By Adekunle Adekoya

Martins Uwoghiren is CEO of REMISYS LIMITED, Ikeja, an ICT solutions-oriented management professional with more than 15 years of cognate experience in United State of America. He is experienced in the implementation and integration of cutting-edge technology solutions for financial institutions, public utilities and higher institutions of learning.

Before returning to Nigeria to set up REMISYS, which he calls ICT change agent in Nigeria and Sub-Sahara Africa, he was CEO, Malcomprise Inc and he served in leadership positions at various major US corporations, including Reliant Energy, American Express and Energy Future Holdings. Mr. Uwoghiren has also served on the boards of several non-profit organizations and he is a member of the Nigeria Computer Society, ISACA, ITIL, CompTIA, Microsoft Certified Professionals, etc. He holds a Master of Science Degree in Information Systems from Pace University and Bachelor of Technology Degree in Computer Information Systems from City University of New York. In the interview below, he speaks on his firm, power privatization, and others. Excerpts:

Tell us about your firm, Remisys.

Remisys is a leading global ICT services provider, since 2002. We are poised to help our clients address some of their most challenging issues, transforming their business strategies. We offer a comprehensive range of ICT services, along with complementary business services and software development. We have a widespread geographic presence, with offices in Nigeria, United States, and India.

Remisys Limited has four other subsidiaries that are IT-based —  MillionNairaJobs is Nigeria’s premiere site for skilled professionals, experienced managers, and top executives. It connects employers with educated, experienced and motivated job-seekers. We provide employers with pre-screened and qualified resumes from outstanding candidates.

We also own Motociti, which  gives car shoppers access to a wide range of information to help them with their purchases, and delivers value-added services for sellers – including marketing and call screening. Our company also specializes in developing educational software that we offer through Prepleaders.com. It provides unprecedented opportunities to network, to share knowledge, experiences, and to grow careers.

There is also a technology we have that can comfortably monitor and track equipment, cars and sensitive installations like oil pipelines nationwide in any location and from any location. We call this satellite close circuit monitor technology (SCCMT). It is a step above the present CCTV technology. Our clients range from major corporations to dynamic start-ups especially in the energy, finance, manufacturing, government and education sectors. They rely on us for everything from strategic consulting, enterprise service management, application development and support through to temporary IT staffing solutions.

You have worked in utility service companies in America, especially in the power sector. Do you think government did right privatizing power?

Yes, they did the right thing, but I will not compare America with Nigeria, because each country has its own peculiarity vis a vis people, culture, social life, values, economic traits and trends. I spent over 15 years of my work life in the United States. During my stint with Reliant Energy and Energy Future Holdings, I managed the IT infrastructure and system for some of their power plants.

I mean the system that runs the operation of the facility. I was responsible for service development and roll out, implementation of IT strategies, customer service and vendor relationship management. Later I was deployed to manage the service delivery team, where I was in charge of application development and infrastructure management.

In the US, most state governments have agencies that manage its bulk electricity system. In New York where I worked for over 10 years, this agency is called the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO). Because the wholesale electricity market is competitive, there are over 350 power generating companies in New York alone competing to generate power to the public.

For example, if XYZ and ABC company bids to generate 5,000 megawatts of electricity between for 9am – 12pm for 30 days, the lowest bidder wins and the agency gives the winning bidder the right to generate power to the grid for that period and also pay other companies to be on standby in case the winning bidder fails to fulfill its obligations.

Since there are no reliable technology to store bulk electric power, the agency measures and tracks power consumption every minute and with this, they are able to predict how much electricity is needed per hour. Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading PLC (NBET) and Operator of the Nigeria Electricity Market (ONEM) are doing a good job but they have even bigger tasks ahead of them. More local and foreign investment companies should be encouraged to join the sector to create healthy competition.

You worked with American Express. What will you say are the main issues that people are facing in financial technology in Nigeria?

This change has created both threats and opportunities. To be successful, financial service firms must embrace this change, understand how it works and be a step ahead of the hackers to remain competitive. I am a Nigerian, and I am not ashamed to carry the green-white-green colour with pride but in Nigeria you are treated as a fourth-class citizen in your country. They mostly prefer non-Nigerian expatriates even when you are more qualified. We need to encourage Nigerians in the sector. The foreign companies get the mega jobs, use Nigerians to do the jobs and repatriate our money to their countries.