₦airaland Forum

This author gets it.

Given the huge market in Nigeria, the idea of revamping the nation's automobile industry, though late in coming, is very welcome. The Federal Government has announced plans to use the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to invest the sum of N500 billion aimed to revamp the moribund automobile industry.

The funds, to be raised from special intervention fund through the Bank of Industry (BoI) will be targeted at getting such comatose companies like Kaduna-based Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN), Enugu-based Anambra Motor Company (ANAMMCO), Lagos-based Volkswagen Motors and Bauchi-based Steyr Motors, working and producing again. Some of the companies had assembly plants.

According to the Federal Government, the plan to be unveiled in the next two weeks is aimed at ensuring that in three years, Tokunboh (fairly used) cars will be phased out of Nigeria as there will be deliberate policy to get Nigerians to drive brand new Nigerian-made cars.

At face value, the initiative deserves national applause. First, the return of the automobile industries means a sizeable reduction in the number of people in the labour market, as many jobs will be created. Second, beside increasing the economic activity in the country, the phasing out of imported used cars will also reduce the level of toxic emissions from cars which gradually, but steadily despoil our environment.

While we pray for the utmost success of this initiative, we are worried that the prevailing realities in our system might yet deny the nation the inherent advantages in the plan. The basic infrastructural requirements of stable electricity, good road network, security etc., are a sine qua non for the lasting recovery of the automobile and any other industry. The absence of such basic infrastructure have helped to increase the cost of doing business in Nigeria. The effect is that under the existing situation, imported cars are cheaper than the locally made ones and that defeats the purpose of getting Nigerians to drive vehicles manufactured in the country.

Therefore, government must fix these basic infrastructure to ensure the success of this desirable initiative. We believe government should now face squarely the task of providing enabling economic environment for industrial initiatives to thrive. And, coming on the eve of a general election, we hope the plan is not mere political stunt, especially as similar plans in the past by the government to intervene in the all-important textile industry came to nought, only few years after. The Obasanjo administration had promised the release of N70 billion to revitalise the textile industry. We are yet to see the impact of these funds. Not only has the textile industry remained comatose, most of the factories in Lagos, Kano, Kaduna and Asaba remain shut.

But even if the above-mentioned fears are allayed, we must yet caution on the need to not only create access to the promised fund, but to also make sure it is well managed to achieve set goals. Often times, the tardy manner of the bureaucratic process creates barrier to accessing even funds meant for already approved projects. Yet, even more troubling is the tendency to mismanage the funds in such a way that the money can be exhausted without achieving its essence. All of these hurdles must be dealt with to make the plan successful.

For a nation yearning for industrial rebirth, no effort should be spared to make the plan to revive the automobile industry work, as that remains the only way to reverse the rapid death of hitherto thriving industries in the country.

All said, the plan to revitalise the automobile sector has the potential to succeed, provided government not only avoid all the booby traps on its way, but also realise that other ancillary socio-economic variables needed to provide a supportive fulcrum are neither ignored nor neglected.

http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/201102220368.html

^-- Makes no sense. They have nearly 19 million "votes" in the NW alone.

Why would you kiss the ass of someone with no votes?

Or do you want him to lose?

Gotta go where the "votes" are.

igbo boy:

Why are you displeased? We should not hide from the truth, should we? The truth shall set you free.

Anyone know the IGR figures for Oyo, btw?

See 4:50 to 6:02 of this video:
http://www.viewnaija.com/video/2496/No-Victor-No-Vanquished--Biafra-War-Pt-18

A bit surprising that Effiong felt this way.

Thoughts?

dayokanu:
^^ Or it was Nigeria that surrendered.

Dapo make the thread about the video and lets see

Will do!

I never knew Oyo State was that wealthy. That is just shy of $1 billion.

Written by Dapo Falade
Thursday, 24 February 2011
GOVERNOR Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo State, on Wednesday, signed the 2011 budget into law, declaring that his administration would ensure a faithful implementation of the provisions of the budget.

The governor, while signing the N148.7 billion 2011 appropriation, as approved by the state House of Assembly, at the Governor’s Office, noted that the budget was the last one in the first term of his administration, adding that its success would depend largely on the funds available to the state.

He lamented the mono-economic status of the country, saying that dependence on oil and the monthly federal allocation had been affecting the implementation of budget over the years, but promised that his administration would vigorously pursue other alternatives.

“2011 is a transition year from one administration to another one. But we will see to the faithful implementation of the 2011 budget. We are not going to rely solely on oil, whose price has continually been fluctuating, even in the world market.

“We will aggressively pursue our internally generated revenue (IGR) to ensure the success of the budget. With its provisions and programmes, it is a budget that will put smile on the faces of the people of the state.

“But I will implore the people to jealously guard the various public projects in their domains. These are projects executed with hard-earned public money and our people should not see them as government projects, but as projects that were executed for their benefit,” he said.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/18024-alao-akala-signs-n1487bn-2011-budget-into-law

@jason: He is just playing politics, I guess. Or I should say, I hope 

fstranger3:
Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan-Babangida Jnr

Some of your best work yet 

@texazzpete: If their overall compensation package (including accommodation, car, etc) is comparable to that of the FG, then I see no reason for them to complain.

How much do the FG doctors earn?

[quote="onye_ngbu"]Now listen carefully as I am about to share responsibilities:

Me: compane Director general and Prime minister of new benin in waiting.

Dayokanu: Diaspora Compane Director general and Senate President in waiting.

Fstranger: Chief executioner New Benin Prisons (a bully like him, i dont know how else to descrisble him)

Eku Bear: Head of Economic Team (he appears brillant)[/quote]I would suggest Katsumoto or another for this position. . . economics is something I have limited formal training in, I'm just a dabbler Certain areas of technology though, I understand decently well.

i would be happy to serve President Musiwa in any other capacity, though!

Buhari is in serious trouble if he isn't making greater inroads into the SW. . . with so few days to go, there isn't much time left.

^--- lol @ envy. There are some people on earth who have achieved more than me at my age, but they aren't many. No inferiority complex have I. If anything, I suffer from the opposite

^-- How easily can they be replaced? If you'll be able to find doctors who can do the same job for less, imo sack them.

fstranger3:
Ever lived there?

The people I went to school with always lament to me anytime I talk to them over the phone. I am just being honest.

Visited there for a month. It was a lot of fun. I was even able to find some games of basketball.

I wouldn't mind living there at all.

^--- That is not true at all. PH is great. Wonderful city.

Eko Ile:
To them, the video doesn't exist. Acknowledging it doesn't jive with their silly argument about Ojukwu. The video is very damaging not only because of what was said in the video, but more about who said it.

Agreed. And I don't think there is any way to reasonably attack Effiong, is there? Must be quite a dilemma for them.

I feel for these clowns on NL sometimes. They need some kind of Hero to always place on their shoulder, but unfortunately, they don't have any credible ibo hero, flawed Ojukwu is all they have.

We shouldn't begrudge them their hero. Everyone is allowed to heroworship whoever he wants. I'd prefer to just agree to disagree about him. But people constantly are making threads trying to vindicate or lionize him. . . not only to themselves, but to the rest of us. And I guess to the world.

I don't envy anyone tasked with making a cowardly housecat into a lion. Or to borrow from a famous children's book, market a donkey as a lion:

http://lemurkat.xi.co.nz/atc/narnia-puzzleshift.jpg

I sorta want to know how their salary compares to private sector salaries. What is the market rate for their service?

^-- lol. There is a lot of oil wealth in PHC.

Rivers State is flourishing as a result.

Hrm. On second thought. . . perhaps all of these kidnappings east of the River Niger were done by the OPC!

Such rascality and criminality must be condemned 

^-- I'm not stressing myself. This is purely amusement for me. I enjoy bringing enlightenment to the masses 

^--- Mysterious how nobody is responding to this video. Perhaps that video and transcript deserve a separate thread. Otherwise people will pretend as if they did not see it 

^-- Isn't by force. We can agree to disagree.

Wow. Totally misread and thought the OPC actually shot him. Seems to be pure speculation on the part of the OP, no?

Seems a bit unlikely that the OPCs reach extends to PHC.

