Xenophobic attacks: 6,000 Nigerians will lose their jobs if MTN leaves Nigeria

MTN Nigeria says about 6,000 Nigerians will lose their jobs if MTN is made to leave Nigeria. Head of Communications MTN, Mr Wale Goodluck said this while reacting to calls by a protest group in Edo state yesterday that the telecommunications offices in Nigeria will be shut and their installations attacked if the xenophobic attacks in South Africa continues.

Mr Goodluck said there are only 12 expatriates working for the company in Nigeria compared to a workforce of 6,000 Nigerians.

"So if people go ahead with their threats to attack our facilities, what that means is that we may be forced to close down the business in Nigeria and about 6,000 Nigerians that make up 99% of our workforce will be unemployed.

Then, when you look at our support chain, we have about 500,000 Nigerians gainfully employed. So, boycotting our services simply means destroying so many other Nigerian businesses and making over 500,000 other Nigerians to lose their jobs. This business supports a lot of businesses across the length and breadth of Nigeria. Many of the businesses that are affiliated to South Africa are in the retail space, supporting the growth of Nigeria and employing so many Nigerians. We see no revenge of Xenophobia and we commend the role the Nigerian High Commissioner in South Africa has played; at least there has been no fatality on the part of any Nigerian,” he said