The Nation Newspaper

Tag: consumer

  • Enugu sets up consumer protection committee

    Enugu State government has set up a consumer protection committee to check sharp increases in prices of goods and services by traders and service providers.

    Commerce and Industry Commissioner Mr. Sam Ogbu-Nwobodo spoke in Enugu at a meeting with executives of Petroleum Dealers Association of Nigeria.

    He said the committee, which is under his ministry, would enforce relevant consumer protection laws of the state.

    Ogbu-Nwobodo noted that the committee will ensure offenders were punished according to the law.

    He enjoined petroleum dealers not to engage in illegal practice.

    “Enugu State government will sanction any petroleum dealer found short-changing consumers,’’ the commissioner said.

    He urged petroleum dealers to support the government by complying with laws on weight and measures as well as quality and safety standard of their petroleum products.

    Ogbu-Nwobodo told them to pay their registration and renewal of business premises fees for 2017 as enshrined in the law.

    Chief John Eze, chairman of Petroleum Dealers Association, Enugu State chapter, said the association would support the present administration.

  • CPC settles N2.5b consumer rights’ disputes

    CPC settles N2.5b consumer rights’ disputes

    The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) yesterday said it ordered the settlement of consumer rights issue valued at  about N2.5 billion this year.

    The reliefs’ were in form of refunds and compensation to aggrieved consumers in the course of resolving their complaints.

    CPC Director-General, Mrs. Dupe Atoki, who spoke yesterday in Lagos during the public presentation of the agency’s 2016 Annual Report, said the N2.5 billion included foreign currencies of $31,948.87 and €1,406 recovered for aggrieved consumers that complained to the Council.

    She said the financial services sector recorded the highest value of the realised sum, while insurance and pensions had the least value.

    She said out of the 5,000 total number of complaints received in various sectors, 4,000 were resolved, while electricity/power and chemicals and allied products’ sector recorded the least number of complaints respectively.

    Mrs. Atoki said under enforcement, the total value of substandard products removed from circulation was over N242.3 million, with food and beverages taking the lion share of over N200 million and tobacco with the least value of about N300,000.

    She said a breakdown of the value of seized products showed that substandard products valued at over N202 million were seized from malls, super and open markets, shops and warehouses, while the value of electrical and electronic products seized during the period was N40 million.

    She attributed the  achievements made by the Council during her administration, particularly this year, to the adoption of sectoral intervention and other initiatives.

    In her words: “The sectoral intervention adopted in the strategic plan enabled such results and provided speed and spread to consumer redress. The acheivement recorded is a reflection of the work we have done to promote and protect the interest of Nigerian consumers,” adding that when she assumed office in May 2013, “consumer abuse in virtually all sectors was pervasive”.

    The CPC chief said due to the huge consumer abuse in virtually all sectors of the economy, “the Council in developing its 2013-2017 strategic plan, identified a tripod stand for a fast track delivery of its mandate via sectoral intervention, enhanced consumer awareness and collaborations with other sector  regulators.”

    She said the Annual Report  highlighted the most significant achievements and interventions of the Council, adding that the organisation deployed the sectoral intervention strategy in the satellite television service, food and beverage, with particular reference to the beer industry, banking, hospitality, aviation and electricity sectors.

    She explained that the intervention of the Council in satellite television service, focused on Multichoice Nigeria Limited, out of which consumers have been enjoying improved services, while its action in the hospitality sector focused on the VIP Express Tourism Limited with its order for the refund of over N25 million to over 60 of the company’s subscribers.

    Mrs. Atoki said the aim of the Council’s intervention in the telecommunication, food & beverage segment is to safeguard advert/promo/information that are deceptive, or misleading.”

    On consumer education, the CPC chief said more attention was given to grassroot sensitisation, in addition to the Council’s impactful weekly television and radio programmes, which generated a combined consumer awareness weekly outreach of 120 million consumers, in terms of viewership and listenership.

    On the online platform, Mrs. Atoki said the visibility of the Council has also grown considerably as evident in the increase the Council has noticed in its social media followership and website visits”.

