₦airaland Forum

Raydos:
Anyone know the year this disease happened?

Thanks for taking us on a journey into the past. Hope the place would become usable again.

Think the early/mid 2000s to 2005/6 there was a Bird Flu scare in NGR. It caused a crash in chicken and turkey prices as no one wanted to buy them....for some weeks. 2003 was an earlier one, SARS virus, mainly localized in China. Then Mad Cow disease was predominantly in Europe....a bit later, circa 2008.

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

Why didn't the government step in, va public/private partnership
Why didn't the bank give grace period, in this case everyone lost, the bank did not operate it either did the original owners

fallguy007:
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.

Exactly. When this company started in 1974 there was no China in ceramics. By 2000's when they closed see position of China above - 82% imported from China!

QuinQQ:
How do you know when this factory closed?? My friend there are thousands of small and medium scale manufacturers that closed because of China



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!



Yeeees
China is a huge part of it. All the small and medium scale manufacturers have been forced to close

The manufacturing companies were already bleeding b4 china came into the picture. If the manufacturers had continued the cost of products would be far higher than importing so they would still be outsold by imported goods.

Raydos:
Random photos that i took

probably her . Courtesy, Facebook.

jaxxy:
The manufacturing companies were already bleeding b4 china came into the picture. If the manufacturers had continued the cost of products would be far higher than importing so they would still be outsold by imported goods.

When the company started in 1974 China had zero market share in ceramics. By the time they closed in 2000's China had 82% share!

This is opportunity waiting to be harnessed

Can we as a people come together, pool fundsinvestments together to get this operational once again under a privatised setting.

1

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

I miss Explorer. Damn the guy is good. And I miss Billiaminu funny ass pyramids Humm android story. Plus topchirst the autheir of My madam and I. Omo Nairaland ehn. Even our own dear Lalasnake. Omo I don dey old oo

Nigeria is a graveyard of factories. From the north to the south,the country is littered with shut down factories. The reason;poor electricity supply,bad industrial policy,a very unstable currency, insecurity.

Ten06:
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.

😆😆😆😁😁😁😁. Very funny.

Chummynoni:
How time flies .. if it was in Lagos , iron condemned assholes would have looted the place dry

Are you sure the OP is not even an Iron condemn agent looking for what to loot?

As we can all see and know, our major problem in this country is power. If we can fix electricity power, we have fix 80% of our unemployment problems.

shegra58:
Many factories and company closed down during Obasanjo and Atiku time in office as president and vice president.

Nah only you sabi Wetin sup..

ntyce:
Isn't this Ile ise awo in Abeokuta?

Yes it's ilese awo

Kalulu44:
I can never forget the song that follows that Maltina advert in 1994.
.
Maltina moment, Maltina to share
For those you love, moment.
That shows how much you care
You can show them
When words can't say how much you feel
A smile and Maltina says it all.
.
Show them that you care
Show how much you care
Maltina, because you really care!

Wetin be this?

QuinQQ:
When the company started in 1974 China had zero market share in ceramics. By the time they closed in 2000's China had 82% share!

because china produced cheaper than local production cost due to our power issues increasing cost of production. Go to countries with stable power supply and see if their manufaturing industries arent doing better.

Suicideboy:
They sent lots of people abroad. My old man was sent to japan on loan from a friend there.

Wow! Interesting.

Eddy Onwumelu, another industrialist of their time, have all his children abroad and the his businesses died with him. Oliver Ilozue, with gigantic industries in Nnewi had no successor to his vast business empire

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.

Again Nigeria happened to the factory

jaxxy:
because china produced cheaper than local production cost due to our power issues increasing cost of production. Go to countries with stable power supply and see if their manufaturing industries arent doing better.

You guys keep saying this but electricity was NOT better when Nigeria's small and medium industrial base was thriving. The only thing that changed was CHINA!

Adeoye11:
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

Please see the article below 👇

Nigeria's manufacturing sector experienced a long period of de-industrialization that began in the 1980s and continued through the 1990s and 2000s. Before this decline, the country had one of Africa's largest industrial bases, with a thriving textile industry and factories producing tyres, plastics, household goods, and other manufactured products. At its peak, Nigeria's textile industry included around 175 textile mills and provided direct employment for hundreds of thousands of workers, making it one of the country's largest formal employers.

During the 2000s, the manufacturing sector came under increasing pressure. Hundreds of Nigerian manufacturing companies either shut down or became distressed as they struggled with rising production costs, unreliable infrastructure, and growing competition from imported goods. The textile industry was among the hardest hit, with many mills closing and thousands of workers losing their jobs, particularly in industrial centres such as Kaduna, Kano, and Lagos.

Several factors contributed to this decline. Nigeria's return to democratic rule in 1999 coincided with continued trade liberalization and greater integration into the global economy. The end of global textile quotas in January 2005 increased competition from lower-cost textile producers, especially in Asia. At the same time, widespread smuggling and weak enforcement of import regulations allowed large volumes of cheaper textiles to enter Nigerian markets, making it increasingly difficult for local manufacturers to compete.

Another major challenge was the country's inadequate electricity supply. Throughout the early 2000s, available power generation often remained below 3,000 megawatts for a population of more than 120 million people. Frequent power outages forced many manufacturers to rely on diesel generators, significantly increasing production costs and reducing their competitiveness.

