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Interview

Benin Enterprise Park To Attract Major Investment, Boost Edo State Economy, Says Osayande

Published

1 year ago

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Ikponmwonsa Edward Osayande

By Andy Okungbowa

Mr. Ikponmwonsa Edward Osayande (CPA, ACA, MBA), is the Managing Director of Benin Enterprise Park Limited (BEPL). He spoke on the mandate by Governor Godwin Obaseki, to build an industrial park designed to boost the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Edo State, provide opportunities for training and employment, and to enable efficient, effective, responsive and innovative utilisation of the natural and geographic endowments of the State.

EXCERPTS:

What gave birth to Benin Enterprise Park Limited (BEPL)?

I have been with Mr. Governor since 2017. As a matter of fact, the Benin Enterprise Park Limited (BEPL), which was initially the Benin Industrial Park (BIP), was one of the first projects he assigned to me.

Mr. Governor had a vision which was thoroughly researched and ultimately converted to a strategic document, which gave birth to the Six Thematic Pillars that have guided the deliberate reform that is the MEGA (Make Edo Great Again) Agenda. I have the privilege to be involved in the economic reform and infrastructural development pillars by virtue of my mandate.

The Benin Enterprise Park project came up as a result of the need to create commerce, improve commerce, increase commerce, increase trading, increase businesses, create a system, and a situation where businesses come into Edo State and set up seamlessly.

Our first Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was with Mahindra Engineering Group, they came in and spent about six months with us here, chose the location for the park, which most people do not realise is equidistant from all over the State, including Delta State, thus taking advantage of our geographical location for intra- and inter-state commerce.

We also chose the location because of the raw materials readily available in the State to support the 14 sectors identified in our Master Plan, which I must say is a dynamic document.

What informed the choice of these 14 sectors as starters for the park?

The criteria for choosing those 14 sectors have to do with the amount of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) potential for the State, the amount of jobs that they will create for the State, and also the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for that area of the State that will benefit the local communities.

Which part of the State is BEPL located?

The location for the Benin Enterprise Park is in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of the State, about a 10-minute drive from the by-pass. It is 997.71 hectares of land and we have decided to develop it modularly.

How was this enterprise park set up to function?

The initial thought process was to do a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement. We explored that possibility, and then we had the interest rate issues. As a foreign direct investor, when you go into any economy, any country, or anywhere you want to invest your money, there must be an exit strategy.

Now, it is a problem if you don’t know how you are going to repatriate your investment and profits at the end, or you are not sure how that is going to happen. You now have a situation where you are reluctant to come in there.

The major issue we had with Nigeria at that time was that we did not have an exchange rate that you could rely on or use to hedge. There was the black market, there were so many different values until we came up with this single-digit exchange rate system now, which is in its infancy.

Secondly, COVID-19 came about, and then elections. Nobody goes into a new environment during elections because of the uncertainty.

Has that focus, in terms of leveraging PPP, changed now?

Yes. This is so as Mr. Governor has decided that we should go in a different direction.

We should take some part of that land and then we as government provide the horizontal infrastructure such that businesses will now come in there and set up. Therefore, once we start having those first mover advantages, the anchor tenants coming, it will be easier to now market to other people to come in.

Lagos is congested, and Onitsha is congested. The cost of doing business there is very high. If we can provide electricity, water, security, gas, over which we are already in talks with the different providers, then we can have a situation where we now bring in small to medium-scale businesses, low polluting because it’s a community, to come in and then take parcels of land, that part of the policy is being developed also, and then we start to do business.

To what extent have you gone with this new plan and what is the prospect of getting businesses to buy into it?

The idea is to get them in as quickly as possible. We have two major anchor tenants coming in already that we’re working with right now. So, we’re trying to get it from greenfield to brownfield as quickly as possible.

What is the level of the ease of doing business in Edo with reference to Benin Enterprise Park Limited remix?

The ease of doing business has an office already and it’s a committee. It’s actually the third, I believe, major committee in government after the EXCO and the Security Committee. It is a committee made up mostly of commissioners and a few of us and the Secretary is the Managing Director of ESIPO, the Edo State Investment Promotion Office.

So, there’s already a consistent effort to create a compendium of what we call tax incentives and other federal government initiatives that can be applicable to the State and even others, that the States will generate on their own, like when we give waivers to farmland owners not to pay land rent or moratorium for two or three years.

