🎬Love, Dime, Flowers

CURRENCIES

TECH
MTN Hikes Prices by Over 200%

Falling in love doesn't cost a dime in Nigeria, but staying connected to one's partner just went up 200%. This week, MTN Nigeria, the largest telecom provider by market share in the country, implemented a 200% hike in prices. This followed a week-long debacle following the approval from the regulating body, the Nigeria Communications Commission, a little more than a week earlier.

Price caps toppled. After months of dispute by the telecom companies, the Nigeria Communications Commission, or NCC, initially approved adjustments in network tariffs with a cap of 50%. This however, led to an outrage from the customers who were caught off guard. “Surely, video calls and face time will require rethinks now”, according to an X user on Wednesday. The giant network provider led thousands to social media as it tripled the 15GB incentive bundle's price from 2000 NGN to 6000 NGN, a questionable increase in price for a 50% tariff adjustment.

Dire implications await.

The sudden increment is bound to cause ripples in small businesses and recent entrepreneurs who rely closely on affordable data access. The telecommunications mogul also stands the risk of losing a chunk of customers as several customers muttered a switch to Nigerian-owned rival, Globacom which had yet to raise its prices. Other bundles such as the daily data bundles and a number of the monthly bundles did not fail to bear a brunt of the adjustment too. Customers are taking to cutting the chase or ditching the game. If you once imagined a Valentine's Day without FaceTime, great news, that it's real now.

Love forgives all. In a recent post on X(formerly Twitter), MTN returned from a prodigal journey to tender an apology to its customers. The insiders gave tips, stating the high marginal difference between the bundle’s low cost and the country’s inflation, the highest it had experienced in decades. -GN.

DIGITS
Working for free pays, if you’re Kendrick Lamar

430%: The increase in Spotify streams for Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” in the hours following his Super Bowl halftime performance. The track was one of 10 he performed during his 13-minute set, which featured appearances by SZA, Samuel L. Jackson, and Serena Williams.

 “Not Like Us” just swept up five Grammys, and an obvious part of the appeal is that it’s a diss track against rap rival Drake, who reportedly dated Williams in 2011. But it’s also common for a Super Bowl artist to get a popularity bump following their performance: 

• Rihanna’s streams popped 211%, while songs “Where Have You Been” and “Pour It Up” saw 450%+ increases in 2023.
  

• Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s streams jumped 267% and 187%, respectively, in 2020.
  

• Usher’s streams surged 550% in 2024, while his 2005 hit “Caught Up” jumped a whopping 2k%.

SHOWER THOUGHTS

NEWS
Round The Continent

• Asset declaration failures resulted in the suspension of 450 Liberian officials.

• African leaders meeting at the African Union (AU) summit in Ethiopia are renewing calls for reparations, despite resistance from colonial powers.

• Community members in Evaton, Johannesburg, South Africa are standing tall against Trump’s PEPFAR freeze.

• Sudan’s foreign minister paid a visit to Moscow, Russia in hopes for more collaborations between the two countries.