President of the Borno State Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (BOCCIMA), Alhaji Ahmed Ashemi, has expressed deep concern over the collapse of industries in North-East Nigeria, particularly in Borno State.
In an interview with LEADERSHIP at the weekend in Maiduguri, he attributed the collapse to energy crisis, the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP), an economic policy introduced by former militar president, Gen Ibrahim Babangida, Boko Haram insurgency and lack of collaboration among northern businessmen.
Ashemi called for local investment and collaboration between wealthy individuals and the government to revive the region’s industrial sector.
He emphasised the need for sustainable economic development through industrialisation, which can provide jobs, reduce insecurity, and curb social vices.
Ashemi urged wealthy individuals to invest in their home states, creating jobs and stimulating economic growth, advocating for collaboration between governments and individuals with expertise in industrial development to create an enabling environment for private sector investment.
He emphasised the need to invest in industries and infrastructure to build a sustainable economy beyond oil dependence, providing jobs, reducing insecurity, and curbing social vices.
Ashemi, drawing on his personal experience as a former CEO of a state-owned shoe factory, recounted the golden era when industries in the North were thriving.
“Before then, we used to have very big industries that a lot of people were employed in, and we were even exporting some materials,” he said.
He gave examples of government-owned industries in Borno State, such as furniture factories, the Borno brick factory, Dalaram soft drink owned by the late Alhaji Mai Deribe, Mango soft drink owned by the late Lawan Mungonu, and the Enamel industry owned by the late Bukar Bolori, which were all working very well.
Ashemi highlighted the problem of inadequate and unreliable power supply, explaining that industries found it impossible to be profitable while relying on self-generated power.
He noted that the high cost of generating electricity led to significant losses, forcing many businesses to close.
Ashemi argued that the SAP, implemented by a previous administration, was a major catalyst for the collapse, noting that the programme opened up Nigerian borders, ports, and airports to cheap foreign goods, which local industries could not compete with.
He explained that foreign goods were manufactured in countries with better infrastructure, cheaper labour, and lower production costs, making them far more competitive in the Nigerian market.
Ashemi lamented the individualistic nature of Northern businessmen, who prefer to invest their capital alone rather than coming together to form a group and undertake a large-scale project.
He warned that such individualistic ventures are vulnerable to economic shocks and are more likely to collapse.
Despite the challenges, Ashemi believed there is hope for the future, emphasising that the solution lies in local investment and collaboration.
He passionately appealed to individuals who have made money from various sources to invest locally and create job opportunities, stressing that as long as people with resources are unwilling to invest in their home states, industrialisation will remain a pipe dream.
He noted that such investments not only create jobs but also lead to asset appreciation and respect from the community.
He urged governments to seek out individuals with a passion and expertise for industrial development and collaborate with them, proposing that the government should create an enabling environment for private sector investment by providing the necessary support and infrastructure.
Ashemi warned that the current reliance on federal allocations is unsustainable and will dry up eventually, stressing that investing the current revenue in industries and infrastructure is the only way to build a sustainable economy that will outlive the oil era.
He appealed to those who have benefited from the region’s wealth to plough back those resources into industries that will employ the people.
He assured them that BOCCIMA is ready to provide guidance and expertise to help them set up and succeed in their industrial ventures.
He cited an example of a former shoe factory employee who, after the factory closed down, used his skills to open his own successful cottage shoe-making business.
He used this as an example of the long-term benefits of industrialisation, which creates jobs and builds skills and entrepreneurial capacity.
