Stakeholders speak on Ugwu’s performance as Industry Minister
story by : Sola Fadare
 

Charles Ugwu, Minister of Commerce As the President Yar’Adua began a shake up in his cabinet, different stakeholders have bared their minds on the activities in the ministry of Commerce and Industry under engineer Charles Ugwu ably supported by Alhaji Ahmed Bichi as the minister of state for the ministry. As was expected, the generals in the private sector, at the set out of this administration, massively hailed the decision of President Yar’Adua’s appointment of Engineer Ugwu as the pilot of the ministry because he was seen as the round peg on the round hole.

Engineer Ugwu rose from a humble background as an operator in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sub sector and maneuvered his way to the front bench to end up a renowned and respected industrialist. Engineer Ugwu was, during the former president Obasanjo’s administration, the president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and used his position to champion the vision of the Organized Private Sector (OPS) especially the stakeholders in the real sector.

To some extent one cannot but give kudos to the minister for the concept of industrial cluster, which he believes is the only way to safe the manufacturing sector from total collapse. Industrial Cluster is a concept that pulls related small and medium industries together and situate them in one location where the entire infrastructure required for their effective operation are adequately supplied. This concept, as it is being practiced in developed countries, takes care of the infrastructure challenge and advocates the concentration of resources as well as facilities in designated locations with a view to facilitating rapid industrial growth.

The cluster concept, according to Ugwu, will operate on five levels. The first are the Free Trade Zones to establish across the country especially around International Airports , Seaports and Borders to aid Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Then, the building of Industrial Parks, one in each of the six geopolitical zones that would occupy the SMEs. The initiative also includes Enterprise Zones in the states and local government with the aim of fast tracking businesses from the formal and informal sectors while Industrial Incubators will be planted around the tertiary institutions and research institutes across the country.

While one is quick to commend the minister for this laudable idea, some stakeholders from Ugwu’s consistency in the Organized Private Sector (OPS) see it differently. Speaking on it, the president of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa in a chat with the Nigerian Tribune described the cluster concept as putting the cart before the horse.

He said industrial cluster would be a tall dream if the necessary infrastructure and especially the energy crisis were not resolved. Ohuabunwa, who is also the Chairman of the Organized Private Sector (OPS), said “If you want to start industrial cluster, you have to be alive where you’re clustered first before starting another one. The principle of industrial cluster is that you must provide infrastructure, and other basic things. But a country where existing clusterees are not surviving, there is no need to set up another one.”

Ohuabunwa also decried the inability of the minister to find solution to the fast dilapidating existing manufacturing industries. “Dunlop is closing, it’s nobody’s business, Michelin is closing, it’s nobody’s business. If I find myself there, I will simply declare a state of emergency in the sector and we will all look around to find solution to it.

Also the Director General of the Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association (NTMA), Mr. Johnson Olanrewaju said the state of the textile industry which is almost becoming history is a serious headache to the stakeholders. Olanrewaju said “It could be generalized that there is distress in the country’s manufacturing sector but that of textile industry is very much pronounced because it had always been a major player in the manufacturing sector of our economy.”

Back to Home Page