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  • Nigeria requires N348tr to address infrastructure deficit, says ICRC DG

    Nigeria requires N348tr to address infrastructure deficit, says ICRC DG

    • Akume: PPP ‘ll be tool for socio-economic development

    The Director-General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr Michael Ohiani, has said that Nigeria requires N348 trillion to address infrastructure deficit in the country.

    He spoke during a presentation at the Secong Quarter 2024 Nigeria Public Private Partnership Network (NPPN) meeting in Minna, Niger State yesterday, under the theme: ‘Using PPPs in Infrastructure Delivery in the states to ensure National Food Security and Economic Growth’.

    He said going by the Medium-Term Development Plan, the country required over N348.1 trillion investment in infrastructure, adding that the private sector would be able to provide the chunk of this investment to the tune of about N298.3 trillion, while the sub-national governments can provide N49.7 trillion.

    He said the various options available through which the government can raise funds were through borrowing, further repatriation of national funds and seeking further foreign intervention, in addition to raising more bonds through Sukuk, tax credit schemes, Public-Private Partnership (PPP), both through solicited and unsolicited proposals.

    Federal Government has said that Public Private Partnership (PPP) will become the primary tool for socio-economic development in the country.

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, in his keynote address, at the second quarter 2024 Nigeria PPP Network meeting, said embracing this option will boost infrastructure delivery, especially in the agriculture sector, address the challenges of climate change, dwindling revenue, security issues and food security concerns.

    “For the administration of President Bola Tinubu who has already declared a state of emergency on food security, there is a significant need to invest heavily for the improvement of food production and food security in Nigeria.

    “As a demonstration of this commitment, the President through the Federal Executive Council, recently approved the implementation of the Green Hope National Agricultural Mechanisation Development Program under a PPP arrangement. The details will be unveiled by the Minister of Agriculture”, he said.

     The SGF who was represented by the Director in the SGF office, Simon Tyuugu, called on state governments to structure viable PPP models to enable and ease private sector participation in infrastructure delivery, pointing out that the government alone cannot finance all programmes and projects, especially with the shift from oil to non-oil revenue.

    “Public Private Partnership (PPP) is an infrastructure procurement method that can be deployed readily. to reduce the strain on States fiscal spending thereby making them to be able to allocate fiscal savings into other developmental projects.

    “In this light that the Federal Gavernment commends this forum which brings sub-national entities together to share knowledge and experience successtul implementation of PPPs in upscaling infrastructure deficits in our dear country”, he said.

    According to Ohiani, the going by the Medium-Term Development Plan, the country required over N348.1 trillion investment in infrastructure. He said the private sector would be able to provide the chunk of this investment to the tune of about N298.3 trillion while the sub-national governments can provide N49.7 trillion.

    “This goes to show the importance of the private sector in infrastructure development,”  Ohiani said. He added that the revised National Infrastructure Investment Master Plan for the next 23 years envisaged that the country would require $2.2 trillion to bridge the infrastructure deficit in the country.

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    Ohiani said the various options available through which the government can raise funds were through borrowing, further repatriation of national funds and seeking further foreign intervention.

    Other options, he added were to raise more bonds, Sukuk, tax credit schemes, PPP- both through solicited and unsolicited proposals.

    He further revealed that between 2010 to 2023, the federal government had approved 103 PPP projects worth N20 trillion adding that there are 95 post contract PPP projects at different stages of the implementation phase while 152 pre-contract projects are still at different development and procurement stages.

    Ohiani said that the ICRC has issued 199 Outline Business Compliance Certificates to different MDAs confirming viability and bankability to proceed to procurement phase while 116 Full Business Case Compliance Certificates were issues to different MDAs in order to obtain FEC approval to sign PPP contracts.

    The Niger state Governor, Mohammed Bago, in his address stated that 95 per cent of the projects going on in the state are PPP based, adding that the state has gone head-on to engage with private investors for the infrastructural development of the state.

    Bago who was represented by the Head of Service, Abubakar Salisu said that Niger state will continue to seek for partnership and collaboration with the private sector especially in the area of agricultural development.

    “Niger state has actively engaged agriculture revolution through PPP as a means of bringing prosperity to the people. We have no problem with funding and the PPP arrangements we have entered into have been 100 per cent successful.”

