|
NNDC: Arewa’s Harbinger of Economic Development By Bashir Ibrahim Hassan
I read the piece written by Abdulahi Musa, whom I know and respect, published in the Daily Trust of Wednesday 5 September 2007. I was bewildered by the courage of the writer to write the way he did despite the apparent conflict of interests that informed the highly subjective article. Unfortunately, anger was clearly the catalyst of that write-up. I am a not a staff of the New Nigerian Development Company (NNDC) but as he alluded in his article he has really bruised my ego, not as a custodian of the Sardauna’s legacies but as someone who cherishes and respects all the legacies of Sardauna of which NNDC is the most successful and lasting one.
Therefore, I would like to inform Abdullahi Musa and the esteem readers of Daily Trust some of the remarkable things NNDC is doing to the economies of the north and Nigeria respectively. Perhaps by so doing he will correct his perception of the NNDC, when his anger subsides. Nevertheless, whatever Abdullahi Musa or whoever would say the undeniable fact remains; NNDC is meeting the aspirations of its founding fathers and shareholders.
I am a keen follower of the activities of the NNDC and even those who are not keen followers a little research is all one needs to do to establish the facts I am going to discuss hereto.
New Nigerian Development Company (NNDC) limited is a conglomerate, which has reached its present status through painstaking growth aided by the visionary foresight of its founding fathers, the honesty and integrity of its management and the hard work and dedication of its staff. As a conglomerate, NNDC has interest spanning many fields of economic endeavour; hospitality, agriculture, mining, capital market, oil prospecting, and recently telecommunications, etc. Over the years, NNDC has matured in the field of business and garnered enough experience to know its onions very well. It pursues only viable ventures; dictated by their economic returns and social gains to its owners and operational environment.
Humble Beginning From its humble beginning back in 1948, NNDC has remained focused in its mission--to lead the economic development of the northern region. By 1968, NNDC was incorporated under the name of Northern Nigerian Development Company (NNDC). Its initial capital came from the coffers of the Northern Nigerian regional government. In 1973, with the abolition of the regions in Nigeria and the creation of the 12 –states structure, the company adopted its current name, New Nigerian Development Company and since then the company has been financing its growth and projects from internally generated funds and from bank facilities. It no longer asks or receives funds for any project or venture from its owners, the now 19 northern states of Nigeria. It sources capital for its projects from the financial markets; no one should expect otherwise.
Ownership of the NNDC The NNDC is owned by the present 19 states of northern Nigeria owing to the simple fact that its initial capital was raised from the treasury of the erstwhile government of the Northern region. Therefore, the company is accountable to and report to its shareholders under the platform of 19 state governors’ forum. The company also reports to the forum of the Secretaries to the Governments of northern states. Therefore, all projects are embarked upon after seeking and obtaining the approval of the shareholders of the company—the 19 states governors. In addition, I have never heard the Governors complaining about the NNDC’s dealings. We should not be more catholic than the Pope should.
Meeting the aspirations of its owners As the saying goes, from little seeds, tall oak trees grow. Since its formation, the NNDC has been waxing stronger and stronger and meeting the aspirations of its owners. Such aspirations include, among others, leading the northern region’s economic growth, employment generation, promotion of the economic interests of the region within the wider context of the Nigerian federation. How NNDC is meeting the aforementioned aspirations is in the open for whoever cares to see. I learnt that Hamdala Hotel alone, for example, employed over 300 staff of various categories. The Arewa Hotels, which is a subsidiary of the NNDC, is now being reenergized under the current leadership of the company. Recently, the Arewa Hotels group acquired Aso Motel, Abuja, which was previously owned by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA). This, I believe, is highly commendable.
No doubt, the current management team of the NNDC under the leadership of its Group Managing Director, Alhaji Aliyu A. Alkali is taking the conglomerate to greater heights. Three giant strides attest to this. The venturing of the NNDC into oil prospecting in the northern oil basins, the license it obtained to mine gypsum and the most recent venturing into mobile telephony (GSM) with the launching of Gamji-Tel (G-Tel).(see Daily Trust of 6/9/2007 page 30). Is this not something those of us from the north should be proud of?
Still on meeting the aspirations of its founding fathers and current owners, it is on record that the NNDC is spending a whooping 400 million naira annually in human resource development training of young managers from the region in various fields, which include management, finance, accounting, engineering etc. In fact, recently, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, the Governor of Kano State, was in Kaduna to commission the ultra modern Musa Bello Learning Resource Centre, which will henceforth be the training centre for all human development programmes of the NNDC. Mallam Shekarau proudly commissioned the centre, acknowledged, and commended the efforts of the leadership of the NNDC.
NNDC is today a major player in the economic development of Nigeria. It was a founding member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). It holds several portfolios in several blue chips companies in Nigeria. What performance indicators do one needs?
NNDC is not averse to new ideas but... I am sure NNDC is not averse to new ideas. In fact, the company has been thriving on ideas. Ideas that work, that is. Abdullahi Musa did not tell his readers the fantastic ideas he was at NNDC to sell. However, as a responsible corporate entity, a conglomerate by all standards, NNDC may have its standards of judging unsolicited proposals. As his readers, we have the right to assume that perhaps his proposal did not meet those criteria of the NNDC. Any way proposals are what they are just proposal; it is up to the company you are sending them to accept or to reject. Moreover, I must say rejecting them should not be an excuse for going wild to the extent of self-condemnation, which is what Abdullahi Musa’s article was all about. That is my best judgment.
|