[img]vml1.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Cosmas-Maduka.jpg[/img]
[center]IF life gives you
lemons, go ahead
and make
lemonade. With
God, nothing shall
be impossible.
Nothing can
stand in the way
of a man with a
dream and
determination.
These sayings
proved true in
the life of Dr.
Cosmas Maduka,
the chairman of
Coscharis Group
of Companies, a
Nigerian
conglomerate.
Jack of all trade
and master of all,
best describes
the man who
rose from the
proverbial dunghill
to the mountain
top.
In this chat with
Financial
Vanguard,
Maduka speaks
of his humble
beginnings, how
he started with
virtually nothing
to build a multi-
billion naira
business in the
space of 32
years. All these,
he attributes to
the Almighty God
whom he
confesses, has
made all these
achievements
possible.
Excerpts:
The early years:
I am Dr. Cosmas
Maduabuchukwu
Maduka. My
middle name is
kind of
inspirational; my
parents alone
knew the reason
they gave me
that name.
Maduabuchukwu
means ‘man is
not God.’ I lost
my father at the
age of four
years,
automatically,
my mother
became a single
parent.
For some reason,
they had four
children in four
years. It was as
if they knew
something was
going to happen. I
was the second
in the family. I
have a senior
brother and two
younger ones. It
was a rough time
for my mother
taking care of all
of us, but she
was a godly
woman, a very
devout Catholic
who worshipped
God the best
way she knew;
never missed her
morning mass.
She taught us to
pray the Catholic
rosary. She was
my angel. I owe
everything I am
today to her.
She told me
stories about my
beginning, she
told me they
were scared
when I walked at
six months
instead of the
usual nine
months; things
that sounded
incredible then.
The stories only
inspired me
because she
made me believe
I could go places
and that I should
believe in God and
in myself.
So I believe that
mothers play
very important
roles in moulding
their children’s
future. My
mother could
have told me I
was useless and
never going to
amount to
anything, abused
me mentally and
think she was
trying to help and
mentor me, but
she always said
inspirational
words to me and
that kept me
motivated and
gave me the
courage that no
matter the odds,
I could go places.
She did her best;
she made me go
to church
regularly, she
trained me in the
way of God to
the best of her
knowledge.
Questions my
mother could not
answer led me
to Christ:
But by the time I
turned 11/12
years, I started
asking questions
that she couldn’t
answer and of
course, when I
turned 15 years,
I made a
commitment to
Jesus Christ. I
became a born
again Christian.
This gave me the
faith and courage
to really take
inventory of my
life. The greatest
book that is
greater than any
human intellect is
God’s word, the
scripture,
because it is
written by
inspiration.
Prophets of God
spoke God’s
thoughts not
man’s words.
Sometimes they
themselves did
not understand
what they were
saying but by
inspiration, they
said it.
Otherwise, how
could Isaiah have
said a virgin will
conceive?
Scientists and
intellectuals
would have
laughed him to
scorn, but he
went ahead to
say it. It was
over 700 years
later before a
virgin conceived
and some people
are still asking
whether a virgin
truly conceived.
All the things
that my mother
said to me made
me believe in
myself.
The death of my
father deprived
me of the
opportunity of
going to formal
school. I dropped
out of
elementary
three. I could
have practically
become a hunter
or at best, an
okada rider, but
God’s grace was
upon me, moreso
as I had
embraced the
gospel. When I
told my mother
that I had
repented, she
said; “What?
What did you
repent from?” Of
course she
thought she had
an angel in her
house but
growing up as a
young man, I had
peer pressure like
every other
young person.
I did things that
many of my
peers would
never even
consider doing. By
age 14, I had
smoked, drank,
watched
pornography. So I
had things to
repent of that
my mother did
not think I did.
She said that
only retired
criminals needed
to repent of their
sins; that I was
too young for
that. Too bad, I
knew enough to
repent. We have
all sinned and
need to repent
and make peace
with our creator.
That kind of put
me on the right
foundation.
Working as an
apprentice:
I worked for my
uncle for six
years as an
apprentice. Many
do not realise
