Airtel Nigeria Staff Stage,Peaceful Protest in Abuja.

Hundreds of Airtel staff staged a protest outside the company’s office in Abuja today, over pay and working conditions. One of the staff that plead anonymity stated, "our salaries of last month has not been paid and when they paid us yesterday{8/6/11}, they slashed everyones salary" he further stated "those that receive N75,000{naira} had their salary slashed to N17,000{naira}" according to him "the company blamed the decision on 'leave bonuses'.

You will recall that last year June, Zain Group Africa Unit was taken over by Indian Bharti Airtel and had the name of the GSM operator changed from Zain to Airtel Nigeria

The name change brings to sixth the number of times the company would have to change identity since 2001 it started operations in Nigeria.

The company started as Econet Wireless Nigeria in 2001 and the first to be licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission NCC. It later became Vodacom Nigeria in 2004, when alleged board room squabbles could not let the board members concentrate on advancing the network.

Later the same year, the forces that brought about Vodacom into the picture, also forced it out and the company later rebranded to V_Mobile Nigeria; But it was yet to settle with Vmobile when Mo Ibrahim’s MTC group in 2006, snapped it and once more turned it to Celtel Nigeria. It was from Celtel that the company in 2008 rebranded into Zain Nigeria.

These transformations followed traces of squabbles and board room conflicts which did not help its fast roll out plans and adequate expansion programmes.

Two years after, it is now Bharti Airtel Nigeria. The journey that brought the company to this name now, started when in middle of 2009, reports started filtering in that Zain wanted to sell its Africa operations.

The company was reported to have nursed the idea due to the heavy fund the sales would rake into its coffers as a company under some huge debts. No wonder Bharti paid a whopping $10.7 billion to tie the deal

You will wonder why, the new administrators led by the INDIAN Company will inflict so much pain to young Nigerians.