₦airaland Forum

rvp2017:
That obviously is nonsense.He was just vodafone employee who was sent down to Nairobi - long after Safaricom was running.

The point is that foreigners own your most notable companies and businesses and are Forbes richest in your country, this is not the case with Nigeria. Foreigners are doing well here and lndians own many industries in Nigeria, but they are not the biggest or most notable, you see the difference? Our Wealthiest from Tony Elumelu to Abdul Samad Rabiu(competing with Dangote fiercely), jim Ovia and Dangote are all Nigerians.

rvp2017:
Safaricom was not started by a foreign. It was started as dept of Kenya Telkom with vodafone (strategic partner) owning 40%; and kenya gov (60%). The shareholding is still roughly that way. Vodafone 40%; Public (IPO) -25% and Gov of Kenya (35%).

ok fine, give us the names of the founders. Also what of Kenya telecoms belonging to Helios( a private equity investment firm founded by Nigerians)? This is not a big deal though, it's just ironic because you always say Nigeria knows nothing aside oil.

rvp2017:
Nigeria are amazing in their delusion. You'll never admit that the giant is naked.And no- it not about policies - they have lots of SOLID indicators there - and Nigeria is just doing very badly - nearly bottom 10 - and it's seem to get worse - Kenya has improved from position 99 to 80 (jumped nearly 20 countries) - while Nigeria has regressed around from 120-128!

While you regress - kenya ranked "worse" than only South Africa, Mauritus, Morroco and Tunisia - which are second world countries.

https://www.globalinnovationindex.org/analysis-indicator

What are you guys innovating that makes you think you are ahead? What are you innovating that we don't even see? List your innovations.

obaaderemi:
He does not know that Nigerian universities are the highest ranked in West Africa and among the highest in Africa. We have 5 universities among Africa's top 25. And yet one illiterate says Nigerians are illiterate. You see why I said he hates himself thinking the problem is with his country. This is the latest ranking for Africa.


https://www.4icu.org/top-universities-africa/

Exactly.

sufferNsmiling:
I say only 2% of the inventions in africa are achieved by nigerians.
nigeria rank 128 in the world’s innovative.
Global Innovation Index 2016 nigeria rank 114.
Zimbabwe is now in front

http://www.myafricanow.com/10-most-technologically-advanced-countries-in-africa/
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/countries-worlds-innovative
http://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo_pub_gii_2016-intro5.pdf

What are the Zimbabweans innovating? Read the report again it's all about policies driving innovation. We all know Nigeria is not perceived as conducive place for business and these reports are more about that and nations with policies driving innovations

sufferNsmiling:
Good my friend you are coming to see what I am saying I'm not bitter off my business in nigeria. Most of these data which are given buying nigerian universities completely false. They take your money and give you certificate.200 doctors from universities in south west nigeria failed o level exam in kenya all of those universities like covenant universities adjust big names I'm making noise. Look at this so called covenant university dear top students fail entry exam into south african universities namibian universities. Nigeria has the largest population in africa but in invention only 2% of the inventions in africa are achieved by nigerians. The worst country in the world to bring up a child. no Nigerian primary or secondary school top 40 in africa you start teaching a child education at a young age in nigeria we want to teach everything in the universities.we Push o'level and a level into the universities. Very soon we will push primary schools into the universities. the best age to start educating is from 3 years to 8 years america. It is believed what's the children are more than 10 years it's too late.88% off are certificates are fraudulent. Last month I pass through south africa 10 to 12 in one room all graduates doing nothing and all in legal. You see other african countries students are been taught how to drive tractors maintain tractors drive combine harvesters maintain industrial machineries you come to our universities in nigeria our students are carrying cutlass and hoe to projects. If you cannot teach the youths the correct ting you cannot have good leaders tomorrow. Education is power.

Exaggerations again. 2% of production in Africa, how do you arrive at your stats? What is the 98% production in Africa, Mr?
Give me facts and statistics, not figures you just feel like quoting.
Even if you are right, and Nigerian education is nothing to write home about, you forget that from Nigeria also comes the largest educated in the diaspora and this was also helpful in the early 2000's when we opened up our telecommunication sector in the Obasanjo era.
You are only interested in seeing all the wrongs with Nigeria and not even a single good. l am telling you that Nigeria (just like Lagos) is a strange country known for hidden order in a sea of chaos.
I'm tired of your negativity, it's infectious and sickening.

Startup City: Lagos, Nigeria
Lagos, Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy and one of the fastest growing cities in the world – Lagos is expected to double in size in the next 15 years, according to the Populations Reference Bureau.