that the people
that trust us are
those who
educate us. It
was Robert
Koizaki that said;
‘Work to learn,
don’t work for
money,’ so my
uncle was my
mentor. I slept at
No 88 Griffin
Street Oyingbo
Bus stop where
his store was for
several years and
at the end of my
six years
apprenticeship, in
the 7th year, he
gave me N200 as
my start-up
capital.
N200 start-up
capital:
Like many
youths, I could
have spent that
money in a
restaurant that
evening in
frustration and
cursed everybody
around me and
blame God for
taking my father
when I was four
years old, but I
had a different
mindset. In fact,
my senior
brother who
went with me
asked me to
reject the N200
and I asked him
if he had
anything to give
me and he said
no, so I told him I
better hold the
N200. That was
how I started
life.
Launching out:
I had a mind to
succeed so I
teamed up with
my brother and
we set up a
company called
Maduka Brothers
at Nnewi,
Anambra State.
Somebody gave
us one quarter of
his store free of
charge because
we could not pay
for a store. We
were there for
six months.
We would come
to Lagos, buy
merchandise and
sell. We
struggled, and by
the sixth month,
we started
differing in
ideology. I would
go to church and
give an offering
of N1 and he
would feel it was
too much. He told
me that they
give 10 kobo in
their own church
and I told him he
drank beer and I
did not. So, flimsy
things created
problems
between us and
we parted ways.
Going solo and
first
breakthrough:
I was on my own
and he was on
his own. Things
started working
together for me.
I had my first
breakthrough
when I came to
Lagos and went
to Oregun, Ikeja
where I bought
some motorcycle
crash bars from
a company
representing
Suzuki. I went to
the East, sold
them and made a
lot of money. I
took the night
bus back to
Lagos, bought
some more and
went back.
Before people got
to know where
the crash bar
was coming
from, I had made
enough money
because each
time I went; I
will tear off the
address from
where the crash
bars were
coming. I bought
myself Honda
175 motorcycle
which was like a
BMW 7 series
then and
everybody was
saying ‘this boy
got rich
overnight.’ That
was my first
breakthrough in
business. By this
time, I was 19+
and was thinking
about getting
married.
Dr Cosmas
Maduka
Role models:
I had embraced
the gospel and
did not want to
fool around, so I
got married
before my elder
brother. I will be
54 years on
December 24 and
I celebrated my
34th wedding
anniversary on
September 24.
It’s all about
mindset. I had a
mindset that I
was going to not
just survive, but
I was going to
succeed. It did
not matter the
odds in my life. I
found characters
in the Bible like
Joseph and David
who became my
role models. They
inspired me.
Coscharis is born:
At a time, I
teamed up with
a friend of mine,
David Nwosu and
we formed a
company called
CosDave Motors
and later we
parted ways. In
1982, I formed
Coscharis, a
combination of
my first name
and my wife’s
name. I am
Cosmas and she
is Charity.
We have grown
the business to
what it is today
and by the grace
of God, today we
do various things
– from sachet/
bottled water, to
yoghurt, to
motorcycle parts,
to automotive
components, to
representing big
names like Ford,
Landrover,
Jaguar, BMW. We
are into medical
equipment, and a
whole lot of
other things. By
the grace of God,
we have built a
Nigerian
conglomerate,
and that is
something that
many people find
incredible.
Advice to youths:
The matter is
simple. It is not
too late for
anybody to
become anything
he chooses. But it
is good when
people do not
waste their
youthful years.
Statistics show
that 86 per cent
of success occur
between 16 – 25
years. Many
young people live
a wasteful life,
hoping they are
going to catch up
down the line. I
think it is best if
no time is
wasted.
Somebody who is
going to be a
doctor, by 16, he
should already be
reading science
subjects. You
cannot be at that
age and still not
be clear about
what you want
to achieve.
If you don’t
know where you
are going, any
road can take
you there
because there is
no clear sense of
direction. You can
still make it at
40, 50, 60 but the
chances are very
slim because
when you are
young, you have
all the energy and
zeal. You need to
sow the seed at
younger age that
you are going to
reap when you
grow old. So
when you waste
your youthful
age, you pay for
