Rommy Nwabueze Anyanwu, a lawyer, an investor and former chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Imo/Abia branch, in this interview with SABY ELEMBA, spoke on the call by Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State to investors to come to the state and invest. He said that investors will invest in a place where there is conducive environment for businesses to thrive. Excerpts:
Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma has been calling on investors to come to Imo and invest, leveraging the conducive manufacturing environment prevailing in Imo State. As an investor, and a former chairman of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Imo/Abia branch, what can you say about the governor’s call and business environment prevailing in Imo State?
First of all, when you are talking about investments, you must have a conducive operating environment; I don’t think that Imo State can be seen as a state having a conducive operating environment for businesses now. So, I think, the governor is not being fair to any investor that he is inviting to Imo State. He and his administration have a lot to do before reputable investors will show interest in investing in Imo State.
Why did you say so?
A lot of kidnapping, a lot of pilfering, so many vices that are being reported in Owerri. Every day, we hear of a new thing, even the people in uniform, some will enter into a mini-bus, some will also enter into buses going to Onitsha and after Otulu in Oru they will park somewhere and do a lot of havoc against passengers and people on the road. So, with those things going on, there is no way a serious investor can come.
How would a potential investor who is not resident in Imo State know these things or the investment climate prevailing in Imo?
Let me tell you the truth, every investor has an eye and ear in any where he wants to invest. He will officially tell those in power, the government but he will unofficially come to other people who will tell him or her the real truth. And when they tell him the real truth, he or she will compare it with what the government is saying and he will find out that they are contradicting each other and of course, he will not go there to invest. As I am talking to you now, Abia State is more conducive, and you will see or hear about the number of people and investors returning to Abia. If you come to Aba in particular, you will not believe, house rent here used to be N10,000 for two-bedroom flat. And some people, before last year, were paying less that N10,000 a month for a two-bed room flat. But now Aba’s house rent has increased so much and that is because of the market forces of demand and supply. Aba is renting a flat as high as N120,000 for a month, I am telling you the gospel truth. There was a matter I handled last week, someone paid N100,000 for a two-bedroom flat but they are having issues. Then there is another one I know the owner, when he was talking to me, said that he would take N120,000 and nothing less. These are the things that you didn’t hear in Aba before.
Why is it so in Aba this time, has the business environment improved; is it better than before?
Yes, every month the governor is doing something new in Aba. The roads are being resurfaced, streets are being lighted and of course, there is peace. All those boys that used to go out at night and snatch bags, but with street lights now, you cannot see them again, they are not operating again. So, the governor of Imo State has a lot to do. It is no more a question of politicking. It is working the talk. There are so many areas he needs to touch to attract investors.
But don’t see that Imo State, particularly Owerri, the capital is beautiful and so centralised as to attract investors and huge investments?
Yes, Imo is blessed because it is the centre of Igbo land. So, if the place is conducive for investors, it is even a wonderful place to invest in because, you can come in from Anambra, you can come from Delta, you can come from Bayelsa, come from Abia, and come from Enugu. You know all the states around and beyond, have links to Imo State. On that, if the place is doing well, people will come and invest. And Imo State has the highest number of graduates than any other state in the federation.
Now, have you sat down and wonder, these graduates we are producing, where are they going to work? The government, I agree cannot take everybody but if they make the place conducive, people will come, industrialists will come, investors will come and when they come, they will open up the place. And one man cannot do the work of ten people at the same time, investors will come and support him, and the institutions or establishments that are producing will absorb the unemployed.
This will also shoot up the internally generated revenue (IGR) of the state. Yes, indirectly they will be paying taxes to the government because government will take taxes from workers as ‘pay as you earn’ (PAYE). And government will also get taxes from investors, corporate taxes, and other taxes both municipal and sub-regional governments in the state can impose one tax or the other on investors while the federal government will collect company taxes. These taxes are graduated.
Some State Governors normally travel abroad with a huge number of officials, saying that they are looking for foreign investors. As an investor and a former chairman of MAN, do they actually bring investors with their investments?
They bring none. How many have they brought? They don’t attract foreign investments. The way to attract investors and investments is to make your place very conducive for investors to come. Now look, in Owerri the governor is asking investors to come, but has he asked those in Owerri how they are surviving?
As an entrepreneur and industrialist, what can you tell us with respect to Owerri-Onitsha Road Industrial Layout near Irete in Owerri West Local Government Area which has not been revamped for many years?
For that Industrial Layout, has any governor tried to visit there? No, governor has done anything to revamp that large industrial layout. You will remember that when I was the Chairman of MAN, Imo/Abia branch, we were pushing for the governor at that time to come to that place but he didn’t. None of the governors has visited to see how to revamp the Industrial Layout. Look at that burrow pit behind the Industrial Layout, has any governor attempted to do something better there? Or to go and see who and who are still there, or who and who have left and those that have left, why are they not there or why did they leave? How would you tell investors to come when the ones you have, you are not looking after them and you are not doing anything to attract people there. They will not come.
