Phone-flashing: Lagos residents berate the habit

Some residents of the Lagos metropolis on Friday frowned at the habit of some mobile phone users flashing their contacts, with the hope of being called back.

A Correspondent of Newsverge, who went round to seek the views of residents on how they perceived people flashing them, said they described the habit as “annoying’’.

Mr Tony James, a student of the University of Jos, said many people flash, even when they have credit and that such a habit was annoying.

“The most irritating part is that some people hide their numbers when flashing. So, how do you decipher who they are?

“Some have mastered this art in such a way that when they flash, you will not hear your phone ring, but you will see missed calls when you check your phone.

“When it happens and your phone is not with you or you are in a noisy area, you will think you really missed the calls,’’ he said.

Mrs Rashidat Olaoye, a civil servant, said she hated the way some people flashed with their phones.

“Some people will continue flashing your phone until the battery becomes weak or completely runs flat.

“If you call them back, they will relax and be talking as if they are with you face to face.

“They will not consider that your credit is running.

“Even when they are the ones that needed something from you, they will be flashing you,’’ she said.

Olaoye said that she had stopped calling her sister-in-law back because she always flashed, rather than putting a call through.

“She will always say she does not have credit.’’

However, another resident, Mr Steve Onyeze whom is a trader, said that flashing was not bad, even when someone does not have credit.

“People might run out of credit and would need to call a friend or relation for something urgent.

“But when someone makes it a habit, it can be infuriating.

“Some people are just funny through the way they do things; if anyone wants to call, let him or her make the call; if not, let him or her leave it,’’ Onyeze said.

He further said that what he found most frustrating again was the GSM service providers disturbing subscribers with unsolicited calls and text messages.

Newsverge reports that Motorola was the first company to produce a handheld mobile phone on April 3, 1973.

Martin Cooper, a Motorola researcher and executive, made the first mobile telephone call from a handheld subscriber equipment, placing a call to Dr Joel Engel of Bell Laboratories, his rival.

Motorola, an American multinational telecommunications company, was founded on Sept. 25, 1928.

It was based in Schaumburg, Illinois, USA.

The mobile phone came into Nigeria in 2001.