  • ‘Consumer connection system vital for media planning’

    The belief that advertising investment is a waste may wane soon, following the launch of Consumer Connection System (CCS), a Dentsu Aegis Network consumer, lifestyle and product survey last week.

    Coming at a time assumptions have replaced research in making marketing decision, the new tool avails  industry players, such as advertisers and agencies handling their brands, the opportunity to calculate the impact of advertising campaigns and how consumers make decisions.

    CCS marks a step-change in the way consumer research is conducted within the consumer landscape.  It allows brands to find out crucial information about their consumers.

    The smart tool addresses the media reach dimension of consumer behaviour and covers the reaction to this reach through an investigation into their notice and engagement experiences with various types of ads, ad formats and categories. It measures the use, influence and effect of over 50 communication channels.

    At its launch, the Director, Insights and Innovation at Dentsu Aegis Network sub-Saharan Africa, Byron John, said: “CCS Planner in Nigeria is now the most sophisticated media communications planning tool in Nigeria, but it has inherently future. The CCS Planner has the ability to calibrate, not only the CCS Benchmark data but any other third party media data.”

    Its Group Managing Director Mr. Emeka Okeke, said: “CCS and associated tools derivable from it is an absolute game changer in communication planning in Nigeria.

    “Advertisers, the media and communication experts desire and deserve the level of details that CCS provides to follow and track the sophisticated consumer who with modern technology receive millions of messages everyday and therefore have become very discerning in their choices of products and services.

    “They no longer rely solely on raw messages from main stream media to make up their minds about brands. They live in a connected world through multiple sophisticated devices and we, therefore, need systems like CCS to track changes in their lives and behavior. It is unequivocally another first by Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network in Nigeria and counting.”

    Dentsu Aegis Network in sub-Saharan Africa Chief Executive Officer, Dawn Rowlands, noted that CCS is the most comprehensive source study in the media planning and buying market.

    “Apart from having an extremely granular level of touch-point data, it studies the interaction consumers have with media in detail. With increasing ad-avoidance, media engagement, incidence of cross-screen consumption, etc. are far more important metrics than reach and time spent. CCS will give MFDAN the insight into the market that no other tool is able to offer,” Rowlands added.

  • Electricity and consumer advocacy

    SIR: As someone  conversant  with  the operations of the Power  Sector,  I read with  amusement,  the  castigation of electricity distribution companies, Discos,  by a consumer protection agency recently  in the news  media. An official of the advocacy group – National Electricity Consumers Advocacy Network (NECAN) asked – what’s the basis for this increase in energy consumption unit? What pattern or model are they following and was it also approved in the Multi-Year Tariff Order, MYTO by Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)?

    It  is good   that NERC,  the industry’s regulator  has already  reacted that it  is investigating the complaints against the Discos unlike in recent times when  it condemned the Discos  before  listening  to  their side  of the story.

    My  grouse  however is with  the aggressive  nature of consumer  advocacy and protection  which  has sprung up in the power sector  which is blatantly anti-Discos. Most certainly, informed  criticism  will be  beneficial  to electricity consumers, generating  companies and  Discos and enhance  the quality  of  service  delivery in the sector.  The same way, uninformed, spurious and unfounded claims against service delivery bodies like Discos will breed mistrust, acrimony and inefficiency in the industry. The  way  forward  for  successful  service  delivery  of  electricity  is therefore  obvious.

    One  should  warn  that  NECAN  should  not  follow  the  example of  Human Rights advocates  like Amnesty International where that body seems  to  be more concerned with the rights of alleged terrorists more than the victims of the terrorism of  Boko  Haram, while  also castigating Nigerian security agencies for  being  overzealous  in fighting terrorists.   NECAN  should  not  also copy  the antecedents  of shareholders associations formed by Nigerian privatisation  authorities  to  monitor the boards  of quoted  companies, which  ended in the bellies of such boards,  after they  abandoned their initial duties of vigilance and monitoring in their quest  to become  directors in the   companies they  were supposed  to monitor, to protect shareholders’ interests.

    NECAN should monitor Discos  effectively  by knowing  and appreciating the problems they face and helping them to find solutions for  effective  service delivery  which  should be the  objectives of both NECAN  and  Discos. As an insider in the industry, we know that the electricity being generated is quite paltry compared with the needs of the consumers in any of the spheres of operations of the existing 11 discos nationwide. The new tariffs approved for discos by NERC have been stopped by the Senate because it feels they are exploitative. But  NERC the  electricity regulator  has gone  to court on the new  tariffs  which are  cost reflective and  peculiar as  best practices in the global electricity  delivery  market  in which  Nigeria is a  competitor. If  NERC  is  defending the new  electricity  tariffs it approved for  discos, how can  NECAN  be  asking NERC  if it  approved the new tariffs?

    In  playing  the role of watchdog  for  Nigerian  electricity  consumers, NECAN  must learn  and know the workings  of the electricity industry  in Nigeria  so  that it does not become a toothless bulldog barking at the moon on  consumers complaints  and the problems  of service delivery  in the industry.

    NECAN  can  take  a step  forward  by  promoting  consumer  education, awareness and responsibility  by advocating   prompt  payment of electricity bills and  discouraging  illegal electricity  connections and flow  tampering common in our cities and towns. Such irritants make service delivery of electricity hazardous, unpredictable and dangerous.  That  too should  not  be blamed  on the Discos alone as it is an  environmental issue that  should  concern all stakeholders  in electricity  delivery chain and not only Discos and their billings, either  from  the meter or the infamous  inflated estimates.

     

    • Ayomide Edun

    Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

  • Morning Fresh launches pan-Nigeria consumer promo

    Morning Fresh launches pan-Nigeria consumer promo

    PZ Cussons, makers of Morning Fresh, a leading dishwashing liquid has launched a new consumer promotion targeted at creating more affinity between the brand and Nigerian consumers. The promotion tagged “Morning Fresh Kitchen Makeover” was unveiled to the delight of consumers and distributors in Lagos.

    Speaking at the unveiling, the PZ Cussons’ Managing Director for Family Care, Mr. Alex Goma said the decision to launch out a new promo for Morning Fresh is borne out of the desire to continue to cement existing relationship with consumers despite the difficult challenge of the time. He admitted that though there are economic challenges, the company remains committed to innovation in order to satisfy the need of its dynamic consumers.

    He added: “for us, it is about doing the right thing and finding the balance of what is it that we can give back to the consumer. Consumers are always looking for a breakthrough. I think buying something for N300 and having the opportunity to win N1million worth of kitchen utensils and appliances is something consumers would find appealing. This is because he/she gets the benefits of using the products, and winning prizes at the same time.” For us, it is a way of giving back and building the brand, Goma said.

    On her part, one of the major distributors of the product, Mrs. Ladun Adebiyi said the company has done well to keep faith with pricing despite the fluctuation and hike in dollar rate. She urged others distributors from competition to patronize the products stressing that she has remained loyal because of their desire to meet the need of their distributor.

    The Brand Development/Activation Manager, Ms. Iminabo Georgewill, said the company considers it necessary to reward consumers for their loyalty hence the launch of the promo.

    She said” The promotion is called Morning fresh kitchen Makeover which has a N40 million worth of prizes. Apart from the instant prizes that come as airtime and other gifts, consumers stand a chance of winning the ultimate prize of kitchen makeover. All they need do is send codes obtained having bought two packs of Morning fresh promo bottles.

    The Morning Fresh can come from any of the variants which include Original, Zesty Lemon or antibacterial. Thereafter, the participant scratches the silver panel of any two (2) of the variants gently, sends name (space) e-mail (space) Location (space) the alpha numerical codes with space between them to 30383. As soon he or she sends the code, she/he gets an instant airtime reward. For every two code sent and 500 promo points awarded which qualifies you for regional draws to take place in three locations namely Abuja, Ibadan and Port Harcourt. Then the mega grand draw which would feature 50 point accumulator where the winner would be chosen.”

  • Morning Fresh launches pan-Nigeria consumer promo

    Morning Fresh launches pan-Nigeria consumer promo

    PZ Cussons, makers of Morning Fresh, a leading dishwashing liquid has launched a new consumer promotion targeted at creating more affinity between the brand and Nigerian consumers. The promotion tagged “Morning Fresh Kitchen Makeover” was unveiled to the delight of consumers and distributors in Lagos.

    Speaking at the unveiling, the PZ Cussons’ Managing Director for Family Care, Mr. Alex Goma said the decision to launch out a new promo for Morning Fresh is borne out of the desire to continue to cement existing relationship with consumers despite the difficult challenge  of the time.. He admitted that though there are economic challenges, the company remains committed to innovation in order to satisfy the need of its dynamic consumers.

    Despite the fact that the operating business environment in Nigeria is quite unfriendly, the managing director believe that the only way out of such situation is to continuously maintain and build good relationship with the consumers.

    “The situation in the country and indeed global may not be very friendly but the most important thing is maintaining and building relationship with consumers. Tough time will come, tough time will go.If you don’t invest in keeping that relationship active, when the good time comes, consumers would remember that you did not know them when times were tough,” Goma asserted.

    He added: “for us, it is about doing the right thing and finding the balance of what is it that we can give back to the consumer. Consumers are always looking for a breakthrough. I think buying something for N300 and having the opportunity to win N1million worth of kitchen utensils and appliances is something consumers would find appealing. This is because he/she gets the benefits of using the products, and winning prizes at the same time.” For us, it is a way of giving back and building the brand, Goma said.

    On her part, one of the major distributors of the product, Mrs. Ladun Adebiyi said the company has done well to keep faith with pricing despite the fluctuation and hike in dollar rate. She urged others distributors from competition to patronize the products stressing that she has remained loyal because of their desire to meet the need of their distributor.

    Meanwhile the Brand Development/Activation Manager, Ms. Iminabo Georgewill, explaining the mechanism of the promo said the company considers it necessary to rewards the consumers for their loyalty hence the launch of the promo.

    She said” The promotion is called Morning fresh kitchen Makeover which has a N40 million worth of prizes. Apart from the instant prizes that come through airtime and other gifts, consumers would stand a chance of winning the ultimate prize of kitchen makeover. All they need to do is to send codes obtained by buying two packs of Morning fresh promo bottles. The Morning Fresh can come from any of the variants which include Original, Zesty Lemon or antibacterial. Thereafter, the participant scratches the silver panel of any two (2) of the variants gently, send name (space) e-mail (space) Location (space) the alpha numerical codes with space  between them to 30383. As soon he or she sends the code, she/he will get an instant airtime reward. For every two code you send, you get 500 promo point. This 500 promo point qualifies you for regional draws which take place in three locations namely Abuja, Ibadan and Port Harcourt. After that, there will be a mega grand draw which would feature 50 point accumulator where the winner would be chosen. The promotion which starts from today would end on April 30″.

    Apart from the kitchen makeover, other prizes to be won include Cookers, Fridge, microwave, dispensers and airtime. As people keep sending code, more points are accumulated. Code sent from any part of the country, attract instant win. The regional draw would be held in the three locations. People would be contacted where they would win fantastic prizes. For this promo, the company is holding more activation so that Nigerians scattered in several places would have opportunity to win instant prizes.

  • Shoppers speak on consumer Appreciation Week

    Some shops and mega stores in Lagos have been appreciating loyal customers. Some are giving free gifts and shopping vouchers while others have slashed prices to thank their customers during the Appreciation Week, which ended last week.

    To some shops, the freebies are  a weekly/daily affair. Some stores do not have particular periods for consumer appreciation. They do so during festivities and other selected dates.

    Some shoppers believe appreciation is a good thing to do once in a while to make customers feel special.

    For Mrs. Ifunanya Chukwudi, it is a good thing for big shops to appreciate their customers once in a while, if not for anything, just to make them patronise the shop more. “I have been gifted once or twice by a supermarket I shop at. I was given a pen and a book at the end of my shopping and it was a very nice feeling because things like this attract people to come and shop; nothing is too small you know.”

    She added:“I believe it is a good thing to do because it’s a way of appreciating we the customers for patronising them.”

