Telecom
MTN Chairman Blasts Xenophobia, Says South Africa Is Nothing Without Africa
Mcebisi Jonas, MTN Group Chairma,n has used the funeral service of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant Thokozani Damasane to mount a sweeping attack on xenophobia, ethnic politics and state failure in South Africa, warning that the country’s crisis cannot be solved by blaming foreigners.
MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas
Delivering what many described as one of the most forceful interventions yet by a senior African business leader on South Africa’s immigration debate, Jonas said the persistence of anti-foreigner sentiment was a symptom of deeper governance failures, political opportunism and the erosion of a shared moral vision.
He argued that inequality, unemployment, corruption and weak institutions would remain even if all foreigners left the country, insisting that the real problem lay in the failure of the state to govern effectively.
“Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us,” he said. “Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt.”
Jonas, a former South African Deputy Minister of Finance, made the remarks at a funeral service that had drawn mourners from civic, political and business circles. His speech, which blended philosophy, memory, political critique and grief, has since circulated widely across South Africa and beyond.
Jonas said a central question had stayed with him as he drove to the service: what home meant to Damasane, a man who had been born and educated in Zimbabwe before moving to South Africa during the post-apartheid period.
“I was thinking, what is home to Damasane?” he told mourners. “Because I understand, and I understood very early in life, that home is where humanity is. Home is about humanness. It is about the good of humanity and striving for the good of humanity.”
He described Damasane as someone who arrived in South Africa “as an outcast” but chose to immerse himself in the struggles of the country and its people.
“He immersed himself deeply into the struggles, into the pains of South Africans, and he became one of us,” Jonas said. “In Damasane’s strength, our strength as South Africa and South Africans are reflected. And in his weaknesses, our own weaknesses are reflected.”
The sharpest portion of Jonas’ speech came when he turned to the wave of xenophobic rhetoric that has repeatedly flared in South Africa, particularly against migrants from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria, Malawi and other African countries.
He dismissed the argument that foreigners were responsible for the country’s social and economic hardship, saying that such claims merely masked the failures of political leadership and public institutions.
“The problem is the failure of the state,” he said. “The state doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?”
Jonas accused politicians of exploiting public frustration for electoral gain, warning that communities under pressure are easily manipulated by leaders who offer scapegoats instead of solutions.
“When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected,” he said. “Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us – it is foreigners.”
Jonas also used the occasion to offer a sustained critique of tribalism and ethnic identity politics, describing them as colonial constructs that have survived into the present through political manipulation.
“The tribe is a product of colonial powers,” he said. “You would notice that it is so dominant in areas where the English conquered, because they used something called the principle of indirect rule.”
According to him, colonial administrations deliberately sharpened differences between communities in order to divide and control them.
“You have got to divide these people by psychologically enhancing the notion that one is different from the other. That’s how the notion of tribe was born,” he said.
Jonas argued that the same logic now fuels xenophobic violence and exclusion, with people increasingly persecuted not because of what they have done but because of who they are perceived to be.
He said liberation movements were also guilty of keeping ethnic identities alive for political convenience.
“Liberation movements still sustain this thing of tribes – Zulu and Xhosa – and we sustain this thing as if it is real,” he said. “It is in our heads. We’re creating it because it makes us feel big. Identity politics – we must banish them in our country. Ethno-nationalism is something in this country we must banish.”
In explaining Damasane’s significance, Jonas drew on the writings of Frantz Fanon, the anti-colonial thinker and psychiatrist whose work shaped liberation struggles across Africa and the Global South.
He compared Damasane to Fanon, noting that both men were born outside the societies they later helped shape and serve.
Fanon, he said, was “born elsewhere” and was “not a Muslim,” yet became one of the most respected theorists of the Algerian Revolution. The parallel, Jonas suggested, was deliberate: Damasane, too, had chosen commitment over comfort.
“Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil it, or betray it,” Jonas quoted Fanon as saying. “Damasane understood the mission. And he did not betray it.”
He also recalled a conversation Damasane had once had with a young man who questioned the presence of foreigners in South Africa. Damasane’s reply, Jonas said, had remained with him.
“Damasane said to this guy: just wait fifteen or twenty years. You will also be wanting to leave your country.”
Jonas said those words now sounded prophetic in light of worsening inequality, exclusion and corruption.
“As I stand up today, I look at South Africa. The level of oppression and inequality, the level of exclusion of our people, the level of corruption, the betrayal of the dream of liberation – those words of Damasane ring very loud in my ears,” he said.
Jonas ended on a note of continental solidarity, saying South Africa’s future was inseparable from Africa’s future.
“We are a nation embedded in Africa,” he said. “And without Africa, our growth as a country – economically – our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa. South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa.”
He also urged mourners to rethink the way success and dignity are measured, saying merit should not be reduced to wealth alone.
