According to credible industry sources, Mafab Communications, a relatively unknown telecom business in Nigeria, may enlist the help of a technical partner to create and operate its 5G service after beating Airtel to one of the two slots in the 3.5 Ghz spectrum license for 5G rollout.
There are also significant suspicions that Asiwaju Tinubu, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress and a presidential hopeful, and his Alpha Beta Company may have assisted Mafab Communications in meeting the qualifications for the bidding process. Alpha Beta may have facilitated the payment of the 10% of $197.4 million via the Central Bank of Nigeria, according to reliable sources (CBN).
Many Nigerians are aware that Tinubu is involved in Mafab’s ambition to build a 5G network in the country, as well as the model of finding a technical partner to assist in the network’s construction.
Econet, which has experience building telecom networks in Africa, teamed up with a group of Nigerian businessmen and state governors, including Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of Lagos State, Mr James Ibori of Delta State, Akwa Ibom State, and Oba Otudeko, chairman of First Bank at the time, to secure a $285 million GSM license in 2001. Econet contributed technical skills, while Nigerian government authorities and corporate leaders contributed financial resources, resulting in a collaboration that launched the Airtel network.
That Mafab in Abuja, despite its relative obscurity, may possibly follow the same economic model. According to sources, Mafab outplayed Airtel Nigeria and sought to outdo MTN to win the first spectrum slot in the 3.5GHz spectrum licensing auction for 5G deployment in Nigeria, which took place in Abuja yesterday.
Industry sources are impressed by Mafab’s quickness and compliance in the lead-up to the sale, as well as its skill in the auction room.
The fact that the Chairman of Mafab, Musbahu Muhammad Bashir, who himself supervised the bid process and has a formidable team behind him, has loads of cash to throw into the venture does not take away from the fact that the Chairman of Mafab, who himself supervised the bid process, has loads of cash to throw into the venture.
Bashir, for example, is the chairman of the board of directors of his two companies, Althani Group of Companies and Cobalt International Services Limited, a pre-shipment inspection agent that is currently inspecting oil and gas exports in the country.
Takaful is a sharia-compliant insurance structure in which members agree to insure one another by contributing to a pool of assets that is used to compensate participants who have suffered a loss.
In 1987, Bashir worked for Hammad Development Facilities, and in 1989, he worked for Jadai Diversified Services.
According to the company’s website, Bashir has over twenty years of expertise in general management, leadership, and engineering.
He holds certifications from prestigious institutions such as American University in London and Harvard Business School in the United States.
Bashir is unquestionably an industrious, resilient, and effective businessman with a strong personality, according to the Althani Group.
Mafab Communications was founded on July 8, 2020, and was granted an NCC license to provide and operate local interconnect and international carrier services.
The company is licensed to provide cloud hosting and co-location services under three licenses: interconnecting exchange, international data access, and value-added services.
Mafab is a technology subsidiary of the Althani Group, a corporate conglomerate led by business billionaire Musbahu Muhammad Bashir.
Bashir is unquestionably an industrious, resilient, and effective businessman with a strong personality, according to the Althani Group.
Mafab Communications was founded on July 8, 2020, and was granted an NCC license to provide and operate local interconnect and international carrier services.
The company is licensed to provide cloud hosting and co-location services under three licenses: interconnecting exchange, international data access, and value-added services.
Mafab is a technology subsidiary of the Althani Group, a corporate conglomerate led by business billionaire Musbahu Muhammad Bashir.
