Dr. Sanusi Mohammed is the Executive Secretary-General of the African Iron and Steel Association. In this interview with FRANCIS KADIRI, he says that the Federal Government does not have the political will to revive the iron and steel sector, and outlines what should be done to give the sector a boost.
The iron and steel sector of the country is faced with a myriad of challenges. Does the present administration have the right policy to address the issues?
The present administration lacks the political will to complete essential facilities to make sure that Nigeria is on the world map of countries that produce steel. That is the main problem. I hope we will have leaders that will have the interest of Nigeria at heart.
How does the lack of political will on the part of government affect Nigeria’s drive for industrialisation?
Go to Britain, Germany, France, Japan, China, America, India, Russia, even Iran and you will see the difference that industrialisation can make in the life of a country. The governments of these countries have the political will to achieve desired result. All the countries that are defined as ‘developed’ take iron and steel development as premium.
Iron and steel development is the bedrock of industrialisation and it leads to various other industrial activities. The activities that come with steel production mop up the youth into gainful employment. That is why you hardly hear of militancy in developed countries. In those countries, the young ones who come out so intelligently from the universities, polytechnics and other institutions of higher learning get gainful employment as a result of the opportunities made available by industrialisation. So they would hardly engage in negative use of intelligence because there are more than enough opportunities for positive application of knowledge.
In Nigeria, however, we have abandoned the route of industrialisation; all our youths are doing menial jobs. You can imagine that qualified graduates who have PhD once applied for employment as drivers. It is a very unfortunate development. We have brought ourselves to shame and we are not ready to attend to the demands of industrialisation.
What exactly are the essentials required to boost industrialisation in Nigeria?
Development of mines and relevant infrastructure that will provide the necessary raw materials at the right quality and quantity to meet demands of stakeholders are the things that are essential to the rebound of the steel sector.
It is not just to produce some quantity and stop for a while; we are talking of a production that will be sustainable. This is because once the blast furnace technology in Ajaokuta begins to operate, it has to continue operating non-stop for 24 hours a day for at least seven years. The issue of power supply should not stop it. So, we must be ready for it. The plant is almost 98 per cent technically ready for take-off but it has been abandoned.
What is the update on the Ajaokuta steel project and how much has the government spent on it?
Nigeria has spent close to $6 billion. The Ajaokuta Steel project has 37 industrial units and each is a revenue earner. So people should understand that Ajaokuta Steel Company is not a chocolate industry; it is our country’s hope for industrialisation. If ASCO is fully implemented and begins to produce steel, the revenue that will be generated from it and associated industries will far outweigh that being generated from oil. It will be so much that it will be economically justifiable.
Does this mean that the solid mineral sector will be able to complement the oil sector in terms of revenue generation?
Unfortunately, the focus of government in the solid mineral sector is on cosmetic solid minerals. Government is not paying attention to industrial solid minerals. Yet, it is the industrial solid minerals that form the basis for industrialisation.
There was a minister that said that Nigeria’s solid mineral can be exported to Hollywood in America. The jeweler was being invited to Nigeria so that they can work out modalities for partnership towards Nigeria’s solid minerals development. What I’m saying is that all such partnerships are cosmetic in terms of development. The industrial minerals that we are neglecting are the basis and they are necessary to the industrial development of our country. So if the Nigerian government pays appropriate attention to these industrial minerals that will produce all the kind of raw materials required for all the other industrial activities, Nigeria will be industrially sound.
What specifically are the employment benefits of a functional Ajaokuta company?
Let us single out Ajaokuta. ASCO alone at the 1.3 million tonnes first phase completion will directly employ 10,000 professionals – engineers, technologists and so on. There will be a further generation of other activities, which will again increase employment generation to a figure that is close to a million. Apart from this, so many other activities, down to petty traders, will emerge and it will put the total employment to be generated at over 2 million. When ASCO gets to the 3rd phase of 5.3 million tonnes, there will be a multiplier effect of the employment opportunities.
What can be done to resuscitate the project?
Unless we remove selfishness and corruption, plus government’s willingness to develop the steel sector, some Nigerians will continue to use the steel industry as a siphon. The same government functionaries who budget and allocate funds to the steel projects are the same people who will siphon the funds either through agents or other methods.
There are situations whereby contracts that are supposed to cost government about N5 million have been tripled to N15 million. The perpetrators and the contractor agree on some corrupt terms of sharing. This is why ASCO has gulped about $6 billion at the first phase of the project even though realistically, it should not have cost Nigeria more than $1.5billion if it was executed as at due.
