Karl Toriola, the man in charge of telecommunication giant MTN, has a quiet sort of magic. It is the kind that turns spreadsheets into applause. In 2024, MTN Nigeria was bleeding red ink; a year later, it stands tall again, reporting a net profit of N750.2 billion. The trick? Not luck. Precision.

By September 2025, the telecom giant’s revenue had leapt 57 per cent to N3.73 trillion. Data was the golden goose, rising more than 70 per cent to N1.97 trillion. Voice followed close behind. The company’s 85 million subscribers seemed to be talking more, streaming more, living more online.

For Toriola, who took the helm in 2020, the turnaround is both corporate and personal. An engineer by training, he built his reputation on fixing systems: first at Ericsson, then at Econet, and later across MTN’s African subsidiaries. His career is an exercise in calm recalibration: find the fault, rewire the circuit, restore the current.

MTN Nigeria’s recovery owes as much to that methodical instinct as to better winds in the economy. The naira steadied, inflation cooled, and foreign exchange finally started to flow again. Within that window, Toriola pushed for price reforms, efficiency, and a quiet return to consumer trust.

By late 2025, the numbers told the story. Assets swelled to nearly N5 trillion. Equity, once in the red, swung positive. Retained earnings rose to N142.7 billion. The company even struck a fresh spectrum deal with T2 Mobile, strengthening its data backbone for the years ahead.

Toriola’s rise from Modakeke royalty to telecom royalty seems to follow the same logic as his business moves: know your roots, but build for the future. MTN’s rebound, in his hands, feels less like a miracle and more like maintenance. Indeed, it does feel like the conclusion of an up-market course on industry excellence: that in business, as in engineering, steady current always beats sudden sparks.