“Sometimes this thing called meritocracy is measured in wealth. No. It is values, it is principle, it is integrity. And your father had all of that,” he said.
Jonas further stressed that a person’s legal or social worth should not be judged by their origin.
“We cannot judge people by their origin,” he said. “We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”
Jonas’ intervention comes at a time when xenophobia remains one of South Africa’s most combustible social and political issues, with periodic attacks on foreign nationals continuing to draw outrage across the continent.
The consequences have often extended beyond South Africa’s borders, triggering diplomatic tensions, travel advisories and boycott calls in parts of Africa. For pan-African companies like MTN, whose operations depend on cross-border trust and political stability, the debate is not only moral but commercial.
That context made Jonas’ decision to speak so directly at a funeral especially notable. Rather than a corporate forum or policy panel, he used a farewell to make a wider argument about belonging, leadership and the future of the continent.
In doing so, he turned Damasane’s burial into something larger than a memorial: a warning against the politics of fear, and a plea for a South Africa that remembers its place in Africa.
MTN Nigeria has marked 25 years of commercial operations, with Karl Toriola, chief executive officer, saying the company began operating in the country at a time when telecommunications access was severely limited.
Toriola said that a quarter of a century ago, making a phone call was a privilege few Nigerians could afford.
People queued at public telephone booths and centres, travelled long distances to deliver messages, and sometimes waited weeks for letters to arrive, he said, noting that a mobile phone was then beyond the reach of most.
Today, the company connects more than 90 million people across Nigeria, a figure MTN says reflects its role in building the infrastructure behind the country’s shift to a data-driven economy.
MTN entered Nigeria in 2001 following the GSM liberalisation carried out by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), at a time when mobile telephony was still a luxury reserved for a privileged few.
Toriola said the milestone was about more than subscriber numbers.
Businesses have been built, families have stayed connected across distances, students have gained access to knowledge, and creators have found audiences beyond Nigeria’s borders, he said, crediting the wider telecommunications ecosystem for enabling entire new industries to emerge.
The company also pointed to its role beyond direct connectivity.
MTN has helped build a wider value chain of SIM registration agents, tower contractors, retail distributors, fintech partners and digital developers that now supports millions of livelihoods in Nigeria.
Toriola thanked MTN Nigeria’s customers, saying their trust had allowed the company to expand its community investments through the MTN Foundation, which has supported health, education, youth development and economic empowerment programmes.
Looking ahead, the CEO acknowledged that significant connectivity gaps remain, with millions of Nigerians still needing access to reliable, affordable and inclusive digital services.
He said greater digital inclusion would be a central priority for the company’s next chapter, adding that the anniversary marks both a celebration of the past 25 years and a renewed push to expand digital access for the country’s young and growing population.
“We’ve come a long way. And we are only getting started,” Toriola said.
The anniversary comes as MTN Nigeria continues to navigate rising operating costs tied to Nigeria’s unreliable power supply.
Where the national grid is unreliable, the company and its infrastructure partners have had to rely on diesel generators, batteries, solar systems and other backup power solutions, making network operating costs highly sensitive to fluctuations in diesel prices.
Telecommunications subscribers under the umbrella of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), has handed telecommunications operators in the country September deadline to improve network quality or face legal action.
Deolu Ogunbanjo, president, NATCOMS, said that subscribers have endured deteriorating network services despite repeated interventions, warnings, and sanctions by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
As reported by BusinessDay, Ogunbanjo, noted that if the situation fails to improve through regulatory intervention, NATCOMS will seek justice through the courts by the end of the third quarter.
The ultimatum comes as rising data consumption, subscriber migration, and growing demand for mobile services place severe pressure on network infrastructure across parts of the country.
The NCC stated that mobile operators have offered compensation to more than 75 million subscribers for poor network quality following a regulatory directive requiring restitution in locations where performance fell below required standards.
The regulator is conducting an independent review to determine whether all eligible subscribers received proper compensation.
The compensation scheme, provided through automatic airtime credits for verified service failures dating back to November 2025, requires no individual claims from consumers.
For many subscribers, however, airtime credits do little to offset the broader economic and personal toll of unreliable connectivity.
Emeka Douglas, a subscriber, recounted how poor network quality nearly turned a medical emergency into a tragedy when he was unable to transfer funds to a hospital during his wife’s surgery.
Douglas noted that his brother in the United States eventually sent funds directly to the hospital’s account after local banking channels failed.
Janet Okoye, a small business owner, said unreliable connectivity severely affected her business after service disruptions on her Airtel and Globacom lines led clients to cancel orders.
Teniola Adeyemi, a university student, highlighted dropped calls as a major concern, stressing that recent tariff increases ought to reflect in better service quality.
Grace Eze, an Abuja-based media professional, explained that fluctuating network connectivity once delayed a lead news story intended for her editor in Lagos, resulting in an official query over late submission.
