It is no longer news that Nigeria is losing several billions of Naira to foreign construction workers (artisans and tradesmen) from Benin, Togo, Cameroon and Ghana, who are in the country in search of greener pastures.DAYO AYEYEMI reports.
Despite the massive youth unemployment in Nigeria, most construction sites in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, among others are populated with foreign artisans and tradesmen.
These foreign artisans, it was gathered, have taken over large chunk of over four million jobs in the construction sector.
They have also become the toast of Nigeria’s home-builders, estate developers and contractors, who preferred them to their local counterparts on the basis of value’s addition when it comes to home finishings.
This occurs mainly in masonry, plastering, tiling, fixing of Plaster of Paris (POP), plumbing and house painting, among others.
This situation is giving many professionals in the housing sector a lot of concerns, seeing the foreigners smiling to the bank while Nigerian youths engage in commercial motorcycle (Okada) ridding.
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has projected that the country’s unemployment rate will hit 37 per cent in 2023.
Youth unemployment rate in Nigeria was said to average 25.87 percent from 2014 until 2020, reaching an all-time high of 53.40 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Experts views
On why homebuilders and developers preferforeign artisans/tradesmen from Benin Republic and Togo to indigenous counterparts, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fame Oyster and Co.OlufemiOyedele, said their bricklayers, carpenters, painters and tilers are generally better than the indigenous artisans.
“They are also more reliable and trustworthy. They rarely cut corners and believe in standard jobs because of their training and experience.
“The special thing about these artisans from Benin and Togo or Ghana is their finishing quality due to their competence, skill and knowledge (CSK).
“They can work without or with less supervision,” he said.
According to Oyedele, there was a need for the indigenous artisans and tradesmen to up their games, suggesting to the government to overhaul the nation’s technical schools.
“We must develop our technical schools. We don’t have good training grounds for our youths to become construction artisans and tradesmen,” he said, adding that Trade Test Certificates must be introduced for whoever wants to work on nation’s construction sites.
Besides, he added that the youths must be encouraged to take up artisanship and construction trades.
According to him, government must also reduce the corruption in the country, noting that the malaise was pushing the youths away from ‘tedious’ and stressful construction jobs.
“Many of our youths don’t even want to be trained or don’t have the patience to be trained as artisans and tradesmen because they have better alternatives to make money by becoming bike {okada) riders, tricycle (Keke NAPEP) drivers or becoming followers to politicians,” he said, advising the Federal Government to establish, what he termed: “a Construction Sector Workers Development Scheme.”
The scheme, he explained would target secondary school students who cannot go into tertiary institutions.
“These students will be put on bursary to encourage them to take up construction artisanship and trade careers.”
On the need to capture these foreign artisans in the nation’s tax net,
Oyedele ruled out the possibility, saying they were living below poverty threshold.
“By capturing the poor, both indigenous and foreign in our tax regime, we would be taxing the poor. Since they reside here, eat here and buy their daily needs in Nigeria, we are already indirectly taxing them. Multiple or excessive taxation will drive this valuable workers away,” he said.
According to him, they are the workers bridging the widening demand and supply gap of competent construction artisans and tradesmen in Nigeria.
To regulate the Nigeria’s construction/ building sector, Oyedele called President MohamaduBuhari to sign the National Building Codes (NBC) which the committee set up for its production by construction industry stakeholders submitted to the office of the president since 2017.
He explained that the construction industry suffered too much from corruption by the engagement of unqualified but connected contractors for construction jobs.
“Building plans’ approval has suffered in recent time. Government must reduce corruption, which has led to unacceptable number of building collapse in Nigeria.
“We need to practice rule of law. No control measure can work in any country with the rate of corruption like Nigeria,” Oyedele said.
Chief Executive Officer, Top Engineering & Construction Ltd, Friday Chukwu, an engineer, shared his thoughts with the Nigerian Tribune on the issue of the invasion of building industry by foreign artisans.
He said the foreign artisans/tradesmen considered Nigeria as their land of opportunities.
Besides, he said the fact that they are being massively patronised in Nigeria encouraged the invasion.
“To me, there is really nothing special about them, and frankly, they are not better than Nigerian Artisans. People just think and believe that they are better! They just appear to be very good in plastering/rendering, POP design, wall screeding, tiling, window hoods.
“However, when well-trained Nigerian artisans calm down and work, they are very good as well,” he said.
The other most important reason Nigerians patronise these people, he said was because of cheaper prices, pointing out that a Nigerian artisans actually complained about this.
“Many of them don’t have houses, don’t pay rent, transport etc hence the cheaper prices.”
Unlike Oyedele, Chukwu wants tax officers to extend their drag-nets to the numerous building construction sites in Nigeria so as to capture them, especially in Lagos.
According to Chukwu, Nigeria is losing billions of naira in capital flight to the menace.
He said:”In one of my sites, the Cotonou artisans have taken up to N5million. Multiply this by say 800 sites and you get N4 billion in just four months which amounts to N12billion in one year in Lagos alone!.”
The implications of this, he said:” Nigeria’s economy loses, our youths remain jobless with the multiplier effect of increased crime and yahoo -yahooism..”
He wants government and all stakeholders to pay attention to our vocational institutions saying that they should be upgraded and revived, including the technical institutes such as the polytechnic.
