| From rented okada,
this transporter has over 240 buses
By EMERSON GOBERT,
Jr
Saturday, June 23, 2007
 |
Nsikak Johny
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
| |
Nsikak Johny, Managing Director
of Nisk Motors Limited, lease of the Akwa Ibom State Transport Company (AKTC)
can be described as a transport whizkid.
Just after secondary school,
circumstances forced him to think about entrepreneurship. And he started with
a rented motorcycle from a neighbour.
Today, he presides over a fleet
of no fewer than 240 new buses and is determined to rule the world of transport
business in Nigeria.
With comfort at the age of 37, he still had the humility
to return to school for university education which he couldn’t get early
in life. He told Saturday Sun his motivation and success story. From the scratch
I started transport business
at the lowest level as a motorcyclist (Okada) in Port Harcourt in 1990 for about
two years before I bought a danfo bus. I was about 22 years then and I didn’t
know how to drive it. My friend did the driving. After a while, I bought a second
bus and started driving it myself. Later on, I bought a third bus but had to change
my line of business. I started a supermarket and it was going on fine. I bought
a Toyota Hiace bus and leased it to a company where my friend was managing director.
When my friend left the company, the new managing director brought his own bus
and asked me to remove mine.
I had to look for someone to buy it. When I saw
no buyer, I had to add it to my transport business and I bought another one and
decided to register my own transport company, Nisk Motors Limited about four years
ago. So, I started the business with four buses. Incremental growth
When
I completed my primary education, the family was being taken care of by my mother
who was a petty trader at Mile One market and she had three people in secondary
school. She asked me to stay home for one year so that my elder sister could be
through with her secondary education. I was with her in the market and there I
learnt how to change one naira into two naira. I couldn’t just stay after
my secondary school. I was looking for what to do. I had a neighbour who had an
old Benly motorcycle so I rented it and paid N30 daily. Later, I was able to convince
my mother to buy me a new motorcycle. From that motorcycle, I went on to have
a bus and with it, I understood what transport entailed. To succeed
in transport
Firstly,
you must be ready to give your time in transport business. Though the most important
is God, but you must give the best of your time and be serious with the business.
Then, you have to be sincere because it is practically impossible for any bank
today to finance transport business because of the risk involved. The banks have
more money since the merger but they won’t loan to people in transport business.
Transporters are hardly steady. They come in and go out almost immediately. I
can count the transporters in the country that are successful. So, banks get so
scared to go into the business and because we cannot have money to buy vehicles,
the only way we can stay in business is to stick to a good vehicle dealer or company,
you have to try all you can to prove that you are sincere.
If you have the
opportunity to collect one or two, you pay for them as agreed, when they have
confidence in you, they can give you any number of vehicles you want. Today, I
can acquire 100 vehicles on phone without agreement. The secret is God first,
sincerity and dedication to work. No deaths
Since registration more than
three years ago, Nisk Motors Limited has not recorded any loss of life through
accident. It is the love of God. We trust in God. We believe in God and we hand
over everything. The Bible even states that except God watches the city, the watchman
keeps wake in vain. He’s the only one protecting us and nothing more.
I
encourage my drivers. I don’t know much about other states but in this area:
Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers and Bayelsa States, I think our company is one
of the best paying in the industry. Half of my drivers today were there when I
was driving. From a cyclist, I turned to town service driver and then to a higher
level. I was driving with my drivers. I am a commercial driver. We were dragging
turns when I was driving but God makes it that today, I am a director and they
are driving for me. I understand the job. I understand the drivers. I know what
they suffer on the road. Any driver that is going to Lagos, I know what he is
going to encounter before he gets to Lagos. When I am with them you will not know
who is the director. We play. I understand them and they understand me. AKTC
– flag of convenience
I am from Akwa Ibom State and Akwa Ibom Transport
Company was the best transport company when I was a little boy. My mother who
like I said was a petty trader used to travel almost every week. So we used to
take her to the park to board the bus to Uyo and when I came into transport business
Akwa Ibom Transport was fading out. The government advertised the company for
lease and the only attraction to whoever was going to win was the premises, not
even the name. I was hoping to get the premises because it is a good location
with a fuel dump, a standard workshop, warehouse and more than 10 offices and
has space that can take more than 500 buses. That premises was my major attraction.
The government said that whoever won the bid must bear Akwa Ibom Transport
Company but the particulars might bear your name. The state government did not
want to lose that name. That is why you see all my vehicles bearing the name. Ultimate
ambition in business
Although I’m already ruling transport in the state,
I want to rule that industry in the country just like Glo. Glo says rule your
world. Transport is my world for now. I’m not eyeing any politics. If you
see me invest in politics, I’m protecting my business as a good businessman.
I want to be the best in the country, I might even move out from road transport
to something else, but it must still be transport. Back to school
When
you venture into a bigger business, you see more people and go to places. You
cannot succeed without good education. As I said, I started the cyclist job immediately
after my secondary school. When my business was going fine, I decided to go to
the university because I knew I can’t be a good businessman with my present
level of education. In Nigeria now, the lowest certificate might turn out to be
your first degree. I’m studying Business Administration.
I need to know
some things that I really need to know like contract and how to do business better
than what people are doing. That is one of the major attractions. When I had problems
with the Task Force, with the level of education that I have, I called my boys
and told them not to fight because with my advancing knowledge, I know that if
they come and my boys resist, they will fight. There might be loss of lives in
the fracas. The law will not talk of movement of illegal parks again. The park
will be sealed, I was able to control my boys because of education, so, we defeated
them. |
