MICHAEL Friday is not your popular guy. But silently, the Benue State-born man has been inventing modules that will ease the pains of Nigerians. Born on August 3, 1979, he attended LGEA Primary School, Onicha-Igo, Kogi State. For his secondary education, he was at Ochaja Boys Secondary School. He later got admitted to Yaba Collage of Technology (YABATECH), but dropped out due to financial difficulties. Today, he, however, holds a master’s degree in Information Technology from the University of Liverpool. He tells BOLA OLAJUWON and GREGORY AUSTIN NWAKUNOR all about his inventions, award and dream for Nigeria.
Working experience
I worked for Deeper Life Bible Church for two years; later on, I moved to Living Faith Bible Church for another three years before Vividglobal came into existence in 2006. I was into media productions, recording and video coverage in these churches while I was working on my various inventions. In fact, this was one reason I could not work for too long. I have been passionate about invention from childhood after my strange encounter and name resemblance with one of the great inventors, Michael Faraday, from whom I derive so much inspiration. We have achieved so much by our successful partnership with Eazytrade to achieve our dream in changing the world of technology through re-engineering and fresh inventions. Vividglobal received its boom in technology after Eazytrade bought shares into it, early 2009.
Inventions
We have a lot of inventions that are sure to put Nigeria on the same pedestal with others. Vivid car came into existence in 2005, when I was on queue for fuel for about two days; and was given a query for not coming to the office for the sake of fuel that we produce. Thereafter, thought of inventing a car that will not consume fuel. Today, Vivid electronic car stands out. It is charged both electrically and through gasoline generator before usage. Our car generates its current through a module developed here, which sustains the car energy for up to 2000km per day on 2.3 litre engine. Its kind in other parts of the world can only go for just 100km. Also, looking at our critical challenge faced by our country, it’s of necessity to have an alternative to our power generation and distribution. We have developed a 5 KVA generator that requires no fuel or any form of charging to power your house for at least 10 years. You need minimal daily or monthly expenditure to keep the generator working for 24 hours in a week non-stop. It’s the first of its kind in the world and it is developed in Nigeria and will be out before December, this year. Our TV is a revolutionary one that has all the functions in one. With its LCD led panel, it can work for minimum of six hours after power supply is off; it plays DVD VCD and audio CDs and has AC out for charging phone. For the Vivid eazy safe, we are talking of the fastest copying mini flash drive with 16 GB. It is one of the largest and smallest in the world today. We achieved this by the use of micro chip/liquid technology to build it. The Vivid GPS Navigator is a multimedia navigator covering all nooks and crannies of Nigerian roads and villages, with live traffic report and detour services, play movie, game, e-book, Bluetooth and phonebook backup.
Business environment
In Nigeria, we do business with less commitment and if we can be more committed to our businesses, work and technology, we will become the giants that we have craved for and, which we are referred to in Africa. We have the potentials in us and we can do it. If a foreign investor can ask me to name any price I want, to become the head of his company research and development, then I will say there’s something here that needed to be studied in the world over. There are many more out there, who are doing great things. The truth is, we should get back to work and forget cutting corners or the so-called short form of getting rich formulae.
Foundation I have been very passionate about the poor all my life due to my humble upbringing and the ugly experience I had while growing up, where I had to drop out of school because of finance. Let me tell you this, I lacked everything and was always in want. The childhood experience has made me to stand and fight poverty with everything in me. Since I began to earn a living, I have taken time to commit certain amount of my income to help the poor. This, in fact, started when I was still earning N16,000. I started this foundation for widows with just a bag of rice monthly. Now, the foundation is very big with a membership of over 400 people, who receive my gift every month. Also attached to what the foundation gets is appointment with pastors and doctors, who minister to their physical and spiritual needs. Fifty per cent of the medical care of members of the foundation is borne by me. There are about 55 orphans and less privilege children in both secondary and universities on full scholarship. While an elders forum takes care of the elders and full time gospel ministers and imams. These people get paid a token amount on monthly bases. The elders in the forum enjoy 100 per cent medical care from what God provides me from my current earning.
