Since mobile communications gained prominence in Nigeria, the country has been struggling with combating the menace of unsolicited SMS and calls. In spite of major moves by the regulator, a new report revealed that Nigeria ranks high on the list of countries responsible for most of the world’s unsolicited SMS and calls.
In 2019, Ethiopia, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Ghana were the African countries that recorded the highest volume of unwanted calls and texts.
According to True Software Scandinavia AB, the parent company of Truecaller, the nine African nations are among the top 20 in the world’s most popular markets affected by the growing phenomenon of unwanted calls and SMS. Ethiopia is in the first place of spam messages with an average monthly of 119 spam received by telecom subscribers.
Unwanted calls and SMS include communications from scammers, there are also communications made by telecom companies for advertising purposes. Over time, other players have been added, such as polling agencies, insurance salespeople and telemarketing agents. A situation which again highlights the need for strict control over the use of personal data of telecom subscribers.
A familiar problem in Nigeria
Following a Direction to the telecommunications service providers in the country, the operators, with effect from July 1, 2016, activated the DO NOT DISTURB facility which gives subscribers the freedom to choose what messages to receive from the various networks. With this Direction the operators have been mandated to dedicate a common Short Code (2442) which will enable subscribers take informed decisions.
Mr. Tony Ojobo, former Director of Public Affairs at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in a statement, said this action was taken in order to protect subscribers from the nuisance of unsolicited texts, and therefore a direct regulatory response to the yearnings of the subscribers. By this action, he explained, the Commission has invoked a regulatory provision which had hitherto been overlooked by the operators.
With numerous threats of sanctions, it would be expected that unsolicited SMS and calls will drop. But as this latest report showed, it continues to thrive in Nigeria.
