₦airaland Forum

OKUCHI11:
Where are those niaralanders such as Explorers, Airforce_1 and the rest... They made nairaland interesting those years..

where them dey sef

This should be one of the abandoned factories at ilese awo very close to Aro along Lagos/Abeokuta expressway.
There is another one at brewery motor park before getting to Lafenwa, it is an abandoned brewery in that place (Top brewery) the place used to be flooded with people working there until it was abandoned, please work on that too.

Raydos:
Driven by my usual adventurous streak, I headed out today to explore an old, abandoned ceramic factory near my place. I first learned about it from a local elderly woman, who told me it opened back in 1974 (exactly 52 years ago) and that her husband used to work there in the 80's

She shared a bunch of stories about how lively the place used to be, bustling with all kinds of people earning a living before it finally shut its doors around 2007.

Listening to her gave me this irresistible urge to sneak inside. I just had to explore it and get a firsthand sense of what it felt like when the machines were running, how the employees worked, and what their daily lives were like.

Awesome thread.


Lots of stuffs were running through my mind as I was viewing the photos....... Nigeria is gone!

SixSeven:
Exactly what came to my mind. I am just surprised by the OP saying the 1993 person is that old


Nigergrob Ceramics Limited was a notable ceramic manufacturing industry located in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. Established in the 1980s, the company became the subject of major Nigerian corporate and legal cases, including a landmark receivership case (U.B.A. Trustees Ltd v. Nigergrob Ceramics Ltd) regarding the extent of receiver and director powers. Financial distress and that litigation eventually led to its closure, turning it into a textbook legal authority for Nigerian corporate insolvency frameworks under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).



Story of their death:
In the early 1980s, Nigeria was trying hard to build up its local industries. A company called Nigergrob Ceramics built a big factory in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Their plan was to make floor tiles, wall tiles, and bathroom sinks locally because the construction business was booming. To buy all their heavy machinery and set up the factory, they borrowed a huge amount of money from United Bank for Africa. The bank managed this loan through U.B.A. Trustees Limited. As security for the loan, Nigergrob signed a contract that gave the bank the right to seize the factory and all its equipment if they failed to pay the money back.


Everything started well, but the late 1980s and 1990s brought tough economic times. The national power grid became very unreliable. Ceramic factories need their ovens to run constantly, so Nigergrob had to spend a lot of money on diesel generators. At the same time, the cost of raw materials went up, and they could not find local technicians to fix their complex machines. Production stopped, and the company completely ran out of money. Since Nigergrob could not pay back its debt, U.B.A. Trustees stepped in, locked the factory gates, and hired a legal manager called a receiver to take over everything and sell it off to get the bank's money back.


The original owners and directors of Nigergrob refused to leave quietly. They took the bank to court, arguing that the bank had no right to strip them of their authority. This became a famous legal battle called U.B.A. Trustees Ltd v. Nigergrob Ceramics Ltd. The case went all the way to the Court of Appeal. The judges finally ruled that when a bank takes over a broke company, the bank's manager gets full control of the business and the assets, but the original directors still keep a few basic rights, like the power to fight the takeover in court. Sadly, while the lawyers argued for years, the expensive factory equipment just sat there and rusted. Nigergrob never reopened, and the factory in Abeokuta remains abandoned to this day.
Nigergrob Ceramics died because the bank seized their factory over unpaid debts, while severe power outages and a crashing Naira made manufacturing too expensive to survive.

Hopeless and useless country managed by stupid people

SixSeven:
Exactly what came to my mind. I am just surprised by the OP saying the 1993 person is that old


Nigergrob Ceramics Limited was a notable ceramic manufacturing industry located in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. Established in the 1980s, the company became the subject of major Nigerian corporate and legal cases, including a landmark receivership case (U.B.A. Trustees Ltd v. Nigergrob Ceramics Ltd) regarding the extent of receiver and director powers. Financial distress and that litigation eventually led to its closure, turning it into a textbook legal authority for Nigerian corporate insolvency frameworks under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).