The Award The award came at a time I felt so challenged in my various inventions. This happened barely a week I turned down an offer of $30 million by a Chinese businessman to get the patent right for the car. I told him I would never do that because Nigeria has everything needed to build the car here. He told me we don’t have the money neither the technology, but I stood ground and refused his offer and returned to Nigeria. I planned to meet my governor and other business men for immediate take off of the factory, having consulted with mould company in Europe to provide the various mould we need. The fortunate thing was that I had not even seen those I planned seeing about my decision, when the award came. Had I sold the idea to the Chinese business mogul no one would have known that a Nigerian developed the car here. So, the award is an encouragement to me.
Future expectations
I see great conglomerates of businesses springing out of Vivid and Eazytrade soon, and an outstanding manufacturing firm that will at least bring out new inventions every three month.
BY GREGORY AUSTIN NWAKUNOR
AS an expert, what would you say is responsible for the frequent collapse of buildings in the country? The question was instantly met with warm stares, the kind that normally precedes excitement. Perhaps, on another day the questioner wouldn’t have met with the same exciting response. Probably not, but maybe yes. Dr. Victor Onukwugha, the executive chairman of Bauhaus International Limited, a firm that is into real estate, project development and development finance, cast an exciting glare and he began to voice out his wishes for real estate in the country. A chat this afternoon seemed proper. The whole atmosphere is serene. He looks at his wristwatch, draws a deep breath and heaves, “you’re early… you can sit down and enjoy our journal, while I get myself prepared”. His phone rings. He reaches for it. “Yeah,” he retorts. After some minutes, he joins me. To him, the best thing that could happen to the industry is to roast quacks, drive fake importers out; and implement sound and safe policies for the common man to enjoy his ‘small’ money. An uncharacteristic thought, so to say. “The problems are numerous, but I will categorise them into two: one has to do with the professionals and next, breakdown of values. For the latter, Nigeria has become a dumping ground for all sorts of rubbish from every part of the world; especially, for substandard goods and materials from China,” he says. “Nigerians go abroad to tell them what they want in order to make money, so, they come with substandard materials such as reinforcement rods and cements, all with poor quality. Also, it has to do with cutting corners. People engage quacks in place of professionals. We are not talking about real estate developers alone; some individuals will even go for draughtmen to draw their buildings for them and not using engineers to supervise the building projects. So, a lot of things come into place that is why we have a lot of buildings collapsing.” So, is the government doing anything to curb the menace? “Government has a great role to play. The Standard Organisation of Nigeria, for example, has responsibility of ensuring that standards are maintained: Materials and equipment brought into the country are inspected at the point of importation and that of entry. Also, that all government agencies ensure that the consumers get the best of quality. But beyond that, the professional regulatory bodies are mostly lame-duck in ensuring that they stop people using quacks to embark on construction,” he says. Is there any other investment risk associated with the real estate development sector? He looks up and casts a sympathetic response, “in this country, the problem has to do with capital because our banks are not doing banking, they are not financing the real estate sector, they are simply trading.” For real estate industry to thrive, the Bauhaus boss said, banks have to make available construction loans to developers, and this should be for a minimum of five years. He also says there should be mortgage loan to buyers that will last for between 20 and 30 years. “So, there should be a good mortgage and construction loan in place. That is how we can finance the real estate sector and you will find out people will be interested in the products in the market and the products will not remain, it will be bought,” he reflects. While answering the question on collapsed buildings, you made mention of professionals, so, how professionalised is your outfit? “We see real estate as a knowledge business; we are not here to just make a living; therefore, we have three core departments and all headed by professionals, we ensure that we get the right professionals from architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, planners, economists and others. Our site supervisors are usually from these professionals. I’m the Executive Chairman, and I am an architect, an engineer and a construction manager. I don’t know whether I am jack of all trade, I have a PhD. And all our heads of departments have a minimum of Master’s degree in their fields. I am not talking about academic qualification, though we try to look through your academic certificates, we also insist that you must also be proven to be good in your area or field professionally.” When