Those are things that will help bring them in quicker, because when they look at their costs to come in to do business here, as opposed to somewhere else, it is lower for them here. Therefore, they will come here naturally.

The Benin Enterprise Park project is in phases as we understand. What phase are you now and what are the elements contained therein?

What we are working on now is our phase One, which is probably about 250 hectares right now, it might change if we get more people interested, or when we get more people interested. It is where we want to now provide those infrastructure I was talking about, so that they can now come in.

You cannot go and sell an idea to somebody and when they get there, you are just looking at a fallow or bushy area. They have to see activity going on, they have to see bulldozers, payloaders, drainages, and offices being built, so that they will know that they are coming in here just to come and plug in and play.

Just like how you develop suburbs abroad – you go in there, you check, you have all the survey plans done, you have your C of O process because if you come in, you bring me a proposal, and I give you my due diligence checklist. You bring me all the documents that are on the checklist then we go through a process because I need to see your design layout to know exactly how much land you need.

The method by which we allocate the land has to be systemic and deliberate until we get there, because by the time we get to Phase Two, whoever came in Phase One would have come in, probably at a cheaper or lower rate. Now there is competition, we have to respond to the market. So, we have to manage all these things because the ultimate plan is for the Benin Enterprise Park Limited to be a sustaining company of government where the government at the end of the day, will have oversight over it continuously, and will also get revenue from it going to its Internally General Revenue (IGR) coffers.

Does that mean the level we are in now is creating the base work and laying the foundation for its eventual take off?

We have two anchor tenants coming in, we are preparing for them, and once they come in we would now be able to market more effectively.

You see, comparative advantage states that you must be efficient, effective, and responsive to your customers, which are all our tenants, and also be innovative. So, we are putting all those things in place, to say okay, what are we going to get from this process now, what is within our reach in the next two or three years? What do we need to capitalise on right now? And then remember, we also have certain components; like for example; the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), we have to get approval from the federal government too.

So, those things that are not under our purview, we have to use extra effort and means to get them done quickly so that we can get all these, because I want a situation where; when you apply to come into the park, I can tell you that in 30 or 45 days, you are either breaking ground or at least you have gotten everything you need from the Edo State Government.

Any targeted time then for the two anchor tenants to mobilise to site yet?

None yet but we are anxious and eager for them to come in and start as quickly as possible. Some might even take 18 months to financial closure. We are aware of all that, but as long as the process has started, we have got to a point where your diligence and ours are on point, are at par, then we would know that, okay, yes; this one: see where you are, we have demarcated, it’s just for you to come in.

Sustainability is key to this project, given that this present administration just have about one year to end its tenure, what are you closing with in terms of this innovative and gigantic project?

I was at the last government retreat in Lagos, and the theme was Obaseki Finishing Strong. It was clear to everybody there from Mr. Governor’s speech that, what we have achieved so far will not make any difference or any sense if we don’t finish strong. What we have that is left for us to do with the time that we have, we must do the best we can to get to a point where it’s irreversible.

Let me give you an example. This tag of MoU government, MoU government, is funny because a lot of people don’t realise or have started to realise that a Memorandum of Understanding is more or less a gentleman’s agreement between two people or entities that want to do business (it is usually time-bound).

The idea is for you and I to put our responsibilities, what we are responsible for on the table, such that we have a clear understanding of what is required from me, and what is required from you.

So, what that does is, irrespective of which government or whoever takes over, some of these projects domiciled in the private sector will continue to grow. They will not have that much interference from the government anymore. The government is not even supposed to be in business in the first place, but needs to focus on certain sectors that actually help the economy to grow, then at some point, they will even step back.

What are the benefits to the communities where this project is domiciled?

We would probably have a policy document that requires most of the tenants to have some sort of pledge or contribution to the CSR for the communities.

The communities are going to benefit from employment, they are going to benefit from training. We have always had the community people, the community representatives from the grassroots to the leaders of the communities involved in the process.

We are not going to the communities and telling them this is what we want to do for you. If I go to Iyanomo for example, I am not going to tell them that company A wants to come and build a hospital when I know their problem is water.

So that is the type of interaction that will continue to take place, and then the young people in the area too will be empowered. You can’t come and take and then exit, you are going to take what you need to take to exit, but you must leave a lot in the community.

