Dr Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), has been nominated for the Giovanni Buttarelli Award 2024. The award through the Global Privacy Assembly recognises an individual’s outstanding leadership and exceptional efforts in fostering international collaboration.

Dr Vincent Olatunji

This nomination highlights Dr Vincent’s commitment to driving innovation, expanding global partnerships, and promoting a collaborative approach within the data privacy and protection ecosystem.

Under the visionary leadership of Dr Vincent, the Data Privacy ecosystem in Nigeria has witnessed a remarkable growth through key milestones such as deepening the knowledge of data protection and privacy in all public and private institutions, judicial recognition of adequacy principle in cross-border data transfer, playing key roles in regional and global data privacy ecosystem, commencement of bilateral cooperation with other jurisdictions, licensing of data protection compliance organisations, commencement of national data protection certification process, among others.

Dr Vincent’s strategic and innovative initiatives has been instrumental in forging strong international partnerships, driving sustainable growth, fostering a culture of collaboration which has not only propelled the NDPC to new heights but also set a benchmark for international cooperation and industry standards.

The Giovanni Buttarelli Award celebrates leaders who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and/or promoted collaboration at a regional or international level in the field of data privacy and protection.

Nominees are evaluated based on their contributions to projects that has led to the development of innovative concepts or practices, which have significantly impacted the thinking in the international data protection and privacy community, partnerships, and initiatives that enhance global cooperation and development.

In his response to his nomination, Dr Vincent Olatunji expressed his gratitude and emphasised on the importance of collective effort in achieving global progress. “I am deeply honored to be nominated for the Giovanni Buttarelli Award 2024” said Dr Vincent.

“This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team at NDPC. It underscores the power of collaboration and the remarkable outcomes we can achieve when we work together across borders.

“I am excited to continue our journey, driving innovation and fostering partnerships that make a positive impact globally,” he said.

Telecoms operators including MTN, Airtel and Globacom have pushed for cost-reflective tariff in view of extant economic realities.

This was contained in a statement jointly released by the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) on Thursday.

The statement was co-signed by Gbenga Adebayo; chairman, ALTON and Tony Emoekpere, president, ATCON.

The telcos called upon the government to take decisive action in addressing the numerous challenges confronting the telecommunications industry.

The telcos said telecommunications infrastructure development requires substantial investments in network expansion, maintenance, and technology upgrades.

“Despite the adverse economic headwinds, the telecommunications industry remains the only industry yet to review its general service pricing framework upward in the last (11) years, primarily due to regulatory constraints.

“For a fully liberalized and deregulated sector, the current price control mechanism, which is not aligned with economic realities, threatens the industry’s sustainability and can erode investors’ confidence.

“ATCON and ALTON call upon the government to facilitate a constructive dialogue with industry stakeholders to address pricing challenges and establish a framework that balances consumers’ affordability with operators’ financial viability,” the statement partly read.

Regarding the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telcos also said regulatory neutrality and independence are crucial to ensuring a thriving telecommunications sector.

“Statutory provisions lend credence to this notion, as a lack of an impartial regulator will lead to a failure to maintain public confidence in the objectivity and independence of its decisions,” the statement added.

Dr. Ernest Azudialu Obiejesi is the chairman, Smile Communications (Nigeria) Limited. He first founded Obijackson West Africa Limited in the early 1980’s before diversifying into the oil and gas industry with Nestoil in 1991. 
Dr. Azudialu-Obiejesi sits on the board of directors of several companies including Julius Berger Nigeria PLC, and is the Chairman of the Board of Neconde Energy and Smile Communications.‎
He recently addressed the media on the investment plans of Smile in Nigeria; peter ugwu was there for Nigeria CommunicationsWeek.