    Mrs Gloria Kunle is a shopper whose daughter has gained from consumer appreciation. She believes that it is good for some of the mega stores and supermarkets to appreciate their customers. “My daughter was once given a plastic water bottle which she really appreciated and loved. Some give books and other packages. It’s a good thing though and I really love things like that, no matter how small. It means we are being appreciated.”

    Mr Wahab Lawal was of the view that the best way to appreciate shoppers is discount sales by some stores during festive seasons.

    “I was once given a discount price on some items I bought in a boutique during a festive season and I was very excited when I asked why. I was told it was their own way of appreciating their customers for patronising them. With that I was motivated to bring some of my friends to shop there. It’s a good thing to do in one way or the other; it attracts customers to patronise shops like that.”

    Miss Folake Faith and Stanley Ameh have also received gifts from some mega stores where they shopped. They a T-shirt and a book.

    Some companies sometimes include pen, books, raffle draws ticket and recharge cards, among others, to make their customers happy.

    Consumer products – beverages, textile, and detergents – companies  also find a way to appreciate their customers.

  • Backing world record with consumer engagement

    Backing world record with consumer engagement

    Following the unveiling of the world’s largest advert poster, which broke the Guinness World Book of Record, Nigerian Breweries has adopted a national consumer engagement campaign to sustain its brand equity of Guilder, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.

    The competition in the Nigerian beer market has continued to generate rage. Even as Western beer consumption is reducing due to the global downturn, according to a market intelligence report by Corporate Nigeria, a research firm, the  brewery industry continues to thrive, while consumption of beer, put at 18.8 million hectolitres behind South Africa’s 31 per cent, has continued to heighten competition among brewers.

    This is however not surprising. According to FinTell, a financial intelligence magazine, Nigeria’s volume-growth in the beer market, supported by significant annual investment in capacity of over $1.5 billion in the last three years, is rising steeply. “Though second to South Africa, Nigeria is Africa’s largest fastest growing beer market; climbing six places to the 19th position in the most recent data for country rankings on consumption,” the report stated.

    Unfortunately, engaging this motley crowd of consumers has been the bane of brewers especially with the wave of consumerism which demands much responsibility and the spirit of giving back to consumers whose loyalty to various brands, have turned the industry to a cynosure of global investors.

    As a result, brewers commit fortunes to marketing communication in an effort to engage consumers and also sustain the brand recall in consumers’ minds through experiential campaigns. Based on Mediafact report, an industry intelligence survey, the surge explains why the sector has continued to remain among the top three highest advertising and marketing spenders.

    Striving for the souls of consumers, has lead to lots of brands from the industry top players – Nigerian Breweries, Guinness Nigeria and other brewers, launching world record-breaking projects, and each of these jumbo campaigns are also used as platforms for consumer reward campaigns.

    For instance, when Guinness launched the largest jersey in the world towards the African Cup of Nations in 2013, the brewer took about 200 consumers to South Africa to watch the matches through a tailored consumer promo. Also, NB, through its Legend Extra Stout and Heineken brands, has rewarded many consumers with all-expense paid trip to Dubai, Europe to watch live matches, among others.

    However, to deepen the crave for the heart of consumers and its share of the market, NB recently unveiled the world’s largest advertisement poster, again by following the same rule of consumer engagement. Coming at a time when the Nigerian economy is just starting to reflect potentials of buoyancy, experts have reckoned that the promotion is already causing ripples in the nation’s highly competitive alcoholic beverage market.

    First is the choice of words in describing the promo which is being positioned as, “Nigeria’s biggest consumer promotion. And just to put its money where its mouth is, Gulder unveiled the world’s largest poster on Monday, August 24, 2015, to coincide with the launch of the National Consumer Promotion.

    To build consumer trust as a way of engagement, the brand owners enrolled about 200 journalists for an experiential task, Gulder Ultimate Search where  winner emerged to win an Brand New Hyundai Elantra For N220 at the Enugu Stadium where the largest poster was also unveiled to commemorate a national consumer promo for the Gulder brand.