Plus, kidnapping for ransom doesn't sound like the OPCs style  

PhysicsMHD:
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Ironically, while many dealers in foreign vehicles have continued to make higher projections based on increase in periodic sales profiles, local auto plants are under threat of liquidation on account of low patronage.
Responding to an enquiry from one of our correspondents on how the government intends to reverse the trend, the Director-General, National Automotive Council, Mr. Aminu Jala, said there was an urgent need to fast track the implementation of a tariff deferential policy in order to encourage the establishment of local car assembly plants.
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He said, ”Our own experience and that of other countries that developed their automotive industries indicates that we need to implement a tariff differential policy in order to create an enabling environment that would bring in more investments into the sector and further encourage locally assembly of vehicles.

”The Federal Government should consider tariff as a measure to increase local capacity and not as a revenue generating instrument. An ideal tariff structure must take into cognizance all incentives and concessions, which should have a long term positive effect on local manufacturing.”
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In other words, Nigerians do not buy the locally produced cars at the price they are sold at, and prefer imported ones. So I guess foreign ones are cheaper, even with the existing import duties?

In other words, not an area where we have a competitive advantage.

One then wonders why the local cars don't cost less. Likely electricity and various other inputs becomes a big factor.

Justcash:
[b]1. BY THE TIME THOSE BUSES ARRIVE IN NIGERIA, THEY WILL BE 5 TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE THAN INNOSON'S BUSES.

What is your reasoning for saying this? I calculated the cost of the buses earlier in the thread. $67K or so, iirc. What is Innoson's price, and why would the price balloon to 5X of that?

2. IF INNOSON HAS DEFIED ALL THE ODDS, AND IS PRODUCING NIGERIAN MADE CARS, WHAT IS STOPPING THE FG FROM HELPING TO PROTECT IT FROM FAILURE?

So my question for you is this. How much are you willing to overpay for the gov't to support Innoson? 1.1X? 2X? 5X? Everyone has a different price point. What is yours? Me, 1.1 or 1.2X is the most I'm willing to pay.

3. WE CRY ABOUT LACK OF JOBS, WHY CAN'T FG USE ONE STONE TO KILL 20 BIRDS BY STIMULATING EMPLOYMENT THROUGH ENCOURAGING MORE AUTO MANUFACTURERS TO SPRING UP. DEFINITELY THEY WOULD SPRING UP IF INNOSON BECOMES SUCCESSFUL.
4. WHY NOT ALSO USE THE CRAZE FOR IMPORTED CARS TO CREATE A SOURCE OF NATIONAL INCOME, WHILE ENCOURAGING LOCAL MANUFACTURING AND FDI?
5. LOCAL AUTO MANUFACTURERS CAN ONLY GROW AND PRODUCE BETTER PRODUCTS IF THEY ARE ENCOURAGED AND SUPPORTED. FOR EXAMPLE, IF INNOSON CANNOT EMPLOY  INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMERS(TQM) NOW, HE CAN DO IT IN FUTURE WITH MORE PROFITABILITY AND UURGE FOR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.

I don't think anyone is against creating jobs. But if it is an industry you are subsidizing, you have to ask yourself if the benefits outweigh the costs. This depends on how much you have to spend on subsidies, and how much benefit is derived from the subsidy (in terms of jobs, etc, etc).

THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING. IF THE FEW AUTO MANUFACTURERS IN PLACE FOLDS UP, INVESTORS WILL NOT DARE TO INVEST IN THAT SECTOR. OFCOURSE BUSINESS IS DONE WITH CASE STUDIES AND SCENARIOS.

Well, investors usually look to invest if they can make a profit. If there is only profit to be made with massive subsidy. . . not clear that it benefits either side.

naijaking1:
I agree on the electricity issue.

I think the electricity production of Nigeria is less than that of the city of Houston. Something horrific like that. So why anyone is trying to do any sort of HEAVY manufacturing w/o first facing this problem is beyond me. Like, electricity very well may be 20% of the cost of a vehicle. I don't know the #s off the top of my head. But it is significant.

You've got to look at the big picture and that's where government planners are supposed to come in.
Even if it cost 4X to buy the vehicle from say a plant in Nnewi, Kano, or Ibadan today; and 1/2X to buy it from China, you will notice that on the long run the cost of maintaining a unit of those buses in Nigeria for say a period of 10 years will be more than 10X considering spare parts, services, and raw materials.