  • FEC approves fund to bridge $878bn national infrastructure deficit

    FEC approves fund to bridge $878bn national infrastructure deficit

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the setting up of the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund (RHIDF) to bridge the nation’s $878 billion infrastructure gap.

    Announcing this to journalists after the week’s FEC, which was presided over by President Bola Tinubu, Special Adviser to the President on Revenue and Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr Zacch Adedeji, also disclosed that the Fund will be domiciled in the Presidency.

    According to him, the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan had estimated Nigeria’s infrastructure expenditure from 2016 to 2040 at USD 878 billion,

    averaging USD 35 billion annually, adding that recognising that the Federal

    Government alone could not meet the demand, given its heavy reliance on

    revenue from the oil and gas sector, new financing frameworks are required, hence the RHIDF, which is an upgrade to the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund initiated by the previous administration.

    Throwing more light on the Fund, Adedeji said: “How do we sustainably mobilise resources to actually fund development of the country. And what we have observed is that we need national  infrastructure backbone to get this done.

    “If you look at the analysis of the integrated master plan that was commissioned in 2020, we will require $895 billion in the next 10 years to actually bridged the gap of infrastructure problem that we have.

    “For us to do that, it requires that we think outside the box and compare what has worked elsewhere, whether within our country or in other advanced countries that we are actually proud to be associated with.

    “In coming up with this, in the wisdom of Mr President and the magnanimity the council, they approved the establishment of Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund, as the catalyst to drive our infrastructure agenda.

    “So, innovative fund consolidates existing resources to drive economic growth and connectivity across sectors like transport, agriculture, aviation and education and others. It helps for inclusive progress leaving no community behind and this is expanding the initial Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund that we have.

    “This Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund unifies efforts streamline the projects delivery for maximum impact, it accelerates infrastructure development, sparking economic dynamism nationwide.

    “The key objective of the fund is to invest in nationally critical projects in sectors that will promote growth, enhance local value addition through backward, forward and parallel linkages, create employment opportunities, promote technological innovation, promote exports.

    “Potential sectors for focus, like I said, will be agriculture, energy technology, infrastructure, healthcare and education. However, these ones I’ve mentioned are just indicative of what we do.

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    “Then what is our goal is to actually establish an innovative infrastructure investment vehicle that we will use to attract and consolidate capital, serving as a driver for economic advancement. It is also having as part of goals to execute strategic and meticulously chosen national infrastructure across several key-sectors, like coastal road; the rail that we want to do, both southern and eastern rail; agricultural, spanning from irrigation, storage, logistics, and cold-chain and food security; ports and our airports and also to guarantee Nigerians that we’ll secure most advantageous arrangement in financing.

    “So what is the strategic key focus for now? Like I said, we’ll focus more on road infrastructure, rail infrastructure, and agricultural infrastructure, ports revitalization and aviation enhancement. We believe that this vehicle will be one of the major vehicles, major-thinking-outside-the-box solution to our infrastructure gap.

    “We believe, hopefully by the special grace of Almighty God, that Mr. President will launch this Fund after the Honorable Minister of Budget and Economic Planning would have done the Supplementary Budget that will take care of all these critical projects that we want to go on to.

    “So we’ll look forward that the next few months, the fund will be launched and then it will be domiciled in Presidency as its precursor, which was the Presidential Infrastructure … This one is just expanding on that and then hopefully, in the next few years, we’ll be able to bridge the gap that we have infrastructure and then we’ll laid a solid foundation through which the food security, industrialization and all other wonderful aims that we have, we’ll be able to do. At the end of the day now help our internal revenue mobilisation.”

  • Experts lament dearth of medical rehabilitation facilities, infrastructure in Nigeria

    Experts lament dearth of medical rehabilitation facilities, infrastructure in Nigeria

    Medical rehabilitation therapy experts and stakeholders in Nigeria have expressed deep concern over the dismal state of the profession, as well as the inadequate facilities and infrastructure in the country.

    Presently, of the 170 Universities in Nigeria, only 36 offer training Physiotherapists in Nigeria while only five of the universities also offer advanced degrees including Masters, and or Doctorate degrees. 