    The CEO of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde, said the Gulder brand is synonymous with various innovative feats in the beer market, hence the production of the poster. Though regarded as another marketing gimmick, consumer promotions are desirable, as companies struggle for a bigger size of the market and a greater percentage of consumers’ disposable income.

    So how big is big? How big is the 2015 Gulder National Consumer Promotion, which necessitated the brand managers to refer to it as the biggest consumer promotion in Nigeria? “A simple way is to look at the prizes on offer. The grand prize is a brand new Hyundai Elantra car, and Gulder is giving away 15 of this model of vehicles. Well, there are 14 left to be won as Chuka Nnabuife, a journalist with National Light newspaper won the very first Hyundai Elantra car at the unveiling of the Gulder Ultimate Promo held on August 24 with journalists from all over Nigeria as participants,” said a brand analyst, Mr. Yemi Kushimo, CEO Kush Media.

    “Gulder has created three channels for its teeming consumers to win big at this year’s edition of its National Consumer Promotion. A peep into the prizes at stake may just give an insight into how gargantuan the Gulder Consumer Promotion truly is,” he added.

    To engage beer consumers, the brand handlers said there are three legs to the campaigm in which consumers will be rewarded with various prizes, the ultimate of which are the brand new 2015 Hyundai Elantra cars for 14 Nigerians, courtesy the 2015 Edition of the Gulder National Consumer Promotion.

    While willing consumers are expected to bond with the Gulder brand through purchase to unlock the various promises and treasures of Gulder under the crown corks, the brand handler said there are various stages of experiencing the engagement.

    “First is the instant prize crown corks. As the name connotes, the prizes can be claimed instantly. The second crown cork is the differentiated crown cork category with  alpha numeric codes inscribed underneath the corks. Holders of these crown corks have to send the codes to 20388 to be part of a national raffle draw that would be held forth-nightly. Holders of the third class of crown corks – the experiential crown corks- marked Ultimate Chase, will have to report at designated national chase venues with six of those crown corks to participate for an opportunity to win a brand new car. Aside the prizes to be won, the Ultimate Chase, gives consumers the opportunity to imbibe the brand’s core values,” the brewery affirmed in a statement.

    During a media launch of the promo, the first of the 15 brand new Hyundai Elantra cars up for grabs and it was won by Mr. Chuka Nnabuife who works with National Light newspaper, Anambra State. Nnabuife beat eight other journalists at the Gulder Chase to discover the key to the car that he eventually won. That leg of the promo was devoted exclusively to journalists.

    The Marketing Manager, Gulder, Life, “33” Export, Mr. Emmanuel Agu, said: “This is a promotion like no other, and that is the message we are passing to the consumers. We are trying to paint a picture of what it means to be big in the eyes of our consumers, hence the unveiling of the World’s largest poster to kick off the National Consumer Promotion.

    “The message we are passing to the consumers is that this year’s NCP is like no other. No beer brand will be able to do what Gulder has done this year and no consumer is left out as there are prizes for every category of people. We brought in the aspect of the chase because the brand is one that talks about masculinity, determination and resilience. It is a brand for successful people. So we brought the brand essence of Gulder to life by including the Gulder Golden Chase. If you are strong and energetic enough to run and jog, why not jog for a fortune,” he advised.

    As a result of these mega activations, industry observers said the Nigerian marketing communication is coming to global reckoning with the unveiling of the largest advertisement poster and world largest jersey in Nigeria.

  • CPC begins consumer voice on TV

    The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has begun a consumer education television programme to equip consumers with the necessary skills for their market interactions.

    The Council, in a statement, disclosed that the new move was designed to raise the bar of consumer education for Nigerian consumers to assume their rightful position in their interactions in the market place.

    The public enlightenment, which it said would rent the airwaves beginning from this week, would commence with the television programme on the network of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

    According to the Council, the programme, tagged: “Consumer Voice”, which will be broadcast by 8pm every Thursday.

    The agency pointed out that the programme would treat topical consumer issues weekly, pointing out consumers’ rights and responsibilities as well as arming them with the necessary skills for an informed consumption.