did your company start business? “We started as a consulting firm in 1988, before we got involved in real estate development in 1992, and till date we have been doing just that. So, the company is about 21 years old. “We are essentially interested in both residential and commercial real estate development, in addition, we are involved in tourism development. Under the residential we have been partnering with Federal Housing Authority to develop upper scale housing estate such as Trans Amadi Garden in Port Harcourt, which we did and it was commissioned by the immediate past president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, in 2004, which comprises 471 housing units of upper, medium and low income. We are partnership with Federal Housing Authority to develop Arugo Gardens in Owerri for the high and medium income earners. We have some other proposed projects for Abuja in the latter part of the year. Under commercial real estate development, we are developing first, a shopping mall in the south; in fact that should be about the first of its kind in the country. It has shopping and banking facilities, departmental stores and so many other things.” ONUKWUGHA reveals that his company has been trying to initiate the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) idea. He believes it will help this country when established, as it has capability to help mop-up funds for investment in the real estate sector. REIT started in the United States of America and has caught up in most developed economies such as Japan. In Africa, it is South Africa that is on it. “It is simple, when you are talking about investment as an investor, people think about stocks and of cause real estate as the best investment vehicles in this country or in the world, but the draw back is inequality, you cannot get cash as at when you want it because you cannot put your house in the market today and get the money tomorrow, whereas in the case of stock, if you are broke today, you can just make a phone call to your stockbroker, the next morning he comes up with money. “In order to make investment in real estate very attractive, a kind of civilization that will make it possible to trade on the asset class of the stock exchange will come-up and that is what REIT is all about. It means that rather than having a building that you can only sell the hard, you can sell it on the floor of the stock exchange. It has a lot of implications, which means you can invest in any part of the world in real estate by just booking any property that is under it and them try to buy a share and wherever you are broke, you can place your unit on the floor of the stock exchange and get money.” On the suitability of Nigerian legislation to attract foreign investment, he says the greatest way to bring foreign investments is through REIT. “But we are not sincere at all because there are so many legislations that we are talking about, which are vehicle for us to get foreign investment. Before it can take place, the land use act has to be reformed. Until it is reformed, it cannot work.” Explaining the 400,000 housing units promised by Real Estate Development Association of Nigeria (REDAN) before the end of 2009,he says it is very realistic. “If you divide 400,000 by 36, you are talking about 10,000 or 15,000 houses maximally per state and if the Federal Mortgage Bank is there and alive to its responsibilities and funds are made available, we will realise it, but again, what kind of houses are we talking about?” he says. “Federal Mortgage Bank said they are going to sponsor only projects not worth more than selling price of N5million and if you are talking about houses of N5 million and definitely, it is not going to be story buildings so that is the problem we have but it not a question of figures, it is a question of what is on ground. Are the banks ready to fund construction loan? Are the mortgage banks willing to do mortgage financing?”
BY GREGORY AUSTIN NWAKUNOR
ANYBODY that comes in contact with Ibisi Ndukwe MD/CEO Royal Limousine, might expect to see just a big , loud, brash man. But after some minutes, you are sure to discover a completely different person: gentle and soft speaking. To him, everyday is given to work. And this owes much to his desire to be perfect in whatever he is doing. This afternoon, he is in a very relaxed mood. He is seated in his office reading newspapers. With one long smile, he welcomes his guest. He offers a seat and asks, “what do I offer you.” “Table water, at the most for me,” I answer. He calls out a one of his staff, who brings two bottle of table water. He sips a little from his and heaves “life is good”. Okay, when and how did you start the limousine services? “It started in 2004. It was conceived in New York and we started doing some things there before deciding to move down home. Then, we had five limousines. Right now, we have more cars for all purposes.” And if squeezing in questions weren’t hard enough, getting answers seemed morehard. But after long, he draws a deep breath and says, excitedly, “Royal Limousine Service is a locally owned outfit that has earned a reputation for its prompt and efficient services. Our selective clientele expects only the best...and that is what we deliver.” He says the company has been serving metropolitan Lagos for over five years now. On the