Guard your Glo SIM with your life!

Folks, you need to be extra careful with your Glo SIMs at this time.

Recall the Federal Government stopped the telcos from registering SIMs in December and ordered that only NIN should be used for registration. While some operators have since resumed SIM registration, Glo is yet to. 

Even if all you want to do is SIM swap of your lost or stolen SIM, you have to wait until further notice.

Routine calls to Gloworld indicate that the process is yet to resume even as of today January 14.  

If your Glo line linked to your bank gets into wrong hands you are toast because you can't swap it. Your best bet would be to rush to your bank to block your account. 

Be safe!

Forward to your family and friends to be careful.

Bonding for greater success: Glo strengthens corporate ties with team-building initiative

First published as a cover story for Glo Life, Globacom's staff/customer magazine in November 2019

By John Awe

 

Teamwork makes the dream work

-Bang Gae

 When the news crept into the hearing of staff, it sounded a tad improbable. Even though it was something many would love to happen, they simply could not shake off the surreal feeling the news gave them. Staff party, yes; but team-building event? Not likely!

But then a mail went out in the tail end of April to 100 staff members informing them they would be participants in the first of a series of team-building events that would form a basic component of an elaborate staff engagement strategy. The strategy was being spear-headed by the Executive Vice Chairman, Mrs. Bella Disu.

Now, the jigsaw puzzle was falling into place. Indeed, there had been a foundation; an enchanting New Year missive sent directly to every staff from the desk of Mrs. Disu. That, too, was a bolt from the blue; first of its kind.

In that mail, Mrs. Disu had expressed the commitment of Globacom’s management to develop “our most important asset: You all”. That message signposted the beginning of a new more interesting chapter in the history of Nigeria’s fastest growing telecom company.

The team-bonding idea interlocks firmly with that inspiring January email, promising renewed drive towards staff development and empowerment.

“I got the invite and said ‘Wow! Is this real, or is it some mistake?’”, Ayotunde Olaoye of Admin told Glo Life. “I honestly wasn’t exactly sure it was going to happen until I got there and saw the unmistakable Glo buttons everywhere.”

The D-day was April 27^th, at the upscale Upbeat Recreation Centre, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos. Kick-off time was 10 am. Early birds started clocking in from 8am. By 10 am, the main hall of the recreation centre was bursting with enthusiastic Glo staff members drawn from all Globacom departments across the country.

The facilitators were a combination of internationally-certified life coaches from the Olusola Lanre Coaching Academy (OLCA), arguably the number one firm of life coaches in Nigeria, and the coaching crew of Upbeat Recreation Centre. While the OLCA team handled mainly the cerebral aspects of the exercises, the Upbeat coaching crew took care of the physical exercises.

By 10:30am, registration of participants, anchored by Mrs Jumoke Aduwo, had been concluded and the much anticipated team-bonding experience began with the introduction of the OLCA General Manager, Tolulope Afonja by the Head of Human Resources, Mr. Wole Ayanleke, supported by Mr. Femi Kolawole .

Brief side conference to agree final event details.

Mrs. Afonja gave a brief introductory talk and launched the class into its first activity tagged ‘Know Thyself’. It was an exercise designed to find out things about your colleagues that you would not know in the course of a strictly formal official interactions.

Participants were required to learn as much as possible about the most number of participants in the shortest possible time.

To achieve this, a worksheet with various adjectives or descriptions was handed over to every participant. The adjectives or descriptions included Multilingual, Foreign, Owner of Dogs, etc. Participants were requested to find colleagues who matched the adjectives or met those descriptions and get such participants to write their names on the sheets and sign. The participant that could get all the descriptions signed the quickest was assured a gift.

The hall exploded in an orgy of excitement. Everyone wanted to complete the task in the shortest possible time. What followed was some 20 minutes of delightful bedlam. If you easily knew a colleague who was a foreigner, it was not so easy to know one who had a dog. You needed to work hard to get that one. Participants hopped from one to another, asking questions.

Soon, a winner emerged in Mrs. Jumoke Aduwo.  

