*COPIED*


DEFINITELY WORTH READING.

FINAL EXIT OF P&G: Farewell my 1st Love.

I finished my Youth Service in Feb. 2005. I was given a letter of recommendation from where I served in Jos (Vitafoam Nig. Plc). I was scheduled for an interview at their Head Office in Oba Akran, Lagos. I was to resume in their Kano Branch as Maintenance Engineer but religious crisis happened around that time. They had to shut down the Site to forestall collateral damages. Hence, I had to officially be flung to the ocean of "labour market". My first bite of "Nigeria Happened to You".

Fast forward to 2007. I had switched to full computer engineering. I cloned Computer systems for people and repaired same in the popular Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos. I just dey hustle anyhow to make ends meet. I always trekked from Opebi, where I was staying with the Owolabi's (May God bless that family for me) to Egbon Ojo's Office in Computer Village where I normally perch with my flash drive tied to my neck as symbol of a computer guy. It's in this state Sister Opeyemi Ajayi sent me a link to text my details to in Ibadan. I did and from that text message, my journey of 11years commenced.

I sincerely didn't know how big P&G was. I already passed UAC Management Trainee Test, scheduled for their Medical when P&G interviews were going on. A classmate I met at UAC in Lagos complained about their work culture, which was not too palatable. I shared my predicament with Pastor Kehinde Owolabi who told me how big the Company was in UK where he stayed for years. How Nigerians even lobbied and prayed to be their adhoc staff. This made me settle for P&G as my First Career Love. I resumed Sept. 13, 2007.

P&G would first host you for a month in Kakanfo Hotel in Ibadan if you didn't have anyone to stay with in Ibadan. All bills on them. The Company had bus that conveyed you to and fro the designated Bus Stop. You're trained about the culture of the Company for One Month. Free healthcare in the best hospitals in Ibadan and Lagos. Quality food at the canteen. My first salary was huge then because of all the prorated allowances. For the first time, I was treated with dignity. Naturally, the company gave me a sense of ownership till tomorrow.

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo might have his negatives but Ebora Owu knows Economics. He blocked border against products being manufactured in Nigeria. Businesses were booming. We work round the clock to meet up with orders from distributors. We only shut down on 24th December and startup night of 25th. Same thing for New Year Anniversary. We shut down on the 31st, start up 1st January Night. Full operation by 2nd. We couldn't cope with the demands. P&G had to be forced to invest more in Nigeria.

I first travelled out of Nigeria courtesy of my First Love, P&G. I, with four others were sent on an automation training with Rockwell Automation in UK. Our Nigerian coursemates for that One Month were people from Total, Mobil, etc. No manufacturing company dared such investment but the almighty P&G. You're escorted even to Visa Office by Mobile Police entourage. You're taken to and fro the airport with same entourage. Because they see you as asset that nothing should happen to. Imagine giving "ordinary technician" such honour. That's my P&G for you.

"AGBARA, THE FUTURE."

Because of the market demands, P&G decided to expand their investments in Nigeria. Paper section of the company was relocated to Agbara. Over $300Million was invested there with state of the art facility built by Julius Berger Nig. Ltd. We had Gym facilities. We had massagers. We had table tennis. We had football pitch. We generated our own power with a massive Gas Generator. Your badge is the access to doors, offices, canteen, gym, everywhere. These were the stuffs you only saw in American movies like 24.

P&G prioritizes trainings. Some of my guys like Betiku Olubunmi Jude , Gbadamosi Adekunle , etc were on training for the new production lines in Cairo for a complete calendar year. If you're married, you could go with your family, even some that gave birth there like Samson Oloyede Johnson went with Malle that did omogwuo in Cairo. My friend even named his child after the Cairo Doctor that meant a lot to their family. That's how important you are to that Company. They value you. How would you not love such company? The Femcare guys like Stanley Emite , Aderanti Yomi , Adewale Ajibade ,etc, went to Germany for theirs. That's how big P&G was.

"Agbara, the Future" became the slogan. That was the plan before Nigeria happened to my beloved P&G. The startups for the new lines started getting extended due to our Nigerianness. Custom's policy summersaults started affecting the logistics. Border flung opened. Cheaper products littered the market courtesy of another Govt policies. 3 brand new babycare lines were brought for initial installations but only 2 could be installed. Cheaper products had taken over the market before we produced our first diaper. The "future" was punctured from the world "go".

