Access to loan, still a nightmare for SMEs operators -Association

From Ayodele Samuel,Lagos

For Small and Medium Scale enterprises and businessmen in Nigeria, ability to access funds in banks and other microfinance institutions has continued to be a nightmare.
Despite various promises and commitment from government agencies, various groups, including operators of small businesses, traders, market women and men, regretted that they were not able to perform due to lack of access to credit facilities in banks, calling on the industry regulators to prevail on banks and microfinance banks (MFBs) to lend to the sub-sector.

Speaking at summit held at the palace of the Ezeigbo of Mushin, Oba John Chukwudi Nwosu, , the President of the Market Leaders Association of Nigeria, Deacon C.F.C. Obih, said over the years, small and medium scale enterprises were believed to be catalysts for economic growth and national development in Nigeria, regretting that the sector had been experiencing retarded growth due to many factors which include lack of easy access to funding/credit which could be traced to reluctance of banks to extend credit to them.
"We have approached banks individually and collectively to assist us with loans but most of us are usually disqualified due to lack of knowledge of the process. Moreover, banks do not have enough personnel to train all SMEs on the rudiments. That is why we have gathered ourselves together on the platform of a summit to be educated on how we can access loans to improve on our businesses. Unfortunately, most banks are still not supportive but we are optimistic in helping ourselves to grow our business and Nigerian economy," he said.

Also, Managing Director of Mayakorp Nigeria Limited, Mr. Martins Ndigwe revealed that SMEs sector had the most need for financial loans to boost their businesses, stressing that they also needed to be educated on the process of obtaining such loans.
"Unfortunately, the banks are not helping much to enlighten them on how to grow their businesses. The small businesses are perhaps faced of inadequate human capacity; poor and inadequate documentation of business proposals; lack of appropriate and adequate collateral, high cost of administration and management of small loans as well as high interest rates," he said.
However experts identified ignorance of the SMEs operator as one of the major reasons why financial institutions refuse to give credit to the sector.
Faculty member of the Lagos Business School and member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria Dr. Doyin Salami said entrepreneurs have to take their businesses from the realm of religion and unrealistic belief of succeeding to where people understand the analysis they are doing.
He said beyond the challenges of finance, infrastructure, human capacity development, prevalent in the Nigeria business environment, the lack of business understanding was a possible reason why a lot of SMEs in the country are struggling to survive.
He also noted that over time, SMEs in Nigeria had not performed creditably well and hence had not played the expected vital vibrant role of being the spine of economic growth and development.
He noted that SMEs contributed 46.54 per cent of Nigeria's gross domestic product in nominal terms, according to the 2012 Enterprise Baseline Survey.
"This compares with approximately 60 per cent in China, at the end 2011, and 70 percent in neighbouring Ghana, according to a University of Ghana study. Estimates show the level of contribution in South Africa lying between 52 per cent and 57 percent," he said.
"A 2013 outlook on Nigeria's SMEs envisages capacity development, need to help people build sustainable businesses and access to finance, as key challenges the sub-sector will face in the ongoing year. Although loans and advances by deposit money banks (DMBs) are recovering considerably, prevailing lending rates put borrowing from DMBs out of the reach of most SMEs, and therefore they have to resort to micro financing", he concluded.
He, however, noted that funding for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) has, for many years, been the bane of growth of the sub-sector.

http://peoplesdailyng.com/access-to-loan-still-a-nightmare-for-smes-operators-association/
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ASUP strike: Why oga at the top must intervene

My Thoughts With Ayodele Samuel 

08074420617  (SMS only)

For more than 70 days now, our Polytechnics across the country have been shut down and the estimated 3 to 4 Million students are now forced to sit at home idle with nobody showing any concern about their plight, and it is not known that President Goodluck Jonathan has said anything about it, or is he not aware of the strike? 

If that is the case, we should all know that the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) is on strike, with the usual demand from government to honour its agreement: why is it that our government in this part of the World would sign agreements but would not meet its own part of the bargain? Same with electoral promises after getting votes of the people. Is it unmindful of the fact that these students, who are currently idle, might be forced to perpetrate evils acts against the country? God forbid, Nigerian students are God fearing and love their country, Nigeria. All they are asking is to be loved in return by enhancing their education and being gainfully employed when they finish their studies.   

The problem between ASUP and Federal Government is long overdue and should have been resolved even before the union embarked on its strike, but it seems that those at the helm of affairs don't care about what is happening, they would rather wait to give amnesty to youths turned militants.

With ASUP recently saying, "going by the lip service the federal government is paying to Polytechnic education in the country, the strike would last as long as possible till the time the government listens and implements the agreement entered into," the students involved are in big trouble. And what happens to their parents, who are toiling day and night to pay their school fees? This is besides the challenges of underfunding of Polytechnics, Monotechnics and Colleges of Education, with the situation getting worse under the present administration.

