A Disturbing Story Of How Nigeria Failed This Foreign Investor

TOPICS:Dominion FarmsTaraba State
Dominion Expat
BY: CALVIN BURGESS SEPTEMBER 18, 2015
In August of 2011, I was contacted by the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture and begged to come to Nigeria. He had just come from visiting our sister company in East Africa. He was very convincing. I along with another Board member soon arrived in Lagos to a great fanfare of private planes, helicopters, and fancy hotels. We were promised the world, if only we would come to Nigeria to build another Dominion Farms.

The 30,000 hectares of land offered by the Government looked great for farm development, located right between two rivers. Abundant water, the promise of a paved road, low interest government loans, streamlined import procedures, and help directly from the President himself. It was all “too-good-to-be-true”. We said we would consider it, and we did. Our first trips were to the community, the State Government, and to Upper Benue River Authority. In the community I personally spoke at every church open in the town and at the Mosque. Additionally, we held town hall meetings sponsored by the Emir for everyone in the area. Next we went to the State where I addressed the legislature and held press conferences. Lastly we went to Yola and spent a half of a day with the Upper Benue River Authority executives. In Abuja we had extensive meetings with the Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of Water, the ports and customs office and the US Embassy. All agencies offered their firm support for the project. Several trips later we made the decision to proceed.

Dominion workshop

On 17 February 2012 in the Abuja Hilton Hotel we signed an “MOU” with the State of Taraba and the Government of Nigeria. Hundreds were in attendance inviting us to come to Taraba and begin. Some of the terms of the agreement included Dominion training in modern agriculture for the masses, the State of Taraba paying all compensation to anyone on the land, and for a new road to be constructed. Ninety percent (90%) of the land was to be utilized in a community farming operation with trained local people being in possession of these lands and the remaining ten percent (10%) used as a nucleus farm for training purposes and support. The following day Dominion in conjunction with Taraba State paid for 50 local Nigerians to go to East Africa for six months of training.

Dominion

What was supposed to happen in six months is still in the process over 3 1/2 years later. It has been a calamity of failed promises. The Government contracted for provision of a new all-weather road however, it is still a dirt trail as the Government funding did not exist. The promised financing from both the State of Taraba and the Government of Nigeria was all talk but no money. Help from the President came in the form of a waiver for all duty on Agricultural equipment for everyone in the Nation, not just us. Treasury and Customs quickly hid the waiver and hid it in their “Secret Files”. We fought for a year to get the promised exemptions and only after tape recording the direct demands for bribes from high officials in the Treasury did we even find out about the “Secret File”. The Treasury attempted direct extortion from our manager and he recorded it and gave the copy to the highest law enforcement agency in the land but the culprits scoff at us with impunity. Government officials asked us to just forget the whole thing and pretend it did not happen. That was two years ago and nobody has been prosecuted to date. In every facet of Nigerian society money does all of the talking, corruption reigns supreme, and nothing moves without dirty money to grease the way.

The land leased to us was and now still is partially occupied by Upper Benue. They have no lease nor is it in their mandate to occupy land, only to control the rivers. A broken down water treatment plant and many unoccupied homes and buildings came with the project. These were all master planned to be immediately converted into a training school with dorms, classrooms, and sports fields, but as we arrived Upper Benue changed their minds and refused to leave. Pleas to the Government brought little relief and finally they recommended we just build new facilities, but we had not budgeted for this. The State and Federal money promised for financing the project were just not there so finally TY Danjuma, a very influential and wealthy person from Taraba State came along and requested to be part of the project. The Danjuma Foundation committed to constructing a new school and that sealed the deal. Dominion partnered with TY.

As our equipment arrived at the ports, bribes were demanded. The clearing agents added “extras” to our billings and when we demanded to know what these were there was no response. We would not be part of their corruption. We eventually changed clearing agents and it helped for a while but it always came back to a hold-up about something. New rules were put into place as we attempted to bring in 120 shipments of supposedly exempt tractors, rice mills, and the like. The agents ignored the President’s directive. The Minister of Agriculture tried to intervene many times but to little or no avail. In the end we paid massive amounts of duty not budgeted for, but NOT ONE BRIBE! Delays added up so much demurrage that finally it was necessary to quit the fight.

We have totally experienced Nigeria. I have been extorted, arrested, detained, lied to, and about anything else one can imagine. We have held to our convictions, not paid bribes, obeyed the law, and kept our dignity, with our frustration levels continuing to rise on every occasion. Nonetheless, we have plodded on through years of delays, because we will not compromise our standards. It has cost us dearly in both interest and in valuable time. We have battled to import around 120 loads of equipment. Virtually everything is finally there for the making of a fantastic farm but it is years late in getting there. Every shipment was a struggle and a shakedown.