    Of the lot, only three Universities are offering Occupational Therapy, while two offer programmes in Speech Therapy and Audiology
    Nigeria has only one Postgraduate Physiotherapy College that offers speciality training for Physiotherapists in Nigeria. 

    As for the personnel in the medical rehabilitation field, according to the Medical Rehabilitation Therapists (Registration) Board of Nigeria (MRTRBN), for a country of over 200 million people, the total number of registered Physiotherapists is 6,100, Occupational Therapists are only 163, 103 Speech Therapists and Audiologist and 200 Prosthetists and Orthotists. 

    Despite the apparent thin workforce, the experts lamented that many of the professionals have left the country seeking greener pastures abroad.  

    The stakeholders in the field, in a Communique released during the weekend and signed by the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MRTRBN, Prof. Rufai Yusuf Ahmad described the situation as unacceptable.

    The communique that emanated from the November 2023 stakeholders meeting held in Abuja to deliberate on the implementation of Rehabilitation 2030 in Nigeria from the perspective of training, practice, and regulation, urged the Federal government to prioritize medical rehabilitation as a matter of urgent public importance.

    According to the experts medical rehabilitation is critical to achieving success in the government’s Four Point Agenda for revitalizing the nation’s health sector and in overall support of the government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

    They said government urgent intervention becomes imperative because, despite the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) identifying medical rehabilitation as part of the healthcare services covered by the funds, there are no rehabilitation services in primary health centres throughout the country.

    The stakeholders lamented that currently, rehabilitation is completely missing as an essential healthcare service in the implementation of the BHCPF at the Primary healthcare level by the three available gateways; National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) and Emergency Medical Treatment (EMT). 

    This has hindered accessibility to rehabilitation services at the primary and community levels of care. 

    The stakeholders also regretted that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare which superintends over health matters in the country presently has no direct presence of Rehabilitation services and personnel in the Ministry. 

    With no National Policy on Rehabilitation which means that there is no policy or institutional framework for the coordination and implementation of rehabilitation initiatives and programmes in Nigeria, the stakeholders regretted that a vacuum has been created that could have a telling effect on the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) efforts of the Federal government.

    The stakeholders noted the lack of strong leadership especially the availability of a coordinating unit for Rehabilitation citing the absence of leadership as the reason for a lack of consistency in policy and political support for Rehabilitation at sub-national and national levels. 

    The stakeholders observed that a lot of fundamentals are outright lacking or grossly inadequate because funding for rehabilitation is scarce 

    “It was observed that the National Health Insurance Authority package for Rehabilitation is not adequate while rehabilitation equipment are not readily available and where available, they are very expensive 

    “Many Medical Rehabilitation professions do not have opportunities for specialization and acquisition of competence at higher levels of proficiency 
     

    “There are no Rehabilitation Centers that can serve as transition points for people that have been managed for acute diseases and injuries before moving back to the community 

    “Even as reliable and valid data are tools for national development and social transformation, data on Rehabilitation is not readily available in Nigeria”.
     

    On the way forward, among other steps, the stakeholders recommended that “The government should explore alternative funding such as a public-private partnership. 

    “A National Technical Working Group on rehabilitation should be constituted and domiciled within the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to be saddled with the responsibility of coordinating Rehabilitation policy development and implementation.

    “Since it was observed that funding for rehabilitation is scarce, the government should explore alternative funding such as a public-private partnership. 

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    “There should be a National Policy on Rehabilitation to be facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
    “There is the need for review of National Health Financial policies to develop strategies to fund rehabilitation in order to reduce out-of-pocket spending and increased access to Universal Health Coverage.

    “Federal and State Ministries of Education, National Assembly, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), National Universities Commission (NUC), NBTE (National Board for Technical Education, Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Board (MRTB) and other relevant regulatory bodies to ensure establishment and regulation of Medical Rehabilitation programmes in institutions in the country through the provision of funds and other necessary mechanisms”. 

  • How to bridge Nigeria’s $3tr infrastructure gap

    How to bridge Nigeria’s $3tr infrastructure gap

    Deployment of certified project managers to supervise infrastructure projects is one way of bridging Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit, according to Project Management Institute (PMI), a United States (U.S.)-based not-for-profit professional organisation for project management.

