2002

Acquisition of Technological Capability in Africa: A
Case Study of Indigenous Building Materials Firms in
Nigeria

Yomi Oruwari
Margret Jev
andOpuene Owei

ATPS Working Paper Series No. 33

Table of Contents
Abstract
Chapter One
Introduction
Chapter Two
Literature Review
Chapter Three
Conceptual Framework
Chapter Four
Research Method
Chapter Five
Research Results
Chapter Six
Major Findings and Discussions
Chapter Seven
Suggestions and Recommendations
Endnotes
References
Acronyms

Abstract
Throughout the world, developing countries are facing severe problems with regard to the supply ofbuilding materials, the core of the construction sector. As populations grow and interactions improveand as aspirations to higher living standards rise, so the demand for buildings both quantitatively andqualitatively grows even more rapidly. In the provision of shelter especially, the rising cost of building
materials has made it impossible to provide affordable housing for the low-income residents.
A lot of policies and programs have been put in place to alleviate this problem ranging from direct
importation to technology transfer and diffusion. What has been realized in Africa in particular anddeveloping countries in general is that there is still the need to reduce import-dependence of thesector and at the same time contain the escalating cost of the essential building materials. Crucial tothis would be the acquisition and strengthening of domestic technological capability to produce
indigenous building materials, as most of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa are endowed with raw
materials.
The concern in this study is the problem of the inability of the Nigerian government to supply essentialbuilding materials, the core of the construction sector. This has resulted in the rising cost of building
materials, thus making it impossible to provide especially affordable housing for low-income residents.
In general, the building materials sector has found it difficult to cope with the rising demand and thegap between the capacity to produce indigenous materials and the amount needed has widened
further in recent times.
This study examines the role local raw materials play in the acquisition of technological capability
and the factors militating against performance in the building materials industry in Nigeria. Whilefocusing on two local building materials timber and clay, the study was assesses availability andaccessibility of raw materials needed, the technological capability and technical development profile
of selected firms in the industry, the nature of the acquisition of technologies in use, and the roles ofsuch other resources as finance and skill, in technological capability accumulation in the industry.
This assisted in the examination of how the technologies in use in the established building materials
firms have affected the development and accumulation of technological capabilities in Nigeria.
A case study approach was used to cover indigenous building material firms in Nigeria. The four firms
chosen are AT&P, Sapele; Woods (Nig) Ltd, Port Harcourt; NBRRI, Lagos; and PRODA, Enugu. The
activities in these firms were used to specifically address the following questions:1

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ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

1.

What are the causes of current technological shortcomings of the low cost building materials
industry in Nigeria?
What are the problems hindering the development of a framework of a general strategy for
endogenous capability building in the low-cost building materials sector in Nigeria?

2.

The methodology adopted involved a multi-stage framework starting with desk research andcomprehensive interview schedules. Also focused on were government and private agencies
responsible for building materials production. The results of the analyses were used to recommend
policy changes that are expected to improve the acquisition of technological capabilities in theindigenous building materials firms in Nigeria.
The study highlights the role of technological capabilities and stresses that every part of FLTC andNLTC must be considered for the growth of the building materials industry in Nigeria. Thus, a holistic
attitude towards all the capabilities highlighted may be panacea for the sustainable development of
the building materials industry in Nigeria.

Chapter One: Introduction
General Background
Human settlement conditions in many parts of the world and particularly in the developing countries
are deteriorating mainly as a result of low levels of investment in the construction sector. This is
attributable to the overall resource constraints in these countries. In Africa generally, an average of five
percent of central government expenditure is going into housing (UNCHS, 2001). Expenditure byinternational support and finance organizations is equally low. For example, only about two percent of
the United Nations system’s total grant financed expenditures in 2001 went to human settlements.
Also, although in the early 1990s available information indicated that technical co-operation activities(that form the foundation of the enabling approaches in the human settlement sector) generated
considerable public and private sector investments, the investments have been found to be no longer
sustainable. Most of the investments in human settlements have failed because of one problem oranother. However, the overall human settlement objective is to improve the social, economic andenvironmental quality of human settlements and the first step in achieving this objective is by providing
adequate shelter for all, a priority that had been an insurmountable one. A key to realizing this objectiveis the supply of essential building materials when needed and at affordable prices.
Throughout the world, developing countries are facing severe problems with regard to the supply ofbuilding materials. The gravity of the problem is further highlighted by the fact that the supply ofbuilding materials is needed for the expansion of housing and upgrading of existing housing in urban
and rural areas. It is also the key to realising national development plans in every sector, ranging fromagriculture and industry to health and education.
In the provision of shelter especially, the rising cost of building materials has made it impossible toprovide affordable housing for the low-income residents. This is very glaring in most countries inAfrica. Thus, the building materials sector in general have found it difficult to cope with the risingdemand but the gap between the capacity to produce indigenous materialsand the amount needed
has widened further in recent times.
A lot of policies and programs have been put in place to alleviate this problem. These have ranged
from direct importation to technology transfer and diffusion, and also the controversy of the preferenceof capital intensive to labour intensive technologies. Of note, the Federal Government of Nigeria in
1988, published the Industrial Policy of Nigeria with a view to improving the industrial sector. A major
objective of the industrial policy is to achieve accelerated pace of industrial development. However,3

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ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

this laudable objective although well articulated, yielded little fruits.
What has been realized in Africa in general and Nigeria in particular is that there is still the need toreduce import-dependence of the sector and at the same time contain the escalating cost of theessential building materials. Crucial to this would be the acquisition and strengthening of domestic
technological capability to produce indigenous building materials, since Nigeria is endowed with therequired raw materials needed for production.
In Nigeria since independence, the disparity between construction needs and endogenous capacity
for production of basic building materials remains wide. While the demand (that has been propelled
by ambitious development plans) has increased considerably, there has not been an appreciable
increase in the supply of these indigenous materials for the market. This present study focuses on therole that local raw materials play in the acquisition of technological capability and the factors militating
against performances in the building materials industry in Nigeria. This is achieved by using indigenous
building materials’ firms in Nigeria to assess availability and accessibility of raw materials needed thetechnological capability and technical development profile of selected firms in the industry the natureof the acquisition of technologies in use and the roles other resources e.g. finance, skills etc haveplayed in technological capability accumulation in the industry. This information assisted in examining
how the technologies in use have affected the development and accumulation of technologicalcapabilities in Nigeria.
Technological Capability and the Building Materials Sector in Nigeria
Technological capabilities include the skills of persons in various economic sectors who haveacquired technical knowledge about production process through formal training and learning by
doing (Chambua, 1996). It involves the following activities:
i. The search for available alternative technologies and the selection of the most appropriate.
ii. The mastering of the technology i.e. its successful use in the transformation of inputs into
outputs.
iii. The further development of the technology as a result of minor innovations.
iv. The institutionalized search for more important innovations through research anddevelopment.
Thus technological capabilities are the capabilities needed to acquire, assimilate, use, adapt, change
or create technology. The building of technological capability, therefore, requires considerable
indigenous effort, allocation of resources, commitment, in-house tailor-made training in that particularsector, and the creation of an environment, which has a local demand for innovation. Of note is thefact that competitiveness, efficiency and productivity, which are the keys to sustained economic
development, are dependent on the possession of technological capabilities (Chambua, 1996).
Westphal (1990) cited the case of South Korea, where protection was the dominant incentive in infantindustries. This was by means of import controls designed to guarantee them adequate level of nonexport sales. In this case, the government of South Korea created a conducive atmosphere forACQUISITION OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF INDIGENOUS BUILDING MATERIALS FIRMS IN NIGERIA

5

patronage by granting appropriate incentives.
Since independence in 1960, Nigeria generally pursued an industrialization strategy based on importsubstitution. With the assistance of foreign exchange earning from petroleum in the early 1970s,
government and private enterprises embarked upon ambitious and costly resource-based industrial
projects. These took advantage of an array of government incentives. However, problems of the
manufacturing sector have often been attributed to inadequate infrastructure, lack and poor utilizationof human capacity and available manpower, and absence of a sound technological base. By early
1980s as the country’s foreign exchange earnings declined significantly, the high import dependenceof the manufacturing sector became a serious liability on the economy.
From 1986 to date, emphasis of the industrial development strategy has shifted towards the promotionof the use of locally available raw materials. This shift was expected to tackle the problem of fallingindustrial capacity utilization. This was expected to have been aided by the announcement of a set ofminimum targets for the local sourcing of raw materials. To ensure compliance and reduce greater
support for these targets, incentives were offered. These centered on:(a) Fiscal measures on taxation and interest rates.
(b) Tax relief for different areas e.g. research and development.
In the case of building materials industry in Nigeria, and considering the two materials being focusedon here (timber and clay), the basic raw materials, although available locally are inaccessible to theindustries, because of competing uses (e.g. timber is used as fuel for cooking). However, the machinesneeded to make the materials contemporary fall under those that were expected to source 50 percentof their raw materials from local sources. Moreover, local artisans have always produced the finishedproducts informally. The challenge has been the ability of the industrial firms to produce the materials
in terms of quality, quantity and pricing that competitive with the informal production, which presently
do not meet the market demands. It is expected that if programs based on the industrial policies wereeffected, the manufacturing sector would have grown considerably. However, the building materials
industrial firms have failed woefully. A detailed examination of the reasons for this failure must await
the results of the surveys carried out in the course of this study.
Statement of the Problem
An important goal of international development agencies for the past three decades or so has been
“Shelter for all by the year 2000”. Unfortunately, what has been apparent in less developed countries
is that it has become increasingly difficult for nations to provide shelter for their people even as we are
already in the year 2001. An important component of shelter is building materials. In most cases
materials cost about 70 percent of total cost of buildings. What has been realised is that meeting the
shelter requirements will depend to a great extent on the availability of basic building materials ataffordable prices.

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Presently, the building materials industry in Africa has had to cope not only with rising demand but thatthe gap between demand; and domestic capacity for production has widened. The share of Africa inworld production of building materials1 has actually declined in the past two decades. The countriesof Africa are therefore facing severe problems with the supply of building materials. The gravity of the
problem is better visualized when it is realised that the supply of building materials is key to realisingnational development.
In Nigeria, inadequate supply of building materials led to increased dependence on imported materials
with the attendant pressure on prices as well as scarce foreign exchange. In addition to importing
finished products, Nigeria continues to import factor inputs notably raw materials, machinery andenergy. Thus, it became a recipient of obsolete technologies at exorbitant costs whose use has been
discontinued in developed countries. This situation poses a lot of problems with respect tomaintenance and supply of spare parts. The continued dependence on imported building materials
has not only imposed additional strains on an already acute balance of payments situation in Nigeria;
it has fuelled inflation in the construction sector causing cost over-runs in public projects. It also
inhibits private initiatives in shelter production and makes it impossible to provide shelter for the lowincome households in the country. Ironically, Nigeria (although it suffers from scarcity and importdependence), is endowed with abundant building materials, comprising largely indigenous building
materials that have the lowest gross energy requirements (GERS). They are often traditional building
materials e.g. timber, soil, stone, fired bricks etc. Crucial to these facts would be the strengthening ofdomestic technological capability to produce indigenous building materials.
The study is therefore concerned with the inaccessibility2 of low-cost building materials in theconstruction sector in Nigeria and, while focusing on raw materials, looks at how the technologies in
use have affected the development and accumulation of technological capabilities in the building
materials sector. To bring the study under sharper focus, the following building material wereconsidered: timber and clay. Timber and clay are the two major building materials that are not only
produced locally but also form basic components for most indigenous building materials. Timberand clay also constitute a substantial part of the material component in building. Timber can be usedas structural material roofing members, door and window panels and frames, and fittings e.g. built-in
cupboards, flooring, roofing and shelves. On the other hand, clay can be used for walling, roofing,facing, fittings etc.
While concentrating on four existing firms in Nigeria that supply the low-cost building materials, thestudy specifically addressed the following questions:
1.
What are the causes of current technological shortcomings of the low cost building
materials industry in Nigeria?
2.
What are the problems hindering the development of a framework of a general
strategy for endogenous capability building in the low-cost building materials sector
in Nigeria?

