Politicians seeking votes in Edu Local Government of Kwara State invariably come with a promise: resuscitation of Bacita Sugar Company. This they know, is all that matters to the people of Bacita and the entire Edu Local Government communities. The promise never failed to lift the hopes and expectations of the people, it never failed to attract the much-sought votes. But the promise remains what it is: Promise. Not to be kept, not to be fulfilled; to be made again in the next electioneering campaign trip to the area.
Bacita Sugar Company was the biggest and the best in Nigeria. Said to have been established in 1956, the company boasts of over 30,000 hectares of sugarcane farm. Its production capacity is put at 300 metric tonnes of sugarcane per day. It also has the capability to process and refine domestic and industrial Sugar. In its glorious days the company was one of the arteries of Kwara State economy. It provided direct and indirect employment for over 4,000 workers across the state and beyond with the multiplier boost to the state economic growth and prosperity. Then came a change of fortune.
The immediate cause was the privatization, according to some accounts. Apart from the issues the new investor allegedly had with the community,there was also a legal tussle between the company and the liquidators which is said to be pending at the Supreme Court till date.
Bacita Sugar Company consequently slumped into terminal decline . “ Failure of the AMCON(Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria) and receiver to concentrate on the case in court have left over 40,000 youth unemployed and crippled economy over 400 communities “, ex- union leader, Mohammed Adam stated in a media report. When the Federal Government put up the company for sale, Bukola Saraki-led government in 2008 successfully secured investor , Mrs Josephine Kuteyi, a multi- billionaire Lagos- based businesswoman, who bought the company from the Bureau of Public Enterprises at $40 million and renamed it Josepdam Sugar Company. Unfortunately, the woman died in a tragic helicopter crash on her way to Bacita in 2011. No doubt, her death dealt a big blow to the rebirth of the company. In 2016, AMCON took over the Company citing indebtedness by the new owners. A receiver, Mr A. B. Sulu Gambari was thus appointed. Gambari explained that the take-over was aimed at putting the company back on path of prosperity by partnering with investor. He promised to achieve this within a reasonable period of time. Three years later, his promise is still hanging. There is no doubt that Kwara badly needs a solid and flourishing industrial base to boost its economy. Saraki as governor opened up the state for industry and commerce. Kwara then was adjudged one of the fastest growing economies in Nigeria. Unfortunately, this giant strides could not be sustained after his exit. This is why it’s important that Bacita Sugar Company be resuscitated and be put on path of booming productivity. The way forward is to find investor who commands impressive track-record in Sugar refining. There are notable ones like Dangote and Flour Mills of Nigeria. I don’t know why we could not get any of these big investors, especially Alhaji Aliko Dangote who has shown his readiness to invest anywhere as long as the terms are persuasive. Or could there be something investors found unacceptable in Bacita Company? About four months back Flour Mills opened what it described as its biggest agricultural investment ever in Nigeria- The Sunti Golden Sugar Estate located in Mokwa, neighboring Niger State. Now, there is a similarity between Sunti and Bacita Sugar companies. The former was comatose for over 20 years before it reportedly got a bailout fund of N26 billion from the Federal Government. The total cost of the project was put at N50 billion. To me, this is a wake up call. Why was Sunti preferred? Well, the chairman of the Flour Mills group commended the host community for creating an enabling environment for the company to operate. We can take something positive away from this. Both the state government and the hosting community in Bacita need to put heads together to make the sugar company attractive to would-be investors. Fortunately, President Buhari at the commissioning of Sunti Sugar promised to extend same lift-up gesture to Bacita. Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq on visit to Bacita recently assured the people of his readiness to turn the sugar factory around. He claimed to have had a meeting with AMCON which necessitated the visit. Good. He should walk the talk by going even further to hold President Buhari to his promise. In addition to that, he should work with the Bacita community to create an enabling environment for the would-be investor. Provision of infrastructure, such as motorable roads, electricity are very important. So is adequate security and of course, tax incentives. God bless Kwara State. God bless Federal Republic of Nigeria.
