Sam Edoho
At a period when the economy was shrinking, job losses were recorded in threatening figures and the exchange rate nosedived, thinking about industrialization was simply out of the vision of many political leaders across the country. The most urgent challenge was the fight against ravaging hunger and near famine on the economic landscape of Nigeria.
In Akwa Ibom State, the biting economic circumstances were not difficult as the impact of the depressed economy touched the state. The only difference was the feeling of responsibility and burden on the shoulders of the governor to fulfill his campaign promises in which he predominantly stressed industrialisation as a pivotal focus of his administration.
Faced by obvious unfriendly economic circumstances that would naturally not attract investors to Nigeria, Governor Emmanuel Udom performed near magic by attracting FDI to Akwa Ibom State, overtaking 34 other states in the federation in the process.
To deliver on this, the governor had to rely on his extensive national and international network built over the years and on the economic model of Public Private Partnership (PPP), a model which many economic analysts have severally advised government at all levels to adopt for the sake of encouraging Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) to their domain.
Notably, PPP ensures the sharing of risks amongst the partners, and overwhelming evidence in the past 50 years of the use of PPP structures indicates that these arrangements are relatively cost efficient, foster best practices for sharing and transfer of risk, assure superior value for money, save time, streamline contracts, simplify procurements, facilitate innovation through public-private cohesion, eradicate bureaucratic and political processes, encourage technology transfer and act as a vehicle which adopts life cycle approaches to delivering infrastructure and services.
PPP is a model that has gained wide acceptability across the globe and has benefitted countries, states or provinces that have consciously taken advantage of its For example, in Singapore, the world’s largest Sports Hub, estimated at $978 million, has been developed under a PPP arrangement and so many success stories also abound, courtesy of PPP.
While PPP transactions are more recent in Sub-Saharan Africa, there are already a number of success stories. For example, the Kenyan government, in expressing its commitment to encouraging PPPs, envisages that 80% of its projects will be financed through PPPs by 2030. The Nigerian government has also taken some steps at using this model to co-finance infrastructural projects, especially in the South West of the country.
Today in Nigeria, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State is leading the trend amongst state governors who are bold enough and are armed with the economic and intellectual wizardry to woo and convince foreign investors to partner state governments to invest in their states, especially during biting recession.
One interesting thing to note is that Governor Emmanuel is not exploring PPP only for the purpose of basic infrastructural development, but has gone ahead to draft and propose viable business and industrial ventures loaded with benefits to the two parties, chief of which is employment generation for the host state.
For example, many have continued to wonder about the miracle behind Gov. Udom Emmanuel’s government’s ability to create jobs and economic prosperity through the establishment and operation of one revamped and five brand new manufacturing industries in Akwa Ibom state in less than three years, even at a period of seemingly unfavourable economic climate in the country.
Many Nigerians are still amazed about the syringe manufacturing company, the electric meter manufacturing company, the toothpick and pencil manufacturing factory and the Akwa Prime Poultry and Hatchery Industries, all brand new business ventures conceived, built, commissioned and producing under three years of Gov. Udom Emmanuel’s tenure.
The secret is that this maverick of a Chief Executive sat down to think out of the box and came up with creative business initiatives that are very viable. Take the syringe manufacturing, for example, this is a product with a ready market. Data obtained in January 2018 indicates that in less than five months after commissioning, the factory produces more than a million pieces of the product per month for a waiting market.
The same goes with the meter manufacturing facility which produces electric meters locally, to salvage electric power users in the country from the anachronistic model of estimated billing which makes customers pay for electricity they never consumed. Obviously electricity consumers are tired of waiting for imported meters which are largely in short supply across the country, hence Akwa Ibom made meters are going into a ready market to ‘save the day’.
Through these partnerships, the state government has succeeded in bringing foreign Investors who for sure have the scientific and technological prowess, while the state government provides them with basic facilities like land, power, security and administrative support as part of the equity to enable them navigate through the economic bottlenecks in our country.
For Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, NBS, to name Akwa Ibom as only second after Lagos State (the economic headquarters of Nigeria) in attracting FDI to Nigeria in 2017, is an indication that someone somewhere is doing a great job and that person is Gov. Udom Emmanuel. It is also heartwarming to know that through partnerships, more manufacturing facilities are underway in the state.
Recently, some equipment arrived the state for a plastic manufacturing factory and construction work is on-going at the privately owned Flour Mill company. At the same time, Chinese investors are about now commencing the construction of Eket International Market. The modern market is expected to seat on an area of 62,000 square metres, having about 3000 shops within a 2-storey complex.
On completion, the main investors: the Yiwu International Mall Investment Limited, China, would take over the management of the market, bringing to the City of Eket, China town of some sort. The benefits of these initiatives are incomprehensible.
They include, among other things, employment for the youths both at the construction stage and at the operational stage after completion.
Beyond the expected gains of creating employment opportunities (both at the construction stage and at the operational stage), contributing to both the GDP and IGR of the country and state respectively, there is bound to be a massive transfer of technology from the foreign experts to local employees, in addition to wide spread wealth across the state.
It is, indeed, fascinating that the governor has found a leeway in PPP to bring industrialization to his people in fulfillment of his campaign promises. This is a firm testimony that Udom is working for his people and these are lessons Nigeria can learn and benefit from.
Edoho writes from Akwa Ibom