The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Industrialist

  • Industrialist allays fears over national debts

    An industrialist and Chief Executive Officer,  JKN Limited, Chief John Odeyemi, has said there is nothing to fear over borrowing by the government so long as the money borrowed is used for developmental and economically viable projecs with lasting socio-economic benefits for the country.

    Odeyemi, who is also the Chairman, JAO Investment Company Limited, said rather than lose sleep over this, Nigerians should be more concerned about the viability of projects than the debt incurred in bringing the project into being.

    He argued that there are several lending institutions that will lend Nigeria over $100 billion if they are convinced of the economic viability and benefits of projects the money will be invested in.

    He said: “Development is not only about the size of debt  a government is owing; the most important thing is for the borrowed money to be put into good use for the benefit of the greater majority and not fritted away into private pockets.

    “It is acceptable to borrow as long as what you are doing is viable, acceptable and beneficial to the people.

    “The economic benefit must outweigh the cost of borrowing; if development is right, the proceed will bring social and economic benefit to the people.”

    Odeyemi contended that the leadership of the country knows what is required to be done to move the country forward.  For him, Nigerians have never lacked ideas but implementation of such ideas is the problem, and until there is the will to implement lofty ideas and programmes, the nation may just continue to run round in circles.

  • Industrialist laments graduate unemployment

    An industrialist and Jagunmolu of Igbominaland, Chief Abdulraheem Oladimeji has lamented the growing graduate unemployment in the country.

    Oladimeji, who is also the proprietor of Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin urged the Federal Government to sanitize and boost the business sector to facilitate employment for graduates in the country.

    He said this at a press conference in Ilorin as part of activities to mark the 10th anniversary of the university.

    He lamented the absence of enabling environment that could aid the establishment of industries in the country, noting that with favourable policies by the government at all levels, the business sector would grow and expand and create job opportunities for graduates.

    He said that the business sector is dying because the sector is fraught with dishonesty as emphasis is no more on quality but profit.

    The proprietor however noted that the government can save the situation by coming up with a policy that will sanitize the sector.

    He said that it also largely requires government’s intervention to resuscitate public and private industries that have gone moribund.

    Appreciating that education is the best legacy one can give future generations, Oladimeji said he was inspired to establish Al-Hikma University for posterity despite the high cost.

    “Though the establishment of the university cost me some of my property I am satisfied because I believes it is the lasting legacy I can leave behind,” he said.

    The proprietor thanked friends and others who has helped sustain the institution, which he said does not enjoy any foreign grant.

    To encourage less privileged students, Oladimeji said he launched a scholarship for indigent students of the university.  He also said that apart from the law programme, that has just been accredited, the school plans to run Engineering and Agricultural courses.

     

     

  • WASU honours industrialist

    The West African Students Union (WASU), has honoured the Chairman of Momas Electricity Meters Manufacturing Company Limited (MEMMCOL), Mr Kola Balogun with the Kwame Nkrumah Leadership Award for his contribution to education.

    Speaking while presenting the award in Lagos, the Country Representative of the union, Mr. Oladele Babs Bamikole, said the winners were decided by the Executive Secretariat on the basis of proposals and nominations submitted by an international jury consisting of eminent personalities from WASU’s member unions and friendly international organisations around the globe.

    Oladele said there was an urgent need for the present crop of West African leaders, especially in the educational/entrepreneurship sector and aspiring leaders in all human enterprises to start realising the dreams of the region founding fathers while also creating new dreams to advance the progressive course of humanity.

    He described Balogun, an engineer, as an exemplary leader and a lover of education.

    Responding to the award, Balogun thanked WASU for the honour, saying it would further spur him to strive for excellence and empower the youth.

     

  • Industrialist donates to varsity

    Industrialist donates to varsity

    The Faculty of Business Administration, University of Nigeria Enugu Campus has added another feather in its cap. The faculty benefitted from the philanthropic gestures of one Nigeria’s known industrialists, Chief Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma, the Managing Director/CEO of Innoson Industries.

