Anthony Amaechi Okeke, president of Mandilas Trade Centre, Lagos Trade Fair Complex, in this interview with ZEBULON AGOMUO, calls on government to expedite action on the completion of the Lagos-Badagry expressway project; the need for necessary amenities inside the Lagos State Trade Fair Complex and why government must without further delay, recognise the informal sector. Excerpts:
2020, the current year, has been a very challenging year for businesses; may we know how it impacted your business and those of your members?
Actually, this year has been very challenging from Covid-19 to #End SARS and even the border closure which has lingered up till now. These have impacted negatively on business, especially here in my complex, Mandilas, and the Lagos State International Trade Fair Complex as a whole. This is because, even as it is now, travelling to buy goods is not as easy as any other thing; even importation; instead of going there yourself, you just need to send your money overseas. There’s a difference between sending money over there and you being there. So, the year hasn’t been easy for businesses in the complex here. The coronavirus came in unannounced and nobody prepared for it. It has done a serious harm to businesses.
Before the Covid-19, there has been the border closure which your members also complain has affected their businesses. What level of conversation are you having with the government on the need to open the border?
We have not really had a direct interaction, but I know papers have been presented stating the negative impact of the border closure and I know that the government is aware of this. Last year November, I presented a paper, a lecture on the impact of the border closure on, especially, the Lagos State International Trade Fair Complex stakeholders. I think the government is aware of it and I know that they would one day do something about it. We also stated how it should be done. Borders are not closed indefinitely anywhere in the world. If you want to checkmate importation of any illegal product, there is a way to go about it. So, all those things were stated that last year at a lecture.
Can you in monetary terms estimate how much businesses at the Lagos State Trade Fair Complex may have lost to the border closure?
Businesses in the environment, even beyond the Mandilas Complex (because we operate as stakeholders in the Lagos State International Complex), we estimate the loss to over N20 billion because, in that same lecture I delivered, I told the world that the International Trade Fair Complex was not situated at the location for nothing. The nearness to the border was put into consideration before it was sited at its present location. It was meant to serve all the West Coast. We have lost a lot; because even when the border closure was announced; it was sudden, and goods were already loaded in trucks and most of them are perishable goods like cosmetics perfumes, among others. They were allowed to perish where they were loaded.
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Traffic gridlock has become a serious threat to businesses in Lagos, particularly those who operate on the Lagos State Trade Fair Complex axis. What is your concern about this?
I have a serious concern about it. We have sent our message across to government through various means. The other time Channels Television came to interview us, we let the government know that the bad road leading from Lagos Island to Seme border affects us here. It is a serious problem to the complex. It is hindering our business so much. Even in our umbrella body called ‘Ndigbo Amaka’ an umbrella body of about 58 major markets, we have had interactions with the state government and they promised that within their limited resources they would provide some palliatives. But I think the major problem is that I learnt that the project has already been commissioned and I don’t know how another government can complete an already commissioned project. So, I think this is a dilemma.
But we have been having interactions with the government on the need to complete the Lagos – Badagry expressway that is causing a serious problem to our business. They only promised that something will be done in that direction.
We hear that the cost of clearing goods at the ports is very high these days and the cost of moving those goods in containers to their destinations is also getting exorbitant. How are you and your members surviving these developments?
It is the usual Nigeria factor. I think all Nigerians have thick skin. So, in every situation, we have always developed our own way to endure it. But actually, the cost of clearing goods has doubled or tripled; it adds to the same inflation we are talking about. It pinches hard on us and also on the eventual consumers. So, we only appeal to government to see what can be done to arrest the situation; we know that inflation is not what you can control overnight.
If you go round the complex majority of the businessmen are from the South East; the question is, are there some conversations going on to replicate what is going on in Lagos State in the South East?
That is true, but when we were in secondary school we were taught factors necessary for location of businesses; because Lagos State has the advantage of having a seaport; international airport that’s why most businessmen prefer Lagos and that’s why these things are located here. If such amenities are sited in the East, I think people would start relocating to the east; and I want to tell you that thoughts are being given to it.
To what level have you interfaced with the various state governments for the necessary amenities to be provided there?
You know we are informal sector; what we do is to talk to our governors (Eastern governors) to know how they can interface with the Federal Government on siting the amenities there. Siting or bringing amenities in a state is not the prerogative of traders like us.
Although your businesses in the complex contribute reasonably to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country, there seems not to be much recognition in terms of federal honours conferred on people with thriving businesses there. Have you and your members given this a thought and have you pressed the right buttons?
It is a serious concern. It is a Nigeria factor; honour or credit is not given to who is due; that’s what I think and how I feel about it. I think the unorganised nature of the informal sector contributes a great deal to that because they can’t bring themselves together to form a unit to pursue a common cause. That informs that neglect. There is the need for government to recognise the informal sector. Any government in this recession that doesn’t recognise the informal sector will die business-wise.
The country has been beset by high level of insecurity. How does this affect your business?
I will only talk about my immediate complex because security is the job of government. In the complex where I operate, we provide security on our own. We provide private security to guard our complex and to God be the glory, for five years now we have not had any incident of burglary at the complex. But generally, the rising wave of insecurity is weighing heavily on people. It hinders people from coming to buy goods and security is an integral part of business; if there is no security, nothing works in the country. If you are talking of tourism, tourists would be scared; many people would be scared to come from the East, for instance, to buy goods here, even though they have the money.
Politics and business are inseparable; just a stroke of policy can kill a thriving business; how satisfied are you with the quality of policies in relation to doing business in the country, as they affect you as a businessman?
Policies in terms of positively affecting business in the country are not encouraging; because, ordinarily if you go even to the West Coast here, a businessman can just walk into a bank with a little collateral, take a loan and move ahead with his business; and return back the money. It is not like that in Nigeria. Somebody would argue that those people are trustworthy, but I say if we can’t do that in Nigeria what’s the essence of the Bank Verification Number (BVN), and other means of identification that are documented. If somebody obtains a loan and does not pay back, you have the means to track that person; so, if those processes and documentations are not effective, why do we do bother ourselves with BVN and other security measures? Otherwise, the ease of getting facilities should have been easier than it is now.
Poverty level is rising in the country and Nigeria is in a recession as we speak; Christmas and New Year celebrations are by the corner; there are many Nigerians that may not have rice to eat this period. What is your take on that?
Well, I am not a social analyst. I am just a businessman; so, most things I have spoken on are how they affect my business and how to project our complex to the outside world; so that government will know the level of business that is going on at the complex. Now that they are talking about concessioning the complex so that government will know the amount of investment that is at the complex; so that they can excise the already developed portion from the non-developed portion that they want to concession. Even at that, we would like the remaining ones to be given to the people that had developed the portions that had already been developed. We have developed about 75 percent of it already; remaining 25 percent. I can only say that the eyes of government are not closed; I believe that every government must be alive to its responsibility to the people. As for those who may not have rice to eat; that is a social issue; I am not a social analysts.
Apart from government’s interest to concession the place, what other specific things would you like government to do for businesses here to thrive the more?
The roads are bad, even in the complex; we need amenities such as functional fire-fighting station. A branch of Bank of Industry (BoI) should be sited at the complex so that any genuine businessman can walk in there and get facilities to do business at a very low interest. We need good road, pipe borne water, among many others.
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