ACQUISITION OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF INDIGENOUS BUILDING MATERIALS FIRMS IN NIGERIA

7

Objectives of the Study
The main objective of this study is to examine the development of the endogenous technologicalcapabilities and factors affecting technological change in the production of low-cost building materials
in Nigeria while using four selected firms. In light of this overall objective, the study will be concernedwith the following:i.
To review the extent to which the building materials industry had access to needed
raw materials and the depth of firm-level technological capability required for
production, investment and innovation in the selected materials (timber and clay) in
Nigeria.
ii.
To describe the major mechanisms through which firms in the building materials
industry acquire technological capabilities and the process of technological accu
mulation by the selected firms in the industry.
iii.
To highlight the effects of technological policies and programs on the building
materials industry and the construction sector.
iv.
To examine policy measures that will assist decision makers in Nigeria (and maybe
the rest of sub-Saharan Africa) gain insights into the problems of technologicalcapability in the building material industry and ultimately the construction sector of
the economy.
To realise these objectives, the study focused on:i. The acquisition and application of technology in the production process of building
materials.
ii.
The key actors and the key issues involved.
Hypotheses
The hypotheses for the study are as follows:i. Indigenous raw materials are not accessible in the building materials industry in Nigeria.
This has led to extremely low level of efficiency in the process of technological acquisition
and accumulation in the building materials industry in Nigeria.
ii.

Technological capabilities have been diminishing in the building materials industry in Nigeria
over time, because the firms and governments have not adopted strategies positive to thechanges in the construction sector.

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ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

Significance of the Study
Presently in Nigeria, there exists the problem of supplying indigenous low cost building materials ataffordable prices. Studies on supply of building materials have been mostly general including thosethat provide broad overviews of types of material and applications as well as advantages anddisadvantages of local materials. Thus, this study is expected to throw some light into the working of
the building materials industry. Whereas efforts have been made to propose policies and implement
programs that facilitated the setting up of building materials firms, their low levels of performance
have little been analyzed in terms of their indigenous technological contents especially theinaccessibility of indigenous raw materials.
This study is more significant as we realized from our case studies that most of the building materials
firms that were effective during the 1970s and 1980s are presently in the process of being wound-up
or totally abandoned. This further reduces supply in the market and escalates the cost of building
materials.

Chapter Two
Literature Review
Generally studies on production of building materials are more on how to encourage use of local
materials (Okpala, 1985) and gearing of production towards the unskilled house owner or renter
while providing materials, which require little or no skill at all for them. Also, over the past ten to twenty
years, research carried out has identified new technologies and materials based entirely on local
resources. However, in most developing countries and especially in Africa, little attention has been
devoted to the capability of the building materials industry to undertake the work required to provide
the necessary materials for both the public and the private markets (Dijkgraaf, 1986). This is significant,as 40 percent to 50 percent of the input in the industry between 1984 and 1985 comprised imports
whereas, for the same period in western European countries, this was less than 10 percent (UNIDO,1985). More recent estimates put the value of gross output accounted for in imports at up to 30
percent and comprising up to 60 percent of all materials used in Africa (Nordberg, 2001). The
increasing dependence on foreign inputs increases the strain on scarce financial resources for the
African countries.
In developing countries, technology development in the building materials industry is characterized
by four different categories of production (UNCHS, 1991):
i. Large-scale production: Uses advanced technology. They have mechanized and automatedplants, which implies that the manufacture is capital intensive and heavily dependent on
foreign capital, imported raw materials and factors of production.
ii. Small- scale production and medium-scale production: These consist of 10 to 100 persons,
sometimes with automated and partly mechanised technology. Production is usually labour
intensive, does not require large capital investments, and is successfully operated byindigenous entrepreneurs employing local manpower exclusively. Most of the materials
and equipments are of local origin.
iii. Micro-scale production or artisanal production: Involves few employees, usuallyfamily members, applying traditional skills. Capital requirements are minimal and all materials
entering into the production process are local in origin. They collectively produce a significant
share of the country’s total output.
iv. Do-it-yourself activities: Such activities involve the production of construction
elements and the use of clay, stone, simple processed wood etc.

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The large-scale enterprises are set up through bilateral aid programs and operating under state
enterprises. However, these imported large-scale technologies have failed to act as the engine of
growth in spearheading the technological development of the building materials industry in Africa.
There has not been conscious effort to integrate both the large scale and small-scale units vertically,a situation that is difficult because both are conceived in different socio-economic culturalenvironments. Thus, there are no opportunities for upstream industrial enterprises to assist downstream
small-scale enterprises in the technological improvement of their production facilities. That is why
the vast majority of enterprises operating in the small-scale sector and particularly those functioning
in the micro-scale sector (i.e. the informal sector) continue to rely on traditional technologies. These
are often rudimentary, resulting in poor productivity, quality and consequently poor profitability of wide
scale adoption of such materials in construction.
In developing countries, it has been established that the building materials sector is more costeffective with small-scale technologies than with large-scale technologies (UNCHS, 1998). In more
economically developed countries large-scale technologies should lead to a reduction per unit costof output. In most developing countries, however, production factors are unfavourable to large-scale
production technologies. And, with their minimal demands on the transport infrastructure, smallscale technologies have been acclaimed as the key to promoting low-cost building materials indeveloping countries.
Advantages of small-scale production building materials include low demand for conventional sourcesof energy, that are scarce and expensive and a low level of dependence on imported machinery andequipment (UNCHS, 1984). Small-scale production units are frequently taken to mean plants withless than a specified number of employees. The number of employees alone, however, is not sufficient
as a criterion since it could, for instance, lead to the inclusion of diverse operations. Other indications,for example the volume of output and the size of investments in terms of capital or equipment, should
therefore also be considered as a criterion in a division of activities according to scale. It is not the sizethat differentiates the levels of production units, but rather the nature of the resources required and thecapacity to obtain them.
The lack of innovation in the indigenous supply of technologies in the building materials industry has
been attributed to many factors (UNCHS, 1991). Since the bulk of the industry operates throughsmall-scale sector, they have little capability in terms of raw materials, capital or skill to invest ininnovation. The large-scale industrial firms, in contrast, continue to operate with imported technologies
and have little motivation to innovate. Because of the packaged nature of imported technologies, theuse of innovation in adapting imported technologies has also met with little success. There is also thegeneral lack of orientations of building research institutions to devote their limited resources to thedevelopment of technologies responding to the specific needs of the basic building materials industry
operating in the small-scale sector.
In the area of strategies, of note are import reproductions and technology transfer. UNCHS (Habitat),while studying small-scale building materials production in the context of the informal economy inACQUISITION OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF INDIGENOUS BUILDING MATERIALS FIRMS IN NIGERIA

11

developing countries in 1988, noted that the policy if import substitution as a development strategy
was extended to the building materials sector in developing countries. Thus, they followed the processof import reproduction i.e. establishing local firms to produce materials identical to those previously
imported. Even where there are suitable local resources; they are not always developed. It also
involves importation of machinery and equipment which are capital intensive, requires a lot of energythat is scarce, prohibitive in cost and are hardly ever available, spare parts, technology for operationand servicing. These have resulted in the tendency of the production plants to operate at considerable
less than optimal capacity which ultimately limit the prospects of market expansion.
Most African countries take technological transfer for granted because of the colonial mentality and,as a result, very little indigenous technological capabilities were developed within the building material
firms. This led to the failure of the building materials industry to stimulate indigenous innovations thatcan replace or upgrade traditional technology in the industry. Criticizing technology transfer, many
researchers have called for intermediate technology and ultimately appropriate technology. Ken
Darrow observes that intermediate technology is:
Technology that is especially attractive because it seems to solve a number of problems at once. Because it
involves self-reliance and local production for local needs, on a national level, this approach can remove fromthe list of obstacles to development many of the inequalities of an international systems that is dominated by the
expensive technology and economic power of the rich countries. At the same time, the lack of well-developed
infrastructures and the shortage of highly trained manpower to run large industrial operations become muchless important when people are allowed and encouraged to develop themselves wherever they are. A wholearray of problems can potentially be solved at once.

If we agree that appropriate technology is important in the development of technological capabilities
in Africa, then there is a need to address the gap between technologies developed in construction ofbuildings and their application. There is also the need to address the problem of access to building
materials, technologies and construction delivery systems for affordable housing.
For example, these problems were addressed by the Building Center Movement (BCM) in India(UNCHS, 1996). BCM emerged in 1986 as a grassroots level intervention organization for costeffective housing. Its objective was to provide institutional intervention for putting into practice at thegrassroots level, the new research and development of appropriate technology. This was throughtransfer of technology, training of artisans, production of elements, construction and guidance.
Presently, BCM has 385 building centers in India. The main aim of the movement is to ‘enable’ and‘empower’ people by evolving appropriate housing delivery system with people’s participation. The
movement utilizes environment-friendly solutions and development of the right level of skills among
artisans. The tools and instrumentation used to achieve this aim include:i. Training and skill upgrading of construction artisans in terms of alternatives, innovative andsustainable building components at the grassroots level.
ii. Utilizing the services of trained artisans along with beneficiary families in the housing
construction program.
iii. Construction of affordable shelter with innovative construction techniques.

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ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33
Providing housing guidance, information and counselling to local people.

This movement has had the following impact:i. Creating awareness about the available alternative options.
ii. Creating an appreciation of these options not only in terms of cost effectiveness but
also in terms of structural, functional and aesthetic sufficiency.
iii. Change in negative perception — low quality non-durable, ugly and only for the lowincome families for the first time.
iv. Use of these applications for community buildings like schools, health centers, village
offices and community centers.
v. Led to solutions with 15 percent to 40 percent savings over the conventional costs.
vi. Helped in house construction programs with people’s participation through upgradingof skill levels of the local construction workers.
vii. Given access to building materials, technologies and construction delivery systems at
grassroots level with affordable and cost effective options.
In industrial set-ups in Nigeria, there appears to be a clear choice between large-scale and capitalintensive technology and small-scale and labour-intensive technology. The latter may require lessthan 40% of the investment of the large-scale technique and provide over six times the total employment.
The small-scale technology clearly has more appropriate characteristics for most third world countries,
but its technical and economic efficiency had been questioned, mainly because of lower recovery
rates (Kaplisky, 1984).
Many developing countries are trying to have and maintain sustainable economic growth. To achievethis, the construction sector has a major role to play as it accounts for a large share of total capitalformation that is second only to agriculture as a source of employment. Building materials andconstruction industries are the basic means for the construction, expansion, improvement andmaintenance of all human settlements (Nordberg, 2001). Construction industry is fundamental toachieving sustainable economic growth as it is involved in every human activity. However, theconstruction industry is not fulfilling its potential role in development in African countries as many of
the countries, including Nigeria, are experiencing difficulties in executing their construction projects.
This is due to a number of factors. These include difficulties in obtaining materials and other crucial
inputs, and in most cases the development projects are too large for the construction industries tomeet the demands of inappropriate technology and design. Also, in most of these countries, regulatory
frameworks and government policies do not encourage the development of the construction sector(Baker, 2001). Technology import policies by the government and subsidies on certain construction
materials inhibit the growth of appropriate technological capabilities in the building constructionindustry.
In the specific case of Nigeria, it is necessary, therefore, to investigate the technical, economic andsocial efficiency of the alternative technologies, as small-scale technologies seem to be the only
ones feasible presently. Considerable emphasis must be placed on identifying the profitability of theACQUISITION OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF INDIGENOUS BUILDING MATERIALS FIRMS IN NIGERIA

13

technologies from the point of view of the private entrepreneur. This is a critical exercise, sinceappropriate technologies (ATs) will only be widely introduced if they are more profitable from the pointof view of the private decision-maker, irrespective of their wider economic and social implications.
The economic and social implications, however, should be important in determining government
policies towards technology choice. However desirable a technology is, and for whatever reason (forexample, creating employment), government should only promote such technologies where the net
benefits are greater than those of alternative technologies (taking into account all economic andsocial effects).
The determinants of private profitability are complex. Private profitability is the outcome of a myriad ofgovernment interventions, some explicitly designed to promote certain choices, others with different
objectives but with important implications, nonetheless, for choice of technique. For example, eachof the policies towards price (processed and raw), towards imports, towards depreciation allowances,credit and interest rates affect profitability of alternative technologies in important ways. Actual choiceis then highly dependent on these government interventions, which may promote or hinder appropriate
choice. In some cases, it appears that the various interventions are so many and so complex that only
detailed investigation will reveal the net effects. It is highly likely that the government itself does notknow what these interventions are. A major requirement for promoting AT is that the implications ofgovernment policies towards choice of technique be systematically investigated so that a policy
package may be designed which does not, deliberately or by mistake, hinder AT.
In examining relevant government interventions, it is necessary to underline the importance of political
economy to choice of technique. Policies that led to particular choices are formed as a result ofpressures from interest groups, for example, from timber magnates, machinery importers andmanufacturers. Policies which conflict with dominating interests will not be introduced however
appropriate the resulting choices may be.
What is known is that endogenous technological capability can be achieved either by the stimulationof indigenous supplies of technology or by producing foreign inputs or by a combination of both
(UNCHS, 1991). In this context, however, it is important to make a distinction between technology
imports and endogenous technological capability building. Past experiences showed that importationof production technology especially when transferred under turnkey arrangements that are most
likely in packaged forms did not lead to autonomous capability building. On the other hand, whenintermediate approaches involving both import and local supply of technology were applied4, better
results were achieved initially, but later they still ran into problems.
What have been lacking from the literature are studies of existing small-scale building materials firms
in Africa that showed the situation on the ground. Why is it that the firms did not grow or at least be able
to meet the demands of their environment even when raw materials are available locally? What are
the problems encountered that made it impossible for them to develop and improve their technologicalcapabilities that will consequently make them sustainable? This is the area that this study wants tomake its humble contribution.