We would produce but no one to buy. Sometimes you wanted to produce, Shell might tell you, they couldn't supply gas to power you generator. You had to switch to expensive diesel to power the other diesel generators to produce to meet up with the little demands. To transport the finished products became a challenge too. The roads were horrible. Containers doing gymnastics by summersaulting anyhow on those gully-holes (because those were not potholes). I even learnt the companies around the axis like GSK, UNILEVER, P&G, to mention but few approached the State Govt and proposed to fix the road with a possible tax waivers to no avail. They told them to bring the money while their works ministry help them fix it. The companies backed out because of the integrity of the govt. Hence, the road became unpassable over time.

I will be hypocritical if I failed to mention few of the damages done inhouse. Before we even left Ibadan, stories of how pallets of products were disappearing in Alomaja wearhouse became regular news. To the point that a whole truckload of products was rumoured missing... T'ori Olorun! Guys became overnight millionaires at the expense of the company. Contracts were inflated anyhow. One that I was particularly privy of: Our chiller had issues. I and Oluwatomisin Adeoluwa Adetola narrowed it down to a defective Compressor. We sourced for a supplier online that promised to bring it the next morning. Price was #600k with installations. We presented it to the TSG Manager then. He claimed it won't fly since the guy was not on the list of suppliers. Lo and behold, the guy given it to presented #2.4m. He couldn't even fix the electrical connections, I was the one compelled to fix it for him. How that made sense to anyone I don't know.

Agbara ceased to be the future courtesy of both external and internal self-destructive birthed out of greed and untamed avarice. The investors borrowed us $300m at the exchange rate of less than #200/$. In Buhari's first 6months, it had jumped to #500. He fell ill and Prof. Osinbajo was able to stabilize it at #350/$. P&G had no alternative than to do all it could to stay afloat business-wise. Gradual retrenchment was introduced. Flow-to-work became the mantra. Before the next OGSM in 2018, it was decided Agbara plant should shut down! Hundreds of professionals retrenched. I remember the words of Akinola Jibola while we were powering down Babycare Line 1: "We are shutting down what should put foods on the tables of the generations to come." It daily rings in my ears.

I hoped against hope P&G would come back but it won't. I first heard about it from a top echelon before it became 'kariile' news. You prayed such news shouldn't be true. No one finds it easy to share the demise of his loved ones. Adieu my 1st Career Love. You actually "Improved and touched our lives". You meant well but we honestly don't deserve you. We messed you up. If you're only being abused by outsiders, you could have stayed but abuse by your loved ones was the last straw that broke the camel's back. All your "offsprings" like Ariel, Pampers, Always, Duracell, Oral B, etc would always have my endorsement anyday, anytime. Love you P&G.

Shame on the Nigerian government

Godddd

This was an interesting read. The sad tale of a dying country. Sad.

May Nigeria not happen to us.

Government policy can ruin everything overnight.

The cankerworm, workers, kills a company or business faster. They ruin it with greed, nonchalance, and nepotism.


Until you work with some individuals, you will not know what evil they are capable of doing.

You need a very good, STERN, and STRONG checks and balances to run business in Nigeria and only hope that government policies "favour" you.

This piece touch me reach my red blood cells. It is a pity.🤔🤔

Pathetic!

Typing quotations for companies then, the way purchasing managers asked contractors to inflate prices ehn, you'd cry for the owners! 200% above the price and the insider would make sure the contractor won with his own percentage share intact.

A lot of companies are struggling lately. The instability of the exchange rate is a very very big issue. Only business owners can fathom.
I hope and pray that tinubu get it right and repair the damages that buhari started. 😔

I also hoped the ever religious Nigerians could stop stealing, embezzlement and corruption.
At least, we go to church and mosque .

May Nigeria never happen to us.

E go reach everybody.
An injustice to one is an injustice to all.
When they federal government were busy closing down any firm that employs more than 500 employees,other Nigerians cared nothing.
Aba needed only power to boost their various manufacturing business but federal government is denying aba and nnewi power .
Over here ,we have seen it all.we have adjusted,we have been made tough by what we have gone through.
And most importantly,we have been prepared for success

Sometimes people are short sighted...

They hardly think of the long term effects of their actions. For instance those that stole some of the company's goods and even going the extent of stealing truckloads of products- well, were are they now?


I am sure now the company has gone under they are also struggling without jobs. The money they made from those shady deals gone a long time ago with nothing to show for it.

Wouldn't it have been better if the company was still afloat with them still doing their jobs and earning an honest living?

Some never see beyond their nose... Loot the company dry to extinction due to greed and insatisfaction.


Then sit at home and complain of no jobs!

P&G is a very big and strong brand. It's one of the global brands that you'd be proud to have any form of association with. So their exit is painful and a really big loss to 9ja.

Prior to now, I knew they had been struggling with low sales of their high-quality but expensive products which led to the shut down of their Agbara plant and retrenchment of hundreds of staff back in 2018.

What I didnt know before that this piece exposed was the impact of internal saboteurs. Though, all big manufacturing corporates always have cases of internal sabotage but apparently in P&G's case it was significant.

So P&G had, until this administration, been teetering on the brink of collapse but the forex hike back in July killed them off once and for all.

The outlook doesnt look good. The FG needs to get a hold of the fx fiasco cos it's killing many corporates.

The Nigerian factor will always come into play in destruction of companies. The government policies and employees.

Sad !!!

PeachtreeReside:
*I even learnt the companies around the axis like GSK, UNILEVER, P&G, to mention but few approached the State Govt and proposed to fix the road with a possible tax waivers to no avail. They told them to bring the money while their works ministry help them fix it. The companies backed out because of the integrity of the govt. Hence, the road became unpassable over time.

I will be hypocritical if I failed to mention few of the damages done inhouse. Before we even left Ibadan, stories of how pallets of products were disappearing in Alomaja wearhouse became regular news. To the point that a whole truckload of products was rumoured missing... T'ori Olorun! Guys became overnight millionaires at the expense of the company. Contracts were inflated anyhow. One that I was particularly privy of: Our chiller had issues. I and Oluwatomisin Adeoluwa Adetola narrowed it down to a defective Compressor. We sourced for a supplier online that promised to bring it the next morning. Price was #600k with installations. We presented it to the TSG Manager then. He claimed it won't fly since the guy was not on the list of suppliers. Lo and behold, the guy given it to presented #2.4m. He couldn't even fix the electrical connections, I was the one compelled to fix it for him. How that made sense to anyone I don't know.

Nigeria!

Other manufacturing companies might join in this exit before the end of Q2 2024

Proctor and Gamble is no more because they couldn't withstand the competition. For a very long time, they were one of the biggest producers of major items like diapers, pads and others which were sold at high rates.

With the entrance of other players, they gave Nigerians similar products for less. This was a major blow on Proctor and Gamble as sales dwindled.

Instead of them to restructure and slash prices to match with their competitors, they decided to take a bow. Nigerians won't miss them because we have alternatives.

This story touch me wella.

We4all:
Proctor and Gamble is no more because they couldn't withstand the competition. For a very long time, they were one of the biggest producers of major items like diapers, pads and others which were sold at high rates.

With the entrance of other players, they gave Nigerians similar products for less. This was a major blow on Proctor and Gamble as sales dwindled.

Instead of them to restructure and slash prices to match with their competitors, they decided to take a bow. Nigerians won't miss them because we have alternatives.

I'm going to quote your response everytime someone throws a stupid line for why P&G changed their business model


They were importing some stuffs already.....

Nigeriams are a horrible people. We cannot blame the government because same corrupt mindset exiat between the keaders and followers.

No wonder Dangote uses Indians as his management team.

That is how Nigerians have run Agip Oil company, the Italians have had enough and have sold the company.

What a bitter read, reason why experienced business men in Nigeria only hire foreigners to handle critical roles in their company. Nigerians and their evil fast money mindset.

We4all:
Proctor and Gamble is no more because they couldn't withstand the competition. For a very long time, they were one of the biggest producers of major items like diapers, pads and others which were sold at high rates.

With the entrance of other players, they gave Nigerians similar products for less. This was a major blow on Proctor and Gamble as sales dwindled.

Instead of them to restructure and slash prices to match with their competitors, they decided to take a bow. Nigerians won't miss them because we have alternatives.

The "competition" that you claimed P&G could not withstand is a negative type of competion that does not grow the economy and does not provide commensurate jobs. The fact that you have cheaper imported alternatives does not imply healthy economics in the short and long run. Former French colonies like Benin Republic have cheap alternatives dumped at the expense of local industry growth and the low purchasing power of their citizenry clearly negates any benefits from the alternatives aside smuggling into countries like Nigeria that have better purchasing power. Having manufacturing companies is different from having distributors.

2aces:
What a bitter read, reason why experienced business men in Nigeria only hire foreigners to handle critical roles in their company. Nigerians and their evil fast money mindset.

Same thing I heard someone say using Bunmi oni of Cadbury . foreigners as CFO to reduce the sharp accounting practices

Why bother to produce those items in Nigeria when you can easily import n sell them faster. People will always compromise your efforts one way or the other.

PeachtreeReside:
I'm going to quote your response everytime someone throws a stupid line for why P&G changed their business model
They were importing some stuffs already.....

Nigerians need good stable jobs not cheap goods manufactured outside of the country flooding the markets.

Many are wondering why dangote cement is costly and I do laugh at them.

