'How Nigerian Brands Can Compete Globally' - Expert

By: James Ezema
E-mail: jamesezema@yahoo.com

First sales director Lever Brother Nigeria  Plc (now Unilever Plc) and current chairman CEO of Tuntise Investment Limited, Alhaji Sikiru Olatunji Alatise has said that for Nigerian brands to compete internationally, the problem of increasing high cost of production must first be tackled. The Alagbala Adinni of Lagos and the Otutubiosun of Ijebuland said this during the presentation of certificates to  graduating students of Institute of Sales Marketing Management (ISMM) UK in Lagos. Alatise who was chairman of the occasion frowned at the situation where local manufacturers would have to generates their own power, provide their own infrastructure,  wondering how they could possibly compete at the international market place with the increasing high cost of production. According to him, to make Nigerian brands equally competitive all over the world, “they should first do something about the problem with the Nigerian brand; the high cost of production, where you have to produce your own power, where you have to produce your own infrastructure. I think if government can do what they promised in providing power to the economy, if the infrastructure is there and there is railway system and those kind of things, the cost of local manufacture will reduce. Without this, the Nigerian brands will not be able to even compete within Nigeria against imported brands”.
Alatise added: “Then, we’ll be in a position to export and be able to compete internationally”.
By completing the ISMMD studies successfully, the eight graduates of the UK institution are automatically admitted to membership of the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management (ISMM) UK. According to George E. Thorpe, managing consultant of the accredited centre where the graduates were tutored, Market Space is interested in professionalising sales in Nigeria, hence the decision to offer a top quality internationally recognised educational programme in sales management. He added: “The accreditation of Market Space to offer the ISMM UK diploma in strategic sales with specialisation in key account management or sales management involved an audit of our faculties, training facilities and exam security”.