Lafarge, Ogun: A symbiotic partnership
As Ogun State turns 40, ODINAKA ANUDU writes that the economic and social contributions of Lafarge Africa plc to the state cannot be wished away, given its admirable records in job creation, road construction, youth empowerment, education and training, among others.
Experience has shown that businesses that make big impact on society are those with long-term investment plans and enterprises whose activities affect communities directly and positively.
In Ogun State, south west Nigeria, Lafarge Africa has made big investments in plants, machinery, buildings and other assets. The building materials giant has also created a lot of jobs and renovated critical roads, leading to reduction in crimes and road accidents in the areas where it has its plants in the state.
On the other hand, the state has provided a convivial atmosphere for the company to thrive, signifying that the partnership between Ogun and Lafarge are symbiotic.
Lafarge Africa, a foremost cement manufacturing and marketing company in Nigeria, has its plant operations in Ogun State – one in Sagamu and two in Ewekoro-, with a current production capacity of 4.5 million metric tonnes and staff strength of 867. It is instructive to point out that 95 percent of Lafarge Africa’s 3000 employees are Nigerians. Hence many of those in the cement maker’s employ are Ogun natives.
Lafarge Africa’s product portfolios in Ewekoro and Sagamu plants include: Elephant Cement, Supaset Cement, Powermax, Etex and SRC (a sulphate-resistant cement).
Lafarge in Ogun has achieved over 90 percent of local input preference, which implies that the cement maker sources almost all of its limestone, gypsum and other raw materials from Ogun. The number of direct and indirect jobs created in the value chain is huge, according to BusinessDay’s findings.
As part of Lafarge Africa’s contribution to delivery of health care service in Ogun State, the company has renovated and equipped a public hospital in Sagamu, Legacy Health Centre’s Tuberculosis Unit and Pharmacy Department.
To further underscore that health and safety of the people are central to the company’s strategy, Lafarge recently donated an ultra-modern chest diagnostic clinic to Olabisi
Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital while putting in place five boreholes in Simawa, Ajaka II, Sotubo, Sabo II and Oba Sonariwo Market, all in Sagamu.
Peter Hoddinott, new Lafarge Africa CEO, has pointed out that health and safety are two issues the company cannot afford to toy with. With this, the safety of the staff, host communities, visitors and customers is guaranteed.
Nigeria has over 17 million housing deficit. This deficit results mainly from low income of many Nigerian citizens and high cost of rents.
In order to mitigate the impact of this housing shortage, Lafarge Africa Plc in conjunction with French Development Agency (AFD) and Lift Above Poverty Organization of Nigeria (LAPO) has marshalled out plans to build 30,000 low-cost housing units by 2018. This drive initiated the N1.3 billion Affordable housing Project known as ‘Ile-Irorun’ Scheme for low-income people in Ogun and other states in the south west region. The vision of Lafarge Africa is to provide housing for people who do not have the wherewithal to own their own homes.
“Our target is to produce a home of around 40 square metres for approximately $8000,” Peter Hoddinott, group managing director of Lafarge Africa plc, told BusinessDay in a recent interview.
“The idea is that a family should be able to have some land, with access to water, sanitation and electricity. This body of people deserve to have their own homes,” Hoddinott said.
This partnership is the first operation of its kind to improve housing conditions through microfinance in Africa. About 3,500 Nigerians will benefit from the programme within the next three years, according to the company.
In fact, Lafarge Africa Plc has spent over N200 million for both Sagamu and Ewekoro communities, with a focus on education, youth empowerment, health and infrastructural development till date.
Through Lafarge Africa Scholarship Scheme, no fewer than 2,319 students from tertiary institutions in Ogun State have been able to go to school.
Lafarge has also helped in re-construction of classrooms in five public primary schools – African Church Primary School, Ewu-Oloja; Wesley Primary School, Gbara; St John’s Anglican Primary School, Ode-Lemo; and Zumratul Islamiyat Nursery and Primary School, Ojumele, all in Sagamu, and Community Primary School in Alaguntan in Ewekoro.
The firm has also given certification to its operators, engineers and technicians to empower them to attain competitive skills with colleagues worldwide.
The company equally held two years skill acquisition training in welding, electrical, automobile and mechanics for 24 community youths in Sagamu.
Furthermore, Lafarge recently, completely, rehabilitated primary health centre and pharmacy block at Makun while providing resources to ramp up security in Sagamu. Also to beef up security in the area, the company donated a Toyota Hilux 4WD to security operatives.
Lafarge has World-class Training Centre at Ewekoro to develop its staff and apprentices as part of our corporate social responsibility initiatives.
It is critical to point out, at this juncture, that Lafarge does not just sell cement and other building materials to Nigerians. It is also in the serious business of enlightening players in the building value chain such as block makers, brick layers and many others. The essence of this is to ensure that these partners understand the current trends in the industry while also ensuring they abide by internationally acceptable standards. More than 5000 block makers have benefitted from these exercises.
Furthermore, there is a corporate social responsibility partnership of Lafarge with SEAP Micro Finance Bank and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON). It is an empowerment programme for young school leavers and small-scale block makers in Ogun and other states.
In terms of infrastructure, Lafarge has rehabilitated roads in Itori, Lakatabu, Iyana-Egbado and Dolphin,, and has built drainages in Ewekoro and Sagamu. The company spent over 1.2 million Euros on these projects. The company has constructed 250-metre drainage, concrete flooring of town hall and burglary proof in Elebute community at Ewekoro. It also recently empowered 85 farmers in the community as part of its project to steer agriculture in Ogun.
Again, the cement maker recently commissioned the Employee Volunteer Programme, also known as ‘Lafarge friends of the Community’, which is an avenue of engaging Lafarge Africa staff as volunteers in different value-adding projects and initiatives in all its locations, including Ogun State.
One of such initiatives done in Ogun State is the Lafarge Book on Wheels (BOW), where Lafarge Africa staff member volunteers to engage public school pupils in book reading sessions to support and enhance their level of literacy. Another of such initiatives is the Lafarge – Ovie Brume Literacy Competition.
Lafarge is also doing a lot to preserve the environment through waste management and use of renewable energy.
Similarly, the company and Ogun have entered into a historic partnership to transform 108,000 hectares of heavily degraded land in Ogun State into an arable green area, through a Forest Landscape Restoration project aimed at launching public and private agro-forestry projects with strong environmental, social and economic impact.
The company is powering Nigeria with the 220 mega watts (MW) project, which is being licens-ed by Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). There is in addition to existing 90MW gas-fired power plant earlier located at Ewekoro cement plant.
Lafarge Holcim has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ogun State Government on the collection and usage of waste, including agro-waste for the waste-to-energy independent power project with a view to generating electricity for its WAPCO plants and transferring the excess to the national grid.
“I had the privilege of going round Abeokuta with Ogun State governor and he took me to some of the land filled sites. That is where we have a lot of experience and have developed a lot of techniques that can help Nigeria. This is something we can bring to Nigeria. Today in Nigeria, approximately seven percent of our fuel is being produced by biomass and waste products. This, we want to double by 2016, and our objective is that by 2020, we are going to be replacing over 30 percent of our fossil fuels. We already have 30 percent of it globally,” Lafarge Africa’s managing director told BusinessDay.
All these projects and programmes have helped Ogun State, which has had 374 industries come in since the assumption of the Governor Ibikunle Amosun.
Without Ogun State’s support, Lafarge could not have achieved these feats, according to analysts. Also, without a forward-looking company like Lafarge, these projects could not have existed.
ODINAKA ANUDU