it down the line.
Not all rosy:
There was an
agony period. I
went through
different things
in life but you
know, it is easy
to talk about
success, you just
tell all the good
sides but I can
tell you that I
had rough times
growing up. Even
when I started
my business,
there was a time
things went bad.
A young man
was asked to
differentiate
between finish
and complete and
he said; “A man
who marries a
good woman is
complete and a
man who marries
a bad woman is
finished. A man
who marries a
bad woman from
a wicked family
is completely
finished. I thank
God for my wife
because after I
got married, she
supported me
with her meager
salary and we
lived peacefully.
So it’s all about
determination to
believe that with
God, all things are
possible and that
you can succeed.
We have been
able to build an
institution today
called Coscharis
Group of
Companies. Our
success story
sounds actually
incredible, it is like
a paradox; the
reality is that it
stares you in the
face that you
cannot dispute it
and it leaves a
clear example
that with dogged
determination,
and a sense of
purpose, anybody
can achieve his
goal.
Entrepreneurship
programme in
school:
It is a step in the
right direction.
Like I said,
although mine
was not through
a formal school,
but my mother
did exactly what
you are referring
to. She did not
just inspire me to
success but at
the age of five, I
was already
hawking. People
do not believe it. I
will get up in the
morning to go
and sell akara
before going to
school. That was
in elementary
one. People would
see me and say,
‘who is sending
this child out?’
They looked at
me as a child
that was being
abused but my
mother
discovered the
entrepreneurial
capability in me. I
learnt to smile at
people, get their
favour and sell
things to them;
so I have been
selling all my life.
So growing up to
become an adult
selling, I know
exactly what the
customer
expects.
He wants
service, he
wants a good
smile, somebody
who can explain,
invalidate their
objections and
tell them why
they should deal
with him. So if it
is incorporated
into the curricula,
I think that will
be a right
foundation for
our people. What
that will do is to
create more
people who are
independent-
minded.
We all have an
inherent
capability God has
put in us to be
creative so we
need to get to a
point where we
should begin to
challenge our
imagination. It
was Napoleon
that said
‘Imagination
conquers the
world,’ and Ivan
Aston said
‘Imagination is
more important
than knowledge,’
and when you
get to a position
where you can
task your mind
to start thinking,
that is actually
being creative,
that is being like
God.
That is why God
said ‘BE
FRUITFUL’, a
demand on the
potential He has
put in man. But in
the African
context, people
think about
making babies
whenever you
talk about being
fruitful. But in
brain work, they
are not fertile.
People do not
task their brains
to give birth to
ideas. Everything
we enjoy today
is somebody’s
brainchild –
electricity,
automobiles,
airplane,
computers etc.
Somebody
thought and
created them.
Mono product
economy: Way
forward:
The truth is ‘No
light, No future’.
Energy is power.
When God
started the work
of creation, the
first thing He
said was ‘Let
there be light and
there was light.’
God did not say
let there be seed,
when there was
light, because the
seed was already
in the heart of
the earth, the
light came on it
and the seed
sprung up.
If we don’t solve
the power
problem in
Nigeria, we are
living in a dark
age. That is
fundamental to
everything. Once
there is light,
many industries
will spring up.
Many things are
dependent on it
so the
authorities
should know that
they need to fix
power.
It is wrong that
we are all
depending on oil
because before
the advent of oil,
Nigeria’s
economy
depended on
agriculture and
many Yoruba
elites went to
school on
scholarship from
Cocoa Board. The
Easterners with
their palm
plantations, did
what they did
with Okpara and
the northerners
with their
groundnut
pyramids. This
nation is blessed.
We have eight
climatic
conditions and
we can farm
eight times in a
year.
Malaysians came
here to take oil
palm seedlings
and today, if you
go to Malaysia,
palm oil
contributes 30
per cent of the
GDP. They have
crude oil but that
contributes only
about 30 per cent
of the revenue,
other things
come from
agriculture,
tourism etc. So