And in recent years the port city has become an incubator for some of the continent’s biggest startups, including Jumia, Africa’s answer to Amazon, and Easy Taxi, an Uber rival, both from Africa Internet Group.

Even as other global tech hubs have experienced a slowdown, the city, and Africa’s tech industry in general, has continued to see big growth in funding .

And the city is just getting started.

“The Lagos startup scene is in its infancy – but growing fast,” Collins Onuegbu, the director of the Lagos Angel Network, told us. “We see Lagos as the ultimate hub for startup investments in Africa in a few years.”

As the heart of Africa’s tech industry, Lagos is growing so fast that it’s even hitting some of the same problems big cities like London and New York face – specifically, it’s getting pretty expensive.

But there’s still plenty of room for you and your startup in this global megacity.

The City’s Startup Support
Collins Onuegbu’s organization, Lagos Angel Network (LAN), has invested early seed funding in ten companies since launching in 2014. “Most importantly, though, angel investing involves more than funding,” Onuegbu said. “Mentoring and handholding are a key part of our investment.”

LAN and its members have supported: Sproxil, a tech company that uses mobile technology to combat counterfeiting; Pass.ng, a practice and testing platform for Nigerian examinations; and Codeware, which helps companies with business process automation. “There is a lot of space to grow, and our objective goes beyond investing to helping build this startup ecosystem,” Onuegbu said.

Considered Nigeria’s first startup incubator, over 50 startups have made Co-Creation Hub their home. In December, to mark their fifth anniversary, the incubator announced a $5 million social innovation fund. The fund will offer support “for early stage social enterprises solving local problems across various sectors of the Nigerian economy,” according to the company release.

And what’s a tech hub without a coworking space? Capital Square offers budding startups all the co-working essentials – wifi, desks, meeting rooms, office and event space–and they run workshops, training, and networking events.

Sample the City’s Startups
The fiscal analysis company, BudgIT, shines some much-needed light on Nigeria’s notoriously corrupt political system by showing citizens where the country’s money goes.

The company, which started in the Co-Creation Hub, “uses an array of tech tools to simplify the budget and matters of public spending for citizens, with the primary aim of raising the standard of transparency and accountability in government,” according to the BudgIT website.

“In Nigeria, it can take up to 90 days to legally register a business,” according to Quartz. But DIY Law, started by the three female lawyers, offers online services that automate and guide would-be business owners through the onerous process.

In 2009, three university students started Jobberman to help combat Nigeria’s unemployment problems–the job listing site is now the largest in both Nigeria and Ghana. “If you put food on the table by virtue of getting a job for someone, that person also fends for a mother, or a brother and you create a multiplier effect within that household,” Olalekan Olude, one of Jobberman’s founders, told the BBC.

Comic Republic, a Lagos-based digital comic book startup, releases 30-page books for free to nearly 30,000 readers. The company “is able to generate enough money through advertising and spin-off projects, including educational booklets on malaria featuring [the comic’s] characters, to keep the business running,” according to the AFP.

“People had this idea that African comics had to be with people in traditional clothes, but I don’t agree with that,” the creator, Jide Martins Martins, told AFP. “Let them have Nigerian names, saving people in Nigeria, but let’s put them in.

Source.. Uncubbed.com

sufferNsmiling:
Fine you said I'm shallow minded ok. I give you a question to answer and it seems 2 nigerians field the question one of them was you. Nigeria's problem is not electricity, it is not political, it is not laziness, it is not greediness and we nigerians are also not selfish. You say you are in nigeria but you don't know nigeria's problem now let me educate you on the problem. Why are country cannot move forward at all is because off the high levels of illiteracy in the country our doctors, professors lecturers ,vc, politicians ,deans and alot more are illiterate. we got stuck illiterate educated illiterate . Illiterate are teaching illiterate and graduating illiterate. The biggest problem in my country today go to smaller african countries what they are doing we cannot do 5 to 10% of what they do because we are not educated. Most of the educated nigerians have run away long time ago . in 1980 with more than 80 nigerian lecturers in one africa university in southern africa. Education is the backbone off any country when you put the cleverest students and the students which fail in the same university and want electricity. we want development .we want progress. we want a better life. No matter how many billions and trillions of us dollar you throw at an illiterate he will do nothing with the money. Nigeria has spent more money on electricity dundee whole of north america has sprint. We cannot make a lot of things transformers, electric motors, tyres and even bullet. These are thinks which country is like malawi, zimbabwe and botswana make. This is why politicians are corrupt because when you put an illiterate into office his first idea is too loot . Education is most powerful tool in this world look at china today chinese women are the most educated in the world and look where china is . India was having the same problem with nigeria but what they did in education ,they opened 8 research centres and give those research centres to retired indians from the best universities in the world to run. A lot of universities in nigeria are pumping out illiterate graduate even the private universities. You find out a doctorate or professor in the country today cannot pass cambridge A level or O level.

