…Advocates for homegrown solution to insecurity in S/East
By Enyeribe Ejiogu
Just like other indigenous members of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, have done in different ways, the Chairman and Managing Director of J. JUMAC Group Limited, Chief James Uzuh, has made a plaintive appeal to the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government to pause, rethink, re-evaluate and backpedal on some of its policies, to encourage the remaining operational SMEs that have chosen to keep faith with Nigeria rather than pack up and japa.
Chief Uzuh, recipient of the 2023 Sun Industrialist of the Year Award, bemoaned the negative impact of multiple taxations, tariff increases and other burdens, which are crippling the operations of the few manufacturing enterprises fighting tooth and nail to stay open, warning that if such SMEs are forced to lay-off staff and shut down, such disengaged employees could well turn to white collar crime and other fraudulent activities to survive.
He also warned that as the economy continues to gallop downhill, leading to further tightening of the belt of hardship around Nigerians, the pace of criminality and social unrest would quicken as it is already being seen around the country and manifesting instances of “the poor eating the rich” through abductions for ransom, bold-face physical attack and demonstration of hatred for the economically privileged.
This, he explained, is the primary reason people in certain parts of the country would physically attack the vehicles of the rich who display affluence in the face of gripping hardship that seems determined to extinguish the lives of many Nigerians.
He speaks more in this interview.
I noticed in the reception that you can brand your suitcases for corporate bodies, pilgrimages, and families. Please explain that a little more.
You see, if you have a good product, you brand it. So, whenever anybody sees your product, it can be easily identified. If you don’t have a good product, you don’t brand it. So, those people branding their products will make sure that the quality is sustained. You wouldn’t like anything to taint the brand equity of the product. That is why most of our products are branded, because we are sure of the quality. For instance, we have a suitcase that has been in the market for a long time. What makes it unique is that it can fall from a height above 10 feet and it will not break. You just pick you. You can even stand on it and it does not burst open. That is quality. Our products have reliable trolleys that do not break off on the conveyor belt at the airport. The handles will not break. Our suitcases are designed and made to withstand rough handling.
We also produce customised suitcases that are made for special purposes. For example, we produced special boxes for the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, which they used for the elections. I would like the government to do more to support manufacturing companies by procuring products made in Nigeria instead of importing from overseas. That would be a wise and patriotic thing to do to support local manufacturers. Why should the government import travelling bags that are given to people going for pilgrimage (hajj or Jerusalem) when they can be supplied by a suitable indigenous company like J. JUMAC Group.
The government is supposed to support the local industry. How did China start? When Chinese people started, they were using German and Italian construction companies to build their flyover bridges. The Chinese government gave them their best engineers to work with the Germans and Italians as labourers. After some time the Chinese engineers gained valuable experience and then began to build for their country. If you go to China, you will still see the first bridge built by local engineers, which has been preserved for posterity as a tourist monument. Today, no Italian or German is building any structure, whether roads, bridges or whatever in China. Everything is done by Chinese people. That is how their economy is growing. They don’t send dollars abroad again to pay foreign engineers. They are paying with their local currency to their local engineers. Chinese people are now coming to build in Nigeria. Does it mean that we don’t have engineers in Nigeria? Does it mean that we have brains? The government is not trying to support the local manufacturers. You need to train Nigerians so that they stop bringing in foreigners. Before, I had expatriate engineers that worked with us. Our local engineers that were trained by them are now doing even better than those people that trained them. That shows you that Nigerians have brains. The only thing is that we don’t give them the opportunity to function and excel.
The present administration came in with the Renewed Hope Agenda. Looking at the policies of the administration, what has been the impact of the policies on the operation of your company and the business community generally? Would you say that these policies are in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda?
Well to be honest, the government is not serious. It is very easy to grow our economy if the government really wants it to grow. The government only needs to provide a steady, uninterruptible power supply at a very reasonable tariff. It is through manufacturing entrepreneurs that the economy will grow. While we struggle to produce 3000 MW of electricity for over 200 million Nigerians, South Africa produces over 50000 MW for about 60 million people. We claim that we are the giant of Africa. Let us show it by production capacity, not mouth. Huge population is not what makes you a giant. It is by your action that you can say you are a giant of Africa. Nigeria. You can be just 20 million people and your economy is better than that of any African country. So, the government is not doing anything to help us grow the economy. It is only interested in taxing us into bankruptcy and closure. It is only focused on multiple taxations. Everything is money, money, money. They are trying to bring us down. What will the government gain by making all of us poor?
A healthy, growing economy will reduce crime by creating jobs and prosperity. Do you know how many people are working in this factory? If we close down now, they will join the other people on the street and crime will be everywhere.
I remember that in the 70s when you were driving a Mercedes Benz car or Volvo car, nobody wanted to come near you, to avoid scratching or denting your car because of the cost. Today, if you are driving a luxury vehicle you must have armed policemen with you. If not, angry people will just look at you, hit your vehicle, attack and even try to kill you. Go and check it. You cannot see anybody riding on a Rolls-Royce alone without a Hilux van filled with armed policeman. The reason is that the hungry people don’t want to see people riding those cars. If you do not have police escorts, hungry and angry Nigerians could mob you. So you can only drive such cars safely in Banana Island, Bourdillion Road and other major parts of Ikoyi and Lekki with a strong police presence.
Somebody once said that if the rich do not take care of the poor, one day the poor will eat the rich. Is that what we are seeing now?
That is exactly what is happening now. No poor man wants to see a rich person eye to eye. If people see you as rich, they know that what they are targeting is to kill you, because they see you as one of the people who destroying this country. That’s because 80% of Nigerians are poor, if not more. There is anger on the face of every Nigerian, but the people in government are not seeing it, and that is why they are doing things anyhow. But there is still time for the government to act quickly and change the direction the country is going. The government should think about manufacturers and entrepreneurs. These are the people that can provide jobs, but the government is not looking towards them to offer support and assistance through better policies.
Now, let’s look at the Southeast. Is there any way people in the geopolitical zone can create a homegrown solution to the insecurity in the Southeast, which can gain government endorsement. How can that happen?
Dealing with insecurity in the Southeast is very easy. People in communities know themselves. For instance, in my town in Nnewi South, if any stranger comes in, people in the town already know. To end the insecurity in Southeast, we should empower the vigilante service to work in collaboration with police. They will gather intelligence and conduct joint operations with the police. This way everywhere will be sanitized.
Again, the Federal Government should release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and the insecurity will go down. I don’t know why they are holding him.
If they are holding him to make the economy of the Southeast go down, then Nigeria is not doing itself any good because if the economy of the southeast is going down, people in both the North and South West will experience the pain too. The whole of Nigeria is suffering. It is not only the Igbo that are affected. Hunger does not know tribe or religion. So, I think the government should dialogue with the relevant notable voices over this issue and then set Nnamdi Kanu free. The issue of insecurity is like when a person has pain in any part of the body, it will be felt by other parts of the body. All the agitations in parts of the country were caused by marginalisation of the people affected.
The best thing is that the government should not allow anybody to feel pain. Treat everybody equally and fairly there will be no agitations anymore. Everywhere, you’re afraid to move out. You don’t know what will happen next because people are not happy.