However, at the screening stage, one of the people who signed Mrs. Aduwo’s paper didn’t quite meet one of the descriptions. So, the lot fell on the staff with the second best time, Amaka Oruche of Legal. She was adjudged the winner.

Thereafter, Life Coach Chukwuemeka Ezeogu of OLCA, gave a brief presentation, entitled “Effective Team Dynamics”, which dealt with the basic components of functional teams.

Done with some theory, the team poured out into the field for some live action. As the American philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, once opined, an ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.

On the pitch, the early morning sun was not enough to deter participants from having fun with music-aided aerobics. It was a delight to see staff working out together regardless of cadres or designations. It was one big happy family.

For the purpose of group-based activities, the staff had been divided into four colour-coded groups, namely, Blue, Orange, Purple and Green. Each participant was branded with a matching ribbon representing his or her group for easy identification. The first group-based competition was tug of war.

Team Orange was pitted against Team Blue. Heavyweight in Team Orange’s line-up included the heavily-built Ayotunde Olaoye of Admin, chiselled-torso Pastor Ike of Technical, athletic Akin Akinsanya of Enterprise Business, towering Mustapha Omotayo of Gloworld, barrel-chested Dipo Olusanwo of Sales, and the sprightly Temitolu Temidara of Events, among others, while Team Blue boasted formidable figures such as the bubbly and sturdy Dolapo Samuel of Advertising, among others. Team Orange won effortlessly.

Next, Team Purple squared up against Team Green. Purple boasted heavyset Omotayo Seriki of Marcoms, dainty Seun Adesunmi of Business Unit, athletic Emmanuel Bello of Mrs Disu’s office, and energetic Kunle Bamgboye of Technical, while Team Green had burly Femi Opadere of Media and sporty Ugoje Oghenemaro of Gloworld, among other fit athletes. Team Purple won.

Blue and Green squared up, Blue won to take the third place.

In the final showdown, the two winners squared up against each other to decide the first and second place winners. Basking in the euphoria of an emphatic trumping of Team Blue earlier, Team Orange filed out in their winning formation. Hefty men such as Pastor Ike and Dipo Olusanwo stood like concrete pillars at the front. Ayotunde Olaoye provided solid reinforcement somewhere in the middle while the rope was anchored on Omotayo Mustapha in the rear. This team looked intimidating.

Team Purple came out in their own winning formation as well, anchoring the rope on Omotayo Seriki. Consequently, by some serendipitous arrangement, it became a battle of the Omotayos, each of them determined to win the day for their respective teams.

Seriki, with an army camouflage face cap perched on top of his head cut the picture of one determined to take no prisoners. He wrapped the rope around his waist and adopted the pose of a professional sumo wrestler. One swift tug later, it was all over. Many of the Orange men were prostrate on the pitch. Pastor Ike’s six packs and Dipo Olusanwo’s huge biceps were unfortunately of no avail in this instance. That Purple team had the towing force of a Ford Expedition!

The Glo team had a number of other interesting physical activities, including the one called ‘The Web’, anchored by internationally-acclaimed Coach Kolade Stephen from OLCA. The activity emphasised the importance of collaboration in execution of tasks by teams.

Back upstairs, the team indulged in many other fun activities, including jumping on trampolines, competing in a foam pit race and so on.

One of the high points of the experience was the award of N50,000 gift vouchers each to about 30 staff members who had distinguished themselves in the discharge of their duties. On hand to present the gifts was Mrs. Disu. She was assisted by Miss Shade Mike-Adenuga and Mrs. Maria Svensson.

The team subsequently listened to an OLCA presentation on the importance of listening in effective communication before calling it a day.

Many of the participants described the totality of their experience as ‘awesome’.  

“I have learnt a lot about team-building. I’ve learnt a lot about collaborating. It has been an amazing experience,” said Amaka Oruche of Legal.

Dipo Olusanwo of Sales described the experience as ‘wonderful and one of a kind’. He said he met and interacted with people who had been in the company with him for 16 years without them meeting. 

Indeed a cross-section of the participants expressed their gratitude to Globacom for organising the event and prayed that more of the exercise be carried out in the future.