My problem with you is not that what you say is completely false but that you generalize too much, exaggerating the so called progress of other African nations in comparison to Nigeria. You prefer a single story version of Nigeria, simply because you are still bitter from your experience in Nigeria with regards to your business.
The problem with a single story is not that they are untrue but that they are incomplete, they rob a people of their dignity (Chimamanda Adichie).
Yes many of the youths have half baked education, but so many are still thriving with some of the most valuable tech start up's in Africa in 2016 and has the most valuable tech ecosystem In 2017. In 2016( during recession) the Lagos tech space attracted the highest funds in the continent ahead of South Africa and Kenya. Most of these guys in the Nigerian tech scene are from Covenant university and other Nigerian universities. if as you said, Nigerians are so uneducated that they can't do 5-10% of what other Africans do in other African nations, then this wouldn't be happening at all.
So you see my friend, while l believe we need to reform our education sector, l wouldn't go so low to say Nigerians can't do 5-10% of what other Africans are doing.

mtis:
Really really. A why are naijas fleeing their country in masses even risking death. What’s so horribly wrong in your country.an please don’t tell us that they are smart an want to conquer other worlds. Below are some of your mates in Kenya. If Kenya is so tiny like ya say what the fck are they doing here.Must be something wrong on the other side .

" Prince Gwamnishu Harrison, the CEO Behind Bars Initiative who is currently in Nairobi, the country's capital – paid a visit to the prisoners who narrated their ordeals. "
You cant deny that the prince is from Nigeria

So do you have irrefutable proof that those are Nigerians?

mtis:
Thread was started by a Nigerian patriotic remember..an by now you should have realised that kenyans don't let go too soon (Reflected in our struggle to make our country one of the best in Africa despite having no minerals to brag about..just good old education an dreaming big..)

Thread was started in response to Kenya's bragging on twitter, and it was started by a politician who claims to be a patriotic Nigerian.

darfay:
If Kenya is that good why do you need gratification from nairaland. What do you guys care about Nigeria being fvcked after all you neither live nor work in Nigeria

l wonder myself, we don't need arguements to show that Singapore is good or that Sweden is doing well, it's clear for all to see.

nemesis4u:
Just providing info, no interest or stand in the discussion here.

My personal opinion, as no 2 persons can be compared with out prejudice , neither can be 2 countries.

There is a lot of good things to be learnt from each and every country in this world.

It depends on the eye of the beholder.
If it seeks good things , it will be found in any country
If it seeks bad things , it will be found in any country

Anyways regarding the 2nd largest employer claim

The agencies here r

Ministry of external affairs (foreign ministry) India.
Embassy of India in Abuja, Nigeria.
Africa portal
PWC

100 + companies operating ( the 4th link gives the details )

http://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Nigeria_September_2017_en.pdf


http://hcindia-abuja.org/bilateral-brief.php


https://www.africaportal.org/documents/6894/Saiia_OP_101.pdf


http://hcindia-abuja.org/India-Nigeria-Bilateral-Trade-and-Economic-Relations.php


https://www.pwc.de/de/internationale-maerkte/assets/doing-business-in-nigeria-2015.pdf

Oga, Nollywood is Nigeria's second largest employer after agriculture, employing millions of people not the lndians.
lndians are Nigeria's largest trading partners, and that's it. They are not the second largest employers of Nigerians.

nemesis4u:
http://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Nigeria_September_2017_en.pdf

Page 2

Indian companies 2nd largest employer in Nigeria after the Nigerian government.

https://guardian.ng/news/obasanjo-charges-indian-community-on-role-in-nigerias-growth/

Your Source is Obasanjo of all people
l give up on these guys, goodnight.

