BusinessDay 19 Oct 2017

30 BUSINESS DAY
C002D5556 Thursday 19 October 2017
GARDEN CITY BUSINESS DIGEST
How Aba shoes dominate West African markets, now in Dubai
- As PH-based investors group moves to upgrade Aba products with foreign partners
IGNATIUS CHUKWU
Aba shoes and other
leatherworks are about
to join global brands to
compete with the best
on shoe shelves around
the world. For now, the shoes dominate
the West African market and
are now a toast of the glamorous
Dubai market, but the shoes are
stamped ‘Made in Italy’. Now, a
group based in Port Harcourt, the
Rivers Entrepreneurs and Investors
Forum (REIF) has concluded
arrangements to upgrade the technology
and materials base in Aba to
churn out world class products that
would proudly be stamped ‘Made
in Nigeria’. This was exclusively
disclosed to BusinessDay by the
president of REIF, Ibifiri Bobmanuel,
who just concluded a tour of shoe
clusters around the world to find
out what is lacking in Aba.
REIF is a body of serious-minded
entrepreneurs and investors
located in Nigeria, made up of both
Nigerian businessmen and foreign
investors that are based in Nigeria.
Initially it began in Port Harcourt,
Rivers State, and many understood
it to be a forum for Rivers Statebased
entrepreneurs but now many
have accepted the real concept and
message that Rivers represents
‘flow’ and waters. In this case, REIF
is the body of business people who
see the need to up their game, to
increase production and boost the
Nigerian economy. It represents the
flow of businesses around Nigeria.
It also represents the fact that shipping
is the backbone of commerce
and trade and this activity flows
on water; be it the ocean, rivers or
steams. On that note, REIF is now
a nationwide body that caters for
genuine businesses and investors
around Nigeria.
REIF has affiliates outside Rivers
State. Trade groups affiliate with
REIF and on that ground, they benefit
from the advocacy role which
leads to defending their group when
threatened by obnoxious actions
and laws by state of federal governments.
They also benefit from
investment openings discovered
by REIF especially from its partnership
with various international
blocs such as the European Union
REIF members (front row) flanked by leaders of Aba leatherworks in a meeting in Aba
and the ECOWAS. REIF mobilizes
entrepreneurs and investors in various
regions of Nigeria and together
they create better business and
investment opportunities for their
affiliates and direct members.
REIF says it has taken the EU
to Aba to see, inspect and assess
the Aba Shoe and Leather Cluster
called LEPMAAS. The immediate
past EU ambassador to Nigeria
and leader of delegation to the
ECOWAS, Michael Arrion, visited
Ariaria and saw things for himself.
He said; “We in REIF can say that
the EU is now fully committed to
supporting the development of the
Aba Shoe Cluster into a world class
cluster to compete favourably with
any other shoe centre in the world.
The leather works groups spoke
directly with the Ambassador and
this motivated them.
Hear Bobmanuel more;
What the EU/REIF saw:
The size of the Aba leather works
centre is huge, over 17,000 workmen,
well organized and departmentalized.
This is added to over
80,000 indirect workmen serving
or supporting of deriving from the
core leatherworks people. So, Aba
offers over 100,000 in labour force
in leatherworks alone. This means
that you have a huge export potential
there alone that gives Nigeria
what it looks for in terms of foreign
exchange earnings away from oil.
This is what the nation may be
toying with.
In Aba shoe cluster, one section
makes the souls, another makes the
frame, another couples and sews,
etc. Look, the finishing is world
class and the designs are wonderful.
What is lacking is quality. We
have tested them and found that
Aba shoes lack quality to compete.
Another thing we discovered
is that Aba shoes dominate the
West African coast and are now in
Dubai. Many shoes you see in these
markets and in the almighty Dubai
are made in Aba. The makers in Aba
simply label them with Italian logos.
We found that they want the world
to think the shoes were imported
from Italy. This told us that Aba
shoemakers are hungry to compete
with Italy and with the best in the
world. We now surveyed it and
found that what they lack is world
class machines and materials to
measure effectively with other shoe
clusters in the world.
What REIF is offering:
In fact, it is the leadersship of the
leather works that contacted REIF
after the visit of the EU ambassador
and his team. They wanted us to accommodate
them and open them
up to EU businesses and partnerships.
We have made the second
visit to perfect these initiatives. REIF
also went to different leatherworks
clusters in the world; Europe, US,
and China to see what they have to
offer that Aba needs.
What REIF is offering is partnership
that would bring down world
class machines and materials to
Aba entrepreneurs at a price that
would help them (Aba) remain
competitive both in quality and
prices of heir products. We will bring
in these machines and materials for
test-running and see the difference
they make in the final output. The
products from this exercise would
be tested very well. When satisfied,
the foreign cluster that is chosen by
the Aba cluster would become the
agreed suppliers, and Aba would
pay gradually and order fresh ones
after retirement of old stock.
Opportunities:
This would make Aba leatherworks
experts to proudly stamp
‘Made in Aba’ on their products
and these products would sit along
products from other clusters around
the world. This way, Aba becomes
a brand that can be trusted and
promoted by our embassies and
international business partners.
The next opportunity is transfer
of technology. The partnership with
foreign partners would gradually
help improve the knowledge-base
in Aba. The new machines would
offer new challenges and they
would overcome them, thereby
acquiring fresh and updated technical
knowledge. It would also put
huge wealth in the hands of the
over 100,000 persons involved in
this industry in Aba.
The most important aspect is
that nobody would be left behind.
We hear of other proposals that
involve selection of 100 persons to
be trained in a foreign country to
be employed for mass production.
The cluster leaders feel threatened
that the new foreign company
would throw them out of business
with only 100 workers absorbed.
We feel that the Aba shoe cluster is
well organized and they have accumulated
skills over the decades
and nobody or government should
destabilize that. Rather, whatever
anybody wants to do should be
to upgrade them and to eliminate
those hindrances that make them
not to be competitive in the international
market. The danger of the
100 trainees concept is that because
they are not even from the core of
the Aba leatherworks, they would
go through the learning curve that
the core has mastered an probably
fall back in time. They may not
progress to the level where the core
shoe experts are today.
Abia Govt:
We made efforts to visit the
state governor and lay our plans
on the table but on the date of the
appointment, it did not hold; no
fault of ours. We believe that the
state government should view the
opening coming to Aba as a very
serious one and therefore play
background roles by providing
the enabling environment such as
roads, control of crime, electricity
boost, tax harmonization, local
council administration that works
with the Ariaria leadership, etc. This
should make any investor who steps
into Aba or Ariaria from any part of
the world to fall in love with the trade
zone. This helps business a lot.
National outlook:
REIF wants to upgrade Aba
leather products such that they
would be some of the best in the
world. This would target the Nigerian
shoe demand which is estimated
at one shoe per citizen per year for
180 million Nigerians, making 180m
shoes sold per year. These people
are capable of making and selling
20 million pairs per month. This
is huge market. The moment one
shoe can last between three and
five years, we can then say Aba shoe
centre has arrived.
Since REIF is a nationwide body,
we would use our contacts to open
more markets for them around Nigeria.
We have strong links with Aba,
Kano, Kaduna, Lagos and the West
for now, and we are expanding. This
is important.
International outlook and
EPA:
REIF has taken time to study
the proposal from the EU called
Economic Partnership Agreement
(EPA) and our objection has reduced
and even transformed to
enthusissm. We find that there are
many openings in the package that
would promote local manufacture
and export especially into the EU
market. We think that if Aba products
are improved to European
standards, these products would
lead the way to the partnership
into Europe and the international
market.
There are many international
brands that would bring down their
production centres to Aba centre.
Some will place massive orders for
Aba products in their warehouses
around the world. This is how business
works.
This is why REIF is supporting
any discussion around West
Africa that would help the business
sector evaluate once again
the EPA package and point out
fears that can be eliminated to
enable the package be adopted.
All other West African countries
have signed on. The only one
left, Gambia, says the moment
Nigeria signs on, their signature
is automatic. This leaves Nigeria
as the only nay-saying country
in the ECOWAS bloc whereas
Nigeria ought to take the lead
and dictate the pace.
If this is not done, other
ECOWAS products would enter
EU market at low or zero tariff
while Nigeria’s would enter
with up to 12 per cent rates. That
would be a huge setback.
Why would any gang massacre PH innocents?
Port Harcourt by Boat
With
IGNATIUS CHUKWU
Mgbuosimini is the destination.
It is a community
in Port Harcourt
close to the sea. The
seafront is inhabited mostly by
visitors other than the Ikwerre. Nigerians
woke up last week Monday
to hear that 12 persons had been
massacred by a band that raided the
waterfront. The Rivers State reacted
angrily and mobilised the police
to go on an immediate manhunt.
Soon, eight persons were declared
wanted and their photos displayed.
The residents are still in fear.
Police takes over the area in the
evenings. Residents coming back
from work a little late are frisked
and questioned in many ways. The
killers are gone; the innocents are
facing the heat.
The question on the lips of
Mgbuosimini residents is why the
massacre. Yes, killings have been
going on in Rivers State but the motive
in each killing is usually easy to
see; often rivalry or revenge killing.
For the massacre, what did babies do,
what did pregnant women do, what
did sleeping partners do? What did
strangers from different parents of
Nigeria do?
What is known is that there was a
revenue collection rights rift. In Rivers
State, whichever gang that captures
power in any community begins to
lord it over everyone especially right
over revenue collection; collection
levies from Keke people and others.
This is why most gangs seek political
relevance so as to belong to the winning
side.
It was gathered that a man in
charge of collecting levies was asked
to stop for another group to take over.
He allegedly objected and at last
threatened that they would see. The
next thing, two persons were killed on
Thursday last two weeks.
While all eyes were on him,
just the next Monday morning,
a gang came by sea and attacked
those living along the waters. A
man noticed that armed men
were jumping into his compound
and called the gateman who
whispered that he too had seen
them and that he was hiding. The
man locked his doors well but one
burst of AK-47 and the doors shattered.
The gang went from house
to house killing people; men,
women, children. They met a
man with his wife, killed both. The
three-month old baby was found
suckling the late mother’s breasts
in a pool of blood. Another man
was killed but his wife had gone to
see her parents and so lives.
The strange thing is that they
victims were all strangers: Ogoni,
Calabar/Akwa Ibom, Igbo, Hausa,
Delta, etc. Some residents ask if nonindigenes
were no longer wanted
in that part of the city. The kind of
persons that wee killed were no cult
people and were not in any contention
for power or revenue collection.
They too were victims of the law and
oppressed people. The man who
made threats is said to be nowhere to
be found, but may say he may have no
links with the massacre because the
victims were not his problem.
Killings may have been taking
place but unraveling the motive
behind this dastardly massacre is important
for the public. The police owes
this much to the masses, even if they
do not end up capturing the killers.
They will catch them, so long as they
were able to catch the rapist/murderer,
Dike of Uniport.