On August 5, 2001, Econet Wireless Nigeria switched on the country’s first commercial GSM network. It ended decades of waiting, poor service, and the era of the ₦50,000 NITEL waiting list.
Econet pioneered GSM service in Nigeria and connected the first batch of subscribers in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. According to reports, more than 10,000 Nigerians made crystal-clear digital calls for the very first time.
At a launch event in Victoria Island, Econet Chairman Dr. Strive Masiyiwa said Nigeria had entered the global village. “For too long, Nigerians were told that telecoms were a luxury. Today we prove that communication is a right”, he added.
Before Econet, Nigerians relied on NITEL’s analogue lines. Getting a phone line could take years and cost upwards of ₦200,000.
For Econet, a started SIM cost N5,000, on-net call rate was N20 per minute while off-net call rate was N50 per minute.
Saturday, August 5, 1876: Mary Slessor Sails for Calabar
On August 5, 1876, the steamship _Ethiopia_ weighed anchor and departed the Mersey for the coast of West Africa, carrying among her passengers, a 28-year-old lady identified as Miss Mary Slessor of Dundee.
Miss Slessor sailed under the auspices of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland, bound for the Calabar Mission in the Bights of Biafra and Benin.
She was dressed plainly and carried little more than a trunk of books, Bibles, and medical supplies. She was seen aboard with fellow missionaries.
She was the daughter of a Dundee mill worker and had herself spent years working in the Baxter Brothers’ mill before offering for foreign service in 1875.
Upon arrival, Miss Slessor joined Rev. and Mrs. W.C. Thomson at the mission house in Duke Town. There she assisted with schooling, dispensary work, and the translation of Scripture.
Church elders who saw her off described her as “resolute, sensible, and well-fitted for the climate and the work.” The United Presbyterian Mission Board reported that three new stations were to be opened in the Calabar district that year.
