Improved Infrastructure Panacea for Development – Boedinger

Thomas Boedinger , managing director of Unilever Plc has  harped on the need for improved infrastructure in the country to foster an environment  healthy for industrial growth and global competitiveness. 
Boedinger said recently in Lagos that Nigeria’s growth prospect will be greatly enhanced if basic infrastructure is improved to position the nation better to effectively compete among the most industrialized nations of the world.
“I am very much encouraged by what the Lagos State government has been doing despite its limited resources. I am also pleased by some of the steps taken by government to develop infrastructure like the concession of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to a private company to manage. I’m very confident that policies such as these will greatly strengthen the Nigerian economy,” Boedinger said.
Boedinger, who has remarkably improved the fortunes of Unilever Nigeria after two-and-half years of being in charge, said that in a bid to keep the business running, manufacturers have invested huge funds into the provision of basic infrastructure and that this is often passed down to the consumers who have  to pay more for commodities than the usual prices.
He also maintained that while big multinationals like Unilever can afford to secure some of these costly infrastructural facilities, smaller companies in Nigeria cannot. “Most of us up there are actually running our factories on generators. We are in a good position to get gas pipeline which will reduce our energy cost already. For us, this was feasible because we have a big size of business. Many small manufacturers, like our suppliers, don’t have this luxury. They have to run their operations on diesel, which of course is reflected on the cost of goods supplied to us, and which ultimately reflects in the price that the Nigerian consumer has to pay,” he said.
Boedinger added that while government strives to provide infrastructure on one hand, it should ensure there is a level playing field by taking another look at its liberalisation policies. He warned that though it is a good idea to try to protect the local industry, using the liberalization plan, there is a need to apply some caution so that the local industry don’t become complacent and lose its sense of competition.
 “We look at the import tariffs, which I fully understand is to protect the local industry. But they all will have to be competitive. As a manufacturer of leading brands in the market place, we would like to drive down the cost to make our products more accessible to the Nigerian consumer,” he said.
Boedinger, who disclosed that Nigeria is Africa’s second biggest Unilever market after South Africa, also denied insinuations that the company was planning to move its operations to Ghana, adding that 86 years ago, when it commenced operation in Nigeria Unilever made a deliberate decision to manufacture its products locally. This is in line with its belief that companies should operate in the market where they will like to be found, and where they do business.
Highlighting some of the drawbacks of poor infrastructure, Boedinger said that Nigeria has huge unemployment problem because the manufacturing sector, which is one of the biggest employers, currently operates below capacity. He maintained that with good infrastructure, foreign investors would show more interest in Nigeria, and this will provide avenue for job creation.   
“Unfortunately at the moment, only 46 per cent of GDP is coming from the manufacturing sector. This is the opportunity we all have, as a society, to address and create jobs for Nigerians,” he said.
While commending the Lagos State Governor, Raji Fashola on his palpable achievement in the area of infrastructure, he charged the Federal Government to be more consistent in the application of policies. “I think the regulatory framework is fine, but it is more of a problem of application and implementation of these policies,” he said.
He applauded government’s decision to concession the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to a private company to manage, adding that the way to achieve sustainable development in the provision of infrastructure is to hold people accountable, provide good governance and let people believe in the government and its workings.