Nigeria's heavy dependence on crude oil exports also contributed to the weakening of manufacturing. As global oil prices rose during the 2000s, oil revenues became the dominant source of government income and foreign exchange. Economists have argued that this dependence reduced incentives to diversify the economy and invest sufficiently in infrastructure and industrial development. As a result, Nigeria became increasingly reliant on imported manufactured goods while exporting crude oil, making it more difficult for domestic industries to recover and expand.

We have had SAP, trade liberalization policies and end of the global textile quota system in 2005 have made it increasingly difficult for these companies to survive and thrive. Recently we are talking about the NYSC khaki. It is very embarrassing to know that they are imported

We are not deliberate as a country. We just do things anyhow without a plan. Even the adire that is local to our people has been taken up by you know who! And they receive government support.

QuinQQ:
You guys keep saying this but electricity was NOT better when Nigeria's small and medium industrial base was thriving. The only thing that changed was CHINA!

When was it thriving, which year? and how was the electricity, economy and fuel prices?

Rotten nation.

Nigeria is like a father who doesn't want his children to be successful.

clockwisereport:
You made mention of lack of technicians to maintain the complex machines in your opening remarks. Don't you think lacktechnical know how is still a problem of industrialization is Nigeria till this day?

Of course. Fashola said it as Governor and I think Works Minister that we can't keep giving foreigners big projects without passing on some of the things we learned to our people. I don't know, we don't like ourselves, it's just unfortunate. The Ajaokuta refineries is a prime example, made in Russia, now that Chinese have come, they will write all the technical information in their language and hand over the product to you

You will pay them to either interpret what they wrote or pay them to learn their language so you can understand.

jaxxy:
When was it thriving, which year? and how was the electricity, economy and fuel prices?

My friend this company, like many others, was thriving.
When they started in 1974 China had zero market share in Nigerian ceramics market. By the time they closed in 2000's China had 82% share!

I want to be an oap(on air personality) or just simply call it presenter. I feel its here(nigeria) that i can make profit and value in the media career

Can i find a radio-station and television-news-station to work with in UK/Canada?

borie4u:
When i open mouth and tell people tgat if u are born in Nigeria and your parents are not polithievian then life is leading you. If u set up a business natural nigeria condition will never allow it to grow. If you love urself just look for money and travel legally to USA, Canada, UK or any Good European country. If u keep wasting time like me that was saying Nigeria will be better for 40years until i wake up and said enough is enough and JAPA. Na there i know say nobody dey do me but na just Nigeria killing dreams of future leaders. Everybody cant be Peller or Content creator. See as a good business just collapse with no help from the goverment.

SixSeven:
Do you think new investors can get it fixed? Funding with some young hungry people who are serious about business and can be guided because we all say tech tech tech but we can't eat tech. Those things are mainly services, we still need to produce and manufacture, sell and then export. Speaking about factories you saw, 20 years ago, some people warned that we can't be seeing factories close down or see religious houses taking over closed factories and thing it's progress.

Lessons learned were about what mgt then could have done then . Not about what could be done now to the abandoned factory. Since UBA took over it is simply land to them.
Business structure is important to business sustainability especially in a developing economy like Nigeria where you need to evolve because of things that are not under your control
And we do produce

People wey de do toilet and ceramic cups and plate are they still in this country I don't think so.

Tht closeup still de save lives o 😂

Wotowotoman:
Wetin be this?

Your head. I blame you, you still dey inside womb when dem do that advert

Ilese Awo in Abk o guess

SixSeven:
Please see the article below 👇


We have had SAP, trade liberalization policies and end of the global textile quota system in 2005 have made it increasingly difficult for these companies to survive and thrive. Recently we are talking about the NYSC khaki. It is very embarrassing to know that they are imported

We are not deliberate as a country. We just do things anyhow without a plan. Even the adire that is local to our people has been taken up by you know who! And they receive government support.

for a country to progress it must produce everything it needs.
That's does not work anywhere.
China has one major resource Human CAPITAL . It built it's industries on cheap labor and grossly inhuman labor practices

Other countries like UK their major resource are services Education, Tourism.Finance hub, International hub,etc.they have left competing with manufacturing cos they do not have that human capital

The US has lost a good chunk of its manufacturing resource and no matter what Trump does the landscape has evolved

The only reason why Adire can be produced by others is because the Nigerian creative industry created a demand.
Business opportunities are not the responsibility of govt.
It's for investors whether small or large.
If you start small and want to scale then their are business schools to go and learn how to scale sustainably

This is just one of the thousands of companies that the Nigerian economy has killed.
I hope iron condemn guys will not invade the place and clear off those remaining iron scraps this one you exposed the place like this.
Reminds me of whenever I walk through the Nigerian Railway corporation there at Ebutte meta. I feel so so saddened whenever I see what those huge workshops and offices have become.
I usually flash back to the days when I was a kid when all those workshops and offices were functioning.
Today the place is like a ghost town.
I think the rot in this country started during the Babangida era.

Deffi:
Thanks for taking us on a journey into the past. Hope the place would become usable again.
.

Not as far as there is China and there is no effort to protect local industries from them!