive the process and concerted efforts should be made to ensure that such offices are manned by people of impeccable character with unwavering integrity and immutable pedigree.
A recast of last Tuesday’s position of the Senate committee on privatisation rejecting plans by the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, to liquidate the Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd, NITEL, and its mobile arm: Mobile Telecommunications Ltd, MTEL, depicts a failed attempt at revisionism. The committee chairman had frowned at the attitude of some federal government agencies whom he observed, had contributed to the collapse of the once telecommunications behemoth by refusing to settle their indebtedness to the companies. Aside from pledging the committee’s readiness to ensure that all government agencies indebted to NITEL settle their debts without further delay, it also stated that the committee would tour all NITEL offices in the country to determine the exact value of the companies, which the BPE had put at between N80 billion and N90 billion as at 2009. The chairman of the committee expressed displeasure at government’s plans to liquidate the companies without making effort to find out their value.
One can only say this is where our Senate committee’s selective amnesia appears in boldest relief. While it remembered to state the prevailing position of the moribund enterprise and its plans going forward, it failed to acknowledge numerous failed attempts at breathing life back into NITEL and its sister company, MTEL by the BPE.
Let me note here that the greatest challenge facing any society today is the insincerity of its elite and ours is not an exception. Enough of this brazen and daylight attempt to cajole, hoodwink, corral, steamroll, browbeat and stampede our people into believing the seeming impossible and unviable. That NITEL/MTEL is decaying despite efforts to resuscitate the enterprises does not support the committee’s stand of turning down government’s proposal to wind down the company.
Perhaps an excursion into the troubled road NITEL/MTEL has travelled may throw up many issues and bring to the fore the urgent need to liquidate these enterprises.
NITEL/MTEL emerged from the debris of the defunct P&T and NET in 1984/5. One can still relish with nostalgia the towering NECOM House on Marina in Lagos before the edifice was engulfed in an inferno. Despite the temporal setback the then telecoms giant suffered due to that fire incident, it did not waste time to bounce back with vigour. NITEL rolled out many innovative services in its good old days, which none of the current service providers can boost of till date. I can recall vividly how phone boots were deployed to many strategic locations in the country where prospective callers had the liberty to use coins. This system, apart from encouraging the use of coins in an economy where the denomination is facing extinction, also serves the main purpose of communication.
However, government in its infinite wisdom and to strengthen the company’s services to make it more competitive opted for privatisation of NITEL/MTEL. In 2001, Messrs Investors International London Limited, IILL, after a keenly competed bid process to acquire majority shares in the enterprises, emerged the preferred bidder following the consortium’s offer to pay the bid price of $1.317 billion. It ended up failing to gain control of NITEL/MTEL when it defaulted in paying the bid price.
The development did not go down well with all stakeholders and in an apparent strive to privatise the enterprise, and in the medley of the ensuing confusion that trailed the initial failed privatisation exercise, a decision was taken by the National Council on Privatisation, NCP, to revamp NITEL /MTEL before embarking on another sales attempt. As a result of this, Pentascope of Netherlands was thrown up in May 2003, as a management contractor whose due diligence analysts say was very suspect.
Obviously jolted by the failure to give out the enterprise to a core investor at first attempt, NITEL/MTEL went through various scenarios of unbundling and re-bundling with long and tortuous odyssey that raised suspicion in the entire privatisation process that became repetitive and seemingly unending. In the midst of this, Messrs Transcorp was thrown up in 2006 again as a preferred bidder, but within a twinkle of an eye the contract was eventually revoked or terminated.
Expectedly, the Pentascope irremediable misfortune generated so much controversy in the polity which resulted in a resounding and phenomenal impact on the life and times of NITEL/MTEL. For example, some former staffers, especially the pensioners have been reported dying one after another due to none payment of their pensions for years.
At every turn, Pentascope was accused of unleashing on NITEL/MTEL and former staffers gargantuan and immeasurable destruction. This necessitated an inquest by the House of Representatives and the report revealed that about N100 billion was squandered during Pentascope’s brief stint besides the deep and growing loss of revenue due to no additions to subscription and uncontrollable soaring defective telephone lines.
Earlier probes on NITEL/MTEL and the Siemens scam sent some Siemens staffers in Germany to jail with the Siemens Company itself incurring huge fines. Perhaps, a combination of this unquantifiable and unwholesome malaise exemplified in brazen graft, greed, egregious corruption and impunity had informed the decision of the BPE to opt for liquidation of NITEL/MTEL and it is on this score that the Senate committee should view the issue instead of kicking against it.