sufferNsmiling:
Ok nigeria's gdp in africa and lagos gdp is the biggest city in africa. Now in education kenya beats nigeria. In doing business kenya beats nigeria. Countries to live in kenya beats nigeria. Security kenya beats nigeria. Healthcare kenya beats nigeria. Life expectancy kenya beats nigeria. I am not sure of this but in manufacturing kenya beats nigeria. If you go to any blind man and ask him which country do you want to live in nigeria or kenya 99% of the blind men we'll say kenya. You have a city with a big gdp which is last in everything .the airport is one of the worst in africa. The metropolitan system is one of the worst in africa. It is one of the worst cities in africa to live in. One of the most polluted cities in africa and the noisiest city in africa please tell what is the gdp off lagos nigeria 4 if the infrastructure is not on the ground. Goodnight nairalanders.

ln education Kenya beats Nigeria? that's relative and l dunno how you arrived at that conclusion.
The airport, metropolitan system one of the worst in Africa? Maybe.
lnfrastructure is not on ground yes but then Lagos is still a bigger economy than Kenya, deal with it.

l still don't know what's breaking about this.

sufferNsmiling:
I did not come here to fight . I came here to tell the truth. I am not siding kenya. We nigeria do not want to hear the truth economy is in a critical mass . We only are surviving on borrowing money right left and centre. Nigerians spend more on education in ghana than in nigeria is that a country. A country where most of the citizens invest in other countries. A country which is rank number one in the world in capital flight. If you say 5 million nigerians in ghana . 1.5 million in south africa and up to 16 million nigerians in other african countries 11 million of those are in liga. More nigerians are in african countries than in europe or america is this the type of country we want. Since 1980 nigerian lecturers, teachers and doctors have bin running to other african countries. The truth hurts but if we do not tell ourselves it we cannot move forward

You are not saying anything new.

rvp2017:
Yes I have to agree - there is nothing the congolese love than fashion and music. They don't give a damn about anything else.They don't care about their country going to the dogs - as long as they can look good!dance to their music! and eat their curry!

Well Nigeria cares for fashion and music, but also information tech, Entrepreneurship and what have you. But for the Nigerian people(not the Government) the country would be way worse than Yemen.

rvp2017:
This should be your national bird. Kenyan people - majority -esp the kikuyu tribe - are so frugal - so hardworking - and will save every penny - and die with millions in the bank. That is what drive kenya. Our hard-work, frugality,co-cooperativeness and sense of purpose - we simply don't have time for fashion or music. Kenyan dream is just to own & keep as much wealth as possible and to transfer it to their kids. Not to waste it in fashion or travelling or luxuries.We rather import tonnes of second hand and last season fashion from us or uk - than design or make our own expensive african prints.[b][/b]
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Peacock_Plumage.jpg/1200px-Peacock_Plumage.jpg

But you started this whole textile debate to show that Kenya is far better at it, and that Nigeria is all about oil and nothing else.

rvp2017:
I think am done here. I will come back again next year to see how far you've regressed. In 2016 when this thread started - you guys were not this bad!

No o, stay and learn more...


In recent times, the global demand and discussions on African inspired clothing has led to tremendous boost in sales for some African designers and brands whose works have caught the eyes of international personalities including Beyonce, Michelle Obama, Rihanna, and Thandie Newton. The potential for this billion dollar market has birthed a need for African-led ecommerce fashion platforms to create structures that will not only cater to global demands, but also help upcoming brands to thrive.

With a population of 170 million, the fashion ecommerce industry in Nigeria is still underserved, a weak match for the growing internet users in the country. However, a Nigerian company is making waves by leveraging on technology to create an online platform that would be a one-stop shop for fashion. Fashpa.com is Nigeria’s premier online fashion retailer. Fashpa is vertically integrated; it designs, manufactures and distributes its line of clothing. It retails the clothing online and offers delivery throughout Africa and the World.

Source.. Forbes.com

rvp2017:
A good start - hope we see it soon in our supermaket and stores. Maybe your banks can donate one advertisement slot in CNN for this...people would love those African prints! I think I have two or three...that I bought in Uganda. Kenya we just do western kind of clothing.

Don't be like our congolese..who spend all the day bleaching, buying expensive perfumes, fashion and dancing lingala tunes..while their country which like nigeria has incredible natural resources is mirred in poverty.

Actually you guys are CONGOLESE twins. All you dream about is to peacock around in multi-colored african prints if not dancing and making merry!!! . That is your dream...just like our African American bros. And you will end up in the same boat.

Well we don't easily do the western thing when it comes to fashion,and this is why the West is interested. Even in the America you brag about, we have attracted Michelle Obama there as well.

rvp2017:
A good start - hope we see it soon in our supermaket and stores. Maybe your banks can donate one advertisement slot in CNN for this...people would love those African prints! I think I have two or three...that I bought in Uganda. Kenya we just do western kind of clothing.

