Over 3,000 people are working for Obijackson Group across 4 continents –AZUDIALU-OBIEJESI

Among other things, the story of Dr. Ernest Azudialu- Obiejesi, Group Managing Director of the Obijackson Group and The Sun Businessman of The Year 2014, reconfirms one empirical fact: there is no limit to what creative imagination, hard work, a supportive wife, and trust in God can accomplish.

Born without the proverbial silver spoon, and a childhood temporarily taken off track by the Nigerian civil war, the younger Obiejesi had every excuse to fail or, at best, aspire to simply survive. But he had other plans. Starting out bright and early, he dreamed dreams, drew a new rainbow and followed his rainbow.

Today, as the Okija-born business phenomenon confirms in this interview with The Sun, records have come tumbling, new frontiers have been conquered, and the dream is still growing. Excerpts:

In the beginning…

I spent my childhood mostly in Anambra State. Before I was 10 years old, I had experienced the devastation of a bloody civil war. Like many parents in post-war Anambra back then, my parents were petty traders – not formally educated – and had little material resources to offer their firstborn – me, except to infuse me with values like discipline, a strong work ethic and a self-belief that I could go on to fulfill a destiny that was greater than the circumstances of my early years. At the start of my education, I combined my studies with my parents’ petty trading business and excelled in both. Partly through my efforts, my family was able to achieve some measure of financial security.

Even with relative business success at a young age, I never lost sight of the importance of education. I was a diligent academic student, and gained admission into the highly selective Dennis Memorial Grammar Secondary School as the best student from New Bethel Primary School Onitsha, even though I was in Primary 5 – a year short of the traditional school-leaving Primary 6. At Dennis Memorial Grammar School, I was again the best student in my class in Economics and Mathematics. Ultimately, I graduated from the University of Benin with a B.Sc in Accounting and was later awarded an honourary doctorate of Business Administration from the University of Nigeria.

Generally speaking, growing up had its ups and downs, but I feel blessed to have gone through that journey with the family I have. My father passed away a few years ago, but I am grateful that my mother and siblings are still alive. I owe them a lot.

How did the story of Obijackson start?

The Obijackson Group started over 30 years ago with Obijackson West Africa Limited, which was a specialist in commodities trading. By 1990, the company had grown into an international trading company with presence in Onitsha, Lagos, Aba, Maiduguri and Benin Republic. My team and I nurtured the group from inception and diversified it with an extensive investment in property, haulage and distribution, commodities importation and estate development. At the same time, my interest in adding value to the economy in a broad sense began to slowly develop. The mainstay of the Nigerian economy apparently was the oil industry and I knew that a lot of money was being spent in Nigeria on the production of oil and gas, but incidentally, I could not find major Nigerian companies involved in oil production – very few Nigerian oil servicing companies existed. So, I identified an opportunity to create value in the oil and gas sector. At the time in 1991, indigenous companies in oil & gas were very rare. Nestoil eventually outperformed all expectations for an indigenous company and its operations led to our creating more companies under the umbrella of the Obijackson Group.

Basically, the group has expanded by identifying business opportunities from industry needs that were either not available or sufficient in-country solutions did not exist. We then went about creating well-equipped companies to meet those needs. In other words, these other companies were initially created to provide for needs that arose during Nestoil’s execution of their projects. Today, these companies have become authorities in their respective fields.

Look at the results. The Obijackson Group has become one of the most diversified business conglomerates in Sub Saharan Africa, with operations in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production, Pressure Vessel Fabrication, Power Generation, Dredging and Marine Logistics, Aviation, Civil and infrastructural construction and Telecommunications.

We employ over 3,000 people across four continents, in companies that include Nestoil Limited, Energy Works Technology Limited, B&Q Dredging Limited, Neconde Exploration and Production Limited, Hammakopp Consortium Limited, Gobowen Exploration and Production Limited, Century Power Generation Limited, IMPAC Oil & Gas Engineering, Nesthak HDD Services Limited, Shipside Dry Dock Co Limited, Nesto Aviation Services Limited (NestAv) and Scorpio Drilling International.

The Obijackson Group’s story is evidence that anything is possible if you believe enough, and are resourceful enough.

The journey at times seemed long and tough – I assure you that I have many stories to tell about that, but looking back, it is remarkable what has been achieved. And we did this by sheer focus and tenacity and hard work. Most importantly, we put Almighty God first.

What’s your vision, or better still, what would you consider to be your driving force?

The interesting thing is that I still find myself guided by the same mindset I had as a nine-year-old: I continuously ask myself how do I achieve better results, or create value. And everything I have accomplished in my professional life has been as a direct result of asking different variations of the same cardinal question: Why should this be like this? How can I get better results? How can I create value?

