How foreign craftsmen stifle economy

Craftsmen in the construction industry play a very crucial role to the survival and growth of the industry as they are mostly engaged in the practical realization of construction projects. The activities of the industry are also vital to the achievement of national socio-economic development goals of providing shelter, infrastructure and employment. There is therefore […]

Craftsmen in the construction industry play a very crucial role to the survival and growth of the industry as they are mostly engaged in the practical realization of construction projects.
The activities of the industry are also vital to the achievement of national socio-economic development goals of providing shelter, infrastructure and employment.
There is therefore no doubt that construction activities affect nearly every aspect of the economy and the industry is vital to the continued growth of the economy.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has put Nigeria’s post-re-basing contributions of the construction sector to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at N5.7 trillion in three years.
NBS in its summary report of 2010, 2011 and 2012 fiscal years on the construction industry disclosed that in 2010, the sector contributed N1.570 trillion, a value which leaped by 21.30 percent to reach N1.905 trillion in 2011.
The industry’s contributions closed at N2.188 trillion in 2012, bringing the total contribution of the sector to GDP to N5.7 trillion.
Bayo Odunami, a Nigerian architect lamented that the country’s environment is still largely ignorant of the importance of construction workers in general.
“We fly several miles to see buildings in Dubai. The GDP has grown tremendously from tourism generated by building. Dubai is now the play field of the world,” he said.
Ade Abdulquadri Bilau, Musibau Akintunde Ajagbe, Anthony Babatunde Sholanke, Habila H. Kigbu, all of the  Department of Building, Federal University of Technology (FUT) Minna, in their study simple described the construction industry in Nigeria as ironic.
 According to the group: “Though on the one hand, it [construction] is acclaimed to be the highest employer of the nation’s workforce after agriculture, on the other, it is faced with challenges in technical skilled craftsmen shortage which affects organizations’ productivity, quality of work, duration of projects and on firms’ profits.”
This group study focused on exposing the reasons for shortage of skilled craftsmen in the construction industry in the perspective of small and medium construction firms in Nigeria.
There is a persistent accusation that the construction industry in Nigeria is wasteful, inefficient and fall short of quality, quantity targets and often fails in meeting delivery dates.
Experts like Ede, Dantong believe these are due to poor standard of workmanship because of incompetent personnel.
Dantong however uncovered that skilled craftsmen shortage is not a shortage of workers, rather it is a shortage of adequately trained, skilled and productive workers available for certain jobs. 
Chairman of advisory board of Construction Skills Training and Empowerment Programme (C-STEmp) in Abuja Mshalgaya recently lamented that foreign artisans and craftsmen from West African countries like Benin Republic, Chad, Niger and Ghana have a combined number of nationals that are not less than 1 million operating in Nigeria.
These artisans are into various aspects of operative housing works in Nigeria like carpentry, iron bending, welding, PoP and some of the areas that they have monopoly like brick work.
 “They’ve virtually taken over that area of trade because our own trained artisans are aging out and new ones haven’t been trained to replace them.
“Plus the fact that many Nigerians feel they have other forms of work outside artisanship and craftsman,” Mshalgaya explained.
He said, “The country pay for average skilled labour is about N3,000. When you multiply N3,000 by 1 million, you’re talking of N3 billion every day. When you have N3 billion by 365 days, you’re talking about average of N900 billion going outside this country as capital flight.”
It did not come to many as a surprise when the Board of Directors of Julius Berger Construction Company told President Muhammadu Buhari that due to shortage of competent construction workers and artisans in Nigeria, many construction companies are forced to bring in skilled workers from abroad.
Narrating his experience, Odunami said,” I went out of my way in one of our projects to say only Nigerian experts will work on the project. I’m very sad today to say that every component I have given to Nigerians is a failure except the kitchen and sound system.
“To salvage my time and reputation, I had to fly in Filipinos who are making tremendous difference.”
The challenge of skilled workforce shortage is a critical threat to the economic health of many nations around the globe.
Medugu et al (2011) mentioned that skilled labour shortage impacts different areas of construction activities and impacts on time, cost and quality of work.
He posited that this may also endanger the achievement of financial prosperity for which such projects are conceived.
It is in this realization perhaps, that President Muhammadu Buhari directed the Ministries of Works and Lands, Housing and Urban Development to urgently prepare and present for approval and implementation a plan of action for the speedy revitalization and expansion of the nation’s vocational training centres.
He also assured that his administration would act swiftly to ensure that the Building Craft Training School and Skill Improvement Centre in Lagos are fully revamped, staffed and equipped to produce more skilled electricians, brick and block layers, carpenters, painters, welders, fabricators, plumbers and other artisans.
Construction experts were unanimous in their position that Nigeria as a country is undergoing economic reform and requires  a productive, competent, and flexible workforce to further its economic growth.
Odunami buttressed this point when he said, “Oil is dwindling and now the real task of nation building has to start and you cannot underestimate the importance of construction. If the government does not recognise us, down goes our economy further.”
Mr Hakeem Ogunniran, chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Lagos Chapter, at a news conference said the situation was the subject of discourse at the recently concluded  two-day conference/AGM of the institute, Lagos chapter.
Ogunniran, while speaking on the theme “Influx of Foreign Professionals and Artisans into Nigeria Construction Industry and its Implication on the Nation’s Economy in the Democratic Setting” said foreign professionals, contractors and artisans are dominating the construction industry and if not checked, there might be complete loss of the sector to foreigners.
“There is little or no cooperation between the two parties; the Nigerian economy is too porous that the foreigners are freely allowed into the country to operate at will,” he said.
Ogunniran emphasized that  the building laws and codes stipulate that any foreign construction company coming into the country must be identified with a local company with which it can collaborate to operate, which  implies that no foreign construction company should come into Nigeria to operate wholly on its own.
“Unfortunately, governments, organisations and private individuals feel that the foreign contractors are more competent than the local ones and continue to award contracts to them,” he said.