    The World Bank estimates that the government will need to invest as much as $3 trillion to overcome the infrastructure deficit.

    In a note, the Managing Director, Sub-Saharan Africa, PMI, George Asamani, said: “Projects are at the core of development. Dubai, a standout performer in the United Arab Emirates, is a good example of how successful project identification, preparation, and implementation can support economic growth, create jobs and attract foreign investment.Certified project managers can help improve the quality and efficiency of infrastructure projects in Nigeria. They can help to ensure that projects are completed on time, on budget, and to the required standards.”

    Africa’s largest economy has a large infrastructure deficit, with total infrastructure stock amounting to 30 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is short of the 70 per cent international benchmark set by the World Bank. This is according to the U.S. International Trade Administration.

    Nigeria’s challenges, especially in the built environment are not new. They include insufficient road networks linking commercial centres across the country and an inadequate stock of affordable housing.

    The government has started taking steps towards reducing the infrastructure deficit through increased spending as part of a 30-year infrastructure plan (National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan), which aims to bring Nigeria’s infrastructure stock to 70 per cent of the GDP by 2043. It has prioritised the construction and rehabilitation of new and old roads and railway systems, such as the Lagos-Ibadan and the Abuja-Kaduna lines. Efforts have also been made to upgrade and expand airports and seaports.

    Studies such as that conducted by the Infrastructure Consortium of Africa have shown that poor road, rail, and harbour infrastructure adds between 30 per cent and 40per cent to the costs of goods traded among African countries. The African Development Bank (AfDB) says poor-quality infrastructure can increase the input material costs of consumer goods by up to 200 per cent in certain African countries.

    The United Nations supports the argument and has said that “Infrastructure is the backbone of any country as it generates jobs, boosts economic growth, and improves the quality of life for the poor.”

    The Federal Government has outlined massive investments in transportation infrastructure, power supply, healthcare, education, and other public utilities. The government has also launched initiatives such as the National Housing Fund Scheme and promoted mortgage financing through the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria to address the demand for housing.

    Regrettably, the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) estimates that Nigeria has some 56,000 abandoned projects worth over N12 trillion and blames the high number of abandoned projects on poor costing, monitoring, and evaluation. The national monitoring and evaluation platform for government projects, Eyemark, affirms this, revealing that the new administration inherited 33 uncompleted projects valued at N16.29 trillion.

    Asamani said the effective development of infrastructure projects involves synergy between multiple sectors and stakeholders and effective oversight and coordination of various aspects and stages of projects.

    “A shortage of skilled project professionals means poor planning and implementation, resulting in inefficient stakeholder coordination and integration. As a consequence, the need for certified project managers becomes even more expedient if the country is to close the yawning infrastructure gap with the rest of the world,” he said.

    Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria has acceded to this by describing Nigeria as a “project managers’ graveyard.”

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    To improve skills and meet complex demands in today’s evolving built environment, PMI created the Construction Professional in Built Environment Projects (PMI-CP), a globally recognised certification for project managers involved in infrastructure and construction management.

    The PMI-CP certification is designed for industry professionals looking to sharpen or develop skills for existing or future opportunities in the built environment. The certification covers the domains of Project Communication, Scope and Change Order Management, Interface Management, Performance and Materials Management, Contract and Risk Management, Technology and Innovation, and Execution Planning.

    “Fundamentally, the PMI-CP certification instils a culture of ensuring project adherence to standards and requirements to improve the dependability and durability of infrastructure assets which is imperative, especially in the Nigerian context, with multi-billion-dollar projects on the anvil. As the construction industry evolves, the need for qualified professionals to manage complex construction projects will become more urgent,” Asamani said.

    As the administration gears to hasten infrastructure development such as roads, railways, seaports, and power plants, it must also consider investing in training more project managers. This will help ensure the government has the skills and expertise it needs to deliver the infrastructure projects and effectively protect its investments.  

  • Firm gets nod to raise N200b infrastructure fund

    Firm gets nod to raise N200b infrastructure fund

    AVA Global Asset Managers Limited, an asset management firm, has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise N200 billion through the AVA Infrastructure Fund Programme.