Chapter Three
Conceptual Framework
In a broad sense, technological capacity or capability in the building materials industry has been
defined in two ways. First, it is essentially the capacity to exploit technology as a means of improving
one or more of the production characteristics and at the same time producing new and innovative
materials. Second, it is concerned with the substitution of one or more traditional factor inputs inexisting processes by new ones (UNCHS, 1991). The point of focus is how the government shouldintervene through public policy so as to optimize the growth of these capabilities.
This is essential because national technological capabilities are crucial to increasing a country’s
economic independence over its natural, human and environmental resources. What has beenshown from experiences in the newly developing countries is their inability to control theirdevelopmental processes. Although there are several approaches to the analysis of technologicalcapabilities in developing countries, four of them have been reviewed. These are approaches by
Sanjaya Lall (1992), Bell and Pavitt (1993), Weiss Jr. (1993) and Ernst, Mytelka and Ganiatsos (1994).
Simply, Lall (1992) distinguished two forms of technological capability i.e. firm level technologicalcapabilities (FLTC) and national level technological capabilities (NLTC). The framework of Bell andPavitt (1993) describes the process of international technology transfer and technologicalaccumulation in developing countries. Charles Weiss Jr. (1993) framework of two main stages consistsof development of human and institutional resources and the eventual development of a modern
integrated system that can compete effectively across a broad range of world markets. Ernst, Mytelka
and Ganiatsos (1994) in their approach categorize capability in terms of production, investment,
minor change, strategic marketing, linkage and major change5.

5.

See Adeboye, T. O., Bagachawa, M.S.D., and O.A. Bamiro (1995) and Adeboye,
Titus and Norman Clark (1995).

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Adeboye et al (1995), in reviewing the four approaches, concluded that they reveal the complexitiesof the concept of technological capability and that they also show the absence of uniformity both inspecifying its components and in describing the process of acquisition. Also, it will be difficult to end
up with a framework containing all of the elements of all the approaches. The framework to be
adopted here, however, is that the technological capability needed for the production of indigenous
building materials in Nigeria is made up of FLTC and NLTC (using Lall’s categorization). It is also
concerned with how these capabilities are acquired (by focusing on raw materials), used and can be
improved on over time. Ernst et al (1994) also presented the first category as those required at theearly stages of industrialization, which is what happens in Nigeria, while the second category ofcapabilities is what is required by firms in the later stages of industrialization, when the need to retain
competitiveness becomes critical. On the other hand, FLTC interact and are complemented by
NLTC (these are based on the institutional context within which FLTC take place). Thus, thecomponents of the capabilities that will be investigated include the following:I.
FLTCa) Production capabilitiesb) Investment capabilitiesc) Minor change capabilities
II.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

NLTC
Physical and social infrastructure
Human capital
Science, engineering and technology
Institutional infrastructure
Financial infrastructure

Firm Level Technological Capabilities (FLTC)
The firms require these capabilities at the early stages of industrialization. They are compulsory andnecessary for the long run existence of any manufacturing activity.
•
Production capability: this relates to the knowledge and skills used in plant operation. Activities
included within this category are production management, production engineering, repair
and maintenance of physical capital.
•
Investment capability: This refers to the knowledge and skills utilized in the identification,
preparation, design, procurement, installing and commissioning of new industrial projects
or the expansion and modernization of existing ones.
•
Minor change capability: It is the firm’s ability to improve and adapt continuously its products
and processes in response to input and output markets.

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ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

National Level Technological Capabilities (NLTC)
To put the firms in the national context, NLTC are required. They are necessary for the existence ofthe firm in relation to the national economy.
•
Physical and social infrastructure: T hese are the essential infrastructures that are generated
by the nation. They include access roads, telephones, electricity and water supplies.
•
Human capital: It includes the level of education of the workers and how their relevant
education is improved over time.
•
Science, engineering and technology: It is concerned with research and development
expenditure in relation to GDP, to total scientists, the number of relevant research institutions,the number of research and development personnel as a percentage of work force.
•
Institutional Infrastructure: It is concerned with the ability of industrial and training institutions
to promote linkages, service support etc.
•
Financial infrastructure: It concerns the number of financial institutions, depth of the financial
market and availability of different classes of credit to promote technological development.
It is assumed that firms and governments have active roles to play in the future developments of thesecapabilities. Also, improvement in the building materials industry is dependent on improvement in thetechnological capability in the industry.

Chapter Four
Research Method
The research method used consisted of integrated research methodology, which involved a
combination of systematic observations and comprehensive interview schedules. The interview
schedules and observations were in the southern part of Nigeria where most of the operators of the
micro scale enterprises and research institutes involved in timber and clay products are located.
The Study Area
Nigeria has three distinct vegetation regions: Rainforest in the southern part, guinea savannah in the
middle and Sahel savannah in the northern part. The natural forest resources of Nigeria occupy
about two thirds of the entire country and hold more than 500 indigenous hardwood species. During
the colonial era, the country was noted for its exploitation of timber. At the same time, clay deposits areavailable in almost all states in Nigeria. The study locations are Sapele, Port Harcourt, Lagos andEnugu. Two timber processing companies were studied and interviews carried out at Sapele andPort Harcourt, while two clay producing set-ups were studied at Enugu and Lagos.
Data Description and Sources
The primary focus in the study areas consisted of timber and clay products, workers, the technology
in use, the output and managerial capabilities in the industries chosen. The interview generally
centered on timber and clay products that have been developed and produced, the problems
encountered with the procurement of raw materials, production processes and technical problems
over the years, government policy changes over the years that have affected the accessibility, affordability
and sustainability of their products. The field study conducted during the months of October 1999 andApril 2000, yielded the data for the empirical analysis of existing factors affecting production of timberand clay products, acquisition of technological capabilities and factors hindering the performance inthe building materials industry in Nigeria. Information sources consisted of both primary and secondary
data. Primary data consisted of:1) In-depth interviews through questionnaires to:• Responsible officers of the selected firms: (Woods (Nig.) Ltd Port Harcourt6;
AT and P (Ltd), Sapele; PRODA, Enugu: ETERNIT, Enugu; NBRRI, Lagos).
• Interview of selected workers in these organizations.
2) Interview of micro-scale enterprises supplying local needs.

17

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ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

3)
4)
5)
6)

Interview of responsible officers at research institutes (NBRRI and FIIRO, Lagos).
Interview of building professionals (NIA and NIQS).
Interview of artisans working with these products.
Interview of responsible officers at the Raw Materials Research and Developing Council(RMRDC).

Secondary data sources included academic journals and a variety of books well referenced in the
text. The sources and description of data are as summarized in Table 1.
Sample Selection
At the conception of the study, two timber companies located at Sapele (AT&P) and Calabar(Serom Woods) were selected for the study. However, at the commencement of the study, theresearch team was shocked on getting to Calabar to find out that the factory had closed down andthe site completely deserted with millions of investments abandoned. In the case of Sapele,
production had stopped and only a skeletal staff was left on the site, but the environment was wellmaintained. We were informed that UAC (Nig Ltd) had put the factory up for sale. We were able tocarry out the survey there and the members of staff interviewed were eager to give useful
information as they saw so many years of service going down the drain. In place of Serom Woods,
another timber company woods (Nig) Ltd in Port Harcourt was studied.
In the case of clay products, Enugu (PRODA) and Lagos (NBRRI) were studied. At PRODA, theresponsible officer was very co-operative, interacted with the research team but diplomaticallyrefused to respond to the questionnaire directed at the company.
After repeated futile efforts, the research team decided to carry out the survey at Emenite (Nig) Ltd
that supplies asbestos-cement products. This was with the aim of comparing activities at thecompany (that has a very prominent foreign presence) with managed completely by Nigerians. At
NBRRI, Lagos, we were given all the support needed.
In all the companies, in-depth interviews of 20 workers selected randomly from all cadres werecarried out. Also carried out were in-depth interviews of 20 micro-scale enterprises supplying
building materials locally. Twenty artisans using timber and clay in building locally were alsointerviewed.

ACQUISITION OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF INDIGENOUS BUILDING MATERIALS FIRMS IN NIGERIA

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Table 1: Sources and Description of Data
Description and data required(A)•
Development of timber and clay
production.
••••

Sources and means of collection
In depth interview by the research team ofindividual firms through questionnaire,
discussions and observations

Problems of procurement of raw
materials.
Production process.
Technical problems and solutions over
the years.
Effects of government policies andtheir relationship with the professionals.

(B)•
Information on workers selected
Structured questionnaire, interview of therandomly from the selected firms.
owners of the enterprises by the research•Information on exsting micro-scale team. Interview of the workers selected
enterprises supplying local needs.
randomly and interviewed separately to•
Information on artisans using theensure privacy and truthfulness.
materials.
•
Socio-economic information on
educational circumstances and training,
work history, advancement andsatisfaction on the job of selected artisans.
(C)•
Information on the research institutes to
Research institutes were visited by theinvestigate indigenous building materials research team and questionnaires
accessibility development and production administered.
for the market.
(D)•
Information on building
professionals.
•
Information on policy makers andimplementers of programs.
Source: Compiled by the authors, 2000.

Questionnaires were administered to NIA
and NIQS officials.
Comprehensive interview schedule by the
researchers to RMRDC officials.

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ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

Data Analysis
Data analysis utilized various methods of summarization. As most of the establishments werereluctant in giving quantitative information, a lot of importance was given to qualitative data. Simple
statistical methods (means, percentages etc.) were utilized where necessary to analyse thequantitative aspect of data and at the same time test the hypotheses. Also used in testing of the
hypotheses, were capacity utilization and the profile of the efficiency of the technology. The interest
here is in the rate of growth of the resources over time.
Thus:
1.

Efficiency==

Amount Produced
Total expected to be produced[Efficient production is put at
50% of plant capacity]

2. Capacity Utilization ==OutputAmount of Output that can actually be produced
3. Mean Capacity Utilization ==4. Mean Efficiency ==Total Capacity Utilization
No. of Years Considered

Total Efficiency
No. of Years Considered

Inferences from the simple statistical tables of firms’ circumstances and inferences from
especially qualitative data were also utilized.
Dissemination Workshop
A workshop was conducted where relevant policy makers, researchers, building professionals,
builders, artisans and manufacturers of building materials were invited to discuss the findings andtheir implications for policy.