we know what
to do but we
mismanage
things because
we lay too much
emphasis on oil
and sharing oil
revenue,
therefore, so
many people
have become
lazy and other
aspects of our
lives are actually
being wasted.
There is so much
disequilibrium
between the rich
and the poor
today, everybody
wants to
migrate to the
cities, the rural
areas are
neglected so
they are not
attractive to
people. So it is a
problem that
needs to be
solved but the
leaders need to
think right and
begin to put
things in order.
They need to
make the rural
areas attractive
for people to
come back and
stay and be able
to make a decent
living so that
everyone does
not migrate to
the city.
For the first
time, I see the
government is
not paying lip
service to power.
I think they are
on the right
course. Finally,
PHCN has been
unbundled and
they are going to
be selling it. They
just need to
attract private
investors. It is
not something
Government can
do anymore.
The regulatory
authorities
should know that
you don’t neglect
people’s
investment
when you are not
putting any
money. I was
discussing with
someone
recently and he
told me that one
of the GSM
companies pays
N1 billion in tax.
All of these
things were
possible because
the
telecommunication
industry was
liberalised and
there was
competition so
phones going for
N20,000 those
days have come
down. In
commerce, they
tell you that
availability comes
first before
affordability so
the thing has to
be available
before you can
think of whether
someone can
afford it or not.
We are still living
a wasteful life.
So they should
allow investors
who take risk to
invest in the
power sector,
produce and sell.
Let those who
want to buy,
buy, and people
will become more
economical.
Today, you do
not tell people
not to stay on
the phone for too
long because
they pay. In
those days that
it was
government
phone, you could
sit and cross
your legs and
speak for hours
because you are
not the one
paying. Let power
be available then
we can talk
about the cost.
The same thing
goes for the
Petroleum
industry, we
should deregulate
it. Deregulation is
the answer.
Outside of it, we
are still living a
wasteful life and
creating a fertile
ground for fraud,
making few
people multi-
billionaires at the
expense of
others.
Advice for
President:
I think our
president has the
right vision to
make a
difference;
unfortunately,
never in the
history of this
country has any
president been
distracted like
himself so it is
unfortunate that
he met a
situation like this
but I see him as
a very
courageous man
who is very
resolved in spite
of all of the
things that have
been done to
break his spirit,
he is still very
determined to
make a
difference.
The situation we
find ourselves in,
in this country
today is
unprecedented. It
should distract
anybody and you
cannot talk about
economic
development in
insecurity, when
you are not sure
you will be alive
the following day
or the citizenry
will be alive the
following day. So
the Boko Haram
issue has been a
clog in the wheel
of progress.
Nevertheless, I
am still very
impressed that
he is determined
to make a
difference, the
situation he finds
himself
notwithstanding.[/center]
www.vanguardngr.com/2012/10/from-n200-i-grew-my-business-to-a-multi-billion-naira-conglomerate-cosmas-maduka/

Front page please....... Cosmos is indeed a man of God, by their fruit you shall know them.

I love reading success stories, they inspire me ...and some people still be waiting for that 'dream' job in an oil company. Smh

He started life with #200, 35yrz back #200 was like how much?, stop decieving us #200 then was enough to start a business.

2 million: He started life with #200, 35yrz back #200 was like how much?, stop decieving us #200 then was enough to start a business.

And it was also enough to own a company? Read the story once again and then comment.

...

Success story like this encourages people to believe in hardwork and ability to survive even in the face of trouble. On the otherhand,#200 in the 70s was worth much more than it is today.

Eze Promoe:
And it was also enough to own a company? Read the story once again and then comment.

i think u should be d one reading d post n my comment again. D post didn't say he started a 'company' with #200, it says he started a business...pls read very b4 commenting(incase of next time)