If the difference is 1.1X or 1.2X versus X, I probably buy locally (or at least, if I'm a rich government looking to spur the industry.) But somehow I doubt that is the cost differential.

Why do you sensible goverments impose import duties so that they could level the cost of certain items i,ported vs those produced locally?

Import duties are a useful tool. That is a reasonable way to spur local production. It helped Nigeria's agricultural production a lot. But import duties will not help for car production until one first faces electricity. Simple as that. We are simply too far away from competitiveness in producing cars w/o electricity.

If it has nothing to do with blind ethnicsm, what's the source of these disputes: poor understanding of basic international trade?

Let's be clear, I'm not the one who introduced ethnicity to this thread. Read through it and you can see that others did, not me.

Anyway, protectionism IS a very interesting topic to discuss. I've spent lots of time discussing the issue on other internet political forums, etc. But once you start throwing around accusations of bigotry, etc. . . it becomes a bit annoying.

Justcash:
SO STATING THAT NIGERIANS DESPISE PRODUCTS THAT ARE MADE IN NNEWI AND [b]NIGERIA [/b]IMPLIES IGBO SUPREMACY AND TRIBALISM?

See the thing is, when one has to jump to racism/bigotry as the first explanation, it suggests poor reasoning. We still have not seen a price quote from INNOSON or this other company. Almost certainly, the bus costs more from them than the Chinese company (for obvious reasons.)

At that point, it isn't "despise products that are made in Nnewi", but another businessman saying, "Damn, why should I pay more for this locally made item when I can get it cheaper abroad?"

So what does all this tribalism stuff that you brought up have to do with anything? Should we point a gun at anyone's head and say he MUST buy the more expensive product?

Why not instead attack the problem of making the locally produced goods CHEAPER? Help the local businessman by fixing electricity. Maybe by providing healthcare benefits for his employees. Tax holidays. Subsidize fuel for him. Whatever. There are so many ways to attack the problem. We can debate the relative merits of each.

But instead of having such a debate, ya'll are just whining and crying, especially OnlyTruth's bleatings about the international community.

Justcash:
I AGREE   . SO GO AND REST IN PEACE. MAY GOD GRANT MY PRAYERS TO STAY FAR AWAY FROM A COW LIKE YOU AND YOUR LIKES.

Likewise. I doubt the likes of you would be permitted around my neighborhood anyway We cannot have riff-raff like you depressing property values.

udezue:
Onlytruth, Let's be honest with ourselves, these companies are owned and operated by Easterners and Igbo in particular. Because of the rabid hatred they have for anything Igbo they are willing to render the nation poor, with youths jobless than support anything by the Igbo. Even if Nigerians were drowning and the Igbo had the solution free them they will rather drag the East down than take the good offer. The owners of both companies should strive to get other nations in Africa and outside Africa to patronize their products and kiss Nigeria good bye. Enugu already did and I hope other Eastern states will follow through.

Lol. I would buy a car from the devil himself if he is offering the best price. Even if you think I hate Igbos, I certainly cannot hate them more than I hate the devil, can I?

When I buy things, all I care about is price and quality. Nothing else matters.

Onlytruth:
Stop making a fool of yourself. The international community know who has been living on handouts in Nigeria.
There is nothing wrong about the idea of government support for local industry. It is common practice ALL OVER THE WORLD.

You just don't get it. Governments subsidize businesses in which they already have a bit of a competitive advantage. Here is a map of the world at night: http://www.urbanizr.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/world-by-night-b.jpg

Does this map suggest to you that one should invest heavily in car manufacturing in Nigeria. . . without first investing in electricity production  

In any case, it is a free world. Invest in whatever you like. Just don't force everyone else to do the same. If you want to manufacture cars in Nigeria, do so. Just don't ask for me to prop up your business.

Our quest for secession has been a "he said, she said" thing. But now, they can see how a thoroughly educated man is asking for government to kill off local industry and keep creating huge numbers of unemployed youths who will find their way into crime and end up in western countries seeking economic refuge.

When next our case comes up, it will be a no-brainer.  

Keep bleating like a goat. Wait for the international community to come save you. I wouldn't suggest holding your breath while doing so, though.