Don't be like our congolese..who spend all the day bleaching, buying expensive perfumes, fashion and dancing lingala tunes..while their country which like nigeria has incredible natural resources is mirred in poverty.

Actually you guys are CONGOLESE twins.

You are always jumping from one ladder to another. Stay one place na!

rvp2017:
Which top fashion brand has emerged out of Nigeria? Nothing? How about you start a multi-colored african prints and brand it. Maybe we can buy it? Maybe you can export it?

These are the biggest fashion brands in Nigeria, you can read about them here and their influence abroad..


https://www.google.de/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.nairaland.com/2271350/biggest-fashion-brands-nigeria-people&ved=2ahUKEwickI_8vsvaAhVHKVAKHSvpAq8QFjABegQIBxAB&usg=AOvVaw2t4MBoZp8ajTW-BTo7WoTf

rvp2017:
Those are self-serving title awarded to by Nigerians to Lagos. LAGOS cannot be capital of anything serious.The capital of multi-colored Africa Prints for sure.

if you are talking about fashion, when you Google fashion capital of Africa you see Lagos pop up easily, not Nairobi, so what are you talking about?

rvp2017:
Those are self-serving title awarded to by Nigerians to Lagos. LAGOS cannot be capital of anything serious.The capital of multi-colored Africa Prints for sure.

if you know nothing about the billion dollar fashion industry in Nigeria and it's growing influence in the U.S by Nigerians in Diaspora, then say nothing lest you get your ass whipped again.
You can't compare the fashion industry of Kenya to that of Nigeria.
Textile is nothing to brag about as far as Nigeria is concerned.

sufferNsmiling:
rvp2017 I cannot see you do not know much about Nigeria. How can you tell the government to collect taxes when there is nothing in the country to tax. Are you now going to collect tax from the 85 million people in extreme poverty or from the 140 million in poverty. If you go to a refugee camp and see the people are dying of hunger can you now tell them to pay taxes.

Oga if you are amongst the 85million in extreme poverty, then accept my condolences. Also l never knew Nigeria is just so full of refugee camps and this is where you live and all the people you know.
We are arguing based on facts and statistics, while you are more interested in telling a Kenyan(of all people) that Nigeria has refugee camps resulting from the BokoHaram crises?

rvp2017:
Who is "we". Speak for yourself. You're defending Nigeria against all logic and reasons.

Nobody is defending Nigeria, we are only saying Kenya is not at Nigeria's level yet, maybe you'll get there with the help of the lndians and whites who dominate your business space, and with your potential via tourism but at the moment Kenya is still too small.

rvp2017:
You were never the leader - you attempted to lie to yourself - nobody - least of all nigeria believe it - and they are voting with their feet everyday out of nigeria - making dangerous boat journey to europe.

South Africa and Kenya will lead Africa. That you can rest assured of. Already we are top 30 globally in DOING GOOD.

Doing which good? stop deceiving yourself my friend.

sufferNsmiling:
I say again we do not have industries in nigeria most of them have packed up or move to other countries . The industries that are left producing at 10% to 20% capacity. I have been to 16 african countries and spent a lot off my time in other countries and i have 5 houses in other african countries so I know what I am talking about. Since independence we have lost 5800 industries and more than 10000 companies .manufacturing sector accounted for not less than five percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This shrunk to 4.9 percent in 2000. Please read this below.


That many companies have divested in Nigerian economy is no longer news. The disturbing issues are will Nigeria ever absorb the shock of this companies exodus? Are there any deliberate efforts towards making the companies come back?



For the most part of the last 10 years of Nigeria’s democracy, there has been near collapse of infrastructure. The development has been so bad that most businesses groan under intense pain due to overhead cost incurred in providing alternative infrastructure like power. In fact, power has become an albatross to the nation’s manufacturing sector.



For instance, in 1999, manufacturing sector accounted for not less than five percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This shrunk to 4.9 percent in 2000.



As a result of high cost of production that results from inadequate infrastructure, the manufacturing capacity utilization remains on the down side.



The manufacturing sector is further bogged down by massive decline in capacity utilisation resulting from high exchange rate of the Naira and congestion at the ports. Prior to the financial meltdown, the manufacturing sector had not fared better largely due to lack of infrastructure and high production cost.



President of the National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Simon Okolo said there has not been significant improvement in infrastructure.