Chapter Five
Research Results
State of Technological Capabilities
The technological capabilities in the selected firms were investigated using the two categories
identified in the literature i.e. FLTC and NLTC.
i)

The Firm Level Technological Capabilities (FLTC)

These sets of capabilities including production, investment and minor change capabilities were
found to be at the rudimentary stages in the firms studied. Focused on are the raw materials (timberand clay), machines, production capabilities and financial infrastructure.
Raw Materials
The raw materials are shown to be a very important factor in the production process. They face a lotof problems in all the industries studied. The two raw materials focused on in this study (i.e. timberand clay) are reported on.
Timber
The natural forest resources of Nigeria occupy about two-thirds of the entire country and hold morethan 500 indigenous hardwood species. During the colonial era, the country was noted for its exportationof timber.
Timber is a plant material of great biomass. Besides being used as fuel and medicine, it is also an
important structural material. It is the oldest of all building materials and continues to stand preeminent in many fields of the building industry. It is easy to work and does not require sophisticatedtools or expensive equipment at the building site. It is a low-cost building material with diverse usage
in buildings especially in housing. Uses include chipboards, fibreboard, plywood, frames, planks,
posts, beams, trusses etc.
The greatest drawback of timber is not only that it is prone to termite damage and fire hazards, it also
absorbs moisture, swells, causes problems in facades, joints and boards and degenerates rapidly.

21

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ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

However, efforts can be made to prevent these problems by producing environmental resource
efficient and moisture resistant timber and recognizing all these problems during the design ofbuildings and neighbourhoods. In African Timber and Plywood (AT&P) Company, timber is not only
the major raw material; it is sourced 100 percent locally from Edo and Ondo States. Other raw
materials like resins, glues gums etc. that form about 10 percent of the raw materials needed, areimported. Because of illegal felling and poaching of immature trees by some unpatriotic private sawmillers a lot of wastage occurs.
Woods (Nig) Ltd, Port Harcourt, sources its timber from Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers States. These
are then transported to Port Harcourt. The company purchases from timber in the local market. About
5% of its raw materials are imported. Presently, it is not involved in any replenishing program for theforest and one expects that with time, it may become difficult to access timber as the forests are
rapidly being depleted due to over harvesting of existing natural wood from the rain forests of Akwa
Ibom and Cross Rivers States.
Clay
Clay deposits abound in the country and its use in building includes making of bricks, walling or
partition blocks, roofing tiles, wall tiles and such diverse products as drainpipes and sanitary fittings.
The manufacture of clay bricks is energy-intensive and the fairly common classification is: by use
common bricks, facing bricks and engineering bricks; by quality internal, ordinary and special; byfinish sand-faced, rustic and multi-colored; by manufacture hand made and machine made; by
perforation solid, perforated, hollow and cellular. Clay bricks are usually extremely durable. Although
they may change in appearance after considerable exposure, they usually do so in a manner that is
pleasant. They are incombustible and provide good fire resistance. In terms of exposure, the positionof the bricks in the structure is important and this determines the treatment needed. The overall
appearance is determined by the pattern of jointing. The cost is determined by the cost of the bricks,
the cost of laying and transportation costs.
At the two organizations studied i.e. PRODA (Project Development Institute) and NBRRI (Nigerian
Building and Road Research Institute), we were informed that (although it is only in two states innorthern Nigeria where clay deposits are not suitable as building materials), it is difficult to collectenough clay to sustain the building industry in the country. Apart from this, there is the problem oftransportation from its to industrial firms that escalates the cost of the clay. There is also the problemof acquiring the land for quarrying of clay, as those already quarried have constituted an eyesore,environmentally degraded open pits, and serious erosion. This has led to formation of gullies,
landslides and eventually slumping of the neighboring region.
Of importance also to non-availability of clay for the industrial firms is competition from subsistence
local users of clay for pot making, adobe walling etc. There is also cultural attachment to clay usage(forbids removal of clay from the particular region), competitive usage of clay (in form of laterite) as

ACQUISITION OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF INDIGENOUS BUILDING MATERIALS FIRMS IN NIGERIA

23

filling in building and road construction. All of these increase the price of clay generally. Also, clay is
not used extensively as it has a poverty image throughout the world. However, as a building material,
it is ecologically sound (recycles itself), does not spend limited natural resources and is labor intensive,
thus providing employment.
Machines
A major problem in respect of the machinery was that there was no well worked out plan about themaintenance, replacement or making it contemporary in accordance with changing trends of such
firms in the country. Thus, in no time they lost their leading role as major supplier of the materials they
produce and with time they could not cope with the stress of the market.
AT&P
AT&P imported its first mill comprising of machines, spare parts and technical support from Britain in
1935. In 1951, these were modernized. Also, in 1981, modernization took place again and thetechnology used although imported was intermediate to suit the Nigerian market. Since 1981, there
had not been any major overhauling of the mill. With the economic trend of the late 1980s and 1990s
and the structural adjustment programs, the investment needed for improvement and maintenance
was no longer available as all the machines used were imported. No room had been made over theyears to develop local improvisation and sourcing of spare parts. This was also the period of exorbitantpricing of imported items in the country. Thus, there was scarcity of essential spare parts and due tothe track records of the company minor change capabilities were not possible. All of these factors
constitute a major factor in the ensuing collapse of the firm.
Woods (Nig.) Ltd.
In 1993, production started with imported intermediate technology. The machines were imported
from Britain but the manpower is 100% local. The cost of the machine including Cander (that is themost expensive single item) was about 25 million naira ($500,000). In terms of manpower, training
was on the job with the assistance of information manuals supplied by the manufacturers and otherreferences. The machines are simple to maintain and spare parts are sourced locally and amenable
to improvisation. Minor changes are carried out as the firm grows.
This is a young and upcoming building materials industrial firm in Nigeria that has been able to carryout minor changes and maintenance of the imported machines to suit its requirements especiallywith the rising cost of foreign exchange needed to purchase imported spare parts. On the other hand,presently, maintenance is carried out when necessary. No program is put in place in respect of
manpower training, major maintenance (like overhauling and turn-around), replacement andmodernization when the life-span of the present machines is exhausted i.e. all the ingredients that
ensure sustainability of the existing enterprise.

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ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

PRODA
PRODA started in 1968 with a local kiln that produced fired bricks (15x7x15mm3 ). Since then, the kiln
has not been modernized and presently, the capacity of the kiln is about 500 bricks per day. Builders
are not patronizing these bricks as they have not been made contemporary and in the long run they
are more expensive to use than sandcrete blocks.
NBRRI
In 1980, the institute started production of clay blocks stabilized with cement (50x25x20mm3). The
blocks are bigger than bricks and easier to lay by craftsmen as they are about the same size as thecommon sandcrete blocks that they are used to. To demonstrate their viability, the blocks were used
to construct NBRRI’s office buildings.
The machine for making the blocks was designed and manufactured at NBRRI with 100 percent
local raw materials. Artisans were trained on how to use them. However, it has been difficult topopularise the blocks as the price of the machine is exorbitant (and regularly increased), comparedto the mould for sandcrete blocks. Also, as the labor is specialized, initially it is more expensive thanthat for sandcrete blocks, although in the long run, it is cheaper. As the finished product is fair-faced,people are sceptical about having walls that are not rendered.
Production Capabilities
In the case of production capabilities, the knowledge and skills used by the firms in plant operation
were focused on. Thus considered were production management, the engineering of production
and the repair and maintenance culture of the physical capital in the firms. Efforts were made to study
how these capabilities have improved with time.
AT&P
The range of products by the company is shown in Table 2. Shown in Table 3 is the level of capacity
utilization and efficiency of the plants over a 12 year period. The mean capacity utilization for theperiod was 7.1 percent and the mean efficiency of production was 14 percent.
Since 1990, capacity utilization had been less than the mean and from 1995 it had been 2 percent.
Efficiency had been less than the mean since 1990 and had dwindled to 3 percent from 1997. Afterrenovation in 1981, capacity utilization increased to 35 percent and efficiency became 70 percent (asexpected output was supposed to be 50 percent of the plant capacity). However, output was still far
short of what was expected to give a healthy profit. Due to the fact that maintenance of the machines
was not being carried out regularly, output was declining. This led to the eventual closing of the mills.

25

ACQUISITION OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF INDIGENOUS BUILDING MATERIALS FIRMS IN NIGERIA
Table 2: Range of Products by AT&P
S/No Products
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Percentage ofTotal Production

Plywood
Particle boards
Flush doors
Machine products
Others

25
25
10
35
5

Total

100

Source: Fieldwork, 2000.

Of note is the fact that the mill that was modernized in 1981 was the 1951 one (that was too old andmost of the spare parts were no longer in production even in Britain as they are using more sophisticatedmachines). This posed a lot of problems for improvement of skills and knowledge used in plant
operations. Also, there was the problem of inability to improvise required parts with locally produced
ones.
Table 3: Capacity Production (in tonnes) at AT&P

1980

1981

1985

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

PC

100000 125000 125000 125000 125000 125000 125000 125000 125000 125000 125000 125000

AP

10000 43750 13500

8000

7000

5000

3000

4200

3000

2500

2100

1950

CU %

10

35

11

6

6

4

2

3

2

2

2

2

E%

20

70

22

13

11

8

5

7

5

4

3

3

(PC - Plant Capacity; AP - Actual Production; CU- Capacity Utilization; E - Efficiency)
Source: Fieldwork, 2000.

Woods (Nig) Ltd.
The range of products by the company is shown in Table 4. Shown in Table 5 is the level of capacity
utilization and efficiency of the plant over a four-year period. The mean capacity utilization was 16.2
percent and the mean efficiency was 33 percent. These figures are lower than those for 1998 and
1999.

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ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

Table 4: Range of Products by Woods (Nig) Ltd
Products
1.
2.
3.

Percentage of Total Production

Panel doors
Wooden fixtures
Others

50
20
30

Total

100

Source: Fieldwork, 2000

At the start of production in 1994, capacity utilization was only 5 percent. This was because of lack oftechnical know-how of goods to be produced. In 1996, capacity utilization rose to 10 percent, while
doubling the 1994 production. This continued on the increase to 30 percent in 1999 due to acquisitionof better technical know-how (Table 5). However, if efforts are not made to have appropriate repair andmaintenance process, improved knowledge and skills used in plant operations among others, it isexpected that with time, production will decline as happened to the older firms studied.
Table 5: Capacity Production (in Tonnes) at Woods (Nig) Ltd

Plant Capacity
Actual Production
Capacity Utilization (%)
Efficiency (%)

1994

1996

1998

1999

80,000
3,800
4.8
10

80,0008,300
10
2180,000
16,10020
40

80,00023,70030
59

Source: Fieldwork, 2000.

PRODA
The company produces a lot of items, but our major concern for this study is with clay products as abuilding material. In this case, it is brick that is used either as walling material or as facing bricks. The
efficiency has always been low (about 3 percent) since the firm was not able to upgrade its kiln fromits rudimentary state since the late 1970s.
NBRRI
In this case, it was expected that since the machine is 100% locally produced and the raw materials
are sourced locally, the clay blocks should have been well received and adapted. This has neverbeen the case. A lot of practitioners do not know about it and those that do find it difficult to replicate.
Other problems include inability to reduce initial cost of machine inaccessibility to raw material (claymay not be available at the building site) and non-availability of trained masons.

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27

Financial Infrastructure
Generally, Nigerians are very suspicious of investigations in respect of the financial state of theirestablishments. Thus, we were unable to gather adequate information of this aspect of the work
directly. However, the following aspects were observed.
In respect of financial infrastructure, it is not easy to access funds from the commercial banks. They
are interested in short-term loans at relatively high interests rather than industrial developments thatneed long-term loans at low interests to allow for profits and development of technological capabilities.
Foreign exchange is generally needed for machines and spare parts. As resources are highly limited,the choice of technology is affected. Most times, since foreign input is substantial, the overseas
partners dictate the type of machines. to be supplied. The foreign exchange needed is purchased
through commercial banks from the central bank. This is through the daily bidding. The amount soldis highly controlled by the Federal Government. This causes delays in remitting money. The gravity ofthis problem is better appreciated when the issues of high inflationary rate and under pricing of thenaira in the foreign exchange market are considered.
Incentives in the form of preferential access to foreign exchange, protection, grants and tax relief are
generally on short-term basis and are often removed abruptly at the whims and caprices of policy
makers. The complaint is that most Nigerian investors are insincere and quickly abuse incentives
when given. However, this cannot be an excuse for not making finance accessible. What we need are
effective monitoring and evaluation systems that must be put in place on a long run basis.
ii)

The National Level Technological Capabilities (NLTC)

These sets of capabilities including physical and social infrastructure human capital scienceengineering and technological efforts financial infrastructure and intermediate input supply basewere at a very low level or absent in the firms studied.
Physical and Social Infrastructure
Observations were made of the available infrastructure in the establishments and the level of theirinteraction with the immediate environment.
AT&P
The factory, administration unit and the supporting infrastructure are housed within a landmass ofabout 150 hectares. The establishment generates its own electricity and water. Workers are employed
directly and indirectly through its distribution and transportation networks. The company also provides
means of livelihood for a large proportion of Sapele Local Government Area and its neighbors. Mostof its suppliers and distributors are from the immediate environment. The AT&P Technical Training

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ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

School also trains technicians from the environment, who then set up small-scale shops. This facility
has made the area, especially Benin and Warri regions, noted for the production of sophisticated andgood quality wood furniture and craft in the country.
The company built a neighborhood road to connect its factory to the town of Sapele and also to allow
easy delivery of its raw materials and evacuation of its finished products. A staff club is provided for useof staff members and guests.
Woods (Nig) Ltd
The factory is located on one hectare of land in a high-density area of Port Harcourt. At the time of thestudy, the company was hooked to a neighbourhood transformer for its electricity supply. Thistransformer was not functioning and therefore the company had to use a private generator. This isvery expensive, thus limiting its daily use. Workers are employed from Port Harcourt through interviews
conducted regularly. There are no facilities for staff training. When it needs labor of a particular skill,advertisements are placed in the local newspaper and interviews conducted to select the best available
candidate.
PRODA
The factory is located on 10 hectares of land on the outskirts of Enugu while the administrative
section is housed in the city of Enugu some six kilometres from the factory. Of note is the fact that there
is no easy communication between the two sections of the establishment and communication is
person to person. The factory has no relationship with the town and residents are not aware of its
existence and products. The staff strength has not grown for about 15 years. The environment looks
dilapidated and unkempt, and not much activity is going on. Access to the main connector road isthrough circuitous route that is not maintained.
NBRRI
Physical infrastructure of about 20 hectares of land exists. The premise is easily identified from the
Idiroko Express Way, although it is located out of town and it is not easily accessible from Lagos. It
relocated to this site about five years ago from a more accessible site in the heart of Lagos that
became congested over time. Some of the buildings are still under construction. However, thosealready completed are unique as they are built with their product of stabilized earth with fair-faced
finish.
The establishment has no relationship with the locality, as it is too far from the closest village. Most
residents of the nearest Satellite Town of Otta are not aware of its existence. Even its products are notavailable in the local building material markets at Otta.

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29

Human CapitalThe depth of skills and knowledge of human resources constitutes a very important aspect in theprocess of acquisition of technological capabilities. It is also important in the development of indigenous
capabilities. It is only at AT&P that there were well worked-out training programs especially by theparent body UAC (Nig) Ltd. The effect was apparent in the performance of the firm. However, thetraining was not sustained. In all the firms, what is apparent is that staff members perform better when
there are programs put in place for both formal and on the job regular training. Immediately thisceases, performance dwindles and it becomes a major factor in the eventual collapse of the industry.
AT&P
By 1991, there was a general manager, six heads of departments and about 2000 workers working forthe company. The six departments are forest, production, engineering, commercial, personnel andmarketing.
In respect of training, various programs were organized by UAC. (Lagos). Also, some training programs
and conferences were organized in-house when needed. For example, the Annual Management
Conference took place from 1991 to 1993 with the proceedings well reported in the quarterly journalof the company i.e. Timber News, that was regular when started but with time production became
irregular and finally stopped when the firm went into depression.
For a company that has been in existence for such a long time, the welfare package has been very
poor. Housing allowance is very small compared to other firms in the country. In the case of health,there is an industrial clinic that deals with emergency cases, management staff and their families
while the junior staff members are given a health allowance that is paltry. In case of serious industrial
accidents, the company pays for referrals to specialist hospitals. Because of this occupational hazard,
the staff members are compensated with up to 80% of their monthly salaries and given lighter jobs.
Up to the time of the interview, negotiations are still going on about compensation for affected staff
members who have lost limbs from industrial accidents and since the company is distressed, they do
not have nothing to do. Transport allowance is given to the staff. There is a gratuity and pension
scheme in force but the pension, though regularly paid, is not adjusted in relation to inflation and thus,
over time, the amount has become insignificant and ridiculous. There are good safety gadgets
provided and replacements are imported regularly. The management-staff relationship was very
cordial until 1993. After this period, it became poor. This led to a strained relationship even when theincumbent managing director was removed. Since then there had been a lot of mistrust between the
management and the junior staff.

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ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

Woods (Nig) Ltd.
From 1994 to September 2000, there has been no expatriate labor at both managerial and technicallevels. There has also been no supervisor specifically for the production unit. Supervision had always
been carried out by the Managing Director (who got his knowledge from reading brochures etc.).
Between 1994 and 1997 there were three staff members at managerial level. This increased in1998
by one and has been constant to date. Table 6 portrays staff changes from 1994 to date.
The firm finds it difficult to recruit skilled labor in the woodcraft industry. The unskilled labor employed
has to be trained in-house as craftsmen. There have been 25 such craftsmen trained so far by thecompany since its inception. Having trained them, in the past five years, four technicians and 20
craftsmen have left the firm. This is despite the incentives of periodic salary increment and cash
rewards.
Welfare package is fair in relation to general welfare systems in the country. Members of staff live incompany houses. The company has a staff clinic for members of staff and their immediate family. A
handsome allowance is given for transport. There is a pension and gratuity scheme in force and the
management-staff relationship is cordial. However, there is no safety scheme in place, thus exposing
the staff to industrial accidents.
PRODA
To date, the staff strength consists of a supervisor that oversees the whole set-up, five foremen andthirty-five craftsmen. They have been working with the company from 15 years and above. The
company sparingly organized training programs with the result that majority of staff members are in
the low and intermediate cadre despite the fact that they have been working for the company for
between 15-30 years. However, a few enterprising members of staff are attending the evening degree
programs at the Enugu State University, Enugu, with the plan of changing their career when they
complete their degree programs.
About 50 percent of senior staff members are accommodated in company houses. A rent subsidy,
although given to other members of staff, is small. The amount given is smaller than that given by thefederal government to civil servants at the state level. In respect of health, staff members are expected
to use the general hospital and when receipts are tendered from the general hospital, they are paid.
In practice, staff members patronize private clinics at their own expense, as the services at thegeneral hospital are sub-standard.
Transport allowance given to staff members is small. Buses are provided especially for the juniorstaff but the service is not consistent. This is despite the fact that the firm is located out of town and it
is not easily accessible by public transport. There is a well worked-out gratuity and pension scheme.
Although the amount is small, it is paid regularly.

ACQUISITION OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF INDIGENOUS BUILDING MATERIALS FIRMS IN NIGERIA

31

Table 6: Labor Profile at Woods Nig. Ltd.
Cadre
Management
Technical
Skilled labor
Unskilled
Total

Local
Expatriate
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
3
3
15
4
25

3
3
15
4
25

3
3
20
4
30

3
3
20
4
30

4
3
28
4
39

4
3
29
4
39

4
3
19
4
30

Not applicableNot applicableNot applicableNot applicable

Source: Fieldwork, 2000.
NBRRI
The present staff strength that deals with both production and research consists of four engineers,
five scientists, six technicians, two artisans, four architects, two quantity surveyors and one land
surveyor. There are also 23 workers in research and development and all of them are working in the
Building Department. The institute has six departments: Building Research, Road Research,
Engineering Research, Special Projects, Production, information and Planning, and Finance andAdministration. For staff development, each member of staff was given the opportunity to attend one
workshop or training program in a year. This was subject to availability of funds in the organization.
Welfare package is below average compared to the university that has the same salary structure. All
members of staff are entitled to a housing allowance. Retainership clinics are used to supply medical
services for senior members of staff and their immediate family members. Junior staff members areencouraged to use the general hospitals and expenses paid back on production of receipts. For
transport, buses are provided for junior and senior staff as the organization is located in a remote areaon the outskirts of Lagos and car loans are not given to staff. A gratuity and pension scheme is in force.
A pension board was set up in 1998 that makes payments regularly. Nothing is put in place in respectof safety but a case is currently being made about safety conditions in the organization. The
management and staff relationship is cordial. However, we observed that the workers are idle. Theylack equipment to work with and the bureaucracy is too cumbersome for the effective utilization of
their potential. Thus, staff members are not able to utilise the incentive of the 10 percent commission
entitlement for any job sourced by a staff.
Physical Investment
In all the firms studied, a major problem is that of regular maintenance and overhauling of machinery.
In all of them, there is no clear-cut program put in place for refurbishing and replacement when any
equipment reaches its lifespan. Thus with time, the equipment became inefficient and consequently
obsolete. In AT&P, because it is a subsidiary of UAC (Nig) Ltd, there was an initial maintenanceprogram. The firm started backsliding seriously in 1981 when the program was not followed

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ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

conscientiously again. Also, the present apparent success of Woods (Nig) Ltd is because the machines
are relatively new. If no conscious effort is made to effect a maintenance program, the factory too will
gradually grind to a halt like its predecessors.
The Case of Emenite (Nig) Ltd.
Emenite (Nig) Ltd was established in 1961 at Emene, Enugu, on a joint ownership basis with foreign
partners from Belgium and with equity participation. It first commenced production in 1963. The
technical support lines from foreign partners are ranked in order of importance.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Research and development for new processes
Procurement of raw materials
Procurement of spare parts and components
Plant refurbishment
Major annual maintenance

Raw Materials
Conscious efforts are made to source for raw materials and spare parts locally (Table 7). The threemajor raw materials are cement (85 percent and sourced locally from WAPCO), fibre (10 percent andimported) and cellulose (five percent and sourced locally). The imported component cannot besourced locally because it is part of the contractual arrangement with the foreign partners. The
company operates the stocking of six months for raw materials and at least two months for finishedproducts.
Choice of Technology
The technology used is superior to that of local competitors with knowledge-intensive core technology.
Initial purchase and installation of machinery was 100 million naira (about one million US$) and areplacement cost of 150 million naira (fifteen million US$). The production line (that was purchasedfrom Europe) was the single most costly item. Information core technology was from the foreign
partners. Alternative technology was not considered because local technology of such standard was
not available. The search for the core technology was carried out in Germany and Belgium. Qualified
staff members (but not necessarily experienced) were sent to make assessment of available
technology. Options were not considered, as the local investors did not have the resources to dictate
terms. Also, local consultants were not hired to evaluate options, as there were no sufficient consultantsin the field especially in plant fabrication at the time.
From the performance of the plant, it was felt that the right choice of technology was made considering
the prevailing circumstances. The following reasons were given.
•

The government had no facility in place to provide consultants at conceptualization of

ACQUISITION OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF INDIGENOUS BUILDING MATERIALS FIRMS IN NIGERIA

•
•
•
•
•

33

projects
Advice was sought from PRODA in respect of selecting and bargaining for core technology.
The result was inadequate.
There is no government grant or fiscal subsidy to aid choice of technology.
The Nigerian Standard Organization (NSO) is concerned with product quality standards. It
does not assist in making the product of high quality.
The unfavorable and high inflationary rate of foreign exchange dictates that projects have to
be conceived and executed fast.
Government agencies have not been of any assistance in overcoming performance problems.

Over the years, the machines have been upgraded locally, some spare parts have also been fabricatedlocally, the storage of materials have been improved thus minimizing waste and raw materials
alternatives are regularly sourced locally. However, the foreign partners still enjoy the monopoly of theessential important components of both the materials and machines without which the wholeestablishment cannot operate. This has been a major criticism of technology transfer from thedeveloped.
Table 7: Project Input at Emenite (Nig) Ltd in Percentages
Year

Local Raw
Materials

1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999 Jan-Sept.

75
75
80
80
85
85

Imported Raw
Materials
25
25
20
20
15
15

Local Parts
90
90
90
95
95
95

Imported Parts
10
10
10
5
5
5

Source: Fieldwork 2000.

Production Capabilities
The production capability follows the process designed by the foreign partners. This is highlysophisticated with little local innovations. Although during our reconnaissance, the machines appeared
to be well run and maintained, on closer inspection, the essential part of production management isimported. Thus, in the event of the establishment being deprived of these facilities, the local equivalent
had not been developed.
The range of products by the company is shown in Table 8. The average efficiency of production isabout 50 percent and the capacity utilization is about 48 percent (Table 9) for the past five years. Most
times because of failure of The National Electricity Power Authority (NEPA), the company has been

34

ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

spending a lot of money to keep its private generator working. This ensures increased production thathas doubled over the years.
Table 8: Range of Products by Emenite (Nig) Ltd
S/No

Product

Percentage of Total Production

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Emcal Flat sheets
Standard corrugated sheets
Ultimate sheets
Corrugated roof-up sheets
Emulux/Qualitile/Duracal/Garden Items

70
15
5
5
5

Total

100

Source: Fieldwork, 2000.

Physical and Social Infrastructure
The factory, administrative unit and the supporting infrastructure are housed within an area of about
three hectares at a satellite village of Emene near Enugu. The company generates its own electricity
and water. The physical infrastructure is well planned with the buildings in conducive surroundings.
Apart from recruiting part of its unskilled labor primarily from the locality, the company has no relationshipwith the environment.
Human Capital
As part of its contractual agreement with the foreign partners, the company employs two technicallyskilled expatriates. In fact, they hold the key to the workings of the factory that they guard jealously. As
it is difficult to find relevant technical labor in the country, engineers, scientists, technicians, craftsmen
and artisans who have obtained B.Sc. Higher National Diploma, and trade tests in their respective
areas of professional competence are employed regularly. Thus put in place is a well-worked out inhouse training program where these professionals are retrained specifically for the company. Incentives
to staff include sponsorship to attend part-time courses in higher institutions and satellite campuses
in Enugu. Also included, is the retirement benefit plan for every member of staff. Thus, in the past five
years, only three engineers, a scientist, a building professional, two technicians, five craftsmen andsix artisans have resigned from the company.

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Table 9: Capacity Production (Metric Tons) at Emenite (Nig) Ltd

Plant Capacity
Actual Production
Capacity Utilization(%)
Efficiency (%)

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

40,00012,00030
50

40,00014,00035
50

40,00016,00040
50

40,00018,90047
c50

40,00025,00063
50

40,00032,0008050Source: Fieldwork, 2000.
Welfare package is good as testified by the staff, although there is room for improvement. Housing
allowances are given. However, members of staff are agitating for revolving housing loans so as tohave the opportunity to build their own houses. The company has an industrial clinic within thepremises. Coupled with this, individuals are given medical allowances. Transport allowance is given
and, although gratuity is paid when due, staff members feel that the pension allowance should be
improved. In respect of safety in the work environment, the staff members agree that safety training on
prevention methods is arranged regularly for staff. The company provides state of the art safety
methods and gadgets for staff.
Finance and Incentives
Local participation in financing of the establishment is through commercial banks. The financial
constraints of high interest rate and difficulty in the procurement of foreign exchange affected the
choice of technology. Foreign exchange is needed for raw materials and spare parts, machines etc.
This situation is better appreciated when we put into focus the point that foreign exchange is obtained
through bidding and no preference whatsoever is given to manufacturers.
However, along the line, government inducements resulted in sourcing of local raw materials. Lip
service by government agencies in using the products resulted in patronage of less than five percent
for government projects. The problem is that the policies are not sustained. They are mostly one-timeshots.
Research and Development
About 10 percent of annual budget were used for research and development and about five percent
of staff members are engaged in research and development. However, there are no government
subsidies or data bank where information can be assessed. The company through its research has
been able to produce a brand of roofing sheets that competes favorably with corrugated iron sheets(the cheapest roofing material in the market). This brand of asbestos is more durable, accessible
and is easier to fix by artisans. This is a major achievement by Eternit.

36

ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

On the other hand, the company exhibits all the problems of technology transfer especially that ofbeing saddled with an expensive process line that does not adapt easily to local spares. Thus, there
are periods when the products are scarce on the market. This may be because of inability to procure
essential spares from foreign partners. Most times, the problem leads to hiking of the prices of thematerials in the market.
Research Institutes
The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) and two research institutes, theNigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) and Federal Institute for Industrial Research(FIIRO) were studied in-depth. This was aimed at finding out the reasons for their inability to develop
products that were expected to affect the supply of indigenous building materials in the country. Indepth interviews were carried out with responsible officers at the selected firms. The interviews
centered on building materials developed and produced for the market. Major problems include theinability of government to make adequate resources accessible to the organizations regularly: This
would enable them to carry out meaningful research and to disseminate findings adequately to theusers of the products. Stifling the organization of funds will disorganize research programs in theinstitutes and dampen the enthusiasm of researchers and ultimately affect their contribution in anegative way. Other important problems highlighted include procurement of materials and factors
affecting capacity utilization along with obstacles affecting their efforts to make the products accessible
to the users.
The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC)RMRDC was established in 1988 at Abuja with the main aim of expediting development and selfreliance through maximum utilization of local raw materials for industrial usage. This is achieved by
the Council’s participation in all the organized private sector operations and programs they are invitedto, examples being quarterly meetings of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and NASSI.
Its relationship with research institutes in the country is through commissioning of specific research
projects. A monitoring system is put in place to get feedback from the end users of the products
emanating from the research projects. The main users of its services are the organized private
sectors, manufacturing industries, government and prospective foreign investors. To promote its
work, techno-economic surveys of industries are done twice a year. However, the council does nothave any link with design and construction users. Also, it is through these surveys that the council has
been able to identify some alternative raw materials for industries involved in wood and clay products.
TimberPresently, there are ten types of wood–based industries in Nigeria. These industries use wood materials
for sawmills, plymills, particleboards, logs, poles, matches and toothpicks and medicare. Most ofthem are located in the wood producing states of Lagos, Cross Rivers, Ondo, Oyo, Imo, Edo, Delta
and Ogun states. All of them account for about 90 percent of the saw milling business in the country.

ACQUISITION OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF INDIGENOUS BUILDING MATERIALS FIRMS IN NIGERIA37

Saw Mill Process Technology In Nigeria
The process technology used is labor-intensive. Manual labor is used throughout in the rolling,sawing and loading of planks. The technology is obsolete, leading to wood waste of up to 50 percent.
The spare parts for the machines used in slicing are imported. This has led to a lot of sawmills folding
up in the recent past. Even the special vehicles used in transporting the logs on land are obsolete andthey break down regularly along the motorways in the areas of operation.
Installed Capacity and Utilization of wood and wood products
In 1988, Nigeria had 14.9 million hectares of forestland capable of producing roughly 305 million
cubic metres of wood. Of this, 70 percent (214 million cubic metres) was utilizable. About 80 percentof this came from the rain forest and the rest came from plantations.
According to RMRDC (1999), the estimated requirement of the wood industry in 1988 was about 7
million m3 while the installed capacity was put at about 8.8 million m3. In 1992, the total number
required was estimated at 6 million m 3, while the national installed capacity was 16.4 million m 3. In
1996, total log requirement stood at 7.1 million m 3 while the installed capacity was 16.6 million m 3.
The shortfall over time was 1.84 million m3 in 1988, 10.45 million m3 in 1992 and 9.56 million m3
in1996 (See Table 10).
Sawmills Production
According to RMRDC (1999), of the 6,994,660m 3 of round logs produced in 1988, about 6,256,500m 3(89.4 percent) went into sawmills. In 1992, about 5,759,765m 3 (95.5 percent) of the logs wereconsumed by the sawmills. In 1996, the amount dropped to 4,200,000m 3 (54.4 percent). Over theyears, the sawmills industry consumed over 80 percent of logs produced, thus making it the dominantwood-based industry in the country. The fall in 1992 arose because of the poor economy, while therise in 1996 was due to a partial recovery from the recession and the accompanying new demand fortropical hard wood in the international market. However, the national capacity for utilization dropped
due to poor and inefficient wood conversion methods and inadequate log supply.
Plywood Production
Ply-mill requires wood of specific quality, the absence of which has led to a fall in the production of
plywood and veneer. At the same time most of the good quality plywood are smuggled out of thecountry. The capacity utilization in the industry in 1992 was only 35 percent and in1996 there was a
shortfall 40.8 percent.
Research and Development Programs
In fulfilling its mandate, the council has continued to strengthen and pursue more vigorously its
research and development programs on the development of raw materials the industries. This mandate

38

ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

is very broad and a lot of activities fall under it. To date, the council has not carried out any major
activity in respect of clay. As it relates to timber, a tree plantation project that was concerned with
development of tree plantations of indigenous economic species was initiated in 1999. This wasconcerned with sponsoring institutions to produce improved materials for distribution to private sector
investors, communities and local government areas (LGAs) for plantation establishments. The
characteristics of the seedlings showed that they are all geared towards boosting the supply ofagricultural raw materials. We expect that this is not a one-time shot and that with time; the facility will
be extended to not only replenish our timber forest but carry out research to improve and increase
supply of contemporary timber. Also, we expect that clay will be focused on in due course.
Awareness of RMRDC Existence
RMRDC carries out seminars and workshops at national, state and local levels to promote publicawareness of its work. It has 33 liaison offices in as many states. However, interaction between its
offices and interested people is only by correspondence. Also, meaningful information can only beaccessed at Abuja. This makes the liaison offices virtually redundant. A very important observation isthat the register of industries available at the council is not up to date. Most of the industries are out of
production. This does not augur well for the development and sustenance of industries in Nigeria.
The Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI)
The institute has existed for about 22 years with six departments. It has moved to its permanent site on
the outskirts of Lagos. It operates a closed budget with a percentage of actual disbursement bygovernment given to each department. Generally, and as shown in the example, an average of about
48 percent of actual budget was disbursed yearly from 1996-1999 (Table 11).
Majority of the financial allocations to the institute have been used for infrastructure development (asthe institute has just moved to the new site) and in running the institute. Little has been put into
research. Most times, funds were diverted to take care of special projects e.g. purchase of furniture
for staff offices etc. The building department operated a zero-budget in 1998. Thus, N300, 000.00
was diverted into the department from other sources. This amount was too little to have any appreciable
impact on research in the department.
Members of staff observed that the government has not encouraged research into building materials
and components in the country. The United Nations recommends that countries should spend at
least about 3 percent of its GDP on research in order to develop meaningfully. Ghana with less than
10 percent of Nigeria’s population, spends about 0.01 percent of its GDP while Nigeria spends about0.001 percent of its GDP. This shows that Nigeria, is not serious about research generally and pays
only lip service to it. The attitudes of policy makers show that they do not know or appreciate the actual
import of research. The attitudes of officials of the Ministry of National Planning portray ignorance on
the part of policy-makers respect to research. Even private organizations are not encouraging local
research institutes. Most of them are multi-nationals that prefer importation of materials, as they

ACQUISITION OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF INDIGENOUS BUILDING MATERIALS FIRMS IN NIGERIA

39

receive research result packages from their home countries.
Table 10: Installed Capacity and Utilization in the Wood and Wood Products Sector (19881996)
Raw materials(Wood Resource)

1988
Installed Utilized

1992
Utilized Installed

1996
Utilized

Wood (M 3 )Saw mill (M 3)
Ply mill (M 3)Particle board(M 3)
Furniture (M 3)
Poles and Co

8831750 6994660 16482318 6031922 16625653
8050000 6256500 15793188 5759765 10900000
565000 345000 512510
180857 5306000
117000 55000 62140
34290
7500
394300 212700 99450 55100
37750-

7069145
8200000
21639754600-

Installed

Source: RMRDC Annual Report, 1999.
Research and Development
A total of 24 staff members are engaged in research and development in the Building Department of
the institute.
These are four engineers, five scientists, six technicians, two artisans, four architects, two quantity
surveyors and one land surveyor, Although the researchers are placed on the University Salary Scale,the salaries and allowances are not paid on time. Most of the equipment for research has broken
down. For minor researches, grants of N50, 000.00 are given. In 1997, (23) staff members got the
grant from the institute; those for 1998 and 1999 were still pending when this interview was conducted
in November 1999. As the research grants are not given regularly, it is difficult for research staff to plan
their work and come out with meaningful results. Thus, the researchers are disillusioned and in total,
not much research work is carried out. In spite of these constraints, NBRRI has done a lot of work on
clay as a building material. They have developed and utilized clay bricks and blocks and presently
they are improving on them. They developed burnt bricks, cement stabilized bricks, and manufactured
a brick-making machine. With respect of this machine, the question is why the adoption of thistechnology a problem. Identified is lack of equipment for research, and that currently in use is outdated.
Others include lack of funds to purchase new equipment and local materials input and lack of
incentives for staff members. There is the issue of poor remuneration and welfare packages forresearchers. For example, the last training session for professionals in the building industry using
NBRRI research products was that on clay held in 1985.

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ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

Table 11: Profile of Budgetary allocation at NBRRI from 1996-1999.
Year
1996
1997
1998
1999

Budgeted Amount(Million Naira)
100
72
60
50

Actual Disbursement(Million Naira)
60
30
30
20
Average disbursement

Percentage Disbursed
62
42
50
40
48.5

Source: Fieldwork, 2000.
Research is not fully developed in the area of meeting the specifications of the users. Also, research
is not market driven. Even when innovative products e.g. clay blocks are developed, they are not given
enough publicity that will make prospective users aware of them. Artisans are not trained regularly inthe art of laying the blocks and most importantly, there has not been appreciable improvement in the
product (clay bricks) for the past 15 years.
Federal Institute for Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO)FIIRO is located in Oshodi in Lagos and was established in 1956, (44 years ago). There are presently
six departments: Engineering; Biotechnology; Policy and Monitoring; Food; Chemical and Fibre; andAnalytical Services.
Research and Development
The staff strength includes a total of 25 engineers, scientists, e.g chemists, microbiologists etc. andover 50 technologists with a Higher National Diploma. Other members in the department include
plumbers, carpenters, secretarial staff etc. These are expected to take part in demonstration projectsof developed projects.
A separate allocation for research is included in the budget. This amount (although the actual figures
were not given) from our observation could not have been adequate as there was no sign of appreciable
research activities taking place. For a particular research to be embarked on, the mandate has to begiven by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Science and Technology. Not much researchis carried out on timber, as there has never been the mandate for it. However, there is on-going
research (that started in 1994) on wood waste as a major component in the production of fibre pulp
and fibreboard for the building industry. The focus is on developing a simple recycling process of thewood waste. The local raw material for this project is got from the nearby forest regions of Ogun and
Edo states. Also, in the early 1990s, some research was carried out on clay with the building industry

ACQUISITION OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF INDIGENOUS BUILDING MATERIALS FIRMS IN NIGERIA

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in mind. This has since been aborted.
Presently, activities in respect of research is concerned with assisting interested entrepreneurs thatapproached the institute for advice on machines and sources of raw materials. An example is that offloor and wall tiles. A major problem is the issue of who should provide the resources for research.
Building firms that consult the institute for research activities lose interest when the cost of researchis brought into discussion. This is because, generally, Nigerians expect basic research and design
results from government agencies as part of its contribution to industrial growth in the country.
Advertisement
The process of getting research findings to the market that will eventually reach the end users isthrough the technological marketing section. This section informs the public about the new materials
available. It is responsible for representing the institute at trade fairs, conduction of seminars andwriting of reports. The National Agency for Technological Acquisition (NATA) also helps in creatingawareness. According to our interviewees, clients have not been responding due to the generalapathy towards new products. Most entrepreneurs have a low capital base. Coupled with this, theproducts are not patented. However, no clay or wood products have been designed by the institute,even though research has been carried out on them for production purposes and there is a greatneed for products. These products are presently being imported into the country.
Staff Welfare
The welfare package for staff is very poor, thus staff members are not motivated. With respect totraining, staff members claimed that nothing had happened in the past 16 years as there is no well
worked out programs. Before then, a few senior and junior staff members were for relevant training in
China, France and in local institutions like ASCON at Badagry. However, the work environment madeit impossible for them to use their training to research activities in the institute. The low staff turnover
can be attributed to the general poor economy in the country. Incentives are given to staff who bringbusiness to the institute in the form of percentage rewards. End of year award for best research andtechnology ideas etc. is also given. However, all these incentives are negated by the inability of theinstitute to put in place facilities and programs that will enhance staff performances.
In respect of housing, different packages are provided for junior and senior staff. Senior staff arehoused at the institute’s quarters, while junior staff are given housing allowances. Nobody has been
provided with housing loans for private housing provision. There is a medical clinic that is operated
from staff resources with free medication but this cannot cater for serious ailments. In such situations,staff are expected to makel private arrangements.
Buses are provided to transport staff to and from work. These are inadequate. Senior staff were given
car-refurbishing loans a few months before the interview so that they could repair their very old cars.
A staff member is entitled to gratuity after working for five years. After working for ten years, he is entitled

42

ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

to gratuity and pension. However, it is an uphill task to collect these entitlements especially for thejunior staff.
There is no well worked out package for safety. Safety gadgets are not provided on the job. Nonprovision of the facilities is caused by red tape from the supervising ministry. Generally, there is a lackof resources for purchasing essential materials necessary for research and production. Most times,
staff improvise and, with time, get disillusioned and consequently redundant.
Professional Bodies
The Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) and The Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveying (NIQS)
NIA and NIQS were selected for the in-depth study in respect of their activities because of theirpromotion of the improvement of the use of indigenous building materials. The institutes do not haveregular organized fora for disseminating information on new and available building materials
manufactured locally or the selection of available building materials. There are no regular awarenessprograms directed at members and the general public on design and construction possibilities ofindigenous materials available in the country. There are also no regular programs for sustaining thelink between optimizing the design and construction of buildings and use of indigenous building
materials.
However, there is some link between NIA and manufacturers of building materials. These are withorganized import-oriented groups like aluminium products companies and mechanical and electricalcompanies that sponsor some of their products. There is also minimal creation of awareness among
members on cost and availability of indigenous building materials, especially timber and clay. The
two institutes have no link between them and research institutes in the country. All the professional
institutes have their annual conferences on particular themes that are directed primarily at theirmembers.
NIA, because of all these problems, instituted the Architect’s Forum and the annual Archibuilt Event in1990. Although the program has been in operation for ten years, it is still working towards achieving
the desired results. Archibuilt cannot be the only event to achieve the desired goal of improving the
manufacture and use of local building materials. There must be a lot of programs of interaction,awareness, incentives and research put in place by the professional bodies in partnership with the
manufacturers, financiers, users, government agencies and the general public. This in the long run
will assist in achieving the desired goal.
The NIA and Archibuilt
In 1985, NIA realised that for successful implementation of the National Housing Policy, there wasneed for concerted and sustained efforts at developing local building materials and promotion theirutilization. Determined therefore to put in place an effective machinery to bring this to fruition, andACQUISITION OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF INDIGENOUS BUILDING MATERIALS FIRMS IN NIGERIA

43

conscious of the general paucity of information and awareness on the availability, sourcing, exploitation
and utilization of the locally available building materials, the institute embarked on the Archibuilt
Forum in 1990, to fill this vacuum (Famuyibo, 2000). Archibuilt is, therefore, an annual specialized
national forum of building materials and construction technology. It is aimed at providing a forum forthe exchange of ideas between manufacturers of building materials and the relevant professionals
who specify their products on the one hand, and with the end users who are the ultimate focus of theexhibition.
Week–long planned activities are held annually. The activities comprise interaction of architects,
quantity surveyors, engineers, estate surveyors with each professional body using a day to plan activities
for awareness, exhibition, interaction etc. with manufacturers, end-users and the general public.
Although, the program has been in operation for ten years, it is still working towards achieving thedesired results. The publicity is still very weak and the most people are not aware of it.
Micro-scale Enterprises
The micro-scale enterprises interviewed are involved with stocking and selling of materials in themarkets. They get their supplies from the manufacturers. They patronise the manufacturer who can
supply according to requirements and on time. Most times they are expected to pay a large sum ofmoney to become distributor of the specific product. Thus, it is the market forces that determine theactual cost of the materials to the consumers. Generally, because of the inefficient volume of production,
the manufacturing firms supply less than the requirements and there is the problem of high transportation
costs and high possibilities of accidents as the roads are not well maintained. These problems are
responsible for the high cost of the materials at the selling points. The manufacturers do not interact
with the artisans using their products. The only interaction that the enterprises have with the
manufacturers is when the quality of the products is poor. They use the opportunity to appeal to thecompanies to improve the quality of their products.
Artisans
Majority of those interviewed had used the materials for a long time. Most of them trained as apprentices
and became to experienced workmen. A profile of six of the artisans interviewed is presented in Table
12. Compared to other building materials, they agree that timber products are relatively cheap as they
are sourced locally. They know about improvement in the use of the materials from the marketers,
who invariably are artisans; architects, who specify and encourage the use of these materials; andcontractors, who use these materials on their building sites. They agree that there are not a lot of clay
products on the market. Thus, an artisan that specialises in clay products must specialise in othertrades so as to be able to earn an appreciable living wage. However, the cost of labor for clay products
is higher than that to sandcrete blocks as there are less artisans involved in brick laying. This allows
them to enjoy a monopoly.

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ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

Testing of Hypothesesi)Hypothesis One: Indigenous raw materials are not accessible in the building
materials industry in Nigeria. This has led to extremely low
level of efficiency in the process of technological acquisition
and accumulation in the building materials industry in Nigeria.
Raw Materials
In all the firms studied, the states of supply of raw materials are as follows:•
AT&P: Timber, that contributes about 90 percent of the materials needed, is sourced
locally. However, there are the problems of illegal felling, poaching of immature trees, wastage
from wrong harvesting, no appropriate program to replenish the forests, and competitive
usage of timber by cabinet makers and other users. This has led to the dwindling of the
supply over time and eventual shutdown of most of the mills.
•
Woods (Nig) Ltd: Timber is sourced in the local market. Only about five percent
makers of raw materials needed are imported. Apart from the fact that its products are
expensive in the market, there is the problem of being able to access timber in time as theforests are rapidly being depleted, as there is no national well-worked out policy or programfor replenishing the forests.
•
PRODA and NBRRI: Both organizations faced similar problems. These include thedifficulty of collecting enough clay to sustain the building industry, expensive transportation
to the required site, acquisition of land for quarrying of clay, and competition from subsistenceusers. These factors increase inaccessibility and the dwindling of supply.
Profile of Efficiency••••

AT&P: Efficiency dwindled from 50 percent in 1930 to 20 percent in 1980 and three
percent in 1998. Meanwhile the whole factory has collapsed and has presently been put up
for sale.
Woods (Nig) Ltd: Efficiency increased from 10 percent in 1994 to 59 percent in
1999. Presently, the efficiency in the firm is still rising as better technical know-how has justbeen acquired.
PRODA: Efficiency has always been low i.e. three percent, as the kiln has never been
upgraded from its rudimentary state.
NBRRI: As the machine is 100 percent produced in Nigeria, the major problem lies
with sourcing of raw materials. It was difficult to calculate the efficiency of the machine
because it has never been measured, as the machine is still not known in the building
market.

ACQUISITION OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF INDIGENOUS BUILDING MATERIALS FIRMS IN NIGERIA

45

Technical Learning
In all the firms, the state of technology did not allow for technical learning as the technology for
production was imported. Over the years, all that the technicians and the professionals did was tomaintain the machines using imported spare parts. Even when some of the machines are fabricatedin the country, there are no government incentives to encourage their development. Thus, in the longrun, the establishments acquired little or no capabilities and with time, efficiency dwindled. Coupledwith inaccessibility to essential local raw materials, the firms collapsed.
Table 12: Profile of Selected Artisans
1
2
3
4
5
6
Vocation
Carpentry Carpentry Carpentry Technician Technician Technician
Length of use
of mat (years)
7
10
8
3
6
5
Length oftraining (years) 7
5
4
5
4
6
Where did you Lagos-P.H.-Benin
Technical Manufacturer
P.H.-train ?
apprentice apprentice apprentice school(artisan)apprentice(trade test)
Structures built
Timber
20
7
6
3
Clay
5
5
4
10
15
Profitabilityof these mat
Is it profitable? Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Will you
Recommend
their use?
Yes
Yes
Yes
No choice
Yes
Yes
Source: Fieldwork, 2000.
In comparison, in the case of Emenite (Nig) Ltd, where the technology is imported and there is anarrangement with the overseas associates, efficiency is better. However, for 39 years that the firm has
been in existence in Nigeria, no effort has been made to improve technical learning. Thus, theprocess of technological acquisition and accumulation has been very slow.
All the firms studied showed that although indigenous raw materials are abundant (or have thepotential of being abundant) in the country, they are inaccessible to the building materials’ industry.
This problem contributed greatly to low efficiency in respect of performance and the process oftechnological acquisition and accumulation. Therefore inaccessibility of indigenous raw materials
and the shallow depth of technical learning in the firms have contributed considerably to low productivity

46

ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

and extremely low level of efficiency in the process of technological acquisition and accumulation in
the building materials industry in Nigeria.
ii.)

Hypothesis Two: Technological capabilities have been diminishing in thebuilding materials industry in Nigeria over time, because the firms
and governments have not adopted strategies positive to thechanges in the construction sector.

This study has shown that technological capabilities have been diminishing over time at AT&P,
PRODA and NBRRI. Presently, little improvements are taking place in terms of capabilities
development. Even at Woods (Nig) Ltd, the history of woes will continue unless the problems are
solved. The major strategies adopted include importation of machines, sourcing of raw materials
locally which most times are not accessible, inconsistent government policies that are mostly shortterm and whose performances are not evaluated and monitored. Also, all the research institutes
studied are not well financed and the performances of government agencies did not show commitment
on the part of the policymakers and implementation agencies of government programs. This madeit impossible for the institutes to focus and take research into building materials as seriously as they
deserved. Priority and publicity are not given to these areas of research.
The government has not put in place policies, directives and incentives that will motivate the firms totake the risks in developing indigenous capabilities. Monitoring and evaluation have not been
considered in respect of involvement of government agencies in the development of the sector.
Government agencies do not patronize the building materials produced locally in its projects. This
could have been a major publicity for these products in the face of stiff competition from imported
materials that are cheaper, better in appearance and finish, and whose lobbying for favorable
government policies is well known.
None of the following three stages are in place presently: technological capability as a means ofimproving production characteristics, technological capability as a means of supplying to take careof demand, and technological capability as a means of production of new and innovative materials.
Unfortunately, there are no strategies for long-run basis at government level to assist in the productionof raw materials and development of appropriate technology.
Report of the Dissemination Workshop
In an effort to enrich the findings, discussions, and create awareness of the project, a two-day workshop
was organized for policy makers and managers, industrialists, financial experts, academicians, relevant
professionals and builders. The workshop took place in Port Harcourt on the 14th and 15th of November,2000 at Rivers State University of Science and Technology. The idea was to inform them about the
study and with their assistance improve on the recommendations proposed by the research team.
This was carried out on the first day. On the second day, a press briefing was held. The participants
and representatives of the major mass media in the country attended the briefing.

Chapter Six
Major Findings and Discussions
State of Technological Capabilities
Machines
These are imported and are mostly of intermediate technology. There are no plans in place for the
local professionals and technicians to understand the technology of machines manufacturing
especially using local materials. Thus, when the machines break down, the local technicians wereunable to revamp them. In the case of spare parts, most of them are still imported and not much effort
is made to produce them locally.
In all the firms studied, the following was found:•

Timber is sourced locally (between 80 percent – 90 percent). However, it is notaccessible to the firms as:i.
There are well worked-out strategies for replenishing depleted forests
ii.
There is competition from other commercial users
iii.
There is poaching by unpatriotic timber merchants
iv.
Domestic use has increased recently due to high cost and non-availability ofkerosene and cooking gasv.
There is wastage of wood due to the rudimentary nature of felling and logging.

••

Clay is sourced 100 percent locally, but like wood, it is not accessible.
Public provision of infrastructure was either erratic or absent. All firms spend a lot of
resources providing constant and regular supply of water and electricity.

Human Capital
All the firms studied are run with local labor (both skilled and unskilled). A very important aspect
highlighted is on-the-job training to improve the performance and output of workers. Workers attacheda lot of importance to the training as they see it an avenue for improving their skills and consequently
their performance on the job and their future marketability. However, the programs were not carriedout on a long-run basis. This led to dissatisfaction and apathy on the part of the staff.

48

ATPS WORKING PAPER NO. 33

Welfare packages were generally below average compared to general welfare systems in the country.
A common dissatisfaction was lack of well worked-out home ownership system.
The capacity to exploit technology was not in place in any of the firms studied, as production
characteristics were not up to the standard expected to allow this. In addition, there was nothing toencourage production of new and innovative materials and the substitution of traditional factor inputs
to replace imported ones.
The Research Institutes
Government involvement in research into building materials (especially timber and clay) in Nigeria isplagued with the following problems:
i. Policy makers do not appreciate the importance of research.
ii. Policy makers are not aware of the requirements by the building industry to produce
indigenous materials.
iii. Government agencies responsible for research in the country have not mandated theirresearch institutes to focus on local building materials.
iv. When finance in form of subvention is allocated to research institutes by government,
the disbursements are irregular and grossly cut. Thus they are inadequate andinsufficient to be relevant. They are often used for infrastructure development and day-to-day
running of the institutes rather than for research. There is no monitoring system to check the
performances of these institutes.
v. Incentives given to staff are poor and not paid regularly to researchers.
vi. Who should fund research? Is it the government or the organization needing theinformation for its industrial firm?
Government Agencies
The Ministry of Science and Technology does not focus specifically on building materials, researchor availability and accessibility. The Ministry of Finance has not been able to develop consistentpolicies on macro-economic incentives.
The Professional Bodies
There is not much relationship between the professional bodies, the building industrial firms and thegovernment. Although NIA has started with Archibuilt, this is not enough. There is need for otherprofessional bodies to improve on what they have presently. Publicity of these activities must be given
a lot of importance.

ACQUISITION OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF INDIGENOUS BUILDING MATERIALS FIRMS IN NIGERIA

49

Entrepreneurs
All the entrepreneurs work in isolation. There is no association to learn from. They hardly invest in
research and when they do, the investment is too little to have any meaningful effect. They prefer
import substitution, as it makes their work easier and ensures profitability in the short run. Thus,
independent activities are carried but and there is no collaboration. This in most cases leads toduplication of efforts that is not only costly but disallows improvement of development capabilities.
Specific Relevant Policies
Generally, trade liberalization measures imply stiff competition. These are expected to stimulateinnovation in the firms. However, in Nigeria, they led to poor performance and eventual closures of thefirms. This was because a conducive environment was not created for the successful performanceof the firms before liberalization was effected. Also, the economic crises during the SAP period led tosevere capacity under-utilization amidst scarcity, high labor turnover due to low wages, limited flow offinancial and human resources to the technology-generating institutions and most importantly, majorityof the firms, in an effort to reduce overhead expenditures, forgot control. Thus, they were unable tocompete with imported materials.
What is needed are small-scale building materials industries that are supported through stable andconsistent policies, legal and fiscal incentives, access to credit on a regular basis, research andinformation. Also, policies should be put in place to promote information exchange on appropriate
building technologies. Only when these policies and programs are truly part of the industrial environmentthat liberalization measures may be considered.

Chapter Seven
Suggestions and Recommendations
Machines
Imported machinery should be of intermediate technology with spare parts conforming to a prototype that can easily be manufactured in Nigeria. There must be a well worked-out maintenanceprogram right from the onset of purchase and installation.
Appropriate Technology
The appropriate technology for industrial set-ups in Nigeria has to be labor-intensive. This reduces
the degree of automation, as there is a large supply of labor, weak technological infrastructure andbalance of payment problems.
Indigenous Technical Change (ITC)
Technical change cannot be imported. It has to evolve from the local industries themselves. However,for this to happen, the environment must be conducive. There is the need for protective policies anddirectives by the arm of government responsible. Indirect subsidies are essential and relevant for any
industrial strategy in Nigeria. However, experience shows that ITC takes a long time to mature.
Using Technological Shelf
ITC can progress by improving on inventions from other industries. These can be from developed
countries. Thus, in pursuing technological improvements, there is much to draw from the experienceof the rest of the world. The challenge lies in being able to locate it, draw the relevant lessons, adapt,and integrate it into suitable designs for local use. For this to occur, commitment and sincerity of
purpose by all concerned must be exhibited.
International AssistanceInternational assistance must change its form from to that of an enabler. For example, international
agencies can play a crucial role in identifying relevant technologies thus saving the industry fromreinventing the wheel. They have an important role to play in disseminating information on technologicaladvances, as Nigerian firms do not possess institutional infrastructure required to generate market

50and transfer technology. A word of caution, however: most of the aid agencies in the developed
countries are interested in pushing technology that includes machinery supply (sometimes obsolete)with inadequate relevant spare parts at exorbitant costs. All they are interested in is to assist theircountry’s machinery suppliers.
Materials: Timber and ClayThe two materials studied here are available locally. What we need to put in place are programs formaking them accessible to the industrial firms not only regularly but also in the quantity required. To
enable this, good transportation and evacuation systems must be put in place. These systems must
not only be environment-friendly but must be socially, economically and culturally friendly.
Timber
To avoid depletion or over-exploitation of timber, there is need to have the required plantations for alonger period, may be 25 years or more, so as to ensure sustainable supply of the required raw
material for the industries and other users. This dictates a long-term plan that has to be well monitored
and maintained. Sustenance of such plantation will not only lead to a better supply of raw material, butwill also ensure future job creation for youths. This will reduce unemployment, idleness and conflictwith the authorities.
Clay
When pits are burrowed to supply clay, there is a need for a well worked-out rehabilitation program ofthe pits to avoid landslides and environmental degradation.
Financial Infrastructure
There is need for policies affecting lending by commercial banks. This must be viewed as an aspectof social lending. Programs must be put in place to monitor compliance by commercial banks.
Defaulting banks must be penalised. This must be made public so as to discourage other prospective
defaulters. It has to be a permanent system, not the one-shot program that is common.
As foreign exchange is needed mostly for machines and spare parts, there is need on the part ofpolicy makers and the people generally to improve technical know-how. This is possible if a scholarshipsystem is appreciated, mediocrity and sychophancy are discouraged, and funds are used properly.
Also, there is need for government to put in place a system of banking that allows for long-term
financing. Presently, there is a search for an effective system. The problem is that the country is in ahurry to find a solution. It is forgotten that the act of getting the solution to such a problem is a processthat cannot be achieved in a hurry. The solution cannot be transferred from the developed countries.
It has to evolve from the economic environment of the country while learning the solution from

developed countries. The availability of loans cannot be left entirely to market forces as all the factorsthat make such a solution possible are absent in the economic environment of Nigeria. Whenentrepreneurs use personal financing for industrial development the right technology is compromised.
Research and Development
The government has not been forthcoming in terms of commitment and funding of research. In thecase of building materials, there is the need to put in place effective monitoring and evaluation ofmaterials.
Recognition must be given to institutes that have carried out outstanding and innovative research.
This may be through national annual awards that must be well publicized to encourage others.
Nature of Research and Development
Research programs must meet local needs. Technological improvements must be directly linked toparticular plants. This allows the researchers not only to identify technological problems but also toprovide fertile ground in which improvements can be tested.
Re-orientation of the Research Institutes
There is a need for government to have independent and profit-oriented research and production
technology organizations that are solely responsible for producing proto-type simple spare parts fromlocal raw materials for industrial use. Government directives will then be made so that individual
industrial firms sourcing for imported machinery must use these the prototypes. Initially the directives
will include a certain level of compliance by the industrial firms. With time, this percentage can beincreased. This is what should lead to sustainable production of spare parts for industrial firms in the
country. The existing research organization can be upgraded to perform these tasks.
Who Should Fund Research in the Country?
The present luke-warm attitude to research by both policy makers and the general public mustchange. To achieve this change, incentives can be given to companies that encourage research.
Firms can be mandated to use a certain percentage of their earnings for research. Monitoring
compliance must be put in place. Most importantly, government agencies must be seen as encouraging
research in their institutes through regular, adequate and prompt release of research grants. And, theresults of the research must be submitted, evaluated and publicized. Where necessary, government
must patronise of the research results. When the organizations are aware of the benefits of research,
they will be willing to fund it.

Welfare systems
Welfare systems are generally very poor. Staff especially the junior staff, are not adequately catered forand they cannot complain for fear of being sacked. There is need for government to insist in provisionof services that encourage staff members to perform on the job. Most times what is needed is anