President and Chief Executive Officer, of Erisco Foods Limited, Chief Dr Eric Umeofia, speaks to FATTEH HAMID about his early life and the problems plaguing the development of Nigeria’s manufacturing sector
Growing up as a child, what was your most challenging experience?
Will I say there were challenging experiences or not? Right from my childhood, I was blessed with intelligence such that I was the best among my peers. When I was in school, I was always among the best and I believe that everything is achievable. While growing up, I believed that with hard work, you can overcome everything, and this propelled me to get to the position that I am in society today, despite all the hardships and challenges that I faced. Another interesting memory was of my father. Despite not being a millionaire, he lived an average life and we felt that he wasn’t giving to us as expected while he attended to other people better than us.
Did you let him know that?
We kept the grudge and kept protesting internally and quietly because if he knew we were grumbling, we would get more knocks. That was a challenge growing up.
Still speaking about my father, there was a rule in the house that no matter what your mate does to you, you should come home and report and not fight, because if you fight back, you are guilty. That rule kept making me get angry because my mates would come and threaten and do many other things and if I ever touched them first, I was guilty, according to my father, no matter the provocation and he would beat the hell out of me. This rule was part of the things that did not make me enjoy my young age. It was a long time ago but the memory remains fresh. Also, during my childhood, I was the first Primary 5 pupil to become a head boy ahead of the Primary 6 pupil because of my performance.
At what point did you decide to go into business?
Despite how intelligent I am, I didn’t attend university. However, I had plans right from a young age that I would go to Lagos to succeed just as some people did at the time. Between the ages of 12 to 13, I came to Lagos and I was unable to become successful in Lagos State as presumed but later made it in the North. I see that as the way God destined it. I started my life in Lagos, which is why I can speak Yoruba. I can also speak Hausa and Portuguese. So, that is my life basically. I was determined from a young age to succeed and God gave me the privilege and answered my prayers. It wasn’t so easy, of course. I came to Lagos at a stage, bought my goods, and followed trailers back to the North because I had no money to pay for security. I slept on top of my goods in the trailer till I got to the North before having a bit of decent sleep.
You said you didn’t make it in Lagos but in the north. What kind of business did you do?
That was a long time ago. When I first came to Lagos, I served under a master and later went to the North. That was in 1979 or the 1980s. In Lagos, I was trained in the textile business and went to the North not for textiles but to learn the trade of vehicle spare parts. Within that time, I moved from Kano State to Sokoto State in 1981, and from there on, I established myself, and today, I’m grateful.
Moving from the textile industry to vehicle spare parts. How did Erisco Foods Limited come into the picture?
Erisco Foods was birthed after the spare parts business. I made some money from the spare parts business and established Erisco Bumpet, an automatic fire extinguisher business, and from there, we moved it to Angola, where it is operating now. When I established my business over there in Angola and made a reasonable amount of money, I established one in the United Arab Emirates and then thought that I had to come back home. In fact, I wanted to establish a tomato processing plant in Angola. I had bought a building, which is still there, but on one of my flights to Nigeria from Dubai after my company was establishment in the UAE, I met a former Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, the late Prof Dora Akunyili, sitting next to me on the plane. In the course of the journey, I told her that I was building an industry in Angola and she asked me why I did not choose to build it in Nigeria. I told her that I did not trust Nigeria. At the time, I was among the best contractors of the military in Angola where I supplied them with food, spare parts, and a lot of other things.
What else did she tell you?
It was then on that plane that the late Dora Akunyili convinced me that she had sanitised the food industry in Nigeria and that I should come to invest. Being the straightforward and successful woman I knew her to be, I agreed with her, abandoned all my investments over there, and came here (to Nigeria) to start afresh. But the irony of it was that what she told me was not what I met on the ground. That is the part I regretted. By the time I realised it, I didn’t know what to do again because I was already in Nigeria. But she really did well in convincing me, which was why I decided to come. I thank God that I exist in this industry in Nigeria. If not for my foreign investments, I wouldn’t have been operating in Nigeria today. It is discouraging but people will not believe it.
As a player in the manufacturing sector of Nigeria’s economy, why is the sector not moving forward?
Even though I’m a family friend of former President Muhammadu Buhari, long before he became the President, things were not done right. However, upon his assumption into office, Buhari wanted Nigeria to move forward. I remember a conversation I had with him and the now-suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, where Buhari instructed Emefiele that no industry in Nigeria should suffer and that adequate support and funding should be provided to support our industries. Emefiele himself told me again that President Buhari said so at another time, but guess what? No support. I have been running the company for the past three years or more without foreign exchange, not even a dollar. I challenge the CBN to come forward and say whether I used one dollar from the bank to operate. For the past five years, no new loans for industries. If not for my foreign support, how would I operate? Foreign exchange was to the highest bidder, you must pay before you get it. If they refuse, then let it be. After all, if I expand more, I employ more Nigerians and if I don’t expand more, I’m comfortable with what God gave me, still eating well till I die. So, who is losing? Nigeria is losing, I’m not.