    Chief Chukwuma built and inaugurated the building named after his business outfit, Innoson.

    Although he did not reveal the amount of money he spent on the building which he equipped with state-of-the-art classroom gadgets.

    Speaking at an elaborate ceremony during which the building was handed over to the authorities of the university, Chukwuma said the day’s occasion was a fulfilment of a promise he made to the institution.

    He said he was impressed by the expertise of person who conceptualised the project, stating that he had donated many buildings to several universities.

    He urged them to make good use of the building so that with time, posterity would see that many more Innosons would be produced.

    “I would like to see that the building helped in producing industrialists who will                          add vigorously pursue the technological advancement of Nigeria,” he said, adding that “it is not the beauty of the building that matters but how the building will help in producing future industrialists for the development of the country.”

    While thanking Chukwuma for his gesture, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Benjamin Chukwuma Ozumba assured that the building would make a difference in academic and intellectual stature of not only the University of Nigeria but also Nigeria as a whole.

    He praised the donor whom he said started from a humble beginning to being the first man to have a vehicle manufacturing company in Nigeria.

    “He has, so early in life, blazed the trail. Life had not been roses for him. He crossed so many rivers to make it in life. He is today a well known philanthropist. Givers never lack. They are always replenished in many folds. We expect that Chukwuma will start manufacturing jets, having started with motorcycles, to motor cars. He did not study engineering but he is doing better than those who studied engineering,” he said.

    The Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration, Prof. Justie Nnabuko said their hearts were filled with gratitude to “this illustrious son of our land who has magnanimously shown us love.”

    She said: “If he did not love us, his academic family, he will not bestow on us his hard-earned money to use. Our prayer for him is that God will continue to shower him favour in all areas of his business, riches untold so he will continue to give, divine health, grace and mercy all his life long. He shall conquer more grounds and obtain favour with God.”

  • Industrialist urges protection for hunters, farmers over Ebola

    Industrialist urges protection for hunters, farmers over Ebola

    An industrialist and the Group Chief Executive of Origin Group Limited, Prince S.J Samuel, has urged the Federal Government to intervene in the plight of hunters who may have been adversely affected in the wake of the Ebola virus outbreak that has put the consumption of bush meat on hold.

    Prince Samuel said if no step was taken to address the plight of the hunters, whose main source of livelihood is hunting, it would lead to their inability to fend for their families and send their children to school.

    He said many states would suffer the consequence, arguing that the hunters cut across many states.

    He said: “These hunters do basically this business, what do we do about them, I am concerned and worried because that is the only source of their livelihood, that is the only way they send their children to school, that is how they feed their family. “There’s need therefore for government to quickly come up with a policy statement on the issue to address the plight of the hunters.”

    He argued that it is a known fact how Ebola came into Nigeria. “It came through somebody in the city,” he said, stating that the primary source of bush meat is the villages.  According to him, agreed that the viruses that transmit these disease are in the air and can easily be transmitted through animals,  but how many of the people infected are in the bushes and the villages? He said many of those infected are in the cities.

    He admitted that government has done well in the manner the Ebola infection  has been handled so far, but stressed that there was an economic dimension to the situation to which government must address itself.

    He said: “The government has done well in the containment of the situation, but the other economic effect on the  agric sector is where I stand that we should do something, and nobody is looking at it. It’s unfortunate and painful. The challenge we would have is the stigma that will go to the people who rear these things and to the product they sell, may not be quantifiable and measured for many years to come, even after the epidemic is gone.

    “That is why I think government should devote more effort and resources educating people about the bush meat thing and categorise it. For me the challenge is that most of the meat  we eat today is bush meat, including some of our cows.”

    Samuel said there is need for government to be distinctive on its classification on bush meat, so that people’s businesses are not unwittingly destroyed.

    “For me, I believe that there should be a sort of categorisation, more education and treading on the path of caution, so that we don’t destroy the businesses we are trying to build,” he said, adding that people have obtained loans to start some of  these businesses.