Story of their death:
In the early 1980s, Nigeria was trying hard to build up its local industries. A company called Nigergrob Ceramics built a big factory in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Their plan was to make floor tiles, wall tiles, and bathroom sinks locally because the construction business was booming. To buy all their heavy machinery and set up the factory, they borrowed a huge amount of money from United Bank for Africa. The bank managed this loan through U.B.A. Trustees Limited. As security for the loan, Nigergrob signed a contract that gave the bank the right to seize the factory and all its equipment if they failed to pay the money back.


Everything started well, but the late 1980s and 1990s brought tough economic times. The national power grid became very unreliable. Ceramic factories need their ovens to run constantly, so Nigergrob had to spend a lot of money on diesel generators. At the same time, the cost of raw materials went up, and they could not find local technicians to fix their complex machines. Production stopped, and the company completely ran out of money. Since Nigergrob could not pay back its debt, U.B.A. Trustees stepped in, locked the factory gates, and hired a legal manager called a receiver to take over everything and sell it off to get the bank's money back.


The original owners and directors of Nigergrob refused to leave quietly. They took the bank to court, arguing that the bank had no right to strip them of their authority. This became a famous legal battle called U.B.A. Trustees Ltd v. Nigergrob Ceramics Ltd. The case went all the way to the Court of Appeal. The judges finally ruled that when a bank takes over a broke company, the bank's manager gets full control of the business and the assets, but the original directors still keep a few basic rights, like the power to fight the takeover in court. Sadly, while the lawyers argued for years, the expensive factory equipment just sat there and rusted. Nigergrob never reopened, and the factory in Abeokuta remains abandoned to this day.
Nigergrob Ceramics died because the bank seized their factory over unpaid debts, while severe power outages and a crashing Naira made manufacturing too expensive to survive.

I just shook my head to this country after reading..

Thanks for the read though..

QuinQQ:
All those bad conditions you mentioned (electricity, etc) were all in place yet local manufacturing was thriving. Pople got wealthy from manufacturing back then, before China. They cannot do that today. They couldn't pass theír factories to their children because no one can compete with imports from China!

epileptic power supply became an albatross in manufacturing and production in the early 90s. china wasn't even in the scene then. our imports came from Japan, south korea, indonesia and maybe europe. cHINA became a thing in the 2000s.

poor power supply destroyed manufacturing in nigeria, followed by unstable exchange rate that made importation of raw materials and chemicals very expensive. manufacturing was already dead in Nigeria when china took over. They only made the revival virtually impossible tus manufactuing remained dead.

When leaders were passionate about developing their region. The road network was 100%. Some still functional till tomorrow. Imagine what one man did. Now all you need to do is to rehabilitate a 1km road and the next thing is to go to Seun’s podcast to praise yourself.
Baba has a good CV. Buhari did his thing as usual.
That Buhari guy has always being anti- development!
How did he convince people to vote for him despite his awful record?

A cashew nut processing company that had been laid idle since was acquired by a shopping mall who will sell mostly imported products and we wonder where our jobs are. We need more factories now than churches, mosques, shopping malls, lounges, fuel station, event centers.

Those shouting China killed the factory are ignorant..

Go on YouTube and see what Pakistani are building and manufacturing with little to no tools.

Pakistan is in the same continent with China and therefore is closer to China than to Nigeria. Why are their industries still thriving?

The footballs used at the FIFA world cup are all made in Pakistan.

Walai:
Just imagining the number of graduates that would have been gainfully employed, the suppliers, economic value chain, the breadwinners and even revenue generation that did not happen because the factory was allowed to die and rot

Nothing last forever.
Even if you like have the visionary leaders, one day the company will die. You guys still don't get it.
Life....that's the design.
There's nothing you can do about it.

Raydos:
This place feel really empty and scary I can imagine what it looks like in the 70's

What camera u using?