So, why do you think the sector has not reached the expected height?
The manufacturing sector has not moved forward because the efforts of those who want this country to move forward are being frustrated by the CBN, government ministries, departments and agencies. They don’t want manufacturers here, based on cabals overseas; they want to support importers and they continue to dump on manufacturers. I have never imported any food item into Nigeria. From day one, I believe that I’ll manufacture what I sell and that is what I’ve been doing. The presidency wants the country to move forward, pronouncements are made but they don’t follow it up with implementation. Also, let’s ask ourselves: How many factories in Nigeria are controlled by indigenous companies? It’s foreigners. They (government agencies) put impediments that wouldn’t allow a Nigerian man to come up because it is to their advantage. In Nigeria, I have contributed my quota and if it’s an exam, I would have scored 99 per cent. However, if Nigeria must become great, we must focus on manufacturing. Without manufacturing, nothing will happen in any country.
We must embrace made-in-Nigeria products if we plan to move anywhere at all. The government has refused to do its job. If there are established rules that support products made in Nigeria, gradually Nigerians will become used to it and will be able to phase out imported products. But the cabals don’t like that. It’s so unfortunate and I cry for the future of this country because if I’m not in this industry, I won’t know what is happening. Imagine saying you want to embrace Nigerian products and you support manufacturers to produce a ton of a certain product but go ahead to import 10,000 tonnes. How does that not affect the idea of embracing home-made products? We are deceiving ourselves. We are moving in a backward direction and I hope that President Bola Tinubu will correct all this nonsense so that Nigeria will move forward.
You have also actively campaigned against importation…
Yes. Nigeria is moving in the backward direction with importation and the government has to make policies that will drastically reduce the number of products that are imported into Nigeria. There’s more work to do. How do we allow people to come and dump products that they cannot eat in their country in Nigeria? China manufactures in their country but cannot eat it there but come here to drop it. These importers must go. The government must also create a platform to ensure strict implementation for home-made products to thrive. Imagine producing at $8 in Nigeria but a company in China producing at $4 brings it here to sell at $5.5. How will consumers buy from the local producer? They can’t. If you see any genuine manufacturers here in Nigeria, respect such a person more than a pastor or even the Pope because we do economic deliverance.
Some manufacturing companies are leaving Nigeria due to the economic crisis. How has the state of the economy affected your business and is there a plan to move out if it worsens?
Erisco has contributed her quota to this country. Between myself and God, I can move anywhere anytime from now because I can’t be shouting all the time when I’m not Mr Nigeria. If you cannot give me an enabling environment for my business to thrive, why wait? Just last month, the American government invited us to a summit in the United States where President Joe Biden addressed us, and the Secretary of State also addressed us; about 16 governors were there when we were told to come and invest in America. Yes, they’ll give us grants but they still want our investors. If a country as big as the US wants us, why must I come and shout in my country Nigeria over what is the bare minimum that can be implemented by the government to move the country forward? What is the need to continue shouting if there is no change? Why won’t I look at alternatives to leave? Unless the government does the right thing now, I can’t tell you when but it is in our plan (to relocate). We can’t continue like this.
What is your thought on the floating of the naira?
It is dangerous to be floating this way. The government should make sure the exchange rate is regulated so that we can plan. For three months now, we have not recovered from the loss from exchange rates. How can you buy something to use and by the time you go back, you have lost 20 to 30 per cent? Let the government fix the exchange rate, so we’ll adjust. Let it be steady for about four to five years. The damages it is causing right now are enormous. It is removing people from business and to recover from some of the damages we are causing now, it will take some people more than 10 years. See what the naira redesign caused; the people it sent out of business can also not recover in the next 10 years. This exchange rate is coming again and it’ll send more people to their business graves without recovering. What is the implication? More robbery, more misery, disappointments. For example, in two days, I lost over $160,000 due to the floating rates and I’ve been unable to cry because I won’t be able to sleep. How can that be in a country that wants to move forward?
When you’re away from your business, how do you relax?
I start my day with a minimum of an hour and thirty minutes of exercise to two hours and thereafter, I like to sometimes go out with friends, and joke with them. Most of the time, it is always about the job. It’ll surprise you that up till now, despite my age, I have my night shifts to work. I’m practically involved in everything. My money is not working for me, I work with my money for my factories. It’s difficult to get that in many people in my category.
What has kept you motivated as a person to keep going on in life?
My life has been programmed by God and I have continued to work well. If I tell you anyone in this country motivated me, then I’m lying. My motivating factor is people like Bill Gates who gives most of their money to charity, and Warren Buffet who uses money for humanity. By the grace of God, I have children who are trying to follow in my footsteps and that is why I have continued to move forward. Sometimes, I’m demoralised, but God has been faithful.
