Chief Sir Peter E Ezemegwara, chairman and Group Managing Director, Peter E. Venture Nigeria Limited, manufacturers of Hurricane Lanterns, Globes, Pharmaceutical containers, plastic films and prints; Nicho Glass and Chemical Co. Ltd, makers of  PVC pipes and Accessories. VCD jackets, feeding bottles, industrial moulds, and other companies.

In this interview with Mose Nosike of Saturday Vanguard Business, he reveals reason why industries are dying gradually in Nigeria, thereby creating unemployment. His unrelenting interest in manufacturing led to the incorporation of Peter E. Venture Nigeria Limited in 1984. Excerpts: 

How did you start your manufacturing process?

I started trading in Onitsha main market in 1960. In 1966 when we had the civil war everything stopped. But after the civil war in 1970, I started again with the business before I generated money. And you know what we were using then was Biafran currency which was not recognised by Federal Government.

And it was difficult to get British pounds and Naira. So I continued with petty trading until I raised some money. In 1974 I started business trips to London to import Hurricane Lanterns, globes and others.

Ezemegwara: We need more industries in the country

As the business started growing, in 1984 I started travelling to Hong Kong and China for business ventures. As a matter of fact, I built a factory in Hong Kong and China that time before I built my own here in 1987.

Manufacturers are not finding it easy in this country, due to so many economic and environmental challenges, how is your company coping with the situation?

To be honest, the situation is affecting us seriously. We’re just existing, trying to see what we can do, but financially, the company is not making profit. We’re owing banks and we are finding it difficult to pay. It’s even difficult to pay salaries. But the fact is that if we close down where do we go from here. Many of our employees will be thrown into the labour market thereby increasing the rate of unemployment in the country already.

One other major challenge we are facing is fake Chinese products being flooded all over Nigerian market especially Onitsha market. For that, our product here is being neglected by Nigerians because when they hear imported they are more interested in anything called imported whether fake or original than our locally made products whereas our locally made product is of higher quality. So greater interest in imported goods is affecting us, the local manufacturers. Again, we are paying outrageously on NEPA tariff even though many  factories have been closed down  because of epileptic power supply in the country. And this has brought production line to zero.

We learnt government is taking steps to promote locally made goods, what do you actually want government to do so manufacturers would bounce back to production?

If Nigerian government wants to make manufacturing in this country a reality, they should first and foremost settle the high cost of NEPA tariff. Again, there is need for steady power supply in the country. Without steady power supply industries can’t survive and as industries are dying, unemployment is increasing. I believe the recent move by the Federal Government to sell NEPA will yield results and favour production process in the country. Many people want to go into production but couldn’t because of the cost of production in Nigeria. When you calculate the cost of diesel and other bills you are running at a loss.

You employed more than 600 workers, what is your advice to youths yet to gain employment?

I found out that many of our youths are lazy. Nigeria is a lazy country. Everybody wants oil money, they don’t want to suffer before they could make it. If you go to Europe or London, you would discover that we are richer than them and as a matter of fact some of these countries are owing. Some of our youths don’t want to work, they want to live a luxury life and refuse to earn it through hard work and persevere before making it. If care is not taken in the next five years, you would not find any youth who is ready to work in a factory.

Setting more industries in Nigeria to create more jobs, how do we go about it?

Nigeria is not one of the industrialised nations today not because we don’t have the resources but we refused to pay attention towards that direction probably because of the money the country is earning from Oil and Gas, our leaders do not see reason to channel resources into industry that can create jobs for millions so that crime and other social vices can reduce. Today, nobody wants to go into manufacturing because the environment is not conducive and that is why few manufacturers in the country almost all of them had developed high blood pressure, others stroke because of hard work and much thinking to make sure their manufacturing outfits will not liquidate. Most of us who took  loan from banks, are finding it difficult to repay because of high interest rate in banks these days. Then the environment in which you are operating is another story, high cost of production. Government should help us manufacturers from all kinds of  imposed local government revenue taxes and levies. They will ask you to submit your audited account, bring this and that in an environment where you almost provide everything for your production. That is why these days nobody wants to venture into manufacturing, they are going into buying and selling, importing goods in container. However, to make Nigeria an industrialised nation, government should emulate developed countries. Provide those amenities, conducive atmosphere that would enable industries thrive. It’s very important. We need it in this country.

More to that, government should provide security that would protect local manufacturers and guarantee foreign investment. When we create atmosphere for foreign investment, it would boost economic growth and development. Crime will reduce and the country will benefit a lot.