Smile Communications $365million Fund Raising
I am Dr. Ernest Azudiala Obiejesi, the chairman of Smile Communications in Nigeria and a major shareholder in the Smile Holdings limited; comprising, Smile South Africa, Smile Dubai, Smile Tanzania, Smile Uganda and Smile Democratic Republic of Congo (2016). In that capacity, we look at Smile as one of the best things that has happened in the telecommunications industry, both in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa. Smile, actually, is a data telecoms company operating on 800Gigahertz Spectrum with 4G LTE licence.
Recently, we embarked on a major capital raise to make sure the company is financially stable to be able to carry out its business and network expansion plans around Africa.
The financial raise was not an easy one. It took us quite a lot of energy, because the management staff had to deal with banks in different parts of Africa. At the end we raised USD ($) 356million; which is a debt and equity.
The aim of this financing is mainly to finance to our growth; to accelerate our expansion drives, so that we will be able to a robust network smiling around Africa.
Due to the speed of the 4G LTE network it becomes very practicable that we should be able to have other networks spread across Nigeria very fast, such that we get the spectrum operating efficiently in Nigeria before other competitors catch up with us.
Secondly, we promised Nigerians a network that will enable the growth and expansion of businesses. That is already happening both in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. So, we are consolidating.

Smile’s Shareholders
As stated earlier, Smile is a pan-African telecommunications provider that owns and operates mobile wireless 4G LTE broadband networks in the 800GhZ band.
The shareholders are comprised of Al Nahla Group, a Saudi Arabia-based company, which is the majority shareholder; Renven Investment Holdings, a pan-African investment vehicle, in which Nigerian investors, including the Obijackson Group, are the majority and Verene, representing Smile senior management and social entrepreneurs from South Africa.
Also, Telecom investments, a South Arabian-based investment company is a shareholder in Smile; Capitalworks, an active alternative management company, spreading in investment in the African mid-market; the PIC, which is the biggest pension fund in the world; and Smile employees. So, we came together to compose the company called Smile. Nigeria is the largest telecoms market in Africa and that entails why Smile’s business in the country accounts for about 80% of the total operations. That is what makes Smile Nigeria very big and our participation in the country.
Smile in other African countries are getting it and will grow big too. The fund we secured is one of the biggest funds ever raised in the telecoms industry in Africa, especially with regards to a business that is somewhat a startup. Therefore, the management staff are happy with the feat we could achieve.

Smile Brazing Up For Voice Network
I have already mentioned we intend to expand the existing 4G LTE (mobile) broadband network in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa. With the fund, we intend to complete our expansions to other countries.
The more critical is Nigeria which is huge and for you to nurture such business to maturity you must spread out; cover all parts of the country.
The essence is for subscribers do witness continuity in the network coverage as they move from one part of the country to another.
Secondly, we are preparing for Smile’s clear voice network (CVN). We believe that before the end of this year we would have rollout out our CVN. Therefore, apart from data, we can use Smile’s spectrum voice-wise. Some of these are the reasons we had to go into the fund raising.

Where Smile Is Headed
This funds raised answer that question. This is young company and we don’t want to go public before pre-maturely.
Listing on Stock Exchange goes beyond having the certificate; you must have something to sell. At the moment we can’t take a product that is not known to the people to NSE which will be a hard sell.
With this kind of funds raised we believe that we have all the financial strength to expand the network and unleash clear voice network. So, we don’t think we will need the help of an IPO or listing on the floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) in the nearest future, because, before we complete the deployment of the funds, I am sure that the returns on investment will create enough funds to enable us embark on any other future investments. #
I also want to mention that one of the reasons for having a business case here is to support the growth of the economy and improve on the lives of Nigerians through job creation. The telecoms business has been proven, across the globe, as catalyst to improving the gross domestic product (GDP) of any economy.
We believe that with the kind of speed this broadband has and the facilities, the tendencies are there to create jobs for a lot of Nigerians.
It is going to impact on every sector, particularly, the entertainment industry as local content is key in the internet business.
Nigeria being one of the fastest growing economies in Africa, we believe that this type of network will help Nigerians grow faster while consolidating the gains already made in the economy.
I think it is a very welcome development and requires a lot of support. However, we as the shareholders and as the Chairman in Nigeria, we are not resting on our oars until Nigerians smile as they should in the internet connectivity and voice network-wise. Smile within the next two years would have become a success story.
At the moment an IPO is not going to be successful; not a good business strategy and we look at it as something that will come secondary. It is not a matter of dinning with the devil with a long spoon, rather be sure you are not in the menu.
You may take the pain of going through the processes of NSE; even the compliance requirements of an IPO and at the end of the day you might not secure the fund.
Even though is it more expensive the way we are doing it now, due to the interest way, but is a sure way to create a marketable brand before considering going public.