According to him, youths should be encouraged to attend these institutions and get a trade.
“It’s not only when you go to university that you can make it in life” he said.
On building sector’s regulation, the expert said it rested squarely with the government through the building control agencies.
“Professional bodies also have a role in this by supporting and/or collaborating with government.
They must up their functions and be effective and proactive,” he said.
With good orientation and intentional guidance, he explained that most of the youths wanted to be trained, but warned on the need to reduce emphasis on the get rich quick mentality.
Chukwusaid “We must make the youths understand that there is dignity in work, in earning a leaving through a trade or technical work. Government, the media and professionals must engage in this. We can get our youths back to the trades.”
Professor of Housing and Estate Management at the University of Lagos, OlugbengaNubi, said the nation has lost so much to foreign artisans while the locals were ridding okada.
Raising the alarm over the health implication of the Okada trend among artisans, he said the country was going to witness more blind people in the next 20 to 50 years.
He said “By the time these artisans’ turned-Okada riders are 60 years, they we go blind. We are going to witness more blind people in the country due to okada ridding in next 20 and 50 years.
“When okada came, people are using helmet, google. When you ride okada without protective cover, you will see dirty coming out of your eyes the next day. Now imagine somebody who ride it everyday, by the time he is 60 or 70 years, is either his body his shaking or his eye become blind.”
Decrying the situation recently, the Council of the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) said 80 per cent of artisans found on construction sites across the country were foreigners.
The development, the council said had led to Nigeria losing over N900 billion to foreign engineering technicians and artisans as the local built environment fails to generate the required work force.
COREN President Ali Rabiu, who announced this at the opening of the 29th Engineering Assembly organised by COREN in Abuja, said: “It was estimated that the country loses over N900 billion to foreign engineering technicians and craftsmen as the local built environment fails to generate the required manpower.
According to experts, more than 80 per cent of masons, carpenters, steel fabricators, plumbers, electricians, painters and tilers found on construction sites across the country are foreigners from neighbouring countries of Cameroun, Niger, Togo and Ghana.
They added that some firms go as far as China to employ engineering technicians and craftsmen.
They pointed out that the skills gap has continued to increase over the years due to the retirement of aged engineering technicians and craftsmen without the young generation being sufficiently groomed to take over from them. They noted that the situation was compounded by the absence of a well-structured TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) and apprenticeship system.
Artisans’ lamentation
One of the local bricklayer, who spoke with Nigerian Tribune in Lagos, Mr Sunday Olutope, bemoaned home-builders, developers and contractors for their preference for foreign artisans at the expense of Nigerian artisans.
With flimsy excuses, he said these developers formed the habit of rubbishing local bricklayers, tillers and painters at the expense of foreigners.
Olutope lamented that lack of regular bricklaying jobs pushed him to estate agency’s job.
He said he now combined estate agency with the bricklaying, saying that money realised from the newly found vocation has been helpful.
However, for Samuel, a Togolese and tiler, his determination to pay attention to details was his selling point. He said he came to Nigeria in company of his boss, Mr. Joe, five years ago.
While his boss specialized in fixing POP designs, he concentrated on tile laying.
He said he had worked in many construction sites where Nigerians artisans had worked,pointing out that the latter were not in the habit of paying detailed attention to finishing.
Samuel said artisanship was an art many Togolese picked from childhood and developed therein.
Another tiler, Gilbert from Benin Republic, said while Nigerians tilers charged N400 per square metre for job, his price was just N250.00 per square metre because he knew that after the job he would be introduced to other clients.
Taiye, a togolesse, who specializes on P.O.P said the government made it compulsory for every growing child to learn at least two vocations. On his own, he said he picked floor tile laying and fixing of PoP.
He added that there were others that picked painting and decoration, while some were into bricklaying and electrical installation.
Desire to seek greener pasture, James said triggered his relocation to Nigeria “where there is a lot construction works.”
Since his arrival in 2019, he said he had worked in Lekki, Ikoyi in Lagos, and had travelled to Yenegoa in Bayelsa State and Port Harcourt in Rivers State to work.
Intervention
Recently, Director General, C-Stemp Construction Skills Training and Empowerment Project Limited, Anthony Okwa, said about 6,000 artisans have been trained directly and facilitated 24,000 more.
He explained that the N-Power job creation program of President Buhariwas being delivered in about 400 centres across the country under the auspices of Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) with his creative support.
In addition to the opportunity offered by c-stemp, he stated that artisans could also help themselves by seeking support from experienced artisans and forming cooperatives
Also recently, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive (EVC/CE) of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Professor Mohammed Sani Haruna, unfolded plans to end the nation’s reliance on foreign artisans.
He explained that President Muhammadu Buhari had given an order to the agency to equip Nigerian youths to reverse the trend of importing artisans.
According to him, the target given to NASENI covers modern massive skill acquisition trainings for artisans to be able to cope with global challenges.
He said the training was aimed at reversing over reliance on artisans from neighbouring countries.
“Artisans from neighbouring African countries today are taking over the few occupational jobs available in the built environment and in construction industry. The President has empowered NASENI to lead the nation to a manufacturing economy and undoubtedly this type of skill development is key pre-requisite, that is – competent workforce.”
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