Oil and Gas Republic (OGR) talks to Mr. Cyril Uzoma Oghaego, CEO of C.Divine Answer International Company Limited, about his products & services and future plans to domesticate production locally when it comes to manufacturing cables, electrical & energy products in the Nigerian market.
Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme brings the excerpts:
OGR: Please tell us more about yourself and work at C.Divinve?
Cyril: My name is Mr. Cyril Uzoma Oghaego. I am the Chairman and CEO of the C.Divine Group of Companies.
OGR: What inspired you to establish C.Divine?
Cyril: One is to engage myself, meet people’s needs, and create job opportunities for the Nigerian people.
OGR: How long have you been in this business and what are the challenges you are facing?
Cyril: I have been in business for 22 years now, since 1998. And, I learned business skills from my Father, in my childhood for about 16 years.
The challenges are normal. Anyone that isn’t ready to face challenges doesn’t worth living. Another challenge is the lack of infrastructure in our country.
For example, the road to Tincan and Apapa isn’t accessible and this is a major place where the nation generates its revenue.
Sometimes, our products that are supposed to arrive within 2 – 3 weeks would usually take more than 3 months to arrive, due to the roads and seaports aren’t accessible. Is it that we cannot get a construction company to fix our roads? Is it that we cannot expand our seaports? These are some of the challenges that we are facing as businessmen when it comes to the
importation of goods.
OGR: What are you expecting from the Government?
Cyril: They should duplicate or learn from what other developed countries are doing. The Nigerian Government and China has a cordial business relationship. So I think they should work closely with them on that aspect.
OGR: What are the products and services you offer in the Nigerian market?
Cyril: We manufacture electrical and energy products for the Nigerian energy sector. Our products range from Armored cable, Aluminum Conductors, A.C.S.R, X.L.P.E, T.R.S, Flexible cable, Flat and Single wire, TV cable, Single Flex, Distribution Boards, E.L.C.B, Knife Switches, Cooker Unit, Knockout Box, Switches and Sockets, Energy Bulbs, Panel Lights, Flood Lights, Down Lights, Corn Bulbs, Gas Station Lights, LED Bulbs, Street Lights, Industrial Solar Street Lights, Industrial Street Lights Poles, Galvanized Poles, Solar Panels, Solar Battery, Electronic fans, Electric Kettle And many more!
We are also planning to start manufacturing Transformers both high and low tension.
OGR: How do you ensure the quality of your products?
Cyril: All our products come with our trademarks. If we aren’t sure about the quality of our products, we cannot bring in fake products into the Nigerian market. Our products come with our company name, C.Divine.
OGR: Please could you briefly tell us about some of your products that are booming in the Nigerian market?
Cyril: We currently have up to 200 products on our portfolio. Many of our products are booming including our flexible cables, single cables, flat cables, aluminum conductor, armould cable, energy-saving bulbs, solar battery, and solar panel among others. And, we are known for quality products.
OGR: How have you been able to establish a business partnership with Nigerian companies?
Cyril: We have been dealing with Nigerian companies and we have been able to know those that are sincere and ready to work with us. We offer our partners some incentives that will encourage them to do business with us.
OGR: How would you evaluate your business capacity in the Alaba market?
Cyril: We have proved to people that a Nigerian company can offer quality products. We have encouraged a lot of entrepreneurs to venture into providing quality products in the Nigerian market. No matter the challenges we are facing, we are doing our best to thrive in this industry. And, we have set a standard when it comes to providing quality products. I am so happy to see the level of our business so far.
OGR: Do you have plans to domesticate your production in Nigeria?
Cyril: Yes, we have plans to produce our products locally in Nigeria. We do understand that producing our products in
Nigeria will create a lot of job opportunities. But, we need the enabling environment to achieve it. We are working towards it and in the nearest future, we will start our production locally. We are a good citizen, delivering exceptional value to the Nigerian people.
OGR: What would you need from the Government and Investors to achieve it?
Cyril: We need good roads, power supply, tax incentives, and loan facilities with a low percent interest. We need the Government to create an enabling environment for companies like us to operate and produce locally. Nigerians are very talented and hard-working but the Government should assist us in this area which I believe will go a long way to add value to our businesses.
OGR: Are there any particular projects that you are involved in that excites you?
Cyril: Most of the things we do are Divine. We are involved in various empowerment programs and we impact business skills to Nigerian youths. By God’s grace, we have been empowering the Nigerian youths, irrespective of background. Also, we provide financial support to business people based on our capacity.
Annually, we empower over 100 entrepreneurs in Nigeria. That is what the company is all about and that’s why it is called C.Divine. We are achieving God’s purpose. We aren’t just living for ourselves.
Most of the profit we generate goes back to the people.
OGR: How do you recruit people to acquire business skills?
Cyril: C.Divine is more of a business school, training Nigerian youths to get the required skills for business to whoever is interested.
We empower our workers and apprentice. Usually, some graduates come here for IT. So far, we have trained up to 50 people to acquire the required business skills to establish their own business.
OGR: For those that come to C.Divine for training, how many years would they stay to learn business skills?
Cyril: Our training program for an apprentice is 6 years. As far as I am concerned, apprenticeship is one of the greatest opportunities to get full knowledge for a particular business area.
Even in the developed world, they establish technical schools to empower people interested to get particular skills. And, that is exactly what we are doing at C.Divine.
OGR: Are you involved in any Corporate Social Responsibility?
Cyril: As we speak now, we are building schools for Nursery and Primary students in my community. Some days ago, we inaugurated some primary schools where we spent over Six Million Naira in the eastern part of Nigeria.
We are also involved in various community development projects. We are also contributing to the Nigerian economy by
paying our tax duties.
We offer jobs to the youths. We provide financial support to entrepreneurs. So far, we are trying our best and we believe we will improve as we progress.
OGR: What are your vision for C.Divine in the next 5 years?
Cyril: Our vision is building a multinational company, proving to people that you can serve God and do the right things in business.
We are also working to make an impact in the nation-building through creating jobs and empowerment and to be the leading
producer & supplier in the electrical/electronic market with the best quality, providing unequaled customer service.
At C.Divine, safety and precaution is a serious matter. We are established not just to make a financial profit, but also to serve God and humanity and knowing fully well that life is very precious and has no duplicate on earth if eventually lost, that is why we have gone the extra miles in establishing safety workshop and procuring heavy-duty equipment like a forklift, heavy-duty trucks with Hiab Crane to ensure safety and precaution in loading and offloading our heavy-duty cables, high tension equipment, and other materials.
Finally, a trial will convince you that diligence, integrity, love for God, and humanity are the qualities that made us
what we are.