    The Series I issuance of the Fund, worth N20 billion, was launched to address Nigeria’s infrastructure gaps by strategically channeling institutional capital into infrastructure projects and is designed to encourage innovative businesses in sectors such as Power, Telecommunications, Agribusiness & Supporting Infrastructure, Gas Distribution, Processing, and Storage.

    The Fund’s main objective is to deliver consistent and reliable income to Unitholders through debt financing for infrastructure projects in Nigeria. It seeks to focus on projects or businesses that offer vital economic and social services, exhibit stable cash flows, and utilize long-lived assets.

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    Managing Director of AVA Global Asset Managers Limited, Efe Shaire, said the Fund’s aim is to strategically allocate private credit with a focus on impactful projects with robust and predictable future cash flows.

    The Fund projects to attain a gross return on its portfolio that is three to five per cent above the yield of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bond with a comparable tenor.

    The Programme will be periodically offered to investors in Series or Tranches, aligned with the pipeline of opportunities, and the necessary investment size/ticket.

    The Fund Manager will determine the specifics of each Series/Tranche, including its tenor, which will not surpass the Program’s overall tenor.

    The SEC has registered and approved this Fund as a closed-end, Naira-denominated Unit Trust Scheme.

  • China to support Nigeria’s infrastructure, economic devt

    China to support Nigeria’s infrastructure, economic devt

    The Chinese government has expressed its commitment to support Nigeria’s infrastructure development and economic growth.

    This was reaffirmed during a high-level visit by a Chinese delegation led by the Director-General of the Department of African Affairs, MFA, China, Mr. Wu Peng, who met with Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar.

    Also at the meeting, the groundwork was laid for a potential ministerial and presidential visit later this year.

    The meeting centered on building bridges; boosting trade and developing infrastructure.

    The Chinese delegation lauded China existing involvement in major Nigerian projects, emphasising its recent loan to the railway project.

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    Tuggar, who commended China’s friendliness, said infrastructure remains the cornerstone of President Bola Tinubu’s development agenda.

    He agreed with the Chinese delegation’s desire to further expand trade and economic cooperation, with Nigeria and the need for Nigeria’s increased participation in the Belt and Road Initiative.

    Discussion was also held around Nigeria’s industrialization and value-added manufacturing, particularly in battery-related minerals, a sector where Nigeria holds rich potential. Also job creation and local economic empowerment were key areas discussions were held, suggesting a shift towards deeper economic integration.

    On Nigeria’s push for a permanent seat at UN, China pledged its support for her aspirations on the global stage, backing Nigeria’s call for increased African representation in the United Nations Security Council, Peng said this aligns with China’s broader position advocating for a more equitable international order.

    He also expressed great confidence in Nigeria’s economic future, stating that the 21st century is Africa’s time to shine.

    Both sides agreed to build on the momentum of the visit as they did not rule out a potential Nigeria’s presidential trip to China and a reciprocating visit by Tuggar to his Chinese counterpart, signifying a strong commitment to bolstering ties.

  • ‘Why Enugu is investing in critical infrastructure’

    ‘Why Enugu is investing in critical infrastructure’

    Enugu State governor, Peter Mbah, has said that his administration was investing in critical infrastructure to aid and bolster the state’s economy.

    The governor spoke while commissioning the 1.8-kilometre Afia Nine, Onuato, Onyiuke roads and Independence Layout roads and the 270 modern shopping complex, Akwatta and new secretariat/administrative complex in Enugu North local government area of the state built by the executive chairman of the LGA, Mr. Emeka Odunze.

    The governor, who commended the chairman of the council, Hon Emeka Onunze, for his investment in critical infrastructure in line with the focus of his administration, said the newly constructed roads and the shopping complex would create job opportunities for the people and facilitate ease of doing business.

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    Mbah said, “What we are witnessing today is in line with the plans of this government; to constantly keep making investments in critical infrastructure needed to create opportunities for our people and to drive the economy of our people.

    “And when you invest in the road network, it is a moment for our people because our economy is essentially road-driven. Both goods and services are road-driven. So, any investment in roads has a multiplier effect for services and goods. In that way we keep lifting our people out of poverty, we keep increasing our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) because for all those people who sell on this road, for the time lost before this road was constructed, you are going to see a reduction in that time,” he said.

    Represented by the deputy governor, Barrister Ifeanyi Ossai, the governor expressed delight over the current trend in the local government administration in the state, saying they had started giving priority to capital and other meaningful projects that would grow the economy of the state and add value to the lives of the people they were meant to serve.

  • Old students spend N100m to boost infrastructure

    Old students spend N100m to boost infrastructure

    Old students of Owo High School, Owo in Owo Local Government of Ondo State said N100million was expended to boost infrastructure in the school ahead of its 60th anniversary.

    The old students said they would work with the state government to ensure more teachers were recruited into public schools.

    They said their intervention to build infrastructure at their alma mater was to boost enrolment into public schools and nurture the students for the future.

    Projects executed included a new administrative block, a new Junior Second School blocks comprising classrooms and a staffroom, rehabilitation and renovation of Senior Secondary blocks, rehabilitation renovation of physics, chemistry, biology laboratories, construction of boreholes, purchase of marker boards, support for ICT, renovation of staff room, renovation of NYSC  lodge and solar powered street light.

    Chairman of the Anniversary Committee, Prince Amakaye Ojomo, said the school had been a beacon of hope and opportunity by nurturing young minds and empowering them to achieve their full potential in all areas of life.

    Ojomo noted that education provided within the school instilled the values of integrity, resilience and compassion on the students.

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    He said Owo High School has upheld its commitment to academic excellence and holistic development. as well as played a pivotal role in shaping the minds and character of the students.

    He said:  “The passion, dedication, and tireless efforts have created an environment where students can grow intellectually, socially, and emotionally.

    “We owe a great debt of gratitude to our teachers who have gone above and beyond to ensure that each student receives a quality education.”

    President of the association, Dr Foluso Falaye, said the commitment of the school’s founder, the late Pa Michael Adekunle Ajasin, to providing sound education for children from all over the country was legendary and second to none.

    Falaye stated that the Ajasin’s life style remained a glowing example of excellent leadership and citizenship spirit.

    “His dedication and relentless commitment to our education  equipped us with knowledge and skills that have undoubtedly paved the way for our achievements in various fields.

    “Our school not only nurtured our intellect but also instilled in us the values of integrity, discipline, compassion, and perseverance.

    “These values are what set the students apart and enable us to confidently maneuver through the challenges life throws our way. It is heartening to see that these values continue to be at the core of our alma mater’s ethos.”

  • ‘Infrastructure critical to digitalisation’

    The world is moving towards digitalisation and connectivity to enhance seamless business transaction. The Vice President of Sales, Europe, Middle East, Africa and India (EMEAI), Western Digital, Nigel Edwards, says infrastructure is critical for the country to achieve digitization. He spoke with LUCAS AJANAKU on the sidelines of a programme in Lagos.

    The next phase in technology is digitization, how would a country like Nigeria achieve this?

    Your infrastructure in many cases is ahead or parallel with the rest of the world. What we need to do as a company is make sure we continue to deliver products that are affordable, that open up these markets, to enable the consumers, companies and corporations embrace the new technologies. That is absolutely our goal as we want our products and technologies to be available to everybody. Locally, our job as well is to communicate more, we need to help through our distribution network to educate communities about what’s available and what’s possible today.

    One of our slogans is: “The possibilities of what we can do with data today is endless”. We want to make sure we continue to educate and grow the market here, and I think if we do that it will naturally digitize itself. The day to day usage of people on their mobile devices is much greater than what we see going on in many developed European countries. The market is here in Nigeria today, in the United Kingdom (UK), France, and Germany, more people are moving now to the mobile phone as their main device, but still many use their laptop or home computer as their main device.

    But Nigeria on many fronts will be more advanced and more mobile than those developed countries. We just need to make sure we continue to develop great products as much as possible, that’s what we’re trying to provide to all our customers worldwide.

    You’ve been in this market for more than a year now, how has it been?

    From a SanDisk perspective we’ve been here nearly three years, but really we decided to put more of a business strategy and really target the market about a year and a half ago.

    What are your strategies for the market?

