MTN's woes in Nigeria: Analyst Dobek Pater on what's gone wrong

JOHANNESBURG — The situation for MTN in Nigeria continues to be fluid as the company indicated on Monday that it will be turning to the West African country's courts to fight $10bn in claims from the Nigerian government. Nigerian officials have accused MTN of illegally transferring $8.1 billion out of Nigeria and owing a further $2 billion in back taxes. MTN has disputed the claims. But this battle between MTN and the Nigerian government is nothing new. Back in 2015, MTN faced the world's biggest ever telecommunications fine of $5.2bn for allegedly selling unregistered SIMs - a fine that the country's regulators then dramatically drew back to around $1bn. Could this latest fight then be another case of high-stakes negotiating on the part of Nigerian authorities? Dobek Pater, from Africa Analysis, has been studying the African telecoms market for years and is an expert on what the situation on the ground is like in Nigeria. In this interview, Pater gives us a greater understanding of whether or not this is a shakedown and what the forces at play are in Africa's biggest mobile phone market. - Gareth van Zyl