By EBELE ORAKPO

It will be almost impossible for Nigeria, as an import-dependent economy, to achieve her Vision 20 20-20.  The only way to go about making that dream a reality is by cultivating production culture. It is on record that Nigeria imports almost everything – from electronics, to agric produce, to household utensils. Even the most simple things like toothpicks and safety matches are imported when all the facilities required for smooth production are locally available.

Disturbed by this trend, Mr. Frederick Ohiaeri, a graduate of Medical Psychology from the University of Port Harcourt and the Managing Director of 62:15 Associated Industries and 62:15 Healthcare Limited, got an idea to do something about it. Excerpts:

While waiting to go for the mandatory one year service to fatherland, an idea popped into his mind and he decided to run with it.

According to Ohiaeri, it dawned on him that Nigeria produces only two per cent of all the safety matches used in the country and imports the rest so when the idea came, he quit his job and went to do some research on the idea.

“Nigeria produces only about two per cent of the safety matches consumed in the country. Because of that, we are losing in terms of our Gross Domestic Product, because the 98 per cent being imported is imported with foreign currency, money we can save and use in creating jobs locally.

“Look at the manpower needed to produce safety matches. We are losing in terms of employment for our youths. We use safety matches everyday in all the homes in Nigeria so it is something that can generate real employment. But what are the setbacks?’ he queried.

The idea:
“I looked at it this way: What is it that sells the most in this country? Whether you like it or not, it is the recharge card. But when you pick up this recharge card, you only copy the pin and throw the paper away. Now, the cost of producing that paper that you throw away is the same as the cost of producing two match boxes. For every paper thrown away, two safety matches could have been produced.

Mr. Frederick Ohiaeri

“So why not embed the cost of safety matches in the paper? If the cost of producing the new safety matches which I termed double scratch, is embedded in the cost price of a N100 recharge card, the recharge card (i.e double scratch) would still sell at N100 and same for all other denominations. What we would have succeeded in doing is creating a new product with the same market. Every recharge card bought is an extra portable safety matches earned, an extra job created and foreign exchange saved.

In this part of the country, over 50 million boxes of safety matches are consumed daily. If these two products are merged, one might never have any need to purchase imported safety matches for ever again as it is believed that an average Nigerian buys at least one recharge card per week.”

Cutting cost and adding value:
“The colour of Glo Network is green so I designed one for them. If you light the match stick, what you see is green colour. MTN is yellow so when you light the match stick, you see yellow light. At the time I did that, there was one other company that was using red. I designed for them as well.

And then, in front of these safety match boxes, you have the company’s logo. For instance, what you see in normal MTN recharge card, are the designs you also see on the double scratch safety match boxes I designed but at the back of the box, you have the panel that you will scratch to reveal the PIN number. So when you pick up that safety match box/recharge card for N200, you are actually buying it for N200.

The price does not change. The safety match company is willing to purchase bulk N100 denomination of recharge pins at very minimal cost for a start, probably less than the distributor price from the telecom companies. In exchange for the discount, the safety match company is placing the network’s advert on the boxes for promotion and identification by customers.

The discount would in turn accommodate the production cost of the safety matches. This will cover the entire production cost. The discount proposed is below N5 per denomination depending on how motivated the telecom companies are. Security of the pins is strictly the responsibility of the safety match company as pin numbers are outrightly purchased at discounted prices.

“Studies carried out in the course of this research showed that over 98 per cent of mobile phone users preferred the double scratch over the current recharge cards being sold as they all affirmed they had an extra value for their money and commended the portability of the double scratch and its extra value at the same cost,” he said.

Creating jobs and saving foreign exchange:
The emergence of double scratch would increase the demand for safety matches thus exploding the proliferation of small safety matches (i.e double scratch)-producing companies. This would completely discourage the importation of safety matches as it would no longer be profitable to sell only safety matches.

“The proliferation of double scratch-producing companies would create additional employment for Nigerians as well as save our foreign exchange for better things. If for every double scratch card you buy, you have a box of safety matches, will you ever have any cause to go and buy ordinary safety matches? No! So importation of safety matches will be dead,” he stated.

Mr. Ohiaeri said the safety matches are not in circulation yet. “I have the concept, and what the CBN did was that they gave me an award. “Towards the end of last year, they sent me a questionnaire. I filled the questionnaire and sent it back. Ever since then, I have not heard anything from them. Of course you know the environment in which we find ourselves, so I am hoping that someday, I might just be able to have enough funds to continue,” he said, regretting that in this country, we waste a lot of ideas.