According to him, industrial/commercial centres continued to witness heavy traffic, thereby constituting undesirable delays to motorists and other road users while the rail and mass transit schemes did not receive the desired boost necessary to transform the transport sector.



Owing to these, the domestic economy witnessed an unprecedented closure of factories and production plants last year.



Indeed, it was a confirmation that the nation’s domestic economy was sinking. With the weakening economy, more sectors were being affected by the recession and the unemployment profile kept rising.



The president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Alhaji Bashir Borodo disclosed to Sunday Trust that absence of conducive manufacturing environment and basic infrastructure would continue to draw back the sector, except something urgent was done to reverse the situation.



According to him, the dream of Nigeria being an exporter of manufactured goods would remain a mirage since Nigeria had thrown away agriculture and blindly embraced oil export.



The recent decision of some companies that had bases in Nigeria to relocate to Ghana was another confirmation that the nation’s industrial sector was still held in hostage.



A survey conducted by the Bank of Ghana recently revealed that Nigeria was one of the 10 sources of Foreign Direct Investment in the former Gold Coast.



Nigeria placed 9th with a contribution of 2.1percent of the GHC1.5billion invested in Ghana in 2007. Nigeria’s pre-eminence in the business environment of Ghana was further re-enforced recently when Ghana’s President, John Atta Mills visited Nigeria’s president in Abuja.



The president who reportedly spearheaded the move of asking Nigerian manufacturing firms to relocate to the former Gold Coast assured that his government would provide a congenial environment for the investors as well as give them some incentives.



According to him, some of these incentives were 15-year tax holidays, free land and other policy initiatives which would drive their businesses.



Last year, Dunlop Nigeria Plc., the only surviving tyre manufacturing company in Nigeria then, shut down its plants and laid off hundreds of its workers and put some on half pay.



Dunlop Nigeria Plc and Michelin had relocated to Ghana. Patterson Zochonis (PZ) is also planning to relocate to Ghana, even as Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Unilever and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) this year, sacked sizeable number of their workers over reported high cost of production, decaying infrastructure as well as the ravaging global economic recession.



Unconfirmed sources also said Guinness Plc was already putting spanners into works to move its business to Ghana, while some companies were said to have expressed readiness to move.



However, External Relations Manager of Dunlop, Sola Adebanjo said his company did not relocate to Ghana. He said the rumoured relocation of the tyre company stemmed from its drive to establish sister branch in the Gold Coast.



He told SundayTrust that the Dunlop version of Nigeria was still intact and operational.But not many Nigerians would buy Adebanjo’s position.



Recently, members of the Lagos State House of Assembly expressed concern over the relocation of manufacturing companies.



This was brought to the attention of the House under Matters of Urgent Public Importance by Sanai Agunbiade, chairman, House Committee on Commerce and Industry.



Agunbiade said manufacturing companies in Nigeria were already folding up, to relocate to Ghana and take advantage of the liberal investment incentives there.



According to him, the implication for the state was high unemployment rate and increase in criminal activities.



While attributing the development to constant power outage, he added that “manufacturers in Nigeria were crying over the power situation in the country which is the real bane of the manufacturing sector.



“I think Lagos State Government should call on the federal government to allow us implement the Independent Power Project (IPP) and distribute power to industrial areas, because Lagos would be most affected by this movement of industries to Ghana.”



Contributing to the debate, Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Adeola Olamilekan said it was high time the federal government decentralised Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), because huge funds injected into the body had not yielded desired impact.



The president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Peter Esiele lamented that the relocation of companies to Ghana was a sad situation that would forever impinge on the nation’s development.



He said the relocation was a manifestation that government had no concrete plans to develop infrastructure with a view to bringing more investments into the country.



He said the business environ-ment in the country was in disarray in the sense that many businesses groaned under intense pain to survive.




According to him, it was only companies that had thrown ethics to the dogs that survived “the harsh business environment”. He said it was amazing that the government that had not deemed it fit to put infrastructure in order imposed heavy taxes on businesses.




The Director General of Nigeria Textile Manufacturers Association, Jaiyeola Peters said the Ghana government’s plan to give the relocating companies 15-year tax holidays was a manifestation that the government had created an enabling environment to receive them.




A manufacturer, Ligali Mohammed lamented that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry had done little or nothing to boost investment drive in the country. ‘’Obviously, infrastructure is zero-some here and hope of reviving same is just not there. The minister keeps promising that infrastructure would be fixed, bail-out funds would be provided to ailing industries like the textiles, but where are the infrastructure and the bail-out funds?




