CEO Krisoral Group advocates proper policy implementation of forex to enhance manufacturing sector
Igwe Chris Oranu Chidume, Eze Ana-Ukwu, has advocated for proper policy implementation that will enhance manufacturing positively, especially the issue of forex.
Igwe Chidume, who is the Managing Director/CEO Krisoral Group made the call while speaking at Commence and Industry Correspondent Association of Nigeria (CICAN) workshop and annual Award with the theme “Impact of Forex Crisis on the Real and SME Sectors” held in Lagos.
The monarch noted that the theme is apt, while considering the fact that the forex market in Nigeria is characterized with a different rate from open markets and the disparity is so obvious that some people now see it as a business of getting the money from the Apex bank and reselling to others.
According to him, the challenge of forex is one, but beyond forex, there are other things that manufacturers are facing in the Eastern part of Nigeria.
Igwe Chidume said “Every Industrial park in Lagos has gas pipelines, it is in Lagos that you have national ports, it is in Lagos you have the international airport and for you to cite your business in the East, Forex is not the only threat we face and if I begin to list the threats that you buy diesel at N320 to fuel your generator used in running your factory and meanwhile, your contemporary in Lagos is using natural gas.
“Moreover, you will have to clear your goods from Wharf in Lagos, transport it to East and 60 per cent of the Nigerian market is in Lagos, you bring to target the 60 per cent in Lagos, transport it back to Lagos and as you are going back to East, every 50 kilometres is a different country and when I mean a different country, you are going to meet a police that will not believe that you are coming from the same Nigeria, you will meet a custom that will not believe that you passed the Nigerian Customs.
“I will give you the list of the countries you meet before you get to Anambra. When you process this product to return it back to Lagos which is the hub of Nigeria’s market, you will have to pass through these steps again and when you are processing these products, you will have to contend with the environmental factors, social factors, political factors and all these factors are targeting established businesses. So for you to survive in our environment, you will have to consider all these factors.”
He mentioned that as we are entering the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), somebody somewhere in any of the African countries where things are moving well will be targeting the Nigeria market.
He advised the government to find out whatever the people that are staying on the roads are getting, how much they are getting and pay them this money and ask business drivers to pay for it and instead of these drivers paying this money on the road.
He lamented that time is consumed and for them to collect this money they have to block the road adding that if they leave the road free they will not be able to extort this money from motorists.
“To be able to extort, they will cause gridlock and many at times the gridlocks you find in our environment are all artificial because that is the only way to be able to collect the intended extortion. But if the government give them whatever they are getting by blocking the road and causing truck business drivers to pay for it instead of blocking the road, cause gridlock and at the same time we are competing with the same market where somebody somewhere who has access to all infrastructure is coming from, to me it does not make any sense, so that is going to be my line of thoughts,” he stressed.
As for the Forex, he encouraged investors to look inwards, run a lean manufacturing process, give value to everything adding that “if you open a casing that comes with an imported machine, we would give it value so look inwards and give value to anything you lay your hands on.”
“It is still giving value because there is nothing magic about business. If you bring N10 plus N10 nothing will make it N100 so the value you give this money generally has to reflect your knowledge of business,” he said.
Narrating how to survive the Forex crisis, he said “it is about being prudent; it is about bringing our financial knowledge to bear which still goes down to identification of values once you see them. You set your eyes on value and identify it and give it life, manifest it, save it and do not squander it. Conserve it.”
He disclosed that his company is making progress, despite the forex current crisis because they operate under the following three principles: “Firstly, I don’t settle for what is, particularly when what is can be improved upon. Secondly, 99.9% is not good enough when 100% is required and thirdly, when the going gets tough, we don’t just get tough with the going, but we change our state of mind to become tough, thereby becoming one with whatever you call such situation and don’t recognize tough situations, become one with it,” he concluded.