We began construction on the site including flood protection dikes, 12 small homes, a maintenance building and the beginnings of a rice mill. We started clearing lands and our relations with the community were good. Upper Benue still occupied the buildings but they had left the land. We were finally about ready to plant crops at the end of 2013 with the State of Taraba promising to pay compensation as was their contracted duty to do when things suddenly changed.

Shortly after we arrived in Taraba, the then Governor Danbaba Suntai made a serious mistake when he ordered the pilots off his plane and decided he would fly it himself. Of course he crashed and nearly killed himself and others on board. First they said he was dead but somehow revived him again but the time with no oxygen left him with serious mental problems. We now had an acting governor, Umar that was trying to fulfil his role but TY did not respect his position. The fight ensued and our road building stopped, the compensation from the state did not get paid and we sat still again. A cabal was formed to try and place the ailing governor back into his office. This was supported by my partner TY so here Dominion sat in the middle of a political war. Then the bomb dropped! An old consultant to Governor Suntai and some of his aids decided they needed to be back in control so they came to TY and fabricated a story of how Upper Benue and Dominion were having extreme difficulties and that the Federal Government had to pay the compensation. They took this to TY who evidently summoned the President to his house and passed on the fabricated story. Mr. President called the Minister of Water on the carpet. The Minister then called Upper Benue, and Upper Benue got mad. They felt Dominion had double crossed them, and now our good spirit of co-operation was gone and they decided to occupy the land. The State got involved along with the Minister of Agriculture and State legal counsel. In effect we have no land to occupy so no farming has been done and none will be. Two sections of Government lay claim to the land we were allocated and the battle goes on. The President gave a directive through the Minister of Water that Upper Benue vacate the premises completely and let Dominion operate unhindered. It is yet to be complied with ten (10) months after the order was issued! This was our main condition for opting to resume work rather than walk away from the project.

Boko Haram is a subject of its own. This group wants an Islamic State with no education for women, and only Islamic studies for men. They kill thousands and the government can seemingly do little or nothing to intervene. They kidnap hundreds of young girls at one time and the army can’t find them. Kidnapping of foreign nationals is part of how they finance their operations, and many expats just end up dead. Boko Haram has formed a caliphate like ISIS in Iraq and is already capturing multiple cities in Northern Nigeria. In Taraba State the Muslim Fulani tribe of nomadic people has taken up a war with the TIV and Jukun tribes of Christian and Animist people. These groups kill each other weekly and between them all, thousands have been killed or driven from their homes. Their domain is moving closer to us. It used to be three hundred kilometers away from us, then two hundred, and now it is just next door.

Meanwhile, Dominion has six policemen protecting the equipment on what is supposedly our land which is occupied by everyone but us. Around 1,000 hectares were cleared in March of 2014, by Dominion in readiness for planting by Dominion. Instead Upper Benue, in conjunction with the local community, moved in and planted their crops! There seems be no let up as everyone is ready to go back to the same land in the next cropping season!

Dominion is caught with no way forward. I now must have heavily armed police protection with me for safety at all times and this is no way to run an operation. Our operations manager and his family have been moved away from the location for their own protection.

The final blow came with an article by the Times of London. It is obvious they put a lot of work into this story in order to make Dominion a villain of some sort. Dominion has been accused of taking land, displacing people, and using dangerous chemicals, when in fact not one of the accusations is remotely true. Dominion was not aware of the presence of the reporters even though the journalist had to pass right in front of our offices and operational area at the farm site with Upper Benue and the locals the day they visited the site. No one deemed it fit to hear or ask side of the story, nor were we given adequate time to respond to the many allegations outlined in the article. The images in the article are a true representation of the lack of current farming activity with not a single home on the ground. This appropriately describes how we have not occupied anything or displaced anyone. As for journalism this is nothing more than a smear campaign on the Nigerian Government and upon Dominion Rice and Integrated Farms.

Nigeria is in a crisis. In reality it is much easier for an investor to leave Nigeria than to come and invest in such a stressful climate. Environmental Rights Action (ERA) / Friends of the Earth Nigeria (FOEN) and Center of Environment Education and Development (CEED) all boast of your decision to support the communities affected by Dominion. It is now your obligation to do so. The people of Nigeria need massive support and huge investments. These precious people lack desperately for every need of life. What will you do for them when their children are hungry, and there is nobody to turn to? Please take up the challenge and invest the billions of Naira necessary to change these lives. Dominion will no longer be in your way.

Sincerely,

Calvin Burgess, Chairman
Dominion Rice and Integrated Farms, Ltd.

Though a long article but everything there seems so true...there's always a politics is always involved in anything in nigeria...