The federal government has neglected these categories of higher learning. If the Universities can be regulated by a national commission (NUC), it's just in line that the polytechnics are also regulated by a commission, which is one of the agitations of the union.

The ongoing strike is also as a result of failure of most state governments to implement the approved salary package (COMPCASS) and 65 year retirement age in Polytechnics.

Another issue of concern for Nigeria Polytechnic students is the discrimination even among government agencies as University unions receive more attention just like its graduates in the labour market than the former.

Now this national embarrassment should stop, the government should as a matter of urgency sit with the polytechnics union to ensure students are returned to classes to continue their studies. Better still the Minister of Education needs to go back to the drawing board on the matter, and involve the Oga at the top so that the students can be recalled quickly.

http://weekend.peoplesdailyng.com/index.php/opinion/opinion/1452-asup-strike-why-oga-at-the-top-must-intervene

Jonathan rubbishing anti-corruption fight — Ribadu

 

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) presidential candidate in the 2011 election, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, yesterday described President Goodluck Jonathan as rubbishing the anti-corruption crusade in the country.
Ribadu who spoke in Lagos during a public lecture organised by the University of Lagos Muslim Alumni Association (UNILAG UMA) said corruption was the only reason President Barak Obama would not visit Nigeria during his ongoing visits to African countries.
Speaking on the theme, "Corruption and Justice in Nigeria," Ribadu said Jonathan was not building on the anti-corruption foundation of previous governments.
According to him, only a corrupt-free president who is also ready to subject his cronies to processes of the law, in case of infringement, can lead the crusade against corruption.
"So many corrupt people get away with their acts, largely because of their relationships with heads of institutions that ought to counter or expose their abuse of office.
"Some convicts are being granted state pardon, thereby rubbishing the whole effort at corruption. These practices have turned corruption into a sort of culturally or ethically accepted trend," Ribadu said.
He said the anti corruption war could be won if the nation's leaders show the way.
According to him, "corruption fight can be won if the leader shows the way, all the other people will follow but when the leader takes the other way, we are in a problem."
He said that when the EFCC was established in 2003, there were few high-profile cases of corruption that were successfully prosecuted.
"EFCC's interventions led us into various networks that have previously enjoyed impunity and notoriety, from the internet scams that dent the image of the country to abuse of office at private and public sectors.
"At the EFCC, we tracked the chains of people and organisations from public and private sectors who formed the corrupt Nigerian networks, despite the challenges; we risked our lives, survived the waves of dirty media campaigns and resisted temptations to have us compromised," he said.

http://peoplesdailyng.com/jonathan-rubbishing-anti-corruption-fight-ribadu/

MY interview with Salisu Buhari: shocking !!!

Lesson i learnt from Politics:

I started my business  with only N2,500 

Sailisu Ibrahim Bihari was the first Speaker of the House of Representatives after the return of democratic government in 1999. Though he short lived the office, he is still in the political arena but more of a businessman. In this interaction with Ayodele Samuel, he reveals how he started his business with only N2, 500.

Sailsu Buhari's name rings a bell; many remember him as the first Speaker of the House of Representatives. He has since put behind him the controversy that rocked his short reign. Still, he remains a politician but only few know that he's endowed with passion for doing business. 

An alumnus of the prestigious Kings Collage in Lagos, Sailsu Buhari who also attended ABU Zaria in Kaduna State, is married to a beautiful Yoruba lady and is the chairman and Chief Executive Officer of his numerous concerns in the country.

Sailsu who had been off political radar since 2003 after he contested the governorship of Kano state said he had moved on from what happened in the past and now a happy man doing his business quietly. "I am happier doing my business. I could never be happier in my life and I think every Nigerian in fact pursue that dream of happiness, I enjoy what am doing now, that is my business. For criticism, everybody has his right to own an opinion. For me, it's all about being happy."

He said a lot "of people are surprised that am into manufacturing, but those who understand me know that I have been into business before venturing into politics and have been back to it because its better I do my business than carrying my briefcase and going to see ministers in Abuja. Today, I go to see a minister today, tomorrow he might not want to see me, you understand. But if you are on your own, the little you are making, you are able to maintain your sanity and dignity which is much more dignifying than to go to Abuja and be going from office to office. That is why I decided to go into manufacturing and not oil and gas because I don't want to run after public officials."

How it started:

I started business at a very young age. I actually started with a loan of N2, 500 from my daddy. That was when I was in ABU Zaria. I bought a taxi. It was working for me in Kano while I was schooling in Zaria. Every weekend, the driver comes down to Zaria and he gives me my money, like that till I finished from Zaria. I had kept a lot of money to begin other businesses. That was the beginning of my coming into business. The rest they say is history.

