In this interview with SALIFU OYIBO, the chairman, Nigeria Union of Mines Workers (NUMW) Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited branch, Comrade Salami Mohammed Jimoh, says for securing the company from vandals for 30 years, the staff deserve award from the government.
Just recently, President Muhammadu Buhari made concerted efforts to resuscitate the ailing Ajaokuta steel complex. What is your comment?
The labour unions for many years have been on the vanguard of appealing to the federal government to rehabilitate, complete and make the giant steel industry operational in order to generate revenue in order to create enormous jobs for Nigerian youth who have graduated but are roaming the streets without any hope of employment that can earn them their livelihood. We lack words of gratitude to President Buhari for the effort and concern shown so far concerning the resuscitation of Ajaokuta steel company. We are glad and also grateful because the recent decision of the federal government to give the steel company back to the original builders is a very good step in the right direction. It is obvious now that the president and his team have come out to put a square peg on a square hole. This type of decision has eluded the company for almost four decades. We are happy today because in the recent past, previous administrations have entered concession agreement with some foreign companies but all to no avail because they don’t understand the technology in the steel complex. Therefore the current bold step is a way forward for the steel company and we believe that for Mr President to come out boldly with this singular decision, it shows that he has seen clearly that steel production in Nigeria is the best alternative to crude oil that can no longer sustain the country. It is no longer a hidden fact that the crude would one day dry off and even now the price has crashed to an unexpected level such that oil-producing countries have started diversification in order to improve their economy. Since Nigeria is among such countries, I think the political will of the president towards revamping Ajaokuta steel company is a welcome development. We have been saying it often before now and I want to reiterate once again that if Ajaokuta steel complex is completed and operational, it would serve as a great foreign exchange earner to the country and the employment opportunities alone would enable the federal government to engage the teeming unemployed youths. This would invariably reduce youth restiveness and wipe away crimes associated with idleness as a result of unemployment. If the company is operating at full capacity, it can create over 15,000 jobs aside the subsidiary companies that would evolve and thousands of jobs for the nation.
It is believed that the blast furnace technology used in building Ajaokuta steel plant over 30 years ago is obsolete. How true is that assertion?
The technology adopted for the Ajaokuta steel plant is the Basic Oxygen Furnace Technology otherwise known as Blast Furnace which has the capacity of processing even the least acceptable grades of iron ore and very flexible in operation. Ajaokuta steel plant equipment and facilities are robust, rugged and designed with 25 per cent safety factor. Similar plants in Russia and Ukraine have been in operation for over 100 years till date. If the total world crude steel production as at December 2012 stands at approximately 1.5 billion tones representing 100 per cent and 70 per cent was produced through the basic oxygen furnace technology (Blast Furnace), the technology therefore remains the most acceptable and applied technology in iron making process. However, it is erroneous for anybody or groups to claim that the technology used in building Ajaokuta steel plant is obsolete when the most established and energy efficient steel process technology worldwide still remain the blast furnace. Also despite the long years of partial operation of the steel plant, the technical readiness which was 98 per cent has not diminished significantly as preservation of equipment and facilities are constantly undertaken by the steel workers which was invariably confirmed by the technical audit report of 2010 and the recent one conducted through the effort of the sole administrator of the steel plant, Engineer Ismaila Abdul-Aka’aba in 2018.
How prepared are the workers as the original builders are on their way back to the plant, besides what do the workers stand to gain from the completion of the plant?
It is very clear that if Ajaokuta steel company is working, my members and other staff of the company stand to benefit a lot. I am happy that Ajaokuta steel workers are not lazy as they have tried to preserve the equipment of the company both underground and at the surface level. In Ajaokuta steel complex, the management engaged the workers on 3-shift-4 brigade system to avoid sinking of the equipment. The company is manned 24 hours to ensure that the property and the equipment are not only intact but safe. The steel plant was established majorly below the sea level and most of the installed equipment underground if not by de-flooding and evacuation of flood underground by the staff that are running the shift 24 hours could have been submerged by water and rendered useless but after several decades, the workers are able to preserve the equipment against vandalisation or damage and the 2018, 2019 technical audit conducted on those equipment attested to the fact that they are intact through the selfless effort of the workers who strongly believe that government property should not be allowed to waste. I am optimistic that by the time the Russians finally return, they would have little to do because of the significant roles played by the workers of the company. The workers have been yearning and waiting for this opportunity to come so that they can display their talents and the skills they possess. I am also confident that with the coming of the Russians, the resuscitation of the company is forward ever and backward never.
What about the management of the company, how prepared are they with the new development and the tasks ahead?
In fact, I am using this medium to commend the present management led by Engineer Ismaila Abdul Aka’aba. I don’t have any doubt about the readiness of the management because the sole administrator is an engineer of high repute who had garnered a lot of experiences from many reputable companies. It is obvious that the calibre of men and women that constitute the management of the steel are ever-ready to receive the Russians and work with them harmoniously to achieve the aims and objectives of Mr President towards injecting a new lease of life into the industry once again. The sole administrator is a man who came into the company with zeal to ensure that the steel plant works for the benefit of Nigerians. This he demonstrated severally through his innovation of ideas that today he is already at the verge of putting the plant in a position that Nigerians and indeed African countries desire. It is pertinent to mention that since the sole administrator came, he has been doing a lot to encourage the workers to discharge their statutory responsibilities. The management has also sacrificed a lot to ensure that the resuscitation of the steel comes true. Abdul-Aka’aba is an upright man who has the interest of the workers at heart and the coming of Russian will definitely spur him to do more for the workers. He has been encouraging the union and preparing the workers ahead of their arrival so that they can do their best in bringing the industry back to life.
Now that the ray of hope for Ajaokuta resuscitation is clear, what is your advice to workers of the steel plant?
The workers have been patient enough and we expect them to exercise more patience so that any plan the federal government has for the company can be achieved through our cooperation. When Global Infrastructural came, they did not add any value to the company yet we cooperated with them even though they were unable to do anything tangible. Now that the original builders are coming, we are resolute and ready to work with them harmoniously to achieve the set target. It is also important to use this medium to re-echo that Ajaokuta steel workers deserve national award from the federal government considering the way and manner they were able to protect the industry from all forms of vandalisation. In some countries when such company is abandoned for many years, the staff can engage in looting of sensitive and valuable materials but the staff of Ajaokuta steel made a difference in that direction by preserving the equipment for many years; therefore, I am of the opinion that the federal government should give national award to the staff of Ajaokuta steel plant because they are heroes considering the way and manner they were able to preserve the steel plant for the nation.
