Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Mrs. Grace Bose Olowofoyeku, is the Group Managing Director (GMD) and Chief Executive of Ascon Oil Group, a company involved in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry.
She also operates tank farms and several filling stations across the country.
Having been in the industry for over 35 years, she has helped Ascon Group to expand into the blending of lube oils and operation of truck parks.
A professional career woman with deep sense of philanthropy, Olowofoyeku typifies an outstanding study in humility.
According to her, one needed a big dose of humility to succeed in business.
Olofowoku, who disclosed that it is hellish doing business in Nigeria also listed some of the factors that negatively affect businesses in the country.
She spoke to Daily Sun on a number of issues concerning Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. Excerpts:
My reaction to calls for relocation of tank farm facilities from Apapa
When the Ascon Group built its tank farms at Ibafo in Lagos, we were only the second or third tank farm there. Now, the place is virtually congested as the government licensed so many businesses to establish their tank farms there. Now, the place is congested with the result that it contributes to the gridlocks along that corridor. However, there is a lot that the government can do to ameliorate the unsavoury effects. The government ought to summon the political will to tackle the traffic problems caused by the numerous tankers coming there to lift fuel. Some years back, the government made it mandatory that each owner of a tank farm must build a truck park outside that area, as a receptacle for incoming trucks. Ascon Group spent a lot of money to construct a trailer park at Magboro, but the government did not enforce the law, as many depot owners failed to construct trailer parks as holding bay for oncoming trucks.
Relocation of tank farms from Lagos is not the best option as the economic cost of such move will be enormous. What stops the government from expanding the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway to 10 lanes?
Privatisation of refineries
In the first instance, government has no business running refineries. Government is only to provide the enabling environment for businesses to thrive. It is hard to identify where government has ever managed business, successfully. There is generally lack of ownership in any government enterprise. Hence none of the government refineries has ever done well despite all the monies poured into them.
The solution to this malaise is privatisation. Private ownership will ensure commitment and better utilisation of resources to maximise production. The huge amounts of money that had been committed to the maintenance of these refineries over the years is enough to build several other refineries. No individuals or private organisations would spend such humongous amount of money to construct refineries that will not yield profits.
Assessment of the Local Content Act in the industry
Considering that this country is blessed with so much human and material resources, the local contents act is necessary to maximise these resources and ensure the transfer of technology. In the downstream sector, the local content act has been quite effective. I am not very much involved in the upstream sector of the oil business, but I think that the act is a proactive measure of the government which is laudable. It would be ridiculous to allow expatriates take over and perform the jobs which countless Nigerians are qualified to perform. The nation is already bedevilled with repercussions of youth and graduate unemployment.
Prospects of oil finds in the North
This is a very political question; on which I am not willing to comment.
How did you get to this height
Success is by different measurements. Who can be described as successful depends on the parameter and values ascribed to the description. To answer your question, I got to this level by the grace of God, dint of hard work and my upbringing. I lost my father early in life and was brought up by my mother and paternal grandmother especially, who instilled certain values in me. These were values of hard work, focus in life and never looking back in regret of anything. Providence because at a young age, I met a very hardworking and focused man who became my husband. We had similar values and this acted as a synergy in our lives. Even when I lost him in a plane crash, the values he had imbibed in me gave me the strength to carry on. Also, I ran a law-abiding organisation that did not believe in cutting corners.
Do you encourage women to come into oil business, rewarded as exclusive to men?
Exclusive? The downstream oil business is no longer exclusive. Apart from me, I know about four other women that are doing quite well in this business. It is like any other business. It is tough and requires focus, hard work and dedication. The Nigerian oil business terrain has not been easy, anyway.
As GMD of an international oil business, how do you relate with men employees ?
I do not expect anybody to shiver before me. I try to be as plain as possible with both men and women. Apart from toughness, one needs a big dose of humility to succeed in business. I try as much as possible to calm whoever comes to my presence, overawed.
Were you born with a silver spoon?
I was not born with a silver spoon. As I had said earlier, I had lost my father at a very young age. I and my younger siblings had to struggle to make ends meet under the care of my paternal grandmother. It was a life of struggles and hard work. I have never found things easy to get to where I am now; I got here by the grace of God. I lost my husband when things were about to reach the level of success and I had to carry on the struggle alone. However, I thank God for where He has taken me.
Challenges of the business
Doing business in Nigeria is like hell. It can suck up all your energy because of the various government agencies you have to deal with daily. You fail at every attempt to succeed because you have too many bottlenecks to contend with. However, because I serve God diligently, He has seen us through all the tough times.
For some years now, the oil industry has witnessed a lot of instability as a result of currency instability and government policies. It has made it hard to plan. We used to bring in cargoes of fuel from abroad but now this is not possible, resulting in scarcity of the products for our numerous stations and drastic reduction in margins. The business has been so negatively affected that we now struggle to pay workers’ salaries in spite of massive cuts in staff strength.
Government institutions appear to be so oblivious of our challenges that there is constant frictions between them and various businesses. It is by the grace of God that we have not totally shut down. Government has been lacking the political will to allow open pricing of petroleum products. Subsidy retention has been a great constraint on our business.
Having successfully diversified into other businesses, what advice do you have for young entreprenuers
In response to the constriction on oil business, we have tried to expand our activities to the sale of aviation fuel, blending of lube oil and insurance broking. Personally, I was brought up to respect the dignity of labour. Nothing is beneath me to do, as long as it is legal. I have even diversified to farming, by owning cassava plantations and producing garri and rice. I believe in the multiple streams of income.
Our country, Nigeria, is a blessed country. The Federal Government must diversify to have more sources of income. God has blessed this country with vast arable lands. Agriculture is therefore a potential income earner for the country. We are yet to exploit the vast minerals in our soils up North. Depending on crude oil alone is merely shooting ourselves in the foot. The Federal Government has waited for too long to diversify.