Despite what many may describe as the harsh business environment in Nigeria, the country still produced an Aliko Dangote who has become Afriva’s richest and the 27th richest man in the world not through any oil field assigned to him by a rentier state but through manufacturing.
Unknown to many is the great pool of developmental entrepreneurs in Nigeria who are silently changing the economic landscape through their entrepreneurial activities. One of these is Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma. He started as a motor cycle parts trader and moved further into manufacture of motor cycles, plastics and household items, tyres and tubes and with Innoson Vehicle Manufactiring he has carved a niche in motor manufacturing.
In his motor manufacturing plant in Nnewi, buses, trucks and SUVs are produced. The plant had scheduled to move into the manufacture of cars in April 2014. In car manufacturing, his dream is to churn out cars that would sell for about a million Naira. He hopes to push Secondhand cars out of the market by producing new cars at lower prices. According to Innocent Chukwuma “ who will like to buy an old car when he or she can spend less and buy brand new…”
Incidentally the entrepreneurial direction and dream of Innocent Chukwuma is on the path of current and future policy framework of the federal government on local automobile production. The federal government has begun steps to encourage local manufacturing of automobiles by using tariff measures to discourage used and new vehicles imports and provided incentives for automobile manufacturers in the country.
The lesson to draw from the entrepreneurial trajectory of Innocent Chukwuma is that beyond the trumped up harsh business environment in the country, there are forward looking, daring and perceptive entrepreneurs that are thriving. Also, Nnewi just like Aba in the South east have become industrial hubs that regional and Federal governments should not ignore.
What is more striking is that the much sought after Nigerian vehicles can come through not only by the efforts of foreign investors, but also by indigenous entrepreneurs who already have an impressive track record in the field of automobiles.
Every revolution that will yield enduring benefits for society must be properly guided. We urge governments to encourage and support the tenacious efforts of indigenous entrepreneurs involved in automobile assembly and manufacture.