Glo’s drive for an empowered nation

First published in the Leadership newspaper in December 2020

There is likely to be no dissenting opinion to the notion that this is one Christmas that is in dire need of a cheer. It has been a roller-coaster of dark emotions and unsettling developments across the world since the first quarter of this year.

What with the Covid-19 pandemic that has seized the world by its jugular, among many other serious challenges that have threatened to put a damper on this year’s end of year festivities.

But then, winners are defined by their strength in times of adversity, and their capacity to find a silver lining in the darkest of clouds. The world needs hope and inspiration to trudge on. Characteristic of a brand that has established itself as a giver of hope, a bastion of empowerment and an oasis of inspiration, Globacom has come out with a set of television commercials devoted to giving the world the right kind of positive vibes it needs at this time.

The television commercial  (or online video commercial, depending on where you see it), The Christmas Dream, by Globacom is a brilliant offering aimed at cheering a world that is in dire need of it.

The one minute TVC opens with a boy walking onto a gleaming stage to perform a tap dance. He wastes no time and gets right to it, as the popular Christmas tune, Feliz Navidad, plays in the background.

This young performer displays his dexterity, tapping accurately to the beat of the Christmas tune as the scene gives way to another with more tap dancers of both sexes and in different colourful attires on stage, performing synchronised dance steps.

This fuses into an even livelier set up of people dancing in the street and generally having fun. The atmosphere is electric; the fun is palpable and infectious. Fireworks light up the atmosphere as the music comes to a crescendo. The scene morphs into a shot of the initial boy dancer, smiling and looking fulfilled. The TVC ends with a baritoned voice-over artist expressing a profound Christmas wish to viewers: “May all your dreams come true this Christmas.”

This is a TVC that millions of viewers will connect with, as it provides the necessary inspiration for people to carry on with their lives with a hopeful spirit. There are better things ahead if people do not allow themselves to be bogged down by the challenges of the times.

This is a master stroke from a brand that has etched its name in gold in the area of promoting excellence and greatness in Africa by stimulating the internal sense of accomplishment in its audience. It is consistent with the thematic thread of empowerment that runs through most of its TVCs.

Empowerment is not limited to providing telecommunications services that enables people to realise their dreams. It also entails fuelling their thirst for greatness, cheering them on and stimulating their appetite to achieve their dreams regardless of what is happening around them.

This comes out strongly in the next TVC christened “The Heart of Champions”, featuring the world heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua and popular music producer, Don Jazzy, both ambassadors of Globacom.

This TVC showcases a marriage of two distinct talents, boxing and music production. These two stars play to their respective strengths in this commercial. Anthony Joshua plays his role as a professional boxer, while Don Jazzy plays the role of a music producer.

The scene opens with Anthony Joshua walking into what looks like a music recording studio. Don Jazzy is behind the music producing console in the production compartment. AJ approaches the microphone like one who is ready to sing, taps it and asks Don Jazzy: “Are you ready for this?” Don Jazzy responds with “Let me hear you, AJ”.

Instead of singing, AJ launches into his boxing training regimen, starting with brisk rope skipping. The sound of the skipping rope cutting through the air and slamming the training floor formed a rhythm. Don Jazzy belts out an instruction: “Give me some base”. In response, AJ begins to hit his punch bag, producing another rhythm that is laid on top of the existing beat from his rope-skipping.

Don Jazzy issues one more command: “Double it”. AJ gets busy. More training activities produce their own beats which Don Jazzy blends together, and pronto, music is ready.      

AJ’s voice rings out amidst it all: “I was born for success. It’s the Nigerian way”. Quick shots of AJ in training give way to a shot of him on the ring, ready to take on his opponent. He says: “Glo gets it. Champions stay hungry. Oh yeah, Glo gets it big time. Champion goes the distance and they go further. Glo, the Heart of a Champion.”