SIRTee15:
I think blaming china is just an easy way out. Yes china will impact export potential but definitely not local consumption if good protective policy is in place.

what is killing local production is ELECTRICITY AND POOR GOVT POLICY.
we need very cheap electricity to produce, very cheap and abundant. wage is not a big deal here in naija and regulatory is weak.
but another big issue is erratic govt policy, u are at the mercy of the selfish politician in power. one govt may come and ban importation of ceramics yet another will come and lift the ban because his friend is the largest importer of ceramics to nigeria.
another issue is multiple taxation, once an industry start thriving u start seeing all kinds of revenue agnecy from everywhere demanding cuts or levy, this also doesnt help in anyway.

china is china and they will continue to do what they know how to do best. produce massively but very cheap. nobody can stop them- Trump tried but failed, EU also tried but failed. Nigeria cant stop them.
we just have to build resilience by first becoming self sufficient ourself then working with other serious countries in africa to form a trade bloc. that's the only way out.

You have spoken well. We need to provide very cheap electricity to Nigerians to foster industrial production on a large scale. The Governors have to invest in electricity.

Me ah for like to buy the land
Only God knows the fight wey stop work for there

Interesting to see this
But sad to know this ever exited
All of what was produced here are being imported now

Nice piece of Nigerian Industrial history. Good one OP.

QuinQQ:
Because no matter how cheap you make it (ceramics in this case) they'll make it cheaper with their slave wages and currency manipulation!

Or they'll sell it for practically nothing (dumping) till the local competitor goes out of business!

You can make it happen as a person/ as a country, or you can make excuses for your failures.

Your choice!
Your consequences!!!

Raydos:
Found these sticky papers not sure what they were

Union stickers you see on car windscreen

Raydos:
Anyone know the year this disease happened?

The major break out that trended was in the early 2000s. Think around 2002-2006

Redman44:
You have spoken well. We need to provide very cheap electricity to Nigerians to foster industrial production on a large scale. The Governors have to invest in electricity.

Do we need to also invest in water supply and education with healthcare, to have a variously functional workforce that is healthy enough to be productive in a sustainable manner

Abi electricity supply is enough and we can forget about these other things

Raydos:
Anyone know the year this disease happened?

The major break out that trended was in the early 2000s. Think around 2002-2006. They called it Avian influenza. There were talks of Swine flu too if my memory serves me right

Nice story and thank you for the piece.
I would like to ask that was Nigeria created to kill industries?
If we are not careful many industries running today too may likely face this kind of trial and tribulation.
Which I ask again that for such a nice company as such why can't the government step in and sell lease it to private investors.
See what ceramics is saying now.
God why

SixSeven:
Exactly what came to my mind. I am just surprised by the OP saying the 1993 person is that old


Nigergrob Ceramics Limited was a notable ceramic manufacturing industry located in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. Established in the 1980s, the company became the subject of major Nigerian corporate and legal cases, including a landmark receivership case (U.B.A. Trustees Ltd v. Nigergrob Ceramics Ltd) regarding the extent of receiver and director powers. Financial distress and that litigation eventually led to its closure, turning it into a textbook legal authority for Nigerian corporate insolvency frameworks under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).



Story of their death:
In the early 1980s, Nigeria was trying hard to build up its local industries. A company called Nigergrob Ceramics built a big factory in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Their plan was to make floor tiles, wall tiles, and bathroom sinks locally because the construction business was booming. To buy all their heavy machinery and set up the factory, they borrowed a huge amount of money from United Bank for Africa. The bank managed this loan through U.B.A. Trustees Limited. As security for the loan, Nigergrob signed a contract that gave the bank the right to seize the factory and all its equipment if they failed to pay the money back.


Everything started well, but the late 1980s and 1990s brought tough economic times. The national power grid became very unreliable. Ceramic factories need their ovens to run constantly, so Nigergrob had to spend a lot of money on diesel generators. At the same time, the cost of raw materials went up, and they could not find local technicians to fix their complex machines. Production stopped, and the company completely ran out of money. Since Nigergrob could not pay back its debt, U.B.A. Trustees stepped in, locked the factory gates, and hired a legal manager called a receiver to take over everything and sell it off to get the bank's money back.