Looking at where this government is coming from when it took over power in 2016, how would you assess its performance over time?

I have to commend Governor Godwin Obaseki for his steadfastness and doggedness. He is one man, but he is handling so much in doing all of these for the State.

You see, when you look at all the thematic pillars that we have, the six that we identified, I mentioned two that I was actually involved in, but you have to think about education, health, and how he prioritises all these things and gets most of these things done.

Our TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) programme is running very well, as well as EdoBEST, and EdoJobs. We have a lot of things going on. We have the new town development, which is another company, just like the Benin Enterprise Park, but that one is for residential, it is also ongoing.

So, we have a lot of initiatives that we have started, that have kicked off and have benefited a lot of people, but we are not telling our story as quickly as we should.

Going forward, some of these things need to be documented such that whoever comes later will realise that His Excellency, Mr. Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki, will always stand on the right side of history.

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Interview

President Trump, Africa, And The Parable Of Uncertainties

Published

1 week ago

on

January 28, 2025

By

Dele Jegede In Conversation With Prince Yemisi Shyllon
Prof. Toyin Falola

By Toyin Falola

Africa remains relevant to global politics. This view shapes the conversation generated on the possible impact of the Trump administration on Africa. Ironically, Africa often conforms to arrangements inspired by the powerful countries of the world, usually because they lack the collective ability to organize themselves as a continent. One emerging question that scholars ask about the unprogressive uncertainty that would emerge from the leadership of Trump is: How do African countries respond, individually or as a continent? The reason for this perspective is clear. If African countries make their demands from the American President who has introduced different policies, would they have the power of negotiations? And if they do as a continent, what if they also lose face in the process?

All these are deeply concerning as it seems the world is gradually moving towards a different character of international relationships. America is sometimes troubled, for example, with South Africa’s position regarding the war in Palestine, and for that reason, they tend to react with one-sided favouritism.

Considering the ongoing realities, however, necessary efforts must be taken regardless of their relationship prior to the emergence of President Trump. In any case, what will happen soon is uncertain, especially because nobody knows the consequences of the United States’ current policies. Even when these policies are unpredictable, Africa is greatly expectant of a future that does not put them in harm’s way, particularly for issues on which they have no input.

Scholars are beaming their searchlight of interest on what the American President means when he indicated that the US would be uninvolved in the international entanglements that some other countries face. They understand, to a considerable extent, that this reveals a posture to stand aloof in any conflict that does not have effects on America and its citizens. While that statement is good on its own, its face value is questioned, given that the same President intends to push an expansionist agenda, which, according to him, would see to the reclamation of what ordinarily belongs to America.

As a result, countries sharing borders with America would become the primary targets, which, on the surface, appears to be a problem that does not involve Africa. However, history has shown otherwise. Panellists understand that expansionism occurs in different dimensions, leading them to ponder how different countries of the world would react to this situation. Up to this moment, there has been ideological expansionism carried out by powerful countries, including America. Such conditions have necessitated the aggressive dislocation of many countries’ internal mechanisms for growth, as they draw inspiration from America, which seems to have established itself as the global police.

I now want to speak in parables. Although change is a constant thing, its underlying causes are often overlooked in the general scheme of things. Evading this germane question has often necessitated conversations that ignore fundamental issues about human development and the social ordering of events. For instance, when people argue that change is constant and believe it is exclusively inspired by nature or some forces against which they stand no chance, they inadvertently assume that making efforts to protect their interests or redirect things is futile. Such an orientation places humans in an extremely uncomfortable spot in matters concerning their welfare. If such thinking persists, they will eternally remove themselves from the possibility of dictating what happens to them. I have interacted with Africans who think in this way, and they are less active in matters that ordinarily concern their collective progress. From the beginning of contact with external civilizations, things that happen to them have either been conceived as nature-induced, against which there is nothing they can do, or seen as a necessary path in the evolution of their society. From natural disasters, which can be predicted and properly managed, to human-induced disasters, many African countries have suffered extensively over their assumption that these changes would happen whether they act or not. Today, they face an indescribable onslaught of their cultural and existential values, they are responding in familiar old ways.

