‘FX situation in Nigeria creates big opportunities for DAG Motorcycle’
Monish Lakhani is the managing director of DAG Motorcycle Nigeria. According to Lakhani, the current foreign exchange scarcity in Nigeria is a blessing for the firm’s brands. In this interview with RAZAQ AYINLA, he says that the DAG Motorcycle is expanding assembly plants to Ogun State.
In 2014 the Federal Government introduced the Automotive Policy, asking manufacturers of automobiles to either manufacture or assemble vehicles, motorcycles, tricycles and all automobiles in Nigeria. How is DAG Motorcycles keying into this policy?
We are actually an auto plant employing thousands of people in this country and assembling motorcycles in Isolo, Lagos, rolling them out of the plant as completely built units. All the other so-called brands do not have assembly plants and I think government must take note of it, because all they are doing is to get the benefits, but they are not really generating employment. Anyway, I am not here to point fingers at anybody. But, I think it is not a level-playing field. People like us have invested a lot of millions of dollars in this country; we have created thousands of jobs, and there are people who are operating out of their houses without any assembly plants. I think that is not fair. Government should take note of this and ensure that they comply; otherwise they should not get those benefits.
Why are you in Ogun State? Do you have plans to establish or expand from Lagos into Ogun?
As I said earlier, Ogun State is a very special child, thanks to Alhaji Apelogun, who has given me what nobody else has given me in Nigeria. He has been fighting for the people in Ogun State. There is no dealer who has done that in Nigeria. I think the example of this is what you see at today’s workshop. We donated N10 million to Ogun State government today. So, what we need to do now is to bring investments to Ogun State. When I say investments, I know they are long term proposals, which do not happen in a day. But, now, we are in the process of setting up another plant because we need to expand capacity. If we are bringing anything out of Lagos, the first place to berth is Ogun State, because it seems I have the backing of the government and our partners here.
How do you cope with the foreign exchange situation in the country, coupled with perceived harsh economic conditions?
Coming to the perspective of the current economic situation, let me tell you clearly that we are going to have huge economic opportunities in Nigeria. I think all the small traders, dealers, importers that caused all the problems in the system are going to be flushed out. I commend the presidency for this bold move, for holding on to what they have said, because genuine businesses like us will prosper tremendously. I think we are going to get the largest market share and we are going to capture the two-wheelers market, and the three-wheelers space, going forward. We are also going to have a four-wheeler, but we need to fix certain things before that. We don’t want to jump into that. It is going to be a pure revolution in the transport industry in Nigeria like we have done in 60 countries across the world.
What are your plans for the motorcyclists in terms of empowerment and safety?
The reputation of ‘okada riders’ is ‘limbs are broken’. They are not properly treated when they are involved in accidents. So, we are now going to work on two aspects. One is road safety. We are going to train people to maintain safety standards, because we all come from different backgrounds, and levels of education. I will ensure that there is school for that to boost their images in the society. The second is hospital. We are going to build hospitals that will take care of the injured, but you will not be treated if you are under influence of alcohol or any other hard drugs.
Was there any effect on your business when some states banned commercial motorcycling in Nigeria?
Not at all. In fact, it has increased our business, and Ogun state is an example of that.
RAZAQ AYINLA