    The new leadership of the Council had on assumption of office about two years ago, identified low consumer education as one of the causes of consumer lethargy and has been introducing a number of initiatives to correct this.

    To ensure the sustainability of the new effort, the Council was able to secure some support from an international development partner, the Ford Foundation, to build an ultra-modern audio-visual studio within the premises of its headquarters in Abuja

  • Consumer exploitation

    This is a column that seeks to mold, shape societal values and to protect the interest of consumers, citizens and touch other broader relevant topics under the column: ‘TRUE VALUE 360’. It is an interactive column as suggestions, complaints; day to day experiences are welcome.

    This week’s edition is CONSUMER EXPLOITATION

    Various service providers, regulatory bodies in Nigeria do not live up to required expectation  and we all know that they have been getting away with.. Why? No checks and balances, but this time, we consumers and the citizens are saying Enough-is-Enough! We say No to further exploitation and unethical practices..

    I will emphasise the word ‘unethically’ for this topic.

    Nigeria’s GSM service providers bake the cake for unethical behavior; they have devised various games and antics to undercut consumers. Subscribers are forced to have minimum of two different networks. They are all guilty in various ways:

    Some of the brands are mean in the treatment of their customers, the yellow-label for instance, by taking advantage of their subscribers. They run promos promising you double value of your airtime if you subscribe to a particular code, or pronto. We are all happy to get extra airtime but a lot of times, the rate offered per unit in the promo differs from regular rates, this they do without full disclosure to subscribers; and in a twinkling of an eyelid, all your money (airtime) is gone. At other times, after subscribing to double value airtime to some of these promos, you will lose both your regular credit and the bonanza credit. If you are lucky, you get a response that you do not qualify for  the bonanza and your normal airtime will not be refunded.

    Everybody knows the red family GSM service provider deducts your airtime balances on regular basis whether your phone is data enabled or not. You may not notice on time if you are a heavy phone user. But when you do not make a single call and did not subscribe to any magic, you still find your balances deducted. It usually starts with 3k, 5k, then N20 and it keeps going higher. By the time you check. You have lost N200, or more. A friend in anger had to switch off her red network perpetually for a week; we were worried that her phone might have been stolen, only for us to find out that she went on strike from this network so her airtime will not be deducted without usage. Other times, she chooses not to buy airtime but rather prefers to send whatsapp messages only even for serious discussions.

    The ‘original green’ family GSM service provider brought a wide grin to our service thirsty throats when it became the first to introduce per second billing and also crashed the airtime rates ab initio. We were further impressed when they empowered many of our entertainers and made them smile to the bank. Nigerians never knew they will have to pay back for these goodies.

    Many times, there will be no network to make, or receive calls for hours or days. The much advertised expansion has become meaningless as the quality of the calls of this provider has dropped sharply in the last two years. Woe betides you if this is the only network you have. A newcomer to our shores was to be picked by a driver using this service provider around Lagos tollgate to Ibadan for a family function, alas he waited forever as the driver could not get him on the phone (no network faithfully). The driver did not know him and kept on stopping for the wrong people in the vicinity.

    The visiting guest had to go home, his trip to Nigeria unfulfilled. If you try data on this network, you will come running back.

    The new green family came with fanfare after we’d all become bored with the three major exploiters; as usual we lapped all their promises up like a dog. It was a roller coaster at first for the few who still had some faith. Lo and behold, we started getting dropped calls; our airtime started reducing without being used. Here we are, back to status quo with the new green family. Data services and telephone calls on this network are below average.

    All the providers are guilty of forcing us to subscribe to unsolicited ringtones, news, matchmaking, employment and property mart etc and we get our airtime balances deducted weekly or monthly without actually giving us a choice.

    We have been so used to being taken for granted so much so, that we get pleasantly shocked when a service provider magnanimously refunds stolen airtime once in a while like five per cent of the time.

    There is a change in the baton at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) lately; Nigerians want the telecoms service providers to be more responsible. We sincerely hope the new Chief Executive Chairman will make a difference; Change has gone beyond party slogan, Nigeria is evolving, change is here.