The Participating Institutions on the Fund Raising
The Development Bank of South Africa was there. Diamond Bank of Nigeria and EcoBank Nigeria also participated. PIC, the leading pension fund in South Africa; the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa and the Standard Chartered Bank were part of it too.
So, it was a consortium of banks that made it possible to raise the fund. On the equity aspect is where we put in our money alongside the Saudi Arabian partners.

Percentage of the Funds Smile Will Invest In Nigeria
If you look at the analysis with regards to Smile as a pan-African company, but the majority of the business is in Nigeria. This is market where about 80% of Smile business comes from. So, it is also expected that about 80% of that money will be spent in Nigeria.
This is the economy the company hopes to invest and recoup its resources too. This is where we have the population, growth tendencies, the businesses, and the oil and shows you that Nigeria is very large and sustainable for businesses too.
Therefore, both in infrastructure deployment and the funds usage, it is expected that Nigeria will have a fair share. Other market will be sharing the remaining percentage.
This simple analysis was part of the reasons the pan-African banks doled out the funds. They know Nigeria has the capacity to give back what is invested.

Why Smile Is Venturing Into Voice Network
The answer is very clear. The network runs on a superior spectrum. The idea is to give Nigerians clear voice network service. We know what the experience is today with other networks at the moment. The whole idea is to encourage good quality network service.
That is why the funds are very key, because once you commence and cover the areas; the voice network is going to be very clear.
There are testimonies that Smile’s 4G LTE in Nigeria is better than that used in London. Is it the same technology, but the one here offers better quality. Such testimonies point to the saying that Nigeria is at the forefront of global development; we want to be there with every other country.
We can’t be behind again. We are working with the Ericsson in this area to make it happen. We will start deploying by October and hope to commence fully before the end of the year.

Primary Segment on Clear Voice Network
It is important we understand that Smile is not going there to starting “fighting” the likes of MTN, GLO, Etisalat or Airtel, rather our strategy will set us apart…

…But You have A Market Share?
Yes, we do have market share, but we do wholesale as well. We expect that some of the big players can leverage some of the underutilized spaces we have.
What we are trying to do is, within the broadband, we are trying to take some of our free network and use it for voice over. If Smile is there for data and you can make calls from any part of the world, then, it gives you a whole package.
We have already created a niche for our selves and work towards adding a voice service. Without that we might not be able to utilize all the space we have on the band. Therefore, it is not a question of going to wrestle power, cut out from the subscribers of MTN, Glo and others.

How Will Rural Dwellers Will Benefit
We have to understand that 4G LTE broadband is the next level of telecom experience. Anyway, in the villages, almost everybody has telephones, but what percentage of them use or require data services. To adapt to data services, you need smartphone, laptops, or other smart devices too.
The 4G LTE is an advanced technology and Nigeria is moving fast from the voice to data. It is only when greater percentage of the population works with data services that this business will boom.
Those villages are not where the problems are rather the number of people who play in the data segment. Surely, data service is where the world is headed to. So, our target is every person or business that needs data service.

Was $365million The Needed Fund to Embark on Smile’s New Expansions Phase?
The quickest way to answer that is, $365million is a function of the companies coming together to look at what we want to achieve over the years.
The banks then looked at it and agreed on the projections they believe we can achieve. It is just like saying we want to cover Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt and the banks say no.
What you can do now is to cover Kaduna, Kano, etc, within the next three years. Leave Lagos for now. Therefore, the fund is a function of the agreement between the two plans. In the funds are equity and debt; most importantly, this cash is available for the company to deploy more services. The shareholders had made major investments. Before we secured the present funds, the company has been existing.