IOD EXTOLS OMATEK, CALLS FOR GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

With the labour market swelling and importation of IT consumables climbing over 9% of the country’s s yearly earnings, the Institute of Directors (IOD) has advised the Federal Government to initiate policies that would help in the rapid development of local IT industries.

Mrs Seriki receiving the IOD award inside the Omatek factory, Ojota, Lagos from Ms Molokwu. With her is Mr. Denis, a director of Omatek.

The IOD made the remark last week while on a tour of the Omatek Computer factory at Ojota, Lagos. The inspection was a way of rallying support for local entrepreneurship for the institute, which members occupy strategic decision making positions in both the public and private sectors.

Also, the tour was designed to help the Institute have insights into the challenges faced by operators in the sector and the overall prospects the industry has in turning around Nigeria’s mono-export economy that mainly depends on crude oil export for its FOREX.

The IOD runs a monthly forum for articulating ideas and way forward on issues affecting the country’s economy. This forum has gained recognition as a major platform to influence public thinking and policy formulation by all strata of government.

The 10-man delegation to the factory was led by its president Ms B.C. Molokwu to give members practical knowledge into the local manufacture of computer hardware. “Government needs to draw up strong policies that would encourage the growth of IT factories like this. Omatek is an indigenous pioneer IT factory and it deserves every support we all, particularly the government, can give it” said Molokwu who praised the efforts of Omatek’s managing director Mrs. Florence Seriki to keep the factory moving in spite of the difficulties faced by what Molokwu called “extreme challenges of inadequate support infrastructures”

Mrs Seriki explaing how speakers are assembled inside the Omatek factory. Listening are Ms Molokwu, Mr Ijewere and other members of the IOD delegation.

Omatek factory runs solely on diesel generators as power supply from the public electricity company NEPA has remained insufficient to power its operations.

The company recently penned a new deal with its Asian partners to expand its local manufacture of PC casings and speakers.

It got the endorsement of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) at the last Telecom Africa 2004, which held in Egypt and has been pointed out as reference point for Nigeria’s accomplishment in IT development by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

For its efforts, its CEDO got the IOD award at a brief ceremony after the tour inside the Ojota factory “In Recognition of Good performance.”   Molokwu described Seriki as Amazon in the world of technology who was opening opportunities for other people to tap into. She hoped that others entrepreneurs would take a cue from the Omatek’s experience to venture in not only areas that appears to be lucrative. The award, said Molokwu, is “in recognition of your undaunting spirit in an area that is quite difficult.”

The 10-man delegation to Omatek included Mr. Emmanuel Ijewere, former president of the IOD; Ayo Oshodi, vice president of Nigeria-American Chamber of Commerce, Muyiwa Odejayi, managing director, Agbara Estate and Femi Ekundayo, chairman/CEO of Resort Securities and Trust Limited. Ekundayo is also the first vice president of the IOD.

Earlier during the tour, Ijewere had described Omatek as company that represents hope for millions of Nigeria “who see only problems in our very harsh economy. I feel proud that I am here today.   I feel happy that a Nigerian has chosen this endeavour to prove that we are capable of meeting the challenges of running technology companies. I feel proud that I am here and seeing all these things with my eyes. You can see the number of people that have been given profitable employment by this venture. This is a pioneering efforts that must be encouraged by government.”

The delegation were taking round the factory by Mrs. Seriki who carefully pointed out the different stages involve in the assembly of a computer hardware. “All branded systems are basically the same. Brand manufacturers buy from the same makers of hardware parts and follow the same production process to get the systems out,” said Seriki at the factory’s showroom from where the tour of the entire factory started.

Members of the delegation were taking round the laboratory; speakers and casing manufacture lines; and the burning room where complete systems are made to undergo the worst possible scenario they could ever go through to test their ruggedness and ability to withstand pressure.  “If a system does not survive here, then it cannot go through extreme conditions in the workplace,” explained Seriki.

While thanking the IOD for the award, Seriki said the token was both “surprising and inspiring.” The company, she promised would see the recognition as a further challenge to aim higher in the goal of providing quality and affordable computing systems to individuals and corporate organisations.

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