Nigeria needs a business-minded president, says Chia Ayom

Moses Chia Ayom, a Benue State-born businessman based in Abuja and the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Granite and Marble Limited is a presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC). He recently spoke exclusively with Nosike Ogbuenyi, Premium Times Assistant Managing Editor on why he wants to be president and other related matters. Here are excerpts:

PT: Why are you in the race for presidency of Nigeria?

CHIA AYOM: First of all, as a businessman who has traveled wide across the world, I have been able to see what is lacking and I believe I cannot just be standing by the side while the situation degenerates. That is why I am stepping forward to offer my services.

PT: What is your vision for Nigeria as you aspire to be the next president of the country?

CHIA AYOM: My vision is to build a Nigeria of limitless opportunities for everyone; my vision is for a secure, prosperous, and united Nigeria that guarantees growth, wealth and health for all citizens and indeed all people living in Nigeria. Like I have always insisted, Nigeria is a country of great promise. We have all the natural and human resources to guarantee good life for every Nigerian, lead Africa and play big in the top league of advanced world economies. That is what I want to achieve.

I am a strong believer in the Nigerian project, the massive potential for wealth and growth that it holds not only for the privileged few, who despite systemic inefficiencies have thrived and succeeded, but for every hardworking Nigerian who is ready to be the best that he can be. I am also a firm believer in shared prosperity and better life for all. So, for me it is not enough that I am stable and can take care of myself and my family and those closest to me. No. It is also not enough that I have through my philanthropic efforts sponsored the education of over 300 hundred Nigerians to University level, organize annual health outreach for rural women and children for treatment of water borne diseases and other self-powered development initiatives. I crave to do more.

All these are limited in scale and impact. And that is why politics, despite its many issues, remains for me the most potent platform for the mobilization and allocation of resources that would foster widespread development that impacts my brothers and sisters, my fathers and mothers, our children and youth all over Nigeria. Besides, the best way to change the system is to get involved and I am happy to have made that decision.

The fact that Nigeria has the natural and human resources that we, politicians, and leaders, can tap to build a country that guarantees a decent life for everyone, lead Africa and be ranked among the top world economies is not in doubt. What we need is that visionary spark and sustained progressive leadership that will guide Nigeria to make that robust transition from our much-celebrated potential to the reality of being a great and prosperous country that is the pride of its citizens, a role model for Africa and the appeal of western countries.

PT: Contesting for presidency can be quite demanding in terms of the outlay of financial resources required to effectively mobilize and carry out the campaign across the country?

CHIA AYOM: From history, none of the past democratically elected presidents of this country was a money bag. Former President Shehu Shagari was a teacher; Olusegun Obasanjo came out of prison and was elected president without sacks of money; Goodluck Jonathan was a lecturer without money and the incumbent president, Muhammadu was not a money bag before he was elected. So, the issue is not about money but what one has to offer and I believe I have that.

PT: Can you speak on your agenda for solving widespread Insecurity (terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes) in the country?

CHIA AYOM: I will employ a two-pronged approach to tackling the insecurity problem in Nigeria. First is rapid capacity enhancement of our security apparatus. This entails robust intelligence gathering architecture and deployment of overwhelming force to stop and deter. I believe that a strong, well-equipped, properly motivated, and trained security personnel is critical to tackling the many external and internal security challenges that we face as a country today.

We would therefore sustain the tempo of investment in armed forces, forge alliances that ensure steady supply and availability of the most modern security equipment and promote discipline and professionalism in the rank and file of our security architecture. We shall build a million-man strong armed force with the most modern fighting equipment and training. This is because I believe what we need now is superior force to destroy the resolve of those who threaten our peace while seeking long term solutions that would reduce the vulnerabilities of youth to insurgents, criminals, and destabilizers.

Second is fixing the fundamental issues that have led some Nigerians to take to crime. This means massive investment in primary, secondary and university education. Education is the right of every Nigerian. My government will also increase access to affordable healthcare. We must realize that the insecurity that we have now is a product of government failures in key areas of national life over the decades especially education and access to opportunities for a better life. These fundamental failures have over the years created a large army of illiterate, uneducated and vulnerable Nigerians who are poor and ill equipped to fend for themselves and therefore easy targets for recruitment into crime and insurgent activities. With our prevailing poor social welfare system, broken infrastructure, high cost of living and the near absence of the state in the lives of the average Nigerian, patriotism is at an all-time low. We will reverse that.

