I know this story well with some personal perspective.
The Ill-Fated Dream: Nigeria’s Newsprint Manufacturing Company at Oku-Iboku
The Nigerian Newsprint Manufacturing Company (NNMC) in Oku-Iboku, Akwa Ibom State, stands as a poignant symbol of an ambitious national development project that ultimately fell far short of its promise. Conceived in the mid-1970s, the mill was intended to make Nigeria self-sufficient in newsprint production, save significant foreign exchange, and foster industrial growth. However, its history is marked by massive investment, chronic underperformance, and allegations of systemic issues that eventually led to its collapse.
Genesis and Ambition
Established in 1975, the NNMC was one of three major pulp and paper mills envisioned by the Nigerian Federal Government to meet the nation’s burgeoning demand for paper products. With an impressive installed capacity of 100,000 metric tons of finished newsprint per annum, it was poised to be the sole newsprint manufacturer in West and Central Africa. The project was primarily funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria (holding 90% equity), with the Akwa Ibom and Cross River State Governments holding smaller stakes. This funding model meant the vast majority of capital came from Nigerian public coffers, heavily reliant on the nation’s oil revenues during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Construction and engineering for such a large-scale industrial complex typically involved international firms with specialized expertise. While specific details of every Canadian company directly involved in the NNMC’s engineering phase are not widely publicized, it was common for Western firms, including Canadian ones, to participate in major industrial projects in developing countries during this period. Such involvement often occurred with the support or facilitation of their respective national export credit agencies (like Export Development Canada – EDC) or development aid organizations (such as the Canadian International Development Agency – CIDA). These entities would provide financing, guarantees, or technical assistance to bolster Canadian companies’ competitiveness in securing international contracts.
Operational Challenges and Decline
The NNMC was commissioned in the mid-1980s, with its first paper machine starting in 1986 and the second in 1987. For a brief period (1986-1993), the mill was operational and even exported newsprint to neighboring countries and beyond. However, its output never approached its installed capacity. Over its entire operational lifespan, it produced only a total of 163,684 metric tons of newsprint, significantly less than the 800,000 metric tons that could have been achieved at full capacity over the same period.
The reasons for this dramatic underperformance were multi-faceted and reflect broader challenges faced by many large-scale public enterprises in Nigeria at the time:
– High Operating Costs: Despite plans to utilize local gmelina wood, the mill remained heavily dependent on expensive imported long-fiber pulp and chemicals.
– Infrastructure Deficiencies: A major hurdle was the lack of reliable power supply. The mill reportedly required massive daily quantities of diesel to run its generators, as it was not connected to the national grid, drastically increasing production costs.
– Management and Technical Issues: Reports often cite poor management, insufficient technical expertise, and challenges with maintenance and spare parts as contributing factors to the mill’s decline. Untimely release of government funds for project completion further exacerbated problems.
– Systemic Corruption: The era in which the NNMC was conceived and built was characterized by widespread corruption in Nigeria. Large government contracts were frequently inflated, and funds intended for project development and operational efficiency were often diverted through various illicit means, including kickbacks, fraudulent administrative fees, and unmerited payments to unqualified individuals. This systemic corruption contributed significantly to the “huge bills” for engineering and administration, and the presence of “incompetent people” in critical roles, undermining the project’s viability from its very foundations.
By 1994, the NNMC was effectively shut down, becoming a symbol of abandoned potential and squandered public resources.
Disastrous Privatization
In the mid-2000s, as part of a broader government effort to divest from non-performing state-owned enterprises, the NNMC was put up for privatization. In 2008, it was acquired by Negris Investments Limited, which then incorporated OKIPP (Oku-Iboku Pulp & Paper) Limited. However, this privatization process has been widely criticized and marred by allegations of “asset stripping,” where valuable machinery and components of the mill were reportedly sold off rather than being utilized for its revival. This further solidified concerns that the project, from initial construction to its post-closure phase, was a conduit for illicit financial gain rather than genuine industrial development.
Legacy
The fate of the NNMC, like that of Nigeria’s other major paper mills, highlights the complex interplay of ambitious development goals, inadequate planning, operational hurdles, and endemic corruption that plagued many large-scale public projects in the country. While the initial vision was to foster self-reliance and economic growth, the outcome was significant financial loss, job destruction, and a persistent reliance on paper imports, leaving the country far from its original objective. The NNMC at Oku-Iboku remains a stark reminder of a dream unfulfilled, with its vast complex standing largely derelict, a testament to the challenges of industrialization in an environment compromised by systemic inefficiencies and corruption. https://www.facebook.com/jeff.mah.5/videos/1398769067906273/?__cft__[0]=AZVQ5KwihMuCqP5lF2UzHJVqxeGNm6wzTytAFIesdamgUMUf20KiopkBdeSuy4fpQFUXq6kk7-PkxCu6B0Hew7A2V26yBTZ0VCKMxZfeJp1a3MgaYgg8YiF5M62GiQJyViRd-0fOlLftRJuYg9MKSRlEpcksf0ZqZfsFUWxJwVkIeg&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