‘’So, if manufacturing companies decide to go to Ghana, no one should apportion blame on them, for they are in business to make profit. And they are entitled to do their business where they consider safe.”




According to Ligali, government had lost its grip on all sectors wondering how government would achieve the so-called vision 2020.




Painting the sordid picture of power in Lagos recently, the chairman of Ikeja Branch of the MAN, Mr Godwin Oteri said, “Private power generation accounted for 30percent of the cost of production and the inadequacy of supply is majorly responsible for 25.24 percent average capacity utilization.” Today, the power situation in the country has further plummeted.


The country’s quest to hit the 6000MW by the end of the year remains a super-miracle to those in the know.




The current situation should therefore, be a litmus test for the federal government. Government needs to evolve economic agenda that would boost the investment climate of the country.




The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi had already offered a way out of the nation’s economic doldrums by advising government to concentrate only on revitalization of the power sector instead of the bogus seven-point agenda.




Whether government would listen to Sanusi’s sermon is a matter many are still waiting to see.

https://www.proshareng.com/news/General/Why-companies-will-continue-to-leave-Nigeria-for-Ghana-/7324
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/99757-800-companies-shut-down-in-3-years-says-naccima.html
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/220035-nigerian-manufacturers-lament-272-firms-shut-20-capacity-utilisation-challenges-2016.html
http://nigeriantimes.ng/news/recession-foreign-oil-companies-leave-nigeria-sacks-3000/

Yeah there are lots of obstacles and policies hindering the manufacturing sector, but there's also resilience on the part of the citizens.




As the colonial era in Nigeria was winding down in the late 1950s, there was a very measurable level of optimism within the country. The oil industry – the country’s present mainstay – was in its infancy and the Nigerian economy was mainly industrial and agrarian. There were demonstrable hopes of a major African industrial hub emerging out of Nigeria; which everyone believed was inches away from becoming an industrialised nation. Many of the reasons for positivity were rooted in a small town in South-East Nigeria known as Nnewi.

In Nnewi, young entrepreneurs and artisans with limited formal education, through shared wit, creativity and innovation, had started an amazing story of manufacturing and industrialisation in Nigeria. It was hoped that Nnewi could become akin to a present-day South-East Asian powerhouse.

In the 1950s and then the 1960s, Nnewi made huge strides in manufacturing, especially metallurgy. It was a trade that was to support the Biafran war that erupted in 1967, seven years after Nigeria achieved independence.

Sophisticated firearms and ammunition were locally made in the towns of Nnewi and Awka, to the chagrin of many observers. Fast-forward to 2016, and Nnewi has survived. The town now houses Nigeria’s first indigenous automobile manufacturing plant, owned by the Innoson Group. It has the largest automobile spare parts market in West Africa and
the largest motorbike assembly
hub in Nigeria, among numerous other notable manufacturing concerns.

The story of Nnewi – like other manufacturing hubs in Nigeria, such as the Lagos-Ogun manufacturing corridor and Aba – is an inspirational tale of survival in the face of huge odds.



The problem

Nigeria’s new government, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, who was sworn in in May 2016, is currently facing countless challenges (many inherited), made worse by the impact of falling oil prices – the very commodity that Nigeria has relied on for too long. “Economic diversification” is now a tired phrase in Nigeria due to the emphasis the government lays on what is believed to be a panacea for Nigeria’s economic crisis. Oil and gas will now be replaced by manufacturing and agribusiness; according to the government’s wish list.

But this diversification dream has been historically aborted by Nigeria’s chronic power generation crises and many other problems that bedevil manufacturing.

Nigeria has never attained sufficiency in generated power, despite her huge energy resource endowments. The direct impact has always been an unhealthy competition between locally manufactured goods and imported goods (for companies that are tenacious enough to produce amidst the crises).

Dr Joseph Odumodu, the former Director General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) – the agency that regulates the quality of manufactured goods – says “the enormity of the crisis with manufacturing in Nigeria is underreported.

“When I was at SON, we saw the exit of many manufacturers from Nigeria, simply because they could not compete; Tata, Michelin, and Dunlop all left because the market was flooded with substandard, cheap products that they could not compete with.”

In the literature and reports on the manufacturing crisis in Africa’s largest economy, insufficient power supply has often been named as the culprit. While this is correct, there are many other factors that are often ignored. The quality of the products brought into Nigeria from regions such as South-East Asia is a major problem for manufacturing in Nigeria.