  • I came to Benin in a lorry, says industrialist

    I came to Benin in a lorry, says industrialist

    Deacon Vincent Agemonmen is an industrialist, philanthropist and an evangelist. The chairman, Freedom Group of Companies was recently honoured by the Benson Idahosa University with a Doctorate Degree in Business Administration. OSAGIE OTABOR met him.  

    How do you feel to be honored by the BIU?

    I am very happy about it. I feel it came at the right time but some people say it was overdue. I feel God’s time is the best. I feel great.

    Looking at your background? What advice do you have for young men?

    I will let them know that if they do well and they are not in a hurry to make money, a time will come that blessings will over run them as blessing is overrunning me now. As one is coming another is on its way.

    How was your growing up like?

    I sold palm wine, biscuits when I was growing up. I grew up in a difficult circumstance in a village setting you will not understand today. I trekked 16 km everyday to and from school every day without breakfast. My breakfast was eaten at 2:30pm.

    What happen that you are now an entrepreneur?

    I became an entrepreneur to give freedom to myself because I had suffered so much in poverty that I thought I had to do something about it. The hands of God were also pushing me. It was in a way to free myself from the bondage of poverty that brought about all these things we are seeing in business. When God finish with me in business, he gave me another business which is evangelism. My children are now taking care of the business.

    What lessons do you have for elders that are yet to embrace Christ?

    If God could arrest a church-goer like myself. I used to go to church to fulfill all righteousness for God not to be annoyed. Sometime I will be reading newspaper inside the church. I did not go out to look for Christ, he came looking for me. He told me to get people like me and I obeyed. It was later streamlined to me to meet people like me, elders and others that need to be in Christ.

    How much did you use to start your business?

    I came to Benin in a lorry. I sat on a bench at the back of the lorry without knowing where I was going. I came to Benin without a place to stay. If there were bridges in Benin like in Lagos, it would have been okay. I was surviving by just lying that I could no longer go home and the person would allow me to stay. I later went to hire an uncompleted boys’ quarter at Oza Street. I could count the stars from my room. Imagine living in a house without aceiling. It took a time for me to get a menial job at the Ministry of Works as a helper. While there, I learnt how to do plumbing. As I was doing that, it got to a point that I learnt a lot to be able to do contract work outside the ministry’s job. I was one of the first people to bring water system to homes to Benin. When we came to Benin, there was no water in people’s homes. There was only public taps where we used to fight. I was also selling palm wine and a taxi cab I drove at night to make more money. After a point I had to resign to give more time to business because my records showed that I was making more money than I was getting at the ministry. I didn’t had to go and look for seed money.

    How did you manage all of these without education?

    Necessity is the mother of invention. I would not have gone to secondary if we did not make effort. We had to fend for ourselves. Before I could go to secondary school, somebody promised to help my father but midway the person dropped and we had to do other things to make money. I sold Oxford gen biscuits. Young people cannot retail it and make profit because it was so sweet. To sell it one has to be very discipline. We did a number of things to take care of those things my father could not handle. In doing that, it helped us in business.

    How did you come about setting up a sand dredging company and others?

    Immediately I started doing plumbing contract, I added plumbing material sales and then building materials. At a point there was so much demand for sand at that time. People used to dive into the river to bring out sand on the canoe because no dredging. With the creation of the defunct Midwest State, government was here at the capital, Benin city and there was high demand for sand for road construction in the city. It was beyond what people could do manually. Going to buy a dredger was not an easy thing. God helped us that some of the people we were dealing with in building materials brought a dredger and we took off. I went to university after the business was so big. I employed graduates and without education, I did not understand the workers I had. I felt something was wrong and I needed to sharpen it. I went to the great University of Ife. While there, I decided to do project on what would be useful to me. I did a project on quarrying and immediately, I left the university, we started a quarry company and inaugurated it at Ukpilla. It was from there I established marble industry and then water factory. After so much and having spent 50 years doing business, I felt I was tired of doing business but I am still in the business of God.

