by Thinus Ferreira
Furious Nigerian students are raging against MultiChoice Nigeria's 22% price hike from May, with the country's students threatening the private commercial company over the prices it can charge and giving it a 7-day ultimatum to cancel the upcoming price increase or hat they will "lock up all offices of DStv".
This week MultiChoice Nigeria announced another shocking price hike of up to 22% coming into effect from 1 May in the West African country buckling under a worsening economy.
MultiChoice Nigeria's exorbitant price hike is similar to the 19% price hike this year in neighbouring Ghana, another shocking 10% price hike by MultiChoice Kenya in Kenya just 7 months after the last increase, and another 10% increase by MultiChoice Uganda only 6 months after the last price hike in that country.
To be fair: MultiChoice's DStv is a so-called luxury service operated by a traditional pay-TV operator - consumers are not forced to pay for it and can cancel it when they don't want to pay for it.
On the other hand MultiChoice, like any commercial company is free to make its own price for any product or service and potential customers will either buy it or not.
After DStv Nigeria announced that it will be hiking prices from May by up to 22%, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), issued a statement threatening that they will "lock up" all DStv offices across Nigeria unless MultiChoice Nigeria rescinds its announced price hike.
NANS gave MultiChoice Nigeria an ultimatum of 7 days to announce that it won't hike prices before NANS threatens to close the company by locking its offices.
In a statement signed by NANS coordinator, Adejuwon Olatunji, deputy coordinator, Alao John and even NANS public relations officer, Opeoluwa Awoyinfa, NANS threatens MultiChoice with a countrywide office lockdown over its price hike.
"MultiChoice has increased their tariffs without considering the standard of living of Nigerians. We have also waited for long to see if this same company will dance to the music of Nigerians who have been clamouring for pay as you view tariff but the reverse is the case," NANS says in a statement.
"This is the time to call on the National Broadcasting Commission to go back to the commission act to regulate the ownership, activities and operations of direct broadcast satellite service providers."
Erroneously, NANS claims in their statement that "We want the federal government to stampede their proposed plan in tariffs increment and also force them to implement the pay-as-you-view system. We are aware that DStv operates a system of pay-as-you-go tariffs in other countries."
MultiChoice doesn't operate a so-called "pay-as-you-go" system in other African countries.
NANS threatens MultiChoice with an office shutdown, saying "We hereby give 7 days ultimatum to MultiChoice to reverse their plan of increasing their tariffs and also yield to the call of Nigerians and also implementing pay-as-you-view tariffs or else we shall be left with no other option than to lock up all offices of DStv until our demands are met which is the mind of all Nigerians."