We will also take steps by putting measures in place to address the prevailing sense of injustice in the country. Nigeria belongs to all of us; we are all equal stakeholders, and I will manage Nigeria’s diversity in a way that makes every part of the country feel carried along. Adherence to federal character in appointments, equitable distribution of development projects and dialogue will be my watchwords. You will agree with me that if people are educated and have decent means of income they will not resort to crime; if Nigeria makes life good for its citizens, patriotism will be high, and it is unlikely that anyone would want to secede knowing that he may be leaving behind a better life.

PT: What are your plans for tackling the high unemployment rate in the country (currently standing at over 30%)?

CHIA AYOM: The first step is to fix the power problem that will encourage small, medium, and large-scale businesses to thrive profitably and create jobs. I believe that ensuring steady supply of electricity is fundamental to building a modern and prosperous Nigeria. My researches revealed that Nigeria currently has the largest energy deficit in the world. According to the World Bank over 85 million Nigerians representing 43% of our population do not have access to grid electricity and the lack of reliable power is a significant constraint for both citizens and businesses.

According to experts, we need over 24,000 MW to power our country and economy. Presently, our total installed generation capacity is about 12,000 MW, but average operational generation capacity is just less than 5,000MW at peak. Correct me if I’m wrong. I will fix the power sector if elected president.

On the back of this, we would build a vibrant economy that helps Nigerians and businesses to realize their potentials. An economy that creates markets and unlocks sustainable growth will produce enabling environments in which people, communities and business can thrive. We will build a modern and sustainable economy that leverages advances in ICT and tech-innovation; an economy that creates jobs, encourages industrialization, increases tax revenues, improves quality of life, and ensures inclusive growth.

PT: What would you do with regards to tackling the menace of corruption?

CHIA AYOM: My presidency will run a zero tolerance for corruption. We will ensure global standards in public procurement so that Nigerians get maximum value for their money. We will strengthen the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) and the ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission) and encourage them as well as other agencies to go after all corrupt persons without fear or favour. We will implement measures to tackle corruption at source through preventive techniques.

PT: What would be your response to the infrastructure deficits of the country?

CHIA AYOM: Fixing the infrastructure deficits would be accorded top priority. This includes roads, bridges, railways systems to ensure free and cost-effective movement of goods and services. On this score too we plan to build and sustain the good work done by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Particularly, we would concentrate on partnerships with the Chinese Railway Corporation for revamping of old routes and expansion of modern railway lines across the country. In a nutshell, my aim is to build a new Nigeria with limitless opportunities for all citizens to actualize their maximum potentials.

PT: Can you throw more light on how you will make the actualization of the potentials possible?

CHIA AYOM: Nigeria has so many potentials that are not yet tapped. This is the time for a business-minded person to be at the highest mantle of leadership and unleash the potentials of the country because governance is also about business. Nigeria is very rich in terms of natural and human resources. I have appraised the economic and business potentials of the country and devised a framework to create wealth for all. I will start by looking into the areas that have not been tapped at all or only partially tapped.

I remember vividly in 2016 in the first foreign trip that this administration took, because they were looking for ways of diversifying the economic base of the country from oil to non-oil sector. During one of their first business trips I was part of the Nigerian government delegation to China. The richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote was there. It was during that visit that he signed the contract for the biggest petroleum refinery in the world which is ongoing now at the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos. He also signed the contract for the building of the biggest fertilizer plant. Nigerian government also signed a very big one – a $6 billion currency swap deal with China which will enable the country to do business with China via their Yen and Naira directly without having to purchase the US (United States) dollars. The idea was to put less pressure on the foreign reserve.

My own company, Granite and Marble Nigeria Limited signed a contract with the biggest manufacturer of mining equipment in the world called SBM. The Central Bank Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele was there to witness the agreement; the two Presidents (of China and Nigeria) were there to witness the agreement; the former Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Enalemah was there to witness the agreement. So, as I speak, that contract I signed in China is in the process of taking off.