    We have a three staged approach to targeting the market. First of all, coming to the market to understand how it works and then trying to understand how products are distributed and sold across the market. We can then start to think about; okay which partners do we believe locally would be good for us to engage with? Initially, we start with quite a small sub-set of our products and then once we see that is working and we are building momentum, then we expand the range and coverage. We have taken that approach across North Africa, as we’ve expanded across that area as well, and that works very well for us. We did that a lot earlier last year with the SanDisk brands and we are now just about to launch the WD brands aggressively across Nigeria as well, and we will use the same approach for the external HDD products, Passports, etc.

    So far what has been the market response to your products?

    Really fantastic, I would say even above expectation. The Nigerian market is clearly very educated and have a high understanding of the technologies. Everyone is living their lives by their mobile phones, so data and storage are initially for everybody as there is never enough. We have been able, with our products and range of products, to really tap into that requirement for people to just transact their daily lives to enable them function. We have seen pretty dramatic growth of our business across the region, for the dual drives, androids and ixpand products for the iPhone devices and we’re hoping we can do exactly the same with the WD brand as well.

    Can you shed more light on the SanDisk WD relationship?

    SanDisk was the inventor of flash and the Western Digital Corporation bought the SanDisk Corporation nearly four years ago now. They bought them for nearly $18 billion, but the SanDisk brand was always very well known in the consumer retail space, when Western Digital acquired them the view was rather than kill the brand, we should continue to leverage the brand, so we decided to keep the SanDisk name and still drive it through our consumer business and that’s why you still see the SanDisk brand under the Western Digital corporate umbrella.

    It is said that data is the new oil, how secure are your products?

    Yes, I would say we are a data technology company as we don’t want to be just seen as a storage only company, we offer a lot more than just storage. Companies have realized how critical their security is for their data and therefore, across most of our products, we offer various levels of security, encryption and more. Across our range of products they are available, it just depends on which particular product you are buying, it is critically important for our customers, partners and communities around the globe to be assured that our products have security features built in.

    What are the unique selling points?

    We make all of our products ourselves. There are many others that are seen as flash companies, but actually they are buying raw from either us, Toshiba or probably Samsung. However, they are not actually developing, creating or controlling their own technology they’re buying from someone else.

    The great thing with Western Digital is that across our whole portfolio whether it’s flash or hard drives, our platforms or systems, everything is built, developed and manufactured by us. I think that is our first unique selling point and second, that those products work slightly differently than they would in a generic design. For example, in our platform products, if we build J-bods there’s certain technology in that J-bod that is specially attuned to work with our hard disk drive products, so the hard disk drives perform better because the design of the box is geared around the way our hard drives perform and therefore if you were to put a competitor’s product into the box it wouldn’t perform the same way. So, the focus now is developing the complete solution, not just the chip but the complete product and that I think is unique of Western Digital.

    How do you intend to launch your products into the local market?

    As you can see we have a vast range of storage products. When we first targeted the Nigerian market, we focused heavily on the consumer space with the SanDisk brand, now we will start to expand that into the WD line so it very much depends on the product. At the moment, our core focus is to develop and continue to develop the consumer based products, using the distribution network the local team have started to establish and my hope is that down the line, when the local team is more established, there will be opportunity and as we sign new distribution partners, some of them may be specialist distributors in different areas. They might be specialists in security, CCTV, servers and data centers.

    We have products that cover all of those areas so I’m hoping over the coming years we will start to encroach on some of those other business areas not just the consumer space.

    What is the importance of storage to organisations and businesses?

    Data is the new oil and the amount of data being created is exponential. Whichever way you look at it, that has to be stored somewhere and over the last 10 years, companies have realized doing something with that data is critical, not just storing it, that data has a worth, and it has a value. It is critically important that we make our products available, so that people can store their data easily, that they know it is secure, that they know the quality is there so when they want to mine something three to five years down the road they’ll be able to access their data without any problem.

    I actually think that we as a corporation have a huge responsibility to the world, to the customers with our portfolio today, I think the world is really waking up to just how important data is. I think we’re only at the forefront of this, today only 10 per cent of all data created is used. But we know that is growing dramatically, that means people need to store more and more, it’s fantastic for the industry and Western Digital in particular, our focus is to make sure we can provide to our partners, customers and distributors the best technology, the highest quality products that enable other businesses to do everything they need to do around storage that’s our core goal.

    Do you have products tailored for small businesses?

    All of our products can be used across any size of business. Our worldwide business is absolutely fragmented across all of those businesses anyway, depending where you sit. I guarantee we will have a solution of some sort for whatever business you’re in. We do want to look at targeting some specific areas like small and medium businesses in Nigeria.

    Are your products affordable?

    We might not be the absolute cheapest product on the market, but we will always be competitive and I believe if you can demonstrate great support and quality in a product, people will pay the extra few cents knowing they’re getting a genuine product that has the highest quality in the industry. But we have to be competitive, there’s no way around it, we can’t charge $10 for something when everyone else is paying $5.

    Is it short, medium or long term plan to open an office in Nigeria?

    I would say it’s a long term goal that we would like to achieve as we’re still very much in the early days of setting up our distribution network in the region. The team has made tremendous progress in a couple of years, we would want to continue to expand that team locally and our distribution network. I think if we are successful with that, as I believe we will be, then the natural progression is for us to look at whether we want local representation in an office.

  • ‘We ‘ll deliver on state infrastructure master plan’

    The incoming administration in Lagos State to be led by Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu    has pledged to make use of the existing state infrastructure master plan.

    The state’s Deputy Governor-elect, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, made the disclosure while addressing Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates’ Association (UNIFEMGA), Lagos chapter in Lagos.

    It was at the association’s 19th edition of her public lecture/luncheon, where Hamzat was the guest speaker.

    Hamzat, whose lecture generated series of responses from the audience, spoke on: Human Development, Energy and Enabling Infrastructure – Imperatives for Sustainable Economic Growth and Inclusive National Development.

    While Mr. Kolawole Ayanwale, Chief Executive Officer, Centrespread Advertising Limited chaired the occasion, Alhaji Abubakar Suleiman, Alhaji Abdulkabir and Mr. Ayodeji Balogun, Country Manager, AFEX Nigeria Limited were the panelists at the event.

    Hamzat, whose lecture was spiced with live stories of his experiences both in private and public services over the years, said their administration, would tackle traffic management and transportation, health and environment as well as education and technology.

    Also, he said  there are plans towards making Lagos a 21st century economy, boost entertainment, tourism, sport sector as well as  boost the state’s security architecture.

    To achieve all these, Hamzat said, there was need for solid foundation, which he gave as infrastructure.

    The Deputy Governor-elect added that the in-coming administration  would not be able to achieve any of their goals without concrete infrastructure, assuring that they would build on existing plans.

    “Accordingly, as far as infrastructure expansion is concerned, there is already a Lagos Master plan in place. I was part of the State Exco, when it was implemented by Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and also as Commissioner of Works and Infrastructure under Babatunde Fashola.

    “In the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration’s commitment to a Greater Lagos, we will not need to reinvent the wheel but rather just build on the good work of our predecessors.”

    Hamzat added: “It is a blueprint that has demonstrably worked when you note, for example, that the Lagos State Government has created over half a million jobs in the state through infrastructure development and renewal alone.”

    He said Lagos infrastructure growth is strategic and not happenstance; adding that, Nigeria would definitely become a global economic player, and with the massive economic activities with natural endowments in the state, Lagos State is key to that growth.

    However, Hamzat said the path to having a safer and greater Lagos was not only dependent on the government alone, saying the citizens have much role to play.

    “The only thing that I will add in closing is to proffer an old maxim of mine: good governance does not begin and end with good government.  If we can all agree that we want to live in a greater Lagos, then each and every single one of us has his or her own part to play.

    “We need to make a collective decision to be the change that we want.  We cannot move to the next level without taking that first step.  We cannot seek a greater Lagos when we choose to be less than great in our own personal lives.”

    He assured:  “Our administration will make that commitment to a better life and we ask all well-meaning Nigerians to join us on this exciting journey.”

    Earlier, UNIFEMGA chairman, Goke Adeyemi explained that the group chose the theme of the lecture to address the huge deficits in the areas of human development, energy and enabling infrastructure in Nigeria.

    He added that that, there was no gainsaying the fact that investing in sustainable and enabling infrastructure was key to tackling the three central challenges facing the Nigerian communities.