Lucky Fiakpa
2 September 2007
Lagos — The chief executive of Oceanic Bank International Plc, Dr. (Mrs.) Cecilia Ibru, would want Nigerian manufacturers to adopt the strategy of their far East counterparts who now dominate manufacturing across the world.
She made this call in an address at the 40th annual general meeting of the Ikeja Branch of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on Thursday. Only through this strategy, she stated, would manufacturers in the country achieve their objective of mass producing to satisfy demand in the ECOWAS region starting with the Nigerian market.
The strategy would involve competitive tools as deployed by the Chinese, including cost innovation, presenting customers with variety of choices at mass market prices and at low cost for branded or customized products using low cost talent which is abundant in the country.
Ibru advised manufacturers to also look in the direction of their South Korean counterparts who starting with the production of low-tech products, became outposts for manufacturing international brands and assimilated the technology behind such products with which they now emerged with world-class brands such as Samsung, Daewoo and LG, among others.
She also asked Nigerian manufacturers to emulate the Japanese who are credited with identifying and exploring the industrial and commercial uses of basic research to also become world-beaters in manufacturing.
A thread running all through these countries, she pointed out, was collaboration between manufacturers, research institutions, banks and government.
She noted that government was now playing its part through the provision of targeted incentives to deepen the linkage, steps to resolve the electricity issue, and support for local goods in government procurement policy.
Banks, on their part, were now better positioned from the consolidation to play their role as financial catalysts in the growth of manufacturing in the country, Dr. Ibru, stressed.
Oceanic Bank, according to her, will continue to maintain outstanding support for the real sector, no matter the cost, especially as the bank has an entrepreneurial foundation deep in indigenous enterprise in manufacturing, service, tourism, etc.
She listed the roots of the bank's success to strength from God, humility, doggedness, determination, diligence, pioneering role in the public sector, and an uncommon commitment to real sector.
Ibru called for a national strategy to ensure the growth and development of manufacturing in the country, calling on MAN to take a leading role in defining it.
These are identification of products for domination, be it textiles, electronics, industrial goods, etc. adding that there is need to be more specific as manufacturing as a whole is too broad.
There is also the need to know the market for domination, be it Nigeria, ECOWAS, Africa, or the world at large.
The third strand in the evolution of the strategy is to know which countries and companies are the leaders, and what their strengths are.
Ibru stated that the final one was to ask what to do to take over dominance in the selected product.
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