risk of driving in Lagos streets with such expensive cars without fears of reckless drivers. He answers, “our chauffeurs go through a rigorous screening and training process.” Ndukwe reflects, “we guarantee a high level of customer service and integrity. Our prompt service and comfortable limousines have earned us consistently satisfied clients since inception. Our fleet now features over 20 vehicles including super stretch limousines, luxury town cars, luxury SUV limousines and passenger vans. We are sure to have the perfect vehicle for you.” THE boss of Royal Limousines says services offered in his company will free the person from unnecessary expenditure, especially when you are preparing for corporate events, business meetings, party or association conventions, airport transportation, weddings, romantic getaways, concerts, funerals and red carpets. He laughs, “set the right tone for your business meetings. Arrive comfortable and relaxed. Give your clients the gift of luxurious travel. Our service is the perfect choice for any corporate need. We understand success. Let our professional, discreet chauffeurs provide you with first-class service.” With a smile that seems to lift out of pages, he says, “our large fleet and unparalleled level of service makes us the perfect choice for convention travel. We can accommodate large groups, and can provide as many vehicles as necessary: Whether classic stretch limousines, town cars, or passenger vans.” He adds, “avoid the hassle of travelling to and from the airport. Parking difficulties, wild cab rides, and traffic congestion are some of the reasons why traveling in comfort makes so much sense.” In his words, “in the US, it is very easy to see kids come for graduation parties in limousines. Four to six kids can jointly hire one at reduced rate, and the fun is theirs. This is a culture we want to establish here. It cost less when you combine efforts, especially during your red carpet. It cost just N250, 000 for the Rolls Royce and Lincoln Limousine goes for N150, 000 a day.” Has the poor shape of the economy affected their business? He answers ‘no.” According to him, “it is even growing by day, as many people are identifying with us.” ANY hope for the Nigerian economy? Ndukwe blurts out: “Yes, there is a future for our economy. If only our leaders can begin to do things the right way. You and I know that we have a lot of natural resources in our country that we are not managing very well. I had opportunity to travel to the Niger Delta recently and I saw the rate at which the facilities had decayed. Infrastructure does not apply to them. The people still live in thatch houses, and the roads are so bad. And this is the place where we get our oil. I believe strongly that if there is a problem, we can’t just solve it from the top. It’s something that has to be treated from the root; and getting it done from the root is what our leaders should begin to understand.” 
He says, “one thing, I have learnt about Nigerians is that they never give up. A Nigerian is hard working. Nigerians have the ability to work hard, and with that virtue, I think we will always be motivated to always move ahead despite all odds. I believe that Nigeria can make it, the economy can’t just crumble like the US’s.” To Ndukwe, “American people are very fragile; every thing has been put in place for them. Also note that the kind of economy we have is not like theirs. Their economy is based on credit, where the house you own, the car you drive, the cloth you wear is not paid for, it’s all on credit. But here, the suit you are wearing, you paid for it, your car is bought with money, the place you live in is your house because you paid for it. We are more like a card free society. So, every thing I need, even the food in my house, I have already purchased it with cash, but in USA they use credit for everything even the food they eat.” He remarks, “we will have to take a cue from what happened to the US’s economy. I really believe strongly that we are headed somewhere and Nigeria will definitely come up if only we make the right move.” Your take on fashion and style. He softly strikes his hair, rubs his face in a warm manner and heaves: “The simplest way for me to explain fashion is that it is whatever that makes you comfortable when worn. Style for me is being simple. When you look at Nelson Mandela, you see the kind of clothes he wears; as simple as they are, when he comes out and stands somewhere, you’ll know that he has style.” Ndukwe adds, “the way you dress tells a lot about, who you are. It does not mean that if a person likes to dress on suits, the other one that dresses on traditional is not fashionable. It is just an expression of how a person feels.”
MICHAEL Friday is not your popular guy. But silently, the Benue State-born man has been inventing modules that will ease the pains of Nigerians. Born on August 3, 1979, he attended LGEA Primary School, Onicha-Igo, Kogi State. For his secondary education, he was at Ochaja Boys Secondary School. He later got admitted to Yaba Collage of Technology (YABATECH), but dropped out due to financial difficulties. Today, he, however, holds a master’s degree in Information Technology from the University of Liverpool. He tells BOLA OLAJUWON and GREGORY AUSTIN NWAKUNOR all about his inventions, award and dream for Nigeria.