The original owners and directors of Nigergrob refused to leave quietly. They took the bank to court, arguing that the bank had no right to strip them of their authority. This became a famous legal battle called U.B.A. Trustees Ltd v. Nigergrob Ceramics Ltd. The case went all the way to the Court of Appeal. The judges finally ruled that when a bank takes over a broke company, the bank's manager gets full control of the business and the assets, but the original directors still keep a few basic rights, like the power to fight the takeover in court. Sadly, while the lawyers argued for years, the expensive factory equipment just sat there and rusted. Nigergrob never reopened, and the factory in Abeokuta remains abandoned to this day.
Nigergrob Ceramics died because the bank seized their factory over unpaid debts, while severe power outages and a crashing Naira made manufacturing too expensive to survive.

anonimi:
You can make it happen as a person/ as a country, or you can make excuses for your failures.

Your choice!
Your consequences!!!

Not excuses. Nigeria had a very strong manufacturing base before China moved in.
Many families made their fortunes in manufacturing but can't be passed on to their children due to China!

Dalohad:
Those shouting China killed the factory are ignorant..

Go on YouTube and see what Pakistani are building and manufacturing with little to no tools.

Pakistan is in the same continent with China and therefore is closer to China than to Nigeria. Why are their industries still thriving?

The footballs used at the FIFA world cup are all made in Pakistan.

Probably because the govt actively protects their industrial base.
When this company started in 1974 there was no China. By 2000's when they exited see position of China below

SIRTee15:
I think blaming china is just an easy way out. Yes china will impact export potential but definitely not local consumption if good protective policy is in place.

what is killing local production is ELECTRICITY AND POOR GOVT POLICY.
we need very cheap electricity to produce, very cheap and abundant. wage is not a big deal here in naija and regulatory is weak.
but another big issue is erratic govt policy, u are at the mercy of the selfish politician in power. one govt may come and ban importation of ceramics yet another will come and lift the ban because his friend is the largest importer of ceramics to nigeria.
another issue is multiple taxation, once an industry start thriving u start seeing all kinds of revenue agnecy from everywhere demanding cuts or levy, this also doesnt help in anyway.

china is china and they will continue to do what they know how to do best. produce massively but very cheap. nobody can stop them- Trump tried but failed, EU also tried but failed. Nigeria cant stop them.
we just have to build resilience by first becoming self sufficient ourself then working with other serious countries in africa to form a trade bloc. that's the only way out.

But they had even less electricity back then yet many small and medium manufacturers were thriving!

harmonyglobal:
Interesting to see this
But sad to know this ever exited
All of what was produced here are being imported now

Exactly!

You see the kind of beast that were unleashed in Nigeria from 1976 in terms of leaders till now is such that the even devil is even afraid of.
Go back and check our history , these current ones have sold us back to the whites.

But come 2027 election again can we begin to change all these narratives if we are thinkers and we want the good for the country and the children born and unborn??


Y

Bahamas95:
Awesome thread.


Lots of stuffs were running through my mind as I was viewing the photos....... Nigeria is gone!

irumanle:
My first thought before I saw your comment.

It's a case in court! So it will be seriously guarded and monitored.
We prefer it rot in this part of the world than finding a solution either by the court or the bank

In this life just do your best, build godly legacy and leave
Nothing, I mean nothing lasts forever.

And nothing has still changed for the better in the so-called Nigeria. Same same issues here and there.

SixSeven:
Exactly what came to my mind. I am just surprised by the OP saying the 1993 person is that old


Nigergrob Ceramics Limited was a notable ceramic manufacturing industry located in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. Established in the 1980s, the company became the subject of major Nigerian corporate and legal cases, including a landmark receivership case (U.B.A. Trustees Ltd v. Nigergrob Ceramics Ltd) regarding the extent of receiver and director powers. Financial distress and that litigation eventually led to its closure, turning it into a textbook legal authority for Nigerian corporate insolvency frameworks under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).



Story of their death:
In the early 1980s, Nigeria was trying hard to build up its local industries. A company called Nigergrob Ceramics built a big factory in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Their plan was to make floor tiles, wall tiles, and bathroom sinks locally because the construction business was booming. To buy all their heavy machinery and set up the factory, they borrowed a huge amount of money from United Bank for Africa. The bank managed this loan through U.B.A. Trustees Limited. As security for the loan, Nigergrob signed a contract that gave the bank the right to seize the factory and all its equipment if they failed to pay the money back.


Everything started well, but the late 1980s and 1990s brought tough economic times. The national power grid became very unreliable. Ceramic factories need their ovens to run constantly, so Nigergrob had to spend a lot of money on diesel generators. At the same time, the cost of raw materials went up, and they could not find local technicians to fix their complex machines. Production stopped, and the company completely ran out of money. Since Nigergrob could not pay back its debt, U.B.A. Trustees stepped in, locked the factory gates, and hired a legal manager called a receiver to take over everything and sell it off to get the bank's money back.


The original owners and directors of Nigergrob refused to leave quietly. They took the bank to court, arguing that the bank had no right to strip them of their authority. This became a famous legal battle called U.B.A. Trustees Ltd v. Nigergrob Ceramics Ltd. The case went all the way to the Court of Appeal. The judges finally ruled that when a bank takes over a broke company, the bank's manager gets full control of the business and the assets, but the original directors still keep a few basic rights, like the power to fight the takeover in court. Sadly, while the lawyers argued for years, the expensive factory equipment just sat there and rusted. Nigergrob never reopened, and the factory in Abeokuta remains abandoned to this day.
Nigergrob Ceramics died because the bank seized their factory over unpaid debts, while severe power outages and a crashing Naira made manufacturing too expensive to survive.

Walai:
Just imagining the number of graduates that would have been gainfully employed, the suppliers, economic value chain, the breadwinners and even revenue generation that did not happen because the factory was allowed to die and rot

Thankfully, some companies of even higher magnitude have been established to replace this moribond factory. e.g Golden diamond industrial manufacturing limited, one of the biggest ceramic factory in Africa.

lordm:
Chai. What happened to Nigeria's industrial era

corruption happened to it

Exactly, the problems of industry collapse in Nigeria are many not just power as many are alluding to here. Infact, the chief cause is low demand due to inability to compete favorably with imported alternatives. Same thing happened to Europe and the USA where the Chinese completely eradicated their industrial base in many sectors using the globalization opportunity. The truth is, now there is practically nothing Nigeria can do about it as we cant match the industrial capacity of the Chinese have built unless we narrow our focus on areas and sectors where we have strong comparative advantage and completely dominate there.

QuinQQ:
China! China happened. When you are praising how cheaply China makes stuff and happy consuming their cheap stuff, you don't realize how many factories they've closed in your country!


Nope. China happened to it

When life was easier and sweet in Naija.. Nothing like terrorism and kidnaps abi banditry

Raydos:
Anyone know the year this disease happened?

Bird flu , 2002/2003 I remember when they where destroying birds in large quantity on national television, Omo I eat egg tire that year sha,

The ink they used back then deserves an award. It's the real one, still looking fresh after all these years without fading. Meanwhile, today's ink starts disappearing before you even finish reading.

The day the iron condemn people will discover this place, you won't see anything there again. Those guys are professional scavengers. They even removed the gate protecting my street transformer. If they had more time, they'd probably uproot the transformer itself and go with it.

We caught one after he broke into someone's house. The moment he found a gap, he took off. His speed was unbelievable, he accelerated like a fully loaded mini bus on an expressway. We chased him with all our strength, but all we saw was dust. At that point, I started wondering if we were chasing a human being or an Olympic sprinter.