There Is Good News Out Of Nigeria – Dele Momodu Writes

8 years ago

There Is Good News Out Of Nigeria – Dele Momodu Writes

Fellow Nigerians, please, let’s move away from
the plethora of bad news today. Everywhere you
turn in the world it seems the world would soon
come to an end. If it is not some terrorist
bombs exploding and floating in the rarefied air
like flying saucers it is news of some deranged
person spraying bullets at school kids in
America. The baddest news for us lately in
Nigeria apart from the unending Boko Haram
menace is that of the free fall of the Naira like
kamikaze divers. I have never seen anything like
it. It is big trouble for those who transact most
of their businesses in foreign exchange and do
importations. If your family lives abroad and you
have school fees to pay you are just on your
own.
But I want us to run away from all that migraine
today and celebrate good news. As bad as
things may seem, some Nigerians are marching
forward, breaking down barriers and conquering
territories. This period requires doing things
differently. We need men and women of valour.
Those who can take on humongous tasks
without minding the encumbrances they are
likely to encounter along the way. There is so
much to learn from such people by many of our
youths. Life is never a bed of roses. It is one of
the reasons I love reading biographies. I also
enjoy conducting interviews or reading those
granted by iconic figures. They all have
something in common; they had to ride through
rough valleys and mountains of trouble to get to
the top.
Many of our young ones missed the great
businessman and political colossus called
Bashorun Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola.
No story was better told than the way he
captured his grass to grace trajectory. Chief
Abiola was greatly endowed and he was able to
display exceptional brilliance early in life. From
a poor background, he was able to attain a
global status by dint of hard work and
remarkable courage. His forays into
telecommunications, agriculture, shipping,
aviation, books and media at a relatively young
age showed a man who was clearly ahead of
his time. For him, the money he made was not
as fulfilling as how much he contributed to
charitable causes. He touched lives everywhere
and became a global brand. He invested heavily
in educating the poor and elevating them in life.
He promoted the development of our youths
through sports and became Africa’s Pillar of
Sports. You can’t ever be great if you can’t do
extraordinary things, Chief Abiola taught his
disciples like me. I will recommend the teaching
of Chief Abiola’s life in our school.
In my adult years, I have been privileged to
meet and study the lives of many great
Africans. I discovered nothing good comes easy.
Everyone knows and talks about the Chairman
of Globacom Dr Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Isola
Adenuga today but they are not likely to know
that the secret of his uncommon
accomplishments is that of guts, hard work and
tenacity. I remember one of the rarest
interviews he granted Newswatch when his
Consolidated Oil became the first indigenous
company to strike oil in commercial quantity.
The Newswatch scoop gave an insight into a
man who took a risk too big for the faint-
hearted. Those who should know knew that oil
exploration was a most risky business but Dr
Adenuga was undaunted. He had the agility of a
bull. He had started business right from the time
he was schooling in the United States of
America and the Ijebu blood in him prepared him
for the long voyage in business.
Dr Adenuga went into banking and single-
handedly owned two prominent brands, DEVCOM
Merchant Bank and Equitorial Trust Bank.
He went into telecommunications and changed
the landscape spectacularly. He made the
impossible possible by empowering the poor and
the rich alike. We often forget where we were
at some point in time but some of us cannot
forget those giant strides so quickly. Dr
Adenuga did not stop there; he la!d submarine
cables from Europe to Africa to ensure a
blistering internet speed. He ventured out and
landed in Benin Republic and Ghana. He united
Africa through football and entertainment. He
supported our stars to live like their
counterparts in Europe and America.

There are
endless testimonies to his generosity. It is
painful when we don’t teach our youths about
the pains that come with seeking greatness.
Barely eleven years ago, there was no Nigerian
Bank in Ghana.

The story we were told was that
none could pass the stringent conditions la!d
down by the Bank of Ghana. What was more,
Nigerians were largely perceived as fraudsters
and harbingers of bad manners generally. But
one man dared to be different and this banker
Mr Tony Elumelu scaled all the huddles and the
bank he led then, Standard Trust Bank became
the first Nigerian financial institution to be
licensed. Not just that, the much smaller bank
soon acquired the powerful bank UBA and the
rest is history. Today UBA has solid presence in
about 19 African countries as well as Europe
and America. Mr Elumelu also founded Heirs
Holdings and has his fingers in many pies
including power projects and hospitality
business. The iconic banker has made
spectacular impact as a philanthropist who has
chosen to build a new crop of youthful

entrepreneurs in Africa.

Permit me to give one more example of how
Nigerians are performing wonders at home and
abroad. My last but certainly not the least is the
one and only Alhaji Aliko Dangote who has
exploded on the world scene in the last couple
of years. From doing commodities and making
stupendous money he has become Africa’s
leading industrialist with Dangote Cement
becoming a major force on the African
continent. There is no doubt that Dangote
Cement will soon become number one in the
whole of Africa and one of the largest in the
world. Say what you will, this could not have
been an easy feat. My mission is to encourage
our young ones to grumble less and emulate
these inspirational leaders. Alhaji Dangote at
great risk has penetrated about 14 or more
African countries and I have had the privilege of
visiting some of his eye-popping plants.

Nothing
could be more daring than his refinery project I
watched on television just days ago. By the
time it is ready, Alhaji Dangote would have
positioned himself as one of the most influential
Africans ever.

What gladdens my heart today is that there are
new Adenugas, Dangotes and Elumelus
emerging and doing outstandingly well. I’m
writing this piece in Cotonou, Benin Republic
where a group of young Nigerians are set to
build one of the biggest power plants for that
small but ambitious country.

Thanks to the
opening up of the country to transparent
investors by President Yayi Boni, Genesis
Energy, led by its Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer, Mr Akinwole Omoboriowo, has signed a
Concession Agreement to execute a 360MW
capacity Gas Powered Projects in the Republic
of Benin. This agreement empowers Genesis
Energy to “construct, own, operate, maintain
and supply electricity to the national grid of the
country.”

The projects are to be delivered in phases. The
first phase of 120MW will be operated on a fast
track basis from Maria Gleta through a piped
gas to be supplied by the Nigerian Gas
Company. The Power Purchase Agreement for
duration of 20 years was signed between
Genesis and the Benin Electric Power
Corporation for the 120MW Power Project.

The
key partners in the project include General
Electric, Engro Powergen Limited, Cummins
Cogeneration (UK) Limited and Genesis.
According to Genesis, “The power project will
provide on completion over 30% of Benin’s
current electricity demand.” It is good to see
Nigerian companies spreading its wings
everywhere and showing the world our
capabilities. This Genesis has been doing for
some time without making any noise about its
achievement. A look at its projects portfolios is
impressive...

. As far back as 2006, it did project in
Guinea Bissau, a co-development of 50MW
Emergency Power project in Ghana (2007), on
grid generation in Sao Tome and Principe, off
grid Distributed Power Project at NNPC’s Port
Harcourt Refinery, name-plate power generation
in Banana Island, Lagos; Calabar Free Zone off-
grid project; multiple embedded generation for
the Eko Electricity Distribution, etc.

As the former Governor of Oklahoma attested at
a dinner in Cotonou days ago, the success of
Genesis is rested mainly on its integrity and the
rock-solid determination of its team. It is so
wonderful to have such wonderful news come
from non-Nigerians about Nigerians. It is only a
matter of time before greater things begin to
happen to us after all the bad stories we’ve had
to endure over time.