• ‘I’m ready to play my part in rebuilding Harmony Holdings’ — HHL GMD/CEO
It was a moment of fulfilment as top business stakeholders, professionals, captains of industry, high ranking government officials converged on Hall A of Kwara Hotel, Ilorin to rub minds and proffer doable business propositions in providing strategic directions for Harmony Holdings Limited, Kwara State investment management vehicle.
The event tagged, ‘2021 Harmony Business Stakeholders Forum/Annual Budget Retreat’ is a 3-day event which kickstarted from Thursday, January 21, 2021.
In attendance was the Deputy Governor of Kwara State, Mr Kayode Alabi who represented the Governor, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and a host of important personalities in the state and across the country.
In his opening speech, the Deputy Governor called upon Nigerians to recommit themselves and develop a positive mindset, adding that Nigeria’s major challenge is that of mindset.
“Believe me, the problem of Nigeria is mindset. When you go to London and land at their Airport, you will see big men from Nigeria lining up; they become very humble and orderly. But the moment you see these same people return back to Nigeria, you will see a mini-god disposition. It is mindset. Because of the belief that there is no rule of law,” Alabi noted.
The Deputy Governor pointed out that Kwara State is endowed with huge agricultural potentials through which her economy can blossom without the need for members of the business community to travel far before they can access and buy farm produce such as maize and soya beans for onward sales to end users.
Mr Alabi also assured HHL of government’s support in its avowed mission to turnaround the fortunes of Kwara State and shore up the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) base of the state.
Speaking earlier, the GMD/CEO, Mallam Abdullahi Abdulmajeed brought to the fore the giant strides he has made so far group-wide in rewriting the story of Harmony Holdings whose public image has been battered by past leadership.
According to Abdulmajeed, the Annual Business Retreat was a huge opportunity to appraise the performance of the conglomerate for the previous year and to envision the outlook for the year ahead.
“It is instructive to note that more than ever, Harmony Holdings Limited has a onerous burden, mandate and task to not only turnaround its operations, enhance its productivity but ensure profitability.
“The Harmony Holdings was established in 2012 with the sole purpose of serving as the investment management vehicle of all state owned enterprises in Kwara State for the purpose of enhancing the efficient management of the businesses, reducing and blocking leakages and ensuring their optimal and profitable management so that from the investment, the state government can get appropriate returns on its investment by way of dividends at the end of the business year.”
The Harmony Holdings helmsman affirmed he’s ready to play his part in rebuilding Harmony Holdings, while also appreciating the uncommon support received so far from the Mallam AbdulRazaq-led administration.
He described the Governor as a visionary, bold and courageous business oriented public administrator who is passionate about the rejuvenation and diversification of the economy of Kwara State in furtherance of his commitment to enhance the lives and livelihood of Kwarans.
In his presentation, the lead presenter, Dr Mudashiru Yusuf, Director General, Lagos State Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the civil service mindset cannot work in corporate entities like Harmony Holdings.
His paper focused on issues around the corporate strategies and Strategic Business Units (SBUs) of HHL, while also supporting the position of the Deputy Governor that people’s mindset must change.
According to Dr. Mudashiru, “Investments must justify its existence and bring value to the system. A system without consequences cannot work. Our mindset must change. The civil service mindset cannot work in corporate organisations. Harmony Holdings must be completely taken out of the purview of civil service. HHL should not be seen as an extension of the civil service. Management and staff should have entrepreneurial mindset. There should be reward for performance; and consequences for misbehavior.”
He praised the efforts of the GMD/CEO so far, tasking him to do more, just as he mulled full support from the government for HHL to deliver its core madate.
For their part, business mogul and mining magnate, Ambassador AbdulFatah Yahya Seriki and celebrated academic and mining engineer, Dr. Ottan who spoke during the panel session charged Harmony Holdings to tap into the huge opportunities embedded in the mining sector.
Ambassador Yahaya Seriki said the easiest way to key into human capital development is through solid minerals, noting he so much believes in taking risk as an entrepreneur.
In his own perspective, Alhaji Hassan Ibrahim, Chairman, Shelters Shelters Aluminium said agriculture should also be encouraged, noting it’s simpler and shorter than mining.
Other dignitaries that attended the Forum include: Executive Chairman, Kwara Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS), Chief (Mrs) Shade Omoniyi; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mr. Abdulrazaq Folorunsho; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Enterprise, Hajiah Halimat Eletu; Managing Director, Totago Technologies Limited, Mr Taiwo Ajayi; Mr Kola Ajao of Omnath Global, Lagos; Chairman, KWARMA, Hon. Kale Oloje; General Manager, Shonga Farms Holdings, Mr Bayo Sangobiyi; representatives of Bank of Industry (BOI); Bank of Agriculture, Kwara State Chamber of Commerce, Industry Mines and Agriculture (KWACCIMA), National Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) among others.
In his closing remarks, the GMD/CEO thanked all the invitees for coming to share their ideas and meaningful contributions, while assuring them that every single input and suggestions on how to enhance the growth of the state’s economy will reach His Excellency, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
Mallam Abdulmajeed specially appreciated the lead presenter, saying his paper was loaded, insightful and straight to the point, while equally calling on investors to partner with Harmony Holdings for a better Kwara.