Which of your investments gives you the biggest joy?

To be honest, it’s not possible to single out one thing because we try to be proficient in everything we do. I am really, really proud of our activities as a group – and also very proud of the work the Obijackson Foundation is doing to improve welfare and promote self-development through cultural programmes and sports.

Do you think Nigerians have what it takes to take over the Nigerian oil sector?

Absolutely! The ownership structure in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is changing very quickly. With growing financial backing from our banks, our indigenous oil and gas companies have expanded, capitalizing on the government’s drive to boost domestic control over the oil industry.

More acquisitions by indigenous players have resulted in rising production levels and increased significance of local companies in an industry that has been long dominated by International Oil Companies (IOCs).

According to reports that I have read, the major divestments by IOCs since 2010 have transferred something like over five billion barrels of oil reserves and resources and 20 trillion cubic feet of gas resources to indigenous players. At this rate, Nigerian oil companies would account for about 25 per cent of oil production in five years.

These figures represent fresh opportunities and challenges for Nigerian companies.

There is no doubt that the oil and gas sector, like the Nigerian economy in general, has huge upward potential, and from the bottom of my heart, I genuinely believe there is NO OTHER indigenous company in the country which has worked harder to raise the standard of indigenous companies in general, than the Obijackson Group companies. By virtue of the broad experience we have across several industries, over time, we have been able to build on our technical expertise and acquire assets which has distinguished us from our competitors.

What’s your take on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB)?

The proposed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) will become the most radical and comprehensive legislation in the industry when passed into law. It came into being following the attempt by the present administration to undertake a reform process of the oil and gas industry in order to improve on the general efficiency of the petroleum industry. It seeks principally to overhaul and harmonise the clutter of numerous laws in the industry, establish a new framework for good governance and best practice, enhance government revenues through a robust new fiscal regime. That the bill is a step in the right direction is hard to dispute. It is perfectly legitimate and indeed long overdue to overhaul, simplify and harmonise some of our obsolent petroleum laws severely weakened by changing dynamics. It is something I have repeatedly spoken about. We need a well drafted law which clearly sets out the licensee’s rights and obligations, that streamline the various regulatory institutions and agencies with clearly defined mandates to implement specific policies, and clarifies the applicable tax regimes within the oil and gas sector. A look at the proposed law before the National Assembly also shows that the PIB provides for a legal, fiscal and regulatory framework for the industry by creating regulatory institutions and commercial entities for the upstream and downstream sectors which are bound by the provisions of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Act of 2007. A well thought-out and implemented petroleum legislation would encourage mutual trust between all the players in the industry, create stability and enhance value for both investors and the governments. However, to get it right, a wider consultation from all stakeholders should be done before its passage. A good legislation will create a conducive environment to accelerate our development of the petroleum industry by encouraging greater foreign and local investments and at the same time ensure that the country gets appropriate revenue for the general development of the country, as our economy is still largely dependent on oil revenue. Again, the PIB will make the industry more organised, transparent and functionally efficient when passed with the right level of consultation.

You will agree with me that the oil and gas is a global industry and because capital is mobile, competitiveness of petroleum policies and regulations will impact significantly on capital flow across the industry. Most often, companies make investment decisions based substantially on the international competitiveness of petroleum fiscal systems and environments. I think the uncertainty surrounding the passage of the PIB perhaps partly explains why Nigerian crude proved reserve estimates have remained stagnant in spite of the high oil prices obtainable in the international market until the recent down – turn in the prices of crude. Therefore, the key point of note is that until the PIB is passed a number of upcoming projects and prospective investments will be delayed or eventually diverted to other countries with better legal, fiscal and regulatory regimes, and this will adversely affect the overall economy, naturally. The reality is that the PIB will need to be passed for there to be stability and certainty in our petroleum industry, and until this is attained, our quest for improved power generation might remain a mirage. Sufficiency of gas supply is a pre–requisite for sustainable generation of electricity.

The Sun Award…

I am grateful to Almighty God, without whom nothing is possible, and to The Sun newspapers. It feels good to be recognised, and I accept it with humility, and as an encouragement to further devote myself to making a contribution to society. But this award is not about me alone – it is also in recognition of the achievements of the companies which we founded and nurtured. It is a tribute to the Obijackson Group – which has grown from its inception over three decades ago.

There are many people who deserve thanks for their contributions to our cause. It would be virtually impossible to mention all of them, but I acknowledge with gratitude the opportunities given to us by the IOCs. I am also eternally grateful to my wife, Nnenna and our children, who anchor me every day of my life. Not least, I am grateful to the entire Obijackson Group team: those inspired people who toil tirelessly day and night, whose quiet acts of dedication and competence have redefined what is possible times without number. Their effort is invaluable. Our collective story is just beginning…