If that agreement signed in China is ignited, the opportunities that would be created will be out of this world. There will be massive employment for our teeming unemployed youths; there will be huge revenue for Nigeria. Insurgency will begin to wither away. Remember, Nigeria has one of the highest deposits of different minerals. Go to Nasarawa State, Zamfara, most of the states we have different mineral deposits but the problem has always been lack of infrastructure, the equipment to do it. That is why you see what is called illegal mining everywhere because the cost of getting those machineries is too high. And our banks are not ready to do what is called start up businesses.

You can discover gold in Zamfara but as long as you don’t have money to go and buy the equipment neither do you have collateral to give to the bank to give you the finance, the situation will not change. But the contract I signed with SBM says that the company can give you those machineries at what is called hire purchase. So that instead of going to the bank, you will go straight to SBM and also SBM will help in looking for market for those products. So, I know as a business person that through this contract I signed in the presence of the presidents and the Central Bank Governor, if it is fully ignited it will transform the mining sector.

And by the way, when we came back to Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, also did its own bit by giving us a grant of one billion naira. The one billion naira is going to augment as counterpart funding. We are going to buy the machines using part of the money from SBM. They call the fund Real Sector Support Fund (RSSF) from the Central Bank. But we are going to convert the money to dollar because the money was meant directly to buy equipment from SBM.

PT: So did you buy the equipment?

CHIA AYOM: No, we had a bit of hiccups. Central Bank, this money, it went to the commercial banks. That is why it has not been ignited. The Central Bank said the money went to the commercial banks, but we are processing it.

PT: You mean that the CBN has not released the money?

CHIA AYOM: They have not released the money officially. The money has not been gotten because of some hiccups.

PT: Since 2016?

CHIA AYOM: Yes. Those are the issues that sometimes we face. This is part of the reasons why this country is not moving forward because as much as government is trying so hard, you have saboteurs who are bent on making sure that government does not get it right. That is why you hear me talking about injustice, inequality and lack of fairness. This is all about being a victim of situations like this. I believe that this is what this country is suffering from. One billion naira is not a small amount.

Please allow me to explain a bit about this. When Central Bank gives you a fund, you access the money directly. So they will send you to a commercial bank. The Central Bank Governor himself sent me to Zenith Bank, to a staff directly. And when I got there, they put all the papers together, gave me the offer letter, did everything. They took all my property worth N3 billion as collateral. They also had the effrontery to go into my account and took over N9 million. They gave the money to a lawyer of their choice to go and perfect the papers which I gave them as collaterals. They put a lid on my property that I cannot touch the property claiming that I have taken a facility of one billion naira. That is Zenith Bank for you. They kept on dribbling us only for us to discover after a long time what was going on. That is why I’m in court with Zenith Bank and others till today.

PT: Sorry we can’t go further on this aspect because the matter is before a court of law.

CHIA AYOM: Ok.

PT: In your party, APC some presidential aspirants like former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu and the Governor of Ebonyi State have made their aspirants public after briefing President Muhammadu Buhari about their ambition. Both of them are from the southern part of the country and there seems to be widespread feeling that the topmost office should rotate to that section of the country in 2023. As somebody from the northern part of the country why are you in the race to succeed a fellow northerner as…?

CHIA AYOM: (Cuts in) No, I’m not from the north. I am from the Middle Belt, not the north.

PT: Nigeria was formed through the amalgamation of the defunct Northern and Southern protectorates in 1914 and the present Benue State where you hail from was territorially part of the northern section during that colonial era?

CHIA AYOM: First and foremost, I am not a clannish person neither am I a bigot. First of all if a mistake has been committed, it should not be allowed to go on and on. That does not mean that it is not a mistake.

PT: What is the mistake?

CHIA AYOM: The mistake of saying that you are removing a whole region; that we have a region called Middle Belt. Don’t forget that it is not today that it started. J.S. Tarka fought for this Middle Belt region. So we know that there is what is called Middle Belt region and that there is what is called minority. So, I’m a middle belter. And that is the strength of what I’m talking about. We should be concerned about fairness, equity and justice.

PT: Many people may not agree with you that the Middle Belt was shortchanged in terms of presiding over the affairs of the country. That zone or section of the country produced three military rulers namely Generals Yakubu Gowon, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar who cumulatively ruled for 18 years?

CHIA AYOM: All I am saying is that I am coming in as a democratically elected president and we are talking about elections and democracy here, not military rule.