This TVC was released a few weeks before Anthony Joshua’s clash with his Bulgarian challenger, Kubrat Pulev, on December 12, 2020 in London. The commercial was something of a prophetic declaration as AJ went further and knocked out Pulev in the ninth round. He thus retained his four world heavyweight titles, International Boxing Federation  (IBF),World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Organisation (WBO), and International Boxing Organisation  (IBO).  

The lesson Globacom has managed to propagate with this TVC is that it is available to give the necessary backing and inspiration to customers to go out and realise their dreams. The more subtle message therein is that going with Glo will bring out the best in you and establish you as a champion.

The next two TVCs are about football. Notwithstanding, they showcase the same ‘can do’ and winning spirit. “Life Is Football” features ace footballer, Odion Ighalo, who draws a parallel between life and football.

The TVC opens with Ighalo releasing a handful of soil. He says: “In this earth, we grow champions.” The TVC cuts to scenes of boys raising a goal post, playing football in the rain and jubilating over a goal, among others.

Ighalo continues: “In this earth, greatness takes root. Talent flourishes and passion ignites. Dreams, they come alive. We know, football and life, they are the same”.

 He goes on to highlight the similarities between life and the game of football. According to him, in life, everyone gets a ball, runs with it and guards it from opponents who want to snatch it away. “Don’t let them. Keep your eyes on the ball” he admonishes, as the film cuts to a scene ostensibly from one of his professional matches when he takes a bicycle kick to score a goal.

Ighalo counsels further: “When it’s time, take the shot. Life is football. You must take your shot.”

This is another message that is meant to trigger the hunger for success in the audience. It is direct, authoritative, and inspirational. A viewer comes away from watching it, believing he can move mountains.

Together with “Proud Supporter of the Best Supporters”, the fourth TVC, “Life is a football” exploits the wide affinity of the populace for soccer to pass a deep message that life is for people who dare to dream.

In the world of Globacom, anyone can indeed dream big, and no obstacle however big can discourage a man who is determined to achieve his goal.

This last point comes out strongly in “Proud Supporter of the Best Supporters” where a scene shows a boy in crutches enjoying a game of football with his able-bodied mates. His disability is clearly not a deterrence to his fun and happiness.

Since Globacom captured Nigeria’s imagination with its iconic “Magic Ball” in 2004, it has continued to demonstrate a mastery of the art of passing succinct messages through memorable advertising, sometimes using humour and slap-stick comedy to achieve its aim.

More importantly, the operator continues to stoke the amber of nationalism in Nigerians and reinforce their sense of pride in their beloved country and continent. Till today, one of its adverts entitled “The National Anthem” is one of the most viral TVCs in Nigeria. Every October 1^st, an edited version of this TVC darts thro and fro mobile devices in Nigeria as people commemorate the nation’s independence.

Other memorable adverts from the company in recent times include “You don hit my car”, “Awesome Meme” , “Smart Home”, “Emoji” and “Oga SIM”.

Whatever you may say about Globacom, you cannot deny the timeliness and aptness of its TVC messages, its unabashed commitment to promoting excellence and its determination to empower Nigerians and Africans in general to realise their full potential.

RMD is my Oga, says KOK

KOK and RMD on stage

The duo of Kanayo O. Kanayo gained more admiration in the sight of their fans when they openly paid homage to veteran thespian and Nollywood ‘darling’ RMD at the Port Harcourt edition of the Globacom Mega Comedy Show, Glo Laffta Fest.

The high profile event was in full swing when the show anchors, delectable Juliet Ibrahim and Ebube Nwagbo called on RMD to present Glo goody bags to the winners of a dance competition.

Before the presentation, they wanted RMD to dance and give them the ‘Obama Walk’, a recreation of the famous regal stride and convivial mannerism of former US President Barack Obama. RMD assured them he would please them in due course, but he would first like to go ahead with the task of presenting the winners with their prizes.

However, upon their insistence, RMD delivered a perfect recreation of Obama Walk, attracting applause from the audience. Juliet wanted more, and when she wasn’t getting it, she called on KOK to come on stage to ‘show RMD how it’s done’.

KOK climbed the stage, collected the mike and said: “How can a child teach his father how to go to school?” attracting laughter and wild applause from the audience.