Doing business in the North in face of security challenges:

 

I think the issue is that there is no society that can prosper within the context of insecurity. For any country to prosper, you need a stable and peaceful environment, not only in Kano. A lot of factories in this country suffer from insecurity because the problem is not just in Kano. Its spread everywhere but really you have to commend the President for the steps he has taken now, things are subsiding for this violence in the north. 

Doing business in the north at this time is quite tough. If you ask any business man here, they would tell you it's not easy but we are living it through day by day. There are a lot of challenges. We have power problem like everybody, we also have infrastructure problem. 

It was hard but I think we have overcome it, you know what happened in the north mostly in 2011 in Kano. We had a lot of the insurgency. The business environment was hostile. Many of the manufacturing companies in Kano were in need of funds. Most of our commercial banks were actually withdrawing their money from their customers and not giving out loans, because they had declared Kano a war zone so we were left stranded in Kano. The last bank we ever thought of was the Bank of Industry BOI. We had no other option. We needed to supplement our capital and boost our operations. Fortunately BOI was able to sit with us and listened to us. They understood the incidents in Kano had no bearing on our operations. Where we source our raw materials was not affected. Our market was not affected. Our customers don't come to our factory or Kano state to buy our products. They pay their money into our account in their various states and we cargo our goods to them. With this little point, BOI was able to agree with us and help us. Fortunately, 2011 was our most profitable year, despite the unrests, the insecurity and  Iam proud to tell you we are growing from strength to strength. 

Coping with politics, business and the home front:

To be honest, I dedicate most, if not all my time to my business and family, which I enjoy doing. As I said, every Nigerian should aspire to be happy. I have a beautiful wife and four kids and of course I have my parents that I take care of and they take care of me. I am still a daddy's boy. If am not in the office, am in my house. I don't pay much attention to politics. For me, it's my work and my home. I do 12 hours at work; I do 12hours at home. My family is very important to me. I don't joke with them because they are lovely. I love traveling. Me, my wife and the family go on holidays. I don't choose where we go for holidays. My wife chooses the destination, and I love playing squash Game. I have a Squash Yard in my house.

How to tackle unemployment:

Part of it is the Bank of Industry issue I told you about. If you go and ask them, they are also creating jobs. I tell people, if you see somebody employing or we create jobs for about one thousand people, it's not just the 1000 people. Look at the effect of the 1000 people on the society. Out of those people, maybe most if not all are family men with at least four dependants. Then look at those who will serve those people lunch, the society would be better. Unemployment would reduce. Also, don't forget that in every country of the world, there is unemployment but we Nigerians are fantastic people. We are among the bravest, brightest and industrious people on earth. Whatever a Nigerian wants to achieve, he achieves. The only thing is that everybody wants to make money. But apart from making money, what you want to do, pursue it with passion. If you want to be a barber, go to a barber's shop, start sweeping the owner's shop. You would learn from there and one day, you would become a shop owner. But it hurts me to see young people going into something either, it's that they have no option or just because somebody else is doing it. If it's what you really want to do, you must have passion for it. Whatever you want to be, go out there and fight for it and leave the rest to God.

Advice to youths:

My best advice is to look for what you like from the bottom of your heart. If it's business, go ahead and do it. If it's politics from the deepest part of your heart, go ahead. If you want to serve the country maybe in the police or military, just make sure that is your passion. I tell you that is the key to success. A lot of people go into business or choose a career for wrong reasons and lack of passion. Anything you have passion for, you will succeed. That passion would drive you into making it from the business and you would be happy. 

Kano Politics:

Giving a pass mark on Kano state government under its governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, "You should know that am from the same party with Kwankwaso. We might have some differences within the party in terms of opinion and party structure but I can say he's one million times better than the ANPP man that left there. Everywhere there are road constructions going on in Kano. Just drive in and out of Kano. For me, he's trying to do his best. I don't belong to Kwankwaso's faction of the party but he's also our governor by the grace of God. That does not mean we should not give credit to him. This man is working. Go to Kano and see what is going on there. I am proud that he is in PDP. If he's from another party and he's working like that, I would tell you we (PDP) are finished in Kano.

There are factions, yes but primaries would come and we will always participate in elections united, despite all these factions and disunity in the party. At the end of the day, when the chips are down, we would put our house in order and confront elections as a united party.

Lesson learnt from Politics:

If there is anything politics has taught me, it's the nature of humans, their behaviour. It has really taught me how to relate with people from different parts of this country. My deduction truly is that we are all Nigerians. There might be different languages, different cultures but we are a united country and it has taught me more about human character. But I have moved on with life. This is a happier Salisu Buhari.