Nigerian entrepreneur and CEO of iROKOtv, Jason Njoku, went on a Twitter tirade earlier today to air his frustration over some issues that are perhaps very familiar to most startup founders in Nigeria.
In a series of tweets, the CEO made it clear that he is tired of monitoring and micromanaging his staff. He also shared the story behind his frustration.
The constant need to monitor & micromanage in Nigeria simply saps my soul. We've had constant complaints of lack of internet and network issues at our Opebi office. 200+ people, maybe 5 laptops (we manage everything over whatsapp with Android phone) CTO pulled up the data usage pic.twitter.com/lxa2I8DP3y
— JasonNjoku (@JasonNjoku) August 30, 2018
The backstory: Internet issues
According to Mr Jason, the staff at the Opebi branch of his company (iROKOtv) have recently been complaining about “lack of internet and network issues”. This is despite the fact that the company typically spends so much money on data subscription.
He disclosed that between July and August 2018, iROKOtv’s expenditure on data is in the following order:
- Web – 898GB
- Network Protocols – 822GB
- Streaming Media – 445GB
- Social Network – 325GB
- File Transfer – 211GB
- Security Update – 17.5, etc.
He further noted that the 325GB spent on Social Media excludes data for “WhatsApp where we coordinate the entire operation.”
But despite this, some people under his payroll still complain about inadequate internet facility. He specifically gave the example of a senior staff in the company who recently asked for a pay rise because the data allotted to him/her was inadequate. This individual is the biggest internet consumer (85GB) he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Jason further revealed that the complaints about inadequate internet persist even though some people have been caught in the past “watching porn at 4 pm on a Thursday.”
He concluded his tirade by noting that the company’s global Chief Security Officer will now have to implement an individual login and tracking system; something the company has tried to avoid in a long time.
Here lies his major concern because by implementing the login and tracking system, the company would “then go about punishing folks in order to adjust behaviours. As I said. It saps my soul…”
iROKOtv was co-founded in 2010 by Jason Njoku in December 2010. The web-based, film-on-demand provider is Africa’s foremost mainstream film streaming service company. It is headquartered in London, with offices in Nigeria and the USA.