Because of the low income of many Nigerians, substandard and cheap products are traditionally more appealing to the consumer. Dr Odumodu says: “When I resumed as the director-general in 2011, we conducted a study that revealed that about 80% of the products in the Nigeria market were substandard.

“But we also realised that
SON could only bark but couldn’t bite; because there are limited means for prosecuting offenders and we lacked special courts to attend to crimes related to substandard products. As long we have these imported substandard goods in the market, our local manufacturing will perennially suffer,” he concluded.

The implications of this are well illustrated by the ordeals of Emenike Chika, chief executive of the Kotec Group of Companies. In 2010, Emenike was a dealer in machineries, hardware and spare parts. These products were facing unhealthy competition from cheaper Chinese products. Today he manufactures noodles and
has totally abandoned his former trade.

But this move has not really improved his lot, he says: “We abandoned the old business of spares dealership to embrace noodles production. But even here, our relationship with the government has not changed.

“We provide amenities and infrastructures by ourselves. I use 3,500 litres of diesel daily to power a 20KVA generator, and had to upgrade the very road that leads to the factory by myself.”

His tone depicts an entrepreneur who has learnt how to survive with little or no expectation of support from government. “My fate is the fate of many other people who are manufacturing in this region,” he adds.





The opportunity

Nigeria’s huge population has made it one of the most attractive markets in Africa. With over 180 million people (2015) and growth projections for the population to reach 240 million by 2050 (according to the UN), the
demand for manufactured goods in Nigeria is expected to rise exponentially.

The last 17 years (after it returned from military rule to democracy) has also seen mild improvements in the economic situation of Nigeria (until the recent fall in commodity prices). This has had a knock-on effect on consumption patterns, and consumers’ confidence and purchasing power. The present size of the market and the growth capacity is evident from the performance of the consumer goods retail sector in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s economy has been forecast as capable of attaining a value of $1trn by 2025 (according to reports by Renaissance Capital and Frontier Advisory Ltd), from its present level of $560bn. To achieve this will definitely require a robust manufacturing sector and a detailed programme for industrialisation.

The administration of former president GoodLuck Jonathan had an industrialisation template for the country (the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan – NIRP), which the Buhari administration has reportedly adopted.

In addition, a favourable demographics, with about 43% of the population being young people, means that the manpower and human resources required to support a robust and rapidly growing manufacturing sector are already available.

Nigeria has some of the best and strongest financial institutions in Africa, with well-capitalised banks that have a huge presence all over the continent and are continuously well rated by global financial rating institutions. Despite this, attaining the dream of being Africa’s leading manufacturing hub will require even more patronage from local financial institutions in terms of favourable lending terms and interest rates.

The renowned professor of production management, Prof. Banjoko, says: “One of the major issues bedevilling the manufacturing sector in Nigeria is bad policy. The business environment is simply unfriendly. Manufacturers are left to fend for themselves on many issues and in the provision of social amenities that should be easily created by government. The notoriously bad policy here being multiple taxation.”





[b]The future

The future of Nigeria may well depend on the steps the country takes to salvage its severely ailing manufacturing sector. Industries in areas such as Nnewi have previously made great strides in spite of government’s failure to support them and the numerous challenges that limit their growth.

Many thought it was impossible to build an automobile manufacturing plant in Nigeria. But in 2010, the Innoson Group, led by industrialist Innocent Chukwuma, defied received wisdom when he floated Nigeria’s first car manufacturing plant in Nnewi. In close proximity to this plant is the Cutix group – a large manufacturer of electrical cables – as well as the Chicason group, with diverse interests in manufacturing and construction.

These organisations are representative of what could be achieved should the Nigerian government move to assist in overcoming many of the problems of manufacturers, such as power insufficiency, an overvalued Naira currency, weak regulations pertaining to the import of substandard products, and poor infrastructure development[/b]

Why is Kenya not on the list at all, that's the question.

NairobiWalker:
Dude, a country of your size has only a few companies in the last fifth of the top 25 companies in Africa and you're here boasting? and all except one are banks that became big after merging? Heck if Kenya that's 4-5 times smaller than you would have a couple of banks in the top 25 if we merged our 45 banks to say 18 like you or lesser.

First you say Nigeria is nothing and doesn't produce anything compared to Kenya, then when we prove you wrong you try to use our size as an excuse?

samsobo24:
pls don't mind the guy. When you mention 30 nig companies, the only one that comes there is only safaricom

One would have expected to see at least 3 Kenyan companies on the list given the way they boast.

shervydman:
What do they manufacture, dummy.

The guy's brain must be full of waste water.