    As a businessman, how were you able to combine your business and family life?

    My wife was instrumental. She played a wonderful role in the family. At a point, to come home for lunch was difficult so my wife suggested I bought an alarm watch to remind me of lunch. After I bought it, when the first alarm rang, I said I could not leave business opportunities for food. It did not work. My wife stood by me and took care of the children. It was my wife that helped more to care for the children.

  • Industrialist appeals ruling in suit against Senator Obiora

    Industrialist appeals ruling in suit against Senator Obiora

    An industrialist, Chief Louis Onwugbenu, has filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Lagos against a ruling by Justice Folasade Bankole-Oki of the Lagos State High Court over a property on 6, Okotie-Eboh Street, Ikoyi.

    The judge, on June 5, vacated an order stopping a former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Housing, Senator Ikechukwu Obiora, from developing the property.

    In a notice of appeal, Onwugbenu said the judge erred in law when she dismissed his motion on notice for interlocutory injunction dated August 12, 2013, as lacking in merit.

    He sought an order setting aside the lower court’s decision, and an order granting his reliefs in the motion on notice.

    The claimant had prayed the court to restrain the defendants from developing, advertising or selling properties in Ikoyi including Thompson Street; 4, Olumegbon Street; 1 Rumens Street; 3 Rumens Street; 1B Alagbon Close; 35 Lugard Avenue; 6, Olawale Dawoo Street; and 6, Okotie-Eboh, pending  the determination of his suit.

    Onwugbenu claimed that sometime in 2009, he gave Senator Obiora N1.4billion to buy the properties. According to him, the senator bought the properties, but has failed to deliver the certificates of occupancy to him or pay back the sum.

    In his claims, he asked for a return of the properties with the accompanying documents, or a refund of the N1.4billion with interest.

    He prayed the court to hold that he is the rightful owner of 6, Okotie-Eboh and is entitled to be granted the Certificate of Occupancy.

    Onwugbenu also prayed the court to direct the defendants, including Corporate Ideals Properties Limited and A.B.C. Orjiako, to return the original title documents perfected in his name.

    But Senator Obiora denied owing Onwugbenu any money. He said the claimant gave him money to invest in properties in Abuja, but that he rejected them and demanded for those in Lagos.

    Obiora said he has repaid what he owes Onwugbenu, adding: “The outstanding amount of N800million has been paid to the claimant upon conclusion of the sale of the property at 6, Okotie-Eboh, Ikoyi.”

  • Industrialist makes case for animal husbandry

    An industrialist, Mr Godwin Ezeemo, has advised the Federal and state governments to show interest in animal husbandry to boost agriculture in the country.

    Ezeemo made the call in Umuchu in the Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    The industrialist regretted that endeavours, such as piggery and rearing of cattle, sheep and goat had not received adequate attention from government.

    According to him, if farming like piggery is made attractive with adequate incentives, it will create employment for the teeming youths and also generate income for people.

    “Youths feel ashamed to embark on such farming, due to lack of adequate incentives like good roads in rural areas, power supply and soft loans.

    “If it is well positioned, they will take it up and enjoy the benefit.

    “Animal husbandry is a good aspect of farming that yields good money when channelled aright,” he said.

    He said Anambra is blessed with abundant human and land resources to promote animal husbandry.

    Ezeemo, who was a former gubernatorial candidate of the Progressives People Alliance, urged youths to embark on agriculture to be self-reliant.

    The industrialist appealed to the government and wealthy individuals to rehabilitate rural roads in Anambra to evacuate farm produce to the cities.

  • Industrialist’s solution to youth unemployment

    Industrialist’s solution to youth unemployment

    An industrialist, Mr Chukx Onyia, has said unemployment can be significantly scaled back if youths learn some simple and inexpensive trade, such as industrial soap-making.

    Onyia said industrial soaps are “used in various industries as raw materials for making chemical products,” adding that they are easy to make and do not cost a fortune nor require a factory for starters.

