Chairman, Eleganza Group of Companies, Chief Razaq Okoya, speaks about his passion for manufacturing and how Nigeria can tackle the rising unemployment rate in this interview with ALEXANDER OKERE
YOU are  very passionate about manufacturing. But now that you are 81, is age not slowing you down?
I have yet to get to that height I want Nigeria to be. My children were trained to be in the industry. Even for the youngest child, who is in school, it is already known that the future is in industry. My wife, Folashade, who is very nice, wakes up early in the morning and goes to the factory. She knows that that is where the future lies. We need to take agriculture and industrialisation seriously because that is where Nigeria’s future lies.

Nigeria and the rest of the world have been battling the COVID-19 pandemic for about a year now. How have you been keeping yourself safe?

I limit my movement. I don’t go to all places and I keep to all the rules. I used to go to Europe but I can’t go nowadays. When we keep to the regulations, by the grace of God, we will all overcome it. But if we are all vaccinated, by the grace of God, it (COVID-19) must go, like malaria. It (COVID-19) is not a joke. It doesn’t know whether you are a rich man or a poor man. Our prayer is for COVID-19 to go away.

How did you receive the news of the death of one of the wives of the owner of Premier Lotto, Chief Kessington Adebutu?

I know them very well. They are my close friends. I feel too bad. I have made several phone calls to him. It’s a pity I can’t go to him due to the same COVID-19. It’s bad.

You spent the majority of your youth in industry. How would you describe the journey so far, especially as you’ve turned 81?

I’m extremely happy that I am what I am and focused on an area which I know best. I have no regrets.

You are one of those calling for more investment in the manufacturing sector, through the establishment of small-scale industries across the country. How do you think this can be done amid lean resources?

That depends on the contractor engaged and the area. In my estate, I did most of the work locally. I am my contractor. I moulded the blocks and did most of the work. We don’t have to go too far to find the things we need. Eleganza has many places around Lagos, if you notice them. But most of them were built by me. If I had involved the big contractors, I wouldn’t have made it. I only involved a contractor for one of the buildings with 18 floors. So, if the government can look for a way to cut costs, I’m sure they can do it at a lesser cost. Government has to look seriously at ways of cutting cost. For example, when I was building the warehouses for my factories, I got the steel and got people to do the foundation and erect them for me. I got a contractor to fix the aluminium sheets. In this way, I saved a lot of cost.

What other benefits can Nigeria get from such small-scale industries sited across the states?

There are a lot of graduates in the country today. They have no job and more youths graduate, year in year out. Where are they going to work? But from this establishment (small-scale industries) you will get them (graduates) a school, machinery and someone to teach them, and give them a loan at a low interest rate. These graduates will employ people on their own and unemployment will be reduced. The #EndSARS issue will vanish and in five years’ time, we will be self-sufficient in industry. Today, we spend a lot of money to buy imported materials and finished products from China and everywhere. All of that will not arise with the project.

Are you bothered that some graduates prefer to work in corporate environments than factories?

That is the way they were brought up. My daughter is in her second year in the university. I brought her to the factory. She is on holidays and that’s why she is here. But now that graduates have started to realise that corporate jobs are no more there and that they have to create an environment for themselves, they should turn around. I was brought up through my father’s effort. My father was a tailor, I worked with him as a tailor and I know everything about tailoring. If not for that, I would not have become what I am.

Lagos is crowded today because a lot of youths have no job. People migrate to the city because they are looking for opportunities. But if you create the environment in each of the states, they (unemployed youths) will be happy and won’t bother themselves to come to Lagos. I have been to China. The industry there is spread all over so you don’t have to move from one place to another.

As one who built his business from tailoring, do you think Nigeria should give more attention to technical and vocational education at the tertiary level?

Our educational system should address the modern need. I am not a graduate but my children are. But we are still following the old syllabus. For instance, in one of my factories, I tried to make ceramics. Ceramics are made in England, in a place called Stoke-on-Trent. I used to go there and I had one of my sons there. I wanted him to be educated in that line. I sent him to the university there. At the moment, I am a good industrialist. I have about 35 hectares of factories but you cannot get a good tool maker. You can’t even get a good mechanic. So, when you start training the youths, I’m sure we can do better. We have brilliant youths but we have to show them direction.

As an employer of labour, are you impressed with the performance of Nigerian graduates?

Not at all; a few of them are very good. But you have to start training them again. That was why I said when you provide small-scale industries, graduates still have to go to school for one year to receive training on the type of product they will specialise in. Getting a first degree doesn’t mean you are on top of the world; you have just started.

Businesses have continued to grapple with poor electricity. What are you doing to keep your business running?

I don’t want to go into politics. I am not an expert in that area. But I know that electricity should be taken more seriously than it is. It is the life force of the whole economy. If electricity is stable, our economy will be 50 per cent better. In my factory, I have to work with generators. When you buy a new generator, within a year, it is worn out because we have to use it day and night. It makes things difficult for me. I only have about 2,000 employees. But if you give me electricity, I will do 10 times better.