For the first time in my life, i almost cried for Nigeria

This problem seem more spiritual than physical

I must commend the efforts of the Dominion Integrated Rice Farms,I must appreciate the faith you guys had in Nigeria,before coming down,and even after your coning.
This is another sad tale of how our leaders,have been failing Nigeria. I am a civil servant that is tired of the way things are in Nigeria, and wants to go into biz, but recently discover that, the Nigerian Govt. is all promise no tangible action. I just wish some one with a right mind will see to the Plight of the DIRF.

shame on the government

corruption is the bane of every nigerian. I used to say i will stay back and develop my country if i ever have a chance of leaving, but now i dont think i can

pneumaticos:
For the first time in my life, i almost cried for Nigeria

This problem seem more spiritual than physical

You just dey know??

This is definitely NOT a way to diversify the economy or attract foreign capital. I bet no foreign company that reads this article will venture to bring foreign capital into this country; even Biafran currency. It's only the corrupt people who can bribe their way that will survive. We Have To Chang The Way We Do Things Here.

How do we get this change done. If I believe what was written why was it no one was published when there was evidence of request for bribe.

They over dependent on government for everything they wanted that was why they were stranded when the government full back was not forth coming and that's why chinese investors succeed faster in nigeria than anyother,sorry for the bad experience but you ve succeed in giving us your own side of the story but who is there to tell us the government side of the story,and we Nigerians are very good in giving a conclusive judgment without thinking twice,the change we want must surely come from us and it must start from the little things we do in our secret places.and not when we live the worst life and you want the man ontop to be a better person.no its what we invest in our locality that we reap ontop and that is the Government we see in general.

There are AT LEAST two sides to every story. We just heard Dominion's ,a wise man would ask about the other side(s)

OP, kindly include the source of this story to increase its credibility.

This is really a sad story, though we've only heard one side of it. Truth be told, giving the past misgivings of the government, especially the past administration, one has no choice but to wanna believe this can actually happen.

The civil service in this country is very corrupt, and that is why we are asking the government to strenthen our institutions, where the rule of law would be the order of the day.

Nigeria is sick and I don't know who will bring the medicine.

Dominion rice obviously had a bad experience. That is not good for future foreign investors.
But I think part of this story is not true. Can't tell exactly which part.

Moreover based on the story as narrated by dominion, I think the original deal left the government with a shorter end of the stick. Dominion wanted to be practically spoon fed in Nigeria. It does not work that way. Why can't they come with their money, their equipment and their pple (mangement cadre) and only request for land. That wud have made a very straight forward deal

ijedallar:
They over dependent on government for everything they wanted that was why they were stranded when the government full back was not forth coming and that's why chinese investors succeed faster in nigeria than anyother,sorry for the bad experience but you ve succeed in giving us your own side of the story but who is there to tell us the government side of the story,and we Nigerians are very good in giving a conclusive judgment without thinking twice,the change we want must surely come from us and it must start from the little things we do in our secret places.and not when we live the worst life and you want the man ontop to be a better person.no its what we invest in our locality that we reap ontop and that is the Government we see in general.

fully seconded

The fact Calvin Burgess wasn't successful doing business in the country, doesn't mean it goes the same for other investors. There are many indigenous and foreign agropreneurs who have achieved success in agriculture without govt fanfare and dependence, and are quietly expanding frontiers in their host communities.

Dominion farms never exerted their due diligence on research of their operating environment and expected everything on a platter for a venture they expected to earn billions from. It's just sheer greed and a mistake to bask on the euphoria that they were doing the country a favour, It should be a win-win situation. They should have done a pilot phase by phase market entry or simply partnered with other rice firms as equity investors to have a better leverage of the intricacies in doing business before venturing into the wild.

How much more can be said of a company meant to earn and spur development, that take the livelihoods of host communities even in Kenya. Is this fair trade and sustainable development?

Read more here:

http://www.thenation.com/article/obamas-ruined-homeland/

@blackswede. There are various factors that come into play when making FDI decisions. Host country specific advantages are one of them. If you can ride on government patronage that's a plus but risks of the way business is done in that country though part of the deal are not too good when you consider that this v bring a lot of uncertainties. I agree with you that one of their motivation for the FDI venture was profit - who else doesn't make that consideration. You also have a point on a phased market entry style the promises must have been too good not to consider a plunge.
However, if their story is as true as stated we need to reconsider the issues they raised seriously as they will impact on FDI possibility consideration by other companies. It could be a reference for a NO INTERNATIONALISATION in Nigeria decision for some companies which is not in our best interest.
Bottom line is that we must seriously consider our country specific advantages and seek ways and means to improve them make them more attractive. A firms motivation for FDI take seriously a country's CSF. Various government agencies must be seen to be law abiding and doing things by the books not constantly having palms under the table to be greased.