    “Industrial soaps are about some of the most profitable products in the market today yielding as high as 200 per cent profit in many cases,” but if you are working on “an extremely low budget,” he said, “you can start even in your kitchen and rake in tons of cash”.

    Onyia, a chemical business consultant and skills trainer for firms and governments, said there is a huge market for industrial soaps because “over 80 per cent of these simple-to-make products are still being imported”.

    If unemployed youths can tap into simple businesses like this, the jobs challenges in the country will be remarkably tackled, he submitted.

    Onyia, chief executive of Cifan Industrial Chemical Company based in Kwale, Ndokwa-West Local Government Area, Delta State, said the scope of industrial soap usage is so wide that the business is almost a virgin area in Nigeria.

    He listed industrial soap clients to include makers of gums of different kinds including those deployed in offices, shoemaking, tiling, among others. Other consumers of industrial soaps are beverage and food producers, cosmetic makers, paint and printing ink manufacturers as well as lubricant producers, textile workers, brewers and bottlers.

    “There is no one company that can produce all the industrial soaps needed in this country,” Onyia said. “It is a big opportunity for micro, small, medium and even large organisations especially those who already have facilities for soap-making. But even if you don’t have facilities yet, there are types that can be made at cottage level using simple operations.”

    Onyia has trained for Abia, Enugu and Ogun states, as well as local governments, non-governmental organisations and churches.

     

  • Industrialist seeks clarity in BoI/UNDP financing scheme

    The Bank of Industry (BoI)/United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP’s) structural financing programme for renewable energy development could be more productive if it is transparently administered, Prince Timothy Okedele, has said.

    Okedele, the country representative, Coomi Trade Sarl of Italy, a waste-to-power firm, disclosed this at a trade fair organised by Small and Medium Scale Enterprise Development Association of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in Enugu.

    He said as commendable as the initiative is, the process of picking beneficiaries of the $30,000 credit facility still leaves much to be desired.

    He said: “I am at loss on the methodology or approach adopted by the facilitators of the scheme in arriving at the outcome for selecting the beneficiaries from the 10 states chosen for the pilot scheme.

    “One is certainly not sure if the criteria set for selecting the winner was faithfully followed. In fact, there are reasons to believe that the process for awarding the $30,000 may have been manipulated to favour some beneficiaries who got what they didn’t deserve.”

    Besides, he said the time lag between the conclusion and implementation of a pilot scheme and the commencement of next one is unnecessarily too long, urging the facilitators to consider bridging the delay if the scheme is to be effective.

    “Since the pilot scheme took off close to a year ago it is surprising that nothing has been heard again on when the scheme would continue. As a matter of fact, I must say that the delay is rather unwarranted. If the scheme is to produce result for which it was established, we must ensure that more beneficiaries are encouraged to be part of the laudable programme without having to wait for this long,” he said.

    He commended the aggressive approach adopted by the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Development Association of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in its development programme,andenjoined organisers of the scheme to emulate SMEDAN’s approach by stepping up actions to benefit more entrepreneurs.

    He said: “I would like them to take a cue from SMEDAN so that the initiative can cut across board. SMEDAN, for instance, has been going round across the country organising trade fairs for entrepreneurs to exhibit and display their products and services. Just recently it held one in Enugu, which was well-attended by entrepreneurs. These fairs are like platforms for these entrepreneurs to show visitors including individuals and government agencies what they are capable to offer them.Besides, SMEDAN also provides financial support for small businesses in need of lifelines to boost their existence.”

    Okedele, also the Chief Executive Officer, Prince Adesoke International Limited, said the renewal energy programme is worth supporting with investment from the government and private sector if the country is to solve the acute electricity problem in the country.

    He said: “One of the reasons for calling for an aggressive approach to the structural financing of the renewable energy programme is the need for us to find a lasting solution to the erratic generation and supply of electricity in this country.Renewable energy as we all know has the capacity of complementing and helping out the conventional source of electricity generation, which is currently in dire strait. Therefore, the only way this can be possible, is to provide more funds for innovative technological solutions in renewable energy.”