Pressure on national networks is driven by both expanding subscriber numbers and rising usage intensity.
Active telephony subscriptions in Nigeria rose from 182.2 million in January 2026 to over 187 million by April, according to NCC data. MTN leads the market with 96.4 million subscriptions, followed by Airtel with 64.7 million and Globacom with 23.2 million.
Telecom
ipNX Collaborates with ICT Stakeholders on the Future of Fibre-to-the-Home in Nigeria @ ATCON Forum
ipNX Nigeria joined other stakeholders across the telecommunications ecosystem as they convened at the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) Critical Conversation Forum on Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) to deliberate on practical solutions to the challenges affecting broadband infrastructure deployment and the future of fibre connectivity in the country.
The forum, themed “Fibre to the Home in Nigeria: Addressing Challenges, Strengthening Standards and Ensuring Sustainable Deployment,” was held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Lagos, and brought together representatives from government agencies, telecommunications operators, regulators, infrastructure providers, industry associations, and the media to foster dialogue around policies and collaborative actions needed to accelerate Nigeria’s broadband ambition.
Delivering the keynote address virtually, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, described Fibre-to-the-Home as a critical enabler of Nigeria’s digital future.
“FTTH is uniquely positioned to meet Nigerians’ next phase of data demand. The quality of our broadband will increasingly shape the competitiveness of our businesses, the growth of our digital industry and the opportunities available to our citizens,” he said.
Dr. Maida also stressed the importance of protecting telecommunications infrastructure, noting that damage to fibre networks carries significant economic consequences.
“We must uphold deployment standards. Nigeria needs fibre that is properly installed, properly documented, and properly protected.”
Speaking during the opening session, ATCON President, Mr. Tony Emoekpere, underscored the strategic importance of FTTH in achieving Nigeria’s broadband penetration targets while calling for greater public awareness around protecting communications infrastructure.
“This forum is critical because Fibre-to-the-Home is the technology that will enable the country to achieve full broadband penetration. We all depend on communication infrastructure, and it must be protected.”
Drawing a comparison with power infrastructure in the country, he added:
“If somebody comes to your neighbourhood to tamper with your transformer or power cables, everybody will come out. The same thing needs to apply for communications infrastructure. When we see people damaging fibre cables, we should raise an alarm.”
The forum also highlighted successful collaborative initiatives at the state level. Speaking on infrastructure management, Director-General of the Oyo State Infrastructure Management and Control Agency (OYSIMCA), Mr. Adebayo Akande, shared how the agency is addressing fibre theft, vandalism, and promoting shared infrastructure among operators.
He explained that encouraging operators to utilise common pole infrastructure along shared routes would reduce unnecessary duplication, minimise infrastructure damage, improve urban aesthetics, and optimise investment across the sector.
Similarly, Managing Director of the Edo State Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), Mr. Eghosa Urhoghide, advocated stronger collaboration among operators, regulators, government institutions, road maintenance agencies, and host communities.
He emphasised that strict adherence to NCC deployment standards remains essential to ensuring the long-term sustainability and resilience of Nigeria’s telecommunications infrastructure.
Representing ipNX on the panel discussion titled “Policy, Governance and Regulatory Alignment,” Mr. Segun Okuneye, Deputy Director, Strategic Business Initiatives, highlighted the need for stronger collaboration across the telecommunications ecosystem to unlock the full potential of fibre broadband in Nigeria.
According to him, sustainable fibre deployment extends beyond technology and investment to include policy consistency, stakeholder alignment, infrastructure protection, and shared responsibility.
“Achieving universal fibre connectivity requires more than deploying infrastructure, it requires sustained collaboration between operators, regulators, government agencies and host communities.
“When policies are aligned, deployment standards are consistently enforced, and critical infrastructure is protected, we create an environment where investment thrives and more Nigerians can enjoy reliable, high-speed broadband.
“At ipNX, we remain committed to working with all stakeholders to build resilient digital infrastructure that will support Nigeria’s economic growth for generations to come.”
Throughout the discussions, participants agreed that while Nigeria has made considerable progress in broadband expansion, addressing recurring issues such as fibre vandalism, right-of-way challenges, inconsistent deployment practices, infrastructure duplication, and limited public awareness will require stronger partnerships and coordinated industry action.
The forum concluded with a shared commitment among stakeholders to strengthen industry standards, encourage infrastructure sharing, improve policy implementation, and promote greater public appreciation of telecommunications infrastructure as critical national assets deserving of protection.
For ipNX, participation in the ATCON Critical Conversation Forum reinforces our company’s ongoing commitment to supporting industry-wide initiatives that advance broadband penetration, strengthen digital infrastructure, and accelerate Nigeria’s journey towards a more connected and digitally inclusive future.
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