From Caverton Helicopters to Innoson

From Caverton Helicopters to Innoson

EDIFYING ELUCIDATIONS BY OKEY IKECHUKWU

Segun Adeniyi’s piece on this page last Thursday brought out some essential points about how to be a trailblazer in a business environment that is routinely avoided by those who love the word “impossible.” The points to be inferred from the piece under reference include the fact that “coming of age” by new industry players can only occur when: (1) There are people who feel the need to swim against the current; (2) There are people who resolve to create a business nitch for themselves and market their attractiveness by presenting a value proposition. (3) There people who can, by showing they can to reduce costs and, especially, dependence on foreign service providers in even highly technical and specialized fields, create a paradigm shift. (4) There are people with the courage to go beyond merely thinking and talking about the opportunities and about getting involved, to actually taking concrete steps to get involved. (5) There are Nigerians willing to patiently study the terrain, determine their deficiencies and take up the challenge of finding foreign partners and expertise for new business lines. (6) There are people who, in venturing forward to partner foreigners, do so with credible organizations and individuals from any part of the world who can deliver competence and industry relevance. (7) There are Nigerians who, in doing all of the above, come with bankable proposals and templates that can attract loyalty and investment support.

The foregoing observations are particularly important when we consider that the new-born Nigerian aspirants to the club of helicopter industry service providers Segun wrote about did not come asking for favours. They prepared themselves and then stepped forward to take part in an open bidding and procurement process. They competed against established players and a sitting foreign firm of proven competence and years of service. The drivers of Caverton Helicopters, freshly minted along with their company as it were, did not plead their Nigerianness. They did not tender Aso Rock connections to displace all comers, no! In any case, that would not have worked before a cold-eye Shell Petroleum that is known for its stone-rigid disposition in the matter of standards and quality control. The auditing process was rigorous. The approach and valuation was professional and designed to select the very best among the interested service providers. There are risks that the oil industry simply cannot contemplate from service providers.

Was it all just patriotism and daredevil on the part of those involved? I think not. It was a combination of vision, courage, patriotism and genuine entrepreneurship in a relatively inclement policy and regulatory environment. Segun’s narrative about the Caverton giving us the first ever Level D full flight simulator in Africa, which enables pilots train safely for adverse weather conditions, helicopter failures and a variety of complex situations and emergencies, points us all to the many little remembered success tales of entrepreneurship and robust business engagements all over Nigeria. Surely, no one could have easily foreseen at the time that the Carverton venture, which must have appeared foolhardy to observers then, would one day become the poster boy for service delivery within the ranks of those needing variegated helicopter services in Nigeria’s expatriates-dominated nitch.

Could anyone have easily foreseen the unveiling of the Caverton Helicopters’ Full Flight Simulator at its Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul (MRO) and training years back, when the organization was taking its initial steps? And, to boot, the first of its kind in Africa? I think not. While talking about Caverton, we only need to look at Mike Adenuga of Glo, Air Peace, Nestoil, Seplat, Emzor Pharmaceutical and many other organisations that ventured into new grounds to understand the full meaning of real entrepreneurship. They are all making contributions through job creation, reflation of the local economy and savings in foreign exchange.

The other point to note here is that Segun’s intervention was the result of paying close attention to the progress of the organization for the past 16 years. I had to go read up something about the organization, because a sense of history always adds value to a narrative, especially in maters of business and national development. If, as he said, a certain Mr. Babs Omotowa, former Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director (CEO/MD) of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited, in applying the local content law, took perhaps the biggest gamble of his career by leveraging the Caverton dreamers, then the man deserves some commendation for courage.

It was a mixture of patriotism, insight, resilience and a refusal to be intimidated. Many people in his position at the time would have squirmed. To give a Nigerian firm, particularly a fledgling one, a chance to provide helicopter services in a Grade One oil company and sign off on it with your real name and signature? But he did!
In Omotowa’s words, as quoted, he had wondered regarding their helicopter service providers and the high prices and nonchalant attitude: “…why don’t we even have local companies who could do this service?’ … I said, look, let’s find the best Nigerian companies.

Let’s encourage them to invest in themselves, find overseas partners, and stand the test of what an oil company will require in terms of standards. And as we were working with these local companies, two of them took the challenge. They found partners in Denmark and Canada and started to develop their management system, their technical capacity, and all of that. At some point, we felt that they had started to have the kind of capacity that we could make use of. So, I got the Shell technical authority to come and audit and assure that they can perform to the sort of challenges that we had in the oil and gas industry.” The processes were not breached in any way, but he was still to carry the can if anything was to go wrong. He accepted to do so. Such courage! Then, tadaa, proof of capacity on the part of the Caverton dreamers was all that it took for a dream (initially thought to be a delusion) to come true.

Which brings us to the similar story, often told, of Innoson, the non-degree-wielding serial entrepreneur who has become the driver of an incredible business conglomerate. He shares with Caverton Helicopters the twin virtues of venturing into an obviously “non-Nigerian” business sector, or perhaps sectors, and doing a very good job of it. His business empire is definitely understated. But he is too busy doing the business and breaking new grounds to go about overstating the business.

The man is a serial entrepreneur with unconstrained, natural love of diligence and steady progression in all things. He is also a trainer for young adults, who are interested in using their talents for lasting survival. His interests in car, motorcycle, tyre and plastics manufacturing bespeaks a business vision that seeks continuously to reduce external dependencies, while still outsourcong whatever needed to be outsourced. In all the sectors Innoson has ventured into, he has been either the first, or the largest, in West Africa/Africa.

The major point of interest here, though, is that the firms under reference here, whether Caverton, Glo, Seplat, or Innoson, came into being, and have survived, against all odds. In addition, they have provided thousands of jobs, have been responsible corporate citizens and are waxing stronger by the hour. If Shell Petroleum could go out of its way to facilitate a loan for Caverton, its service provider, based on proven competence and upon signing a job offer to the latter, the federal government should be worried about the many companies, big and small, which have been going under in recent years because of funds.

The government should also be worried that organisations like Innoson’s have had to be embroiled in several avoidable controversies with some commercial banks because of loan-related issues. The question to ask really, is whether the likes of Innoson should be seeking any form of financial back-up from commercial banks. Forced to do so for reasons that are not entirely clear to some of us, should government not quickly see the unwisdom of organisations like that contending with abominable interest rates? A manufacturing concern that is creating and sustaining thousands of jobs for Nigerians should have more cushioning than is apparent at the moment.

The good news, perhaps, is the fact that the Innoson company is beginning to enjoy some patronage from the federal government, especially in the provision of regular and specialised vehicles. The Tata brand of vehicles is now India’s household name in vehicle manufacture and even engineering, because of a deliberate policy of support, patronage and expansion. Without calling for a protectionist focus, some level of extra support for the likes of Innoson is still necessary.

Many young Nigerians who would otherwise be gainfully employed in places like the Innoson establishment, and their counterparts all over the country, are bandits today. For there to still be, as yet undenied, reports that President Buhari some weeks back ordered the military to shoot on sight anyone seen with an AK47 in the bush says a lot about the level of disconnect in the land. True or not, there is something salutary here. Though “bush” in the president’s directive is still undefined, we cannot deny the progressive encroachment of criminals on the regular living space of Nigerians. Some of them are masquerading as herders, who have become outlaws and alternative power centres in Nigeria. Others are doing the same thing under the pretext of fighting against marginalization. But the perpetrators are mostly young Nigerians who, but for unemployment and lack of skills, will not be engaged in any form of criminality today.

The Caverton story, the Innoson runaway achievements and other “stories” are not stories. They are realities. They point to grit, terrain analysis, planning, sleepless nights and refusal to be discouraged. They point to the qualities that will eventually save the Federal Republic of Nigeria from locusts, as we must progressively learn to refocus. Official government budgets, huge expenses on government officials and the obscene pay packets of lawmakers are one thing; while the actual living conditions of Nigerians is another. Kudos to the Cavertons and Innoson of our land, for still reminding Nigerians that the can-do spirit has not be swept away despite this season of anomie.

Related Articles