Economic and historical research has overwhelmingly shown that industrialization is linked to rising educations, longer life spans, growing individual and state income, as well as improved overall quality of life. Although this transition from agrarian to industrial society is not always smooth, it is always a necessary step to escape the abject poverty found in most under-developed societies.
Indeed it is an obvious fact that no economy will experience rapid growth without its industrial activities.
This awareness must have influenced the focus of Governor Udom Emmanuel as he anchored his campaign in 2015 on industrialization and the promise to work out an industrial policy which will be implemented in such a way that will facilitate massive investment in the state. It was glaring to the incoming administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel that the prosperity of the state, to a large extent would be dependent on the development and sustenance of the industrial sector, especially after 8 years of massive infrastructural development spearheaded by his predecessor.
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At the inception of his administration, Governor Udom Emmanuel promptly declared – “Our commitment to industrialization is irrevocable. We know that through industrialization, we shall rewrite the Akwa Ibom story in employment and wealth creation”.
That declaration had manifested in the frenetic pace of events and magnitude of developments as it touched the industrialization sub-sector of Akwa Ibom economy. Beginning from clear policy articulation to the flurry of project consolidation events, and even result bearing indices, there is no denying the fact the last two years and six months of the Udom- led administration has been quite remarkable.
To underline the development vision of his administration from inception, Governor Udom Emmanuel re-structured the Ministry of Commerce and Industry into the Ministry of Investment, Commerce and Industry. This re-designation was aimed at forging a viable synergy between investment and industrialization, anchored on Public-Private Participation (PPP) model. By this initiative, the goal was to explore and promote investment opportunities in the state; catalyze and effectively implement the industrialization policy and take commercial activities in the state to a new level.
To ensure sharper coordination of his industrialization programme, The Udom Emmanuel led government reorganised the Akwa Ibom Industrial & Promotion Council (AKIIPOC), to create a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for investment promotion, entrepreneurship and accelerated industrial development which was rechristened Akwa Ibom Investment Corporation (AKICORP).
In driving the industrialization process of government, the corporation continued to translate the industrial and entrepreneurial blueprint of the state into tangible reality like the resuscitation of the moribund Qua Steel industry. The present administration, through AKICORP, has also signed several MoUs and attracted a lot of foreign direct investments into the State.
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The state government also established and inaugurated The Akwa Ibom state council on Micro, Small And Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) In 2016 to serve as an aggregator to co-ordinate and guide the government, international development agencies and the private sector in the development of the state’s MSMEs sector. The council, chaired by the Honourable Commissioner for Investment, Commerce and Industry, has its members drawn from relevant Federal and State Government Agencies, the private, and other relevant organizations. Many analysts believe this council will tackle the issue of the near-total absence of an indigenous entrepreneurship class in the state, and jump-start the growth and massive industrialization of Akwa Ibom state.
Speaking on the vision that has guided the administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel in this ambitious industrialisation drive in the last two years, Charles Udoh, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, had explained: “Our dream is to ensure that Akwa Ibom state becomes Nigeria industrial and tourism hub. First, it is our dream to lead the way in a lot of things and so many spheres of national life. We believe that somebody must take the lead. If I can digress a little, you and I know how the power sector has been problematic. Since Gov. Emmanuel commissioned the power injector station in Uyo, power within the Uyo metropolis has improved tremendously, we have a minimum of 18 hours of electricity daily. That is good news for any industrialist. You also know that in a Nigerian setting, that is almost a miracle.”
Mr Udoh also believes Akwa Ibom is a pacesetter in Nigeria in the last few years in the area of Industrialisation. His words; “Gov. Udom Emmanuel believes we can set the pace. And if you also want to hit the nail on the head on the little successes we have recorded in terms of industrialization, you will recall that in the last two years and the first half of this year, The National Bureau of Statistic has listed Akwa Ibom state as number 2 in terms of attracting foreign direct investment to Nigeria. We are only behind Lagos state. And that shows that our industrial stride is in full steam. If you look at the quality of industries that we are bringing, we are not just bringing industry just to make up the numbers, we are looking at opportunities”.
Africa’s largest syringe factory recently commissioned in Akwa Ibom State by Nigeria’s Vice-President seems to be of great interest to Charles Udoh. “Let us look at the syringe factory. We consume 6 million syringes in Nigeria and we import all of them. So upfront, we have the market for the syringe factory and we built a factory with an initial capacity of 400 million syringes. One year of operation, we will grow that capacity to one billion without building an additional structure”.
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Udoh also touched on infrastructures built to enhance smooth industrialisation. “We are also constructing roads and spending heavily on it because if we need to evacuate those syringes, the heavy truck will have to come. We are ensuring that the road network we are constructing in Akwa Ibom state is not one-directional. We will have a road network that is linking the industrial and agricultural hub. What we have also done is to ensure that cost of doing business for those industries are minimized as much as possible and that is why we have a concentration of them in specific locations”.
Apart from the syringe factory, the commissioner touched on a few others that have wide-ranging development impact in the state. According to Udoh, “we also have the pencil and toothpick factory that is serving the entire country and the West African sub-region as well as the electric metering and metering box factory, the first in Nigeria to produce digital electric meters. I also know how long Nigeria has been planning to go digital in terms of prepaid meters. We took the bull by the horns to search and find an investor who is working to produce in our backyard. The same thing with the coconut refinery and The Flour mill-we are always looking at targeted industries with market potentials”.
The plan of the current Akwa Ibom State government to create an industrial layout was also highlighted by the commissioner. “If you look at the industrial plan of the state, we are looking at Ikot Abasi area. It is earmarked as the industrial hub. That syringe factory and the flour mill are all concentrated in the same area. The reason is simple- the cost of doing business. It costs us the same amount to provide power for the three factories at the same time. It costs the same amount to provide security within the same locality, the same road network services. So, it makes it easy for those companies to lower their overhead cost. That is where we have earmarked to have the Ibom deep-sea seaport as well as coconut refinery and plantation that we currently have.
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“We are not using government resources; all we do is attract credible investors. Once we do this, we have an MOU signed which guarantees a specific number of employments for the local communities, community development projects and all that. Primarily, for us, the benefit to the state is going to be a whole lot. We are not building industries like in the past where the industries are dependent on government subventions”
Apart from bringing in new industries, the Udom Emmanuel led government has also shown huge commitment to investing massively in the revitalization of ailing industries. This was followed by an injection of N424 million for the reactivation of Peacock paint, which led to the re-commissioning of the company in 2015. The company with a current capacity of three million litres of paint per year has since commenced production.
Also, while the federal government is thinking of producing pencil in 2018, the Udom Emmanuel led administration has already begun producing pencils since 2016. Through AKEES Toothpick and pencil industry, Governor Udom Emmanuel is working hard to see that Nigeria and other African countries stop the importation of pencils and toothpick from China. The factory has the premium target of one billion naira yearly as well as creates ten thousand jobs of factory workers. The Pencil Factory is currently supplying pencils to two states in the country and more are on the queue.
It would definitely be a huge miracle to compress the two years of giant strides achieved by the government of Governor Udom into a textbook, much less a newspaper article. However, there are basic facts that are sacrosanct. The resuscitation of various moribund industries, the establishment of new ones, the provision of interest-free loans to small scale entrepreneurs, the training of entrepreneurs and informal sector operators, developing a good working relationship with the organized private sector operators such as various Chambers of Commerce, and National Associations as well as the establishment of various agro-based projects, are all huge catalysts that will elevate the level of industrialisation in the state, and deepen the impact and acceptance in the highly infectious Dakkada philosophy in Akwa Ibom State.
Usukuma Ntia