Juliet won’t back down. She turned to Victor, who jumped up and theatrically walked up the stage as if he was eager to do Juliet’s bidding.

But on stage, he also told Juliet RMD was a distinguished pioneer in whose footsteps he and many others were following. He would also not do the Obama Walk. He also received wild applause from the audience for his decision and humble disposition.

The two mega stars openly paid homage to RMD, and made to return to their seats, but RMD insisted they should join him to present the prizes.

All three Nollywood greats leave the stage with their fans hailing them loudly. Old parade Ground, Abuja is the next stop of the show on April 23, 2017. 

Subscribers of the network who wish to attend are to text 'LOL ABUJA' to 240 for invites. 

Glo unveils product to track and find people

Nigeria’s National Telecom Operator, Globacom, on Tuesday demonstrated a service that can be used to track your family and friends. With the service called Glo Family and Friend Finder, you can actually locate any member of your family wherever they may be in the country. (Bad market for kidnappers!)

It was part of the 10 new products and services demonstrated to the media at the company’s headquarters, Mike Adenuga Tower, Victoria Island on Tuesday. The demo was graced by Glo Ambassadors, WAJE, Naeto C, Bez, Chee, and Omawunmi, as well as a security chief, the Divisional Officer, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Lagos, Mr. Sunday Olaiya.

Other products and services demonstrated include Glo Game Store, Glo Medicare, Glo Mobile Newspaper, Glo Directory, Glo Borrow Me Credit, Glo Security Tips, Glo Love Zone, Glo Property Tips, Glo Daily Inspiration and Glo Legal Adviser.

According to Globacom’s Marketing Coordinator, Mr. Adeniyi Olukoya, all a subscriber has to do to find someone is to send the text “find” followed by the telephone number of the person to be found to 5511. The platform will alert the person to be found also by SMS who will in turn reply “yes,” to give consent that he should be located and followed. Each request will be charged at N50 per SMS. The response is free.

As soon as the consent response is sent, the subscriber will immediately receive an SMS from 5511 indicating the location (relative to an existing landmark) of the person to be found.

An example of the SMS is: “0705******* is on Ahmadu Bello Way, near Nigerian Television Authority, Lagos.”

Commenting on the product at the event, NSCDC Divisional Officer, Mr. Olaiya, commended Globacom for introducing Glo Family and Friends Finder, noting that it will provide tremendous assistance to security officials tracking criminals, especially kidnappers in the country.

Another product, Glo Games Store, Olukoya said, enables the Glo subscriber to download and play any premium game on any kind of device on a mobile portal.  All a subscriber requires to enjoy the exciting offer is an active subscription to Glo Games Store. Everybody can use it as it is available on all types of handset.

Glo Medicare, he explained, is an SMS-based service wherein, subscribers are provided with regular information on a wide range of health and wellness issues, including how to manage various diseases or health conditions and how to prevent them.

Sharing the details of Glo Mobile Newspaper (Glo M-Paper), Mr. Olukoya said mobile phone users who subscribe to the service on the Glo network can access news as it is happening, while on the go through SMS news alerts.

Glo Service Directory on its part, is a service that offers subscribers access on the go to key information and contact details of millions of business organizations such as hospitals, restaurants, police stations, government offices, workshops, banks, schools, hotels, etc.

Glo Daily Inspiration is a service that uses an outbound dialer to call out to subscribers at a specific time each day to deliver fresh and invigorating content that edifies the soul and spirit. Some of the content available on the portal are Christian inspirational messages, Islamic Duaa, jokes and the Couples Arena.

Glo Legal Adviser, provides subscribers access to legal counsel and legal information via SMS at the touch of the phone through the short code:  4242.

Glo Borrow Me Credit enables prepaid subscribers to receive advance airtime during emergency when they have exhausted their airtime and they cannot easily replenish it due to non-availability of vendors. Subscribers can later pay back when they replenish their airtime.

Glo Property Tips and Glo Security Tips provide customers information on properties across the country and practical security information, respectively. Glo Love Zone affords subscribers opportunity to tap into a wealth of information on romance and relationships.