Akwa Ibom seems to be witnessing a new industrial outlook. Many factories are opening shops and several others are on the verge of coming on stream.
Before now, Akwa Ibom was seen in many quarters as a civil service state with a weak industrial base.
With a population of over 5 million and land mass of 6,900 square kilometers, it has one of the longest coastline and is richly endowed with natural resources. However, if the disputed figure by the National Bureau of Statistics is anything to go by, it has one of the highest number of unemployed youths in the Niger Delta.
With a non-existent industrial sector, many of the youths are unemployed. The state civil service has only been able to employ about 30,000 people, leaving thousands to roam the streets.
Perhaps, to address the menace of unemployment, the state government seems to be giving much attention to industrialisation. In fact, it does appear that no other administration since the creation of Akwa Ibom State in 1987 had pursued the establishment of factories in partnership with the private sector as that of governor.
Though concerted efforts may have been made in the past by private sector players and the state government to set up factories to add value to many of the agricultural produce, not much success was recorded. Also, when a few factories were set up, they did not survive for a long time.
But recently, driving through the former industrial layout in Uyo, the state capital, where a medium-size brewery is located, one cannot fail to notice the hordes of trucks and trailers parked around the vicinity. The loading of the company’s products almost on a 24-hour basis is a reminder that one of the factories established many years ago is still in operation and it appears to be doing well. This clearly justifies the partnership between the government and investors in the setting up of factories.
The fact that the brewery has survived till date is a pleasant surprise given that among the factories established by the state government then which included a steel company in Eket, ceramic factory in Itu and a biscuit factory in the then Ikot Local Government Area, many had become moribund due to a combination of mismanagement and wrong management model.
In the last administration headed by Godswill Akpabio who was in office from 2007 to 2015, though he had promised to establish one factory in each of the 31 local government areas of the state, observers say it was a political statement meant to secure his second term victory during the elections. Not one factory was set up by the state government during his tenure.
However, with more than 15 factories and industrial firms already in operations and facilitated by the present administration, Akwa Ibom State looks set to witness an industrial renaissance that will significantly change its status from a civil service-driven economy to that of an industrial hub in the Niger Delta region.
Indeed, things appear to be looking good. The state government has facilitated the establishment of over 15 factories as part of its industrialisation drive and in keeping with one of the thematic areas of Governor Udom Emmanuel’s five-point agenda.
The key areas of the five-point agenda meant to leapfrog the state into an industrial hub include small and medium scale enterprises development, infrastructure, security, human capacity development, agriculture and rural and riverine area development. Significantly, some of the factories and firms have since started operations with huge economic benefits being felt in the state. For instance, Ibom Air, which began operations in February this year with three aircraft, is one the business concerns set up by the state government in partnership with other private sector leaders and is adding value to the air transportation sector in Uyo creating jobs for many youths of the state.
Other factories established include syringe manufacturing, metering solution company as well as toothpick and pencil company. There are also solar panel farm, flour mill and many palm oil processing mills.
It is a known fact that Nigeria spends her hard foreign currency to import many items, some as insignificant as toothpick while it still imports disposable syringes for hospital use.
The significance of both the syringe and metering solution factories is that they are considered to be the largest in this part of the world, providing jobs for thousands of people directly and indirectly.
In his completion agenda, the second term manifesto of the state government, the governor has promised to surpass the “superior performance recorded during his first term in office and to “position Akwa Ibom as the industrial hub of Nigeria.’’
According to his second term completion agenda, his major target on industrialisation and investment would be to establish, at least, one petroleum refinery, one power plant, one petrochemical plant, one Liquified Natural Gas plant, one fertilizer manufacturing plant and one steel plant in the state before the end of my administration in 2023.’’
This is in addition to the plans to see to the actualisation of the Ibom Industrial City project and the Ibom deep sea port.
This may seem like a difficult task given the financial resources required for the establishment of these projects. Many people however, think that if the Ibom deep sea project is actualised, Akwa Ibom would be on its path to industrial revolution.
But one major concern has been the ownership of the factories. Are the factories used as fronts to defraud the state or are they owned by any particular individual, including the governor?
Adebisi Adeniyi, chief executive officer, Metering Solution Manufacturing Services, one of the factories operating in the state and facilitated by the state government, explains that what the governor has done is to create an enabling environment that investors find attractive, maintaining that in case of the metering firm, the governor has no shares in the company.
“What the governor in his magnanimity has done is to invite investors, give us the enabling environment in terms of providing the land, access road and by doing so, take off the youths from the streets and reduce crime,’’ he said.
The metering solution factory is regarded as the largest in the country with a capacity to produce three million meters annually, working on one shift. Similarly both the syringe factories have large installed capacities same as the flour mill with a capacity of 500 metric tons per day. It is expected to create over 100 jobs directly and thousand others indirectly.
But with a good number of factories opening shop in the state, some of which require specialised skills, one question begging for answer is whether youths in the state are well equipped and have the required skills to work in the emerging industrial centres.
Last year, Mobil Producing Nigeria launched a multimillion skills acquisition centre in the state, promising to develop modern skill sets for youths in the state. The launch of the skills training centre located in Ikot Akata, Mkpat Enin Local Government Area attracted captains of industry, top government officials, including the governor as well as top management of the oil company. More than one year after the fanfare that greeted the ceremony, nothing has been heard about the centre.
Many factories are coming on stream in Akwa Ibom State; they will provide jobs for the youth, a welcome development, but the youth need to acquire skills that will enable them fit into the emerging industrial landscape of the state.
ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo
