Nwabueze Nwachukwu Ogoeze

The story of Nwabueze Nwachukwu Ogoeze, chief executive officer of C & N Abuson is a testament to why it’s wrong to despise a little beginning in business. The shrewd tycoon has won Airtel best distributor in Nigeria for two consecutive times having made N6.9billion turn over in 2011, an accomplishment which put him a billion naira above the closest competitor. LANRE ODUKOYA met him recently

The firm C&N Abuson United Investment Ltd is a wholly indigenous company incorporated in Nigeria. The company commenced operation in 2002 on a forty eight square meter (48m2) office space in Nikky Africana Plaza second floor suite 021, 70C Allen Avenue Ikeja Lagos, with the founder and one office clerk; with an initial capital of N800,000 only.
At inception, Abuson registered as a sub-dealer with several telecoms dealers at that time. The company was predominantly involved in the sale of CDMA products then. He began with just a single female staff with a few number of CDMA boxes in the same plaza which was hitherto a 6supermarket.
The story is dissimilar today as he had completely phased out the provision store which occupied the building. His confession partly reads; “when I sold two boxes of the telephone and I saw the profit margin, I was so impressed and decided to market Reltel to anyone I came across. I encouraged my friends to buy and sell them as well. It was a sweeter experience compared to the business I had done previously.”
Between 2002 and 2003, The company secured dealership of all the existing CDMA Network service providers in the country at that time.
In 2004, the Company obtained NCC license to provide telecommunication products and services. On the 25th of September, 2005, C & N Abuson was granted dealership licence of V-Mobile which is presently known as Airtel.
With vision, passion, consistency and Integrity the company has evolved from that humble beginning to a household name in the telecommunication industry.
Since 2008, the company has remained unbeaten as the No.1 Dealer (Channel Partner) with Airtel. But the times could have been interpreted by the global economic recession which sank most businesses. One would have thought that his business like many others would hang on the brink of collapse, the man explains; “it was all over the place that recession was going to drown many businesses, but surprisingly, it didn’t affect us one bit. It may interest you to know that calling, telephony business is not luxury service; it is one of the essential needs of Nigerians. Even when some people have no means to eat, they still make calls. The importance of call making sometimes outweighs fending for food.”
As of today, C&N Abuson United Inv Ltd has over 70 staff on its payroll.
The company is reputed to be the highest remunerating dealer with the best operating standard and staff welfare in the telecom sub-sector.
Abuson also has the most sophisticated operating structure in the telecom sub-sector with Nine (9) operational branches.
Today, the company is first choice for all telecommunication Service providers in Nigeria.
The company’s IT infrastructure is second to none in the telecom sub-sector with all its branches fully and operationally interconnected on a wide area network enabling online real time transaction capture.
Abuson has won several awards within and outside the sector –
In 2006, it won the Celtel Best Performing Trade Partner
In 2009, it carted away the Zain CEO’s Award for Overall Excellence
In 2011 – Abuson emerged as the region’s Airtel’s all-expense trip to Taj Mahal with a grand prize of 2013 model of Prado SUV.
When asked how he has fared with the company from the Econet days till now having seen a number the brand change from one management to the other; he lamented the incessant change of name; “Airtel is like the husband while my company is the wife. We listen to them and they show us great understanding from time to time. We may have some trivial issues to deal with one way or the other but we end up resolving issues in mutually beneficial ways. Yes, it is true that I’ve seen the company metamorphoses from one brand to the other. To be honest with you, it’s not a good thing for the brand at all. May it never happen again because I cannot deny that it has negative effect on business.”
His company has acquired a number vans branded with Airtel colour and logo for outdoor advertising and they are to hit the town any time from now. His confession that; “there’s no business like telephony” would spur a lukewarm mind to want to explore and thrive in the line of trade. The choice of business has taken him far and wide in life and will never jettison the business for any other one in life. He has turned self to a marketing tool for telecommunications and like an evangelizing cleric, his crusade for the business is overwhelming.
About the emerging data service plans, he noted that it is only a matter of time that it begins to record huge patronage as one preceding it; “we are taking cognizance of the data plan services and taking and leaving nothing to chance, by the time we fully launch into it, we have no doubt that it will also boom.”
The company – Abuson as it is known today, is a result of the business prowess and visionary tenacity.