There are several changes caused by humans themselves, and scientific research has established that there is a chain of actions initiated by humans that have tremendous effects on people’s activities, mostly in negative ways. It is common knowledge that human actions cause the current waves of climate disasters. Since climate problems are dispersed in the atmosphere, for example, their environment of influence cannot be pinned to a specific location, even when the centre point of the destruction is public knowledge. It is also a general understanding that Africa is often not mentioned in discussions of rapid technological inventions due to their relaxed nature of being consumers rather than producers of cutting-edge technologies.

Although that is not the focal point of this conversation, it cannot but be mentioned. Africa is never isolated from the problems of climate change, which are predominantly caused by countries and continents heavily involved in the technologization of the world with climate-unfriendly inventions that contribute to the common global problem, specifically climate disasters. Before now, more powerful countries, especially the United States, have made strenuous efforts in collaboration with non-state actors to facilitate programs and projects that would mitigate the burden of climate disasters on many underdeveloped countries so that they would not experience brutal consequences for which they are innocent.

In the TF Interview on Trump and Africa, one of the panellists reiterated why Africa should not be made to face the deleterious consequences of climate disasters. The awareness of two different facts underscores this informed position. One, the United States is on an accelerated path to conservatism, with the newly elected President Donald Trump committed to protecting Americans first, regardless of the situation. Meanwhile, “protection,” like many terms developed from a similar philosophical paradigm, is relative as it could potentially mean subjecting others to inordinate challenges they cannot surmount. Two, Africans have been innocent or the most climate-friendly continent with minimal contributions to environmental or emission-related disasters. The inventions and factories in Africa, most of which can emit dangerous content into the atmosphere, are either linked to global capitalists or are exclusively owned by them. The people of the continent have not shown similar ambition as others have in recent times.

Africans deserve some measure of respite and not policies that would further complicate their situations. This conversation is necessitated by the understanding that Africans themselves are weakened in global politics. Now that they may face increased climate difficulties, they cannot hold others responsible for their failure to act where and when they should. Across the world, respect is not given unless you demand it.

In any case, Africa should be prepared for uncertainties that would be the brainchild of such development. For example, if America pursues an expansionist agenda without failing, countries like Panama and Greenland, among other proximal societies to America, could trigger waves of terrorist reactions and responses, and no one can predict the consequences.

Therefore, African leaders cannot assume they are going to be unaffected by this development, as any meltdown in these places would ultimately affect the economic and sociopolitical exigencies of their people. This cannot be overemphasized, and African leaders must make necessary adjustments to successfully navigate such extreme conditions.What cannot be denied is that a “big man” is now in power who could reorder things differently. Africans must make the right decisions to ensure their interests.

(This is the final interview report with a panel of scholars on “President Trump and Africa” on January 26, 2025. For the transcript, see YouTube https://www.youtube.com/live/XFjeae1GceY?si=t0IlhQl3Qrs9W35v

Falola is Extraordinary Professor of Political Science,University of Pretoria.

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INTERVIEW

Lerato Mbele To Interview Kingsley Moghalu January 19

Published

4 weeks ago

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January 9, 2025

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Lerato Mbele  will  on January 19, 2025 hold a conversation with Prof. Kingsley Moghalu under the auspices of the Toyin Falola Interviews. Mbele is an international broadcaster, talkshow host, TV personality & media consultant with a passion for African development.

She is the 2023 Recipient of one South Africa’s highest honours (2023) the Charlotte Maxeke Women in Leadership Award – for her work done in international broadcasting.

She is the owner of “Moon Landing Media” (pty) Ltd & proprietor of the African Leadership Dialogues series. In her native home South Africa, she currently hosts a daily talkshow & podcast titled “PowerTalk with Lerato Mbele”.

Prior to this Lerato Mbele spent nine years as a TV presenter and broadcaster for the global news organization BBC World News.

She hosted the BBC’s main Africa-focused business shows “Talking Business Africa”, “In Business Africa” and “Africa Business Report”, as well as hosting international documentaries such as “Follow the Food” and programming that linked Africa’s relationships in global trade, commerce and international development institutions.

Lerato Mbele has also been a senior business anchor at CNBC Africa and also a prime time news anchor in her native South African Broadcast Corporation.

She has worked as a foreign policy researcher and advisor, as well as heading the multiparty democracy programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs. Here she was co-editor of the book “Designing Democracy in Africa” with Ayesha Kajee.

Her international journalism has seen her interview global leaders, chief executives and Nobel Laureates – amongst others being Bill Gates, Ajay Banga, Christine Lagarde, Kristelina Georgieva, Richard Branson, Sundar Pachai, Graça Machel, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Wole Soyinka, Muhammed Yunus, the late Kofi Annan & Wangari Maathai, President Paul Kagame, President Thabo Mbeki, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other leaders.

She has moderated numerous plenaries at the World Bank, World Trade Organization, New Development Bank (BRICS Bank), World Economic Forum, UNGA, UNECA, OPEC Fund Development Forum and AfDB.

Lerato Mbele is a Chevening Scholar who holds an MSc Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London.

She was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, in 2014 chapter.

Lerato Mbele was recently awarded one of South Africa’s highest honours (2023) the Charlotte Maxeke Women in Leadership for her contribution to media and broadcasting across Africa. An honour given to her by the Minister of International Relations & Cooperation, and the South African government in recognition of her broadcast journalism across Africa and the developing world, which they stated has helped to change narratives about Africa in the global community.

She has appeared on the power lists of the Oprah Magazine, NewAfrican Women, Leading Ladies Africa, the Star Newspaper, featured in the Mail & Guardian’s biography of the most influential women in South Africa titled “On the shoulders of giants”.

She’s also a former member of the council and board for the University of Cape Town, ranked Africa’s number 1 university and institute of higher learning.

Please join us for a conversation with Kingsley Moghalu, President, African School of Governance (ASG) in Kigali, Rwanda.

Sunday, January 19, 2025
5 PM Nigeria
10 AM Austin
6 PM Rwanda

Register Here:
https://www.tfinterviews.com/post/kingsley-moghalu

Join Via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87199406999

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Interview

Toyin Falola Interviews Holds Conversation With Kingsley Moghalu

Published

4 weeks ago

on

January 9, 2025

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The Toyin Falola Interviews is set to hold a conversation with Prof . Kingsley Moghalu, President, African School of Governance (ASG) in Kigali, Rwanda.

Sunday, January 19, 2025
5 PM Nigeria
10 AM Austin
6 PM Rwanda

Register Here:
https://www.tfinterviews.com/post/kingsley-moghalu

Join Via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87199406999

Professor Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu, a political economist and transformational leader in governance and public policy, is the President of the African School of Governance (ASG), a graduate-level pan-African university established to build the next generation of purpose-driven leaders for Africa and headquartered in Kigali, Rwanda.

He was the Founder & President of the Institute for Governance and Public Transformation (IGET), a public policy think tank. Professor Moghalu served as Special Envoy of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on Post-COVID Development Finance for Africa, and was Professor of Practice in International Business and Public Policy at The Fletcher School at Tufts University and Senior Fellow at the Council on Emerging Market Enterprises.

He previously served as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 2009-2014, leading the implementation of extensive reforms in the banking sector, development finance and impact investing, financial inclusion, and payment system reforms that took Nigeria to become Africa’s largest fintech market and the leading hub for fintech innovation. He also supervised the asset management of Nigeria’s $37 billion foreign reserves.

Prof Moghalu earlier founded Sogato Strategies SA, a global strategy and risk advisory firm in Geneva, Switzerland after a 17-year career in the United Nations system in which he served in strategic planning, legal and external affairs assignments in Cambodia, New York, Croatia, Tanzania, and Switzerland, rising to the highest career rank of Director. He is the author of several books, including the critically acclaimed Emerging Africa: How the Global Economy’s Last Frontier Can Prosper and Matter (Penguin, 2014), and obtained Ph.D., M.A. and LLB degrees at the London School of Economics, The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and the University of Nigeria. Moghalu also is an executive education alumnus of Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Harvard Business School, Wharton, and Columbia Business School.

He is the recipient of several honors including the National Honor of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (FCIB), and the degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) Honoris Causa conferred by Anambra State University (Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University) , and holds the traditional title of Ifekaego Nnewi, conferred on him by HRH Dr. K.O.N. Orizu III, Igwe of Nnewi Kingdom. He is also the Founder of the Isaac Moghalu Foundation (IMoF), an education-access philanthropic foundation.

Kingsley Moghalu was born in Lagos in 1963 to Isaac Moghalu (now deceased), a Nigerian Foreign Service Officer, and Vidah Moghalu, a teacher at the time and now a long-retired dietician. Professor Moghalu is married to Maryanne Moghalu and they have 5 children.

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