Dangote goes to a business that he will have strong advantage to fix PRICES.


Pricing is a major factor that determine whether a company can survive or not.

With Pricing, Dangote adds external and internal theft in the factors of Pricing.

If you are buying his cement at 5,000 naira, be aware that you are also paying for the internal and external Nigerian factors.


Without this, he can't stay in biz.


P&G invested in area where the can't actually add those Nigerian factors in their prices and it fly.

May Nigeria never happen to you.

PeachtreeReside:
*COPIED*


DEFINITELY WORTH READING.

FINAL EXIT OF P&G: Farewell my 1st Love.

I finished my Youth Service in Feb. 2005. I was given a letter of recommendation from where I served in Jos (Vitafoam Nig. Plc). I was scheduled for an interview at their Head Office in Oba Akran, Lagos. I was to resume in their Kano Branch as Maintenance Engineer but religious crisis happened around that time. They had to shut down the Site to forestall collateral damages. Hence, I had to officially be flung to the ocean of "labour market". My first bite of "Nigeria Happened to You".

P&G said Nigeria is a $50m net sales country which means when they convert their sales to dollars they get $50m in 2022/2023 which means they make around N60b in sales.

Exchange rate for $$ in 2023 is around N900 - N1200 per dollar

Now divide N60b by N1200 you will get around $50m.

But in 2014 - 2015 the exchange rate for $$ was around N180 - N200.
So Let's assume they were still making N60billion in sales in 2014-2015.

Now divide the same N60b by N200 you will get around $300m.

So they went from making at least $300m per year in 2014 to making $50m per year in 2023.

If you were the owner of the company won't you close your operations.

stop spreading fake news about P&G situation Nigeria.

codemaniacs:


P&G said Nigeria is a $50m net sales country which means when they convert their sales to dollars they get $50m in 2022/2023 which means they make around N60b in sales.

Exchange rate for $$ in 2023 is around N900 - N1200 per dollar

Now divide N60b by N1200 you will get around $50m.

But in 2014 - 2015 the exchange rate for $$ was around N180 - N200.
So Let's assume they were still making N60billion in sales in 2014-2015.

Now divide the same N60b by N200 you will get around $300m.

So they went from making at least $300m per year in 2014 to making $50m per year in 2023.

If you were the owner of the company won't you close your operations.

stop spreading fake news about P&G situation Nigeria.

God bless you for the analysis

codemaniacs:


P&G said Nigeria is a $50m net sales country which means when they convert their sales to dollars they get $50m in 2022/2023 which means they make around N60b in sales.

Exchange rate for $$ in 2023 is around N900 - N1200 per dollar

Now divide N60b by N1200 you will get around $50m.

But in 2014 - 2015 the exchange rate for $$ was around N180 - N200.
So Let's assume they were still making N60billion in sales in 2014-2015.

Now divide the same N60b by N200 you will get around $300m.

So they went from making at least $300m per year in 2014 to making $50m per year in 2023.

If you were the owner of the company won't you close your operations.

stop spreading fake news about P&G situation Nigeria.

This is not fake news, I can atleast confirm the road part. Wanting to repair the road and government is telling you bring the money, so they can pocket it.

All the people that have been part of Ogun state will never know peace, they will amass wealth and see it vanish before their eyes

PeachtreeReside:
*COPIED*


DEFINITELY WORTH READING.

FINAL EXIT OF P&G: Farewell my 1st Love.

I finished my Youth Service in Feb. 2005. I was given a letter of recommendation from where I served in Jos (Vitafoam Nig. Plc). I was scheduled for an interview at their Head Office in Oba Akran, Lagos. I was to resume in

*Politeness*

What a heartfelt public tribute to a company that's been good to one. Most people won't even bother saying anything. P&G should include this write-up in their marketing. Compare to the horror stories we read about how Indian and Chinese companies treat their Nigerian employees!

*Does anyone know where this writer is now?

Harddiskng:



This is not fake news, I can atleast confirm the road part. Wanting to repair the road and government is telling you bring the money, so they can pocket it.

All the people that have been part of Ogun state will never know peace, they will amass wealth and see it vanish before their eyes

it is fake news..

the writer obviously has anti-yoruba sentiments and hatred that is why the post was written.

Very disheartening and painful!
The same set of people wey Dey shout government this government that.
What are we also doing at our various levels?
We are no different from those in power, same same.

So ashamed of Nigeria my former country

I'm sure there are many who are thinking of how to position themselves for the market that their exit has opened up.

Rather than cursing and moaning, what are you planning to do?

duduade:
Shame on the Nigerian government

Godddd

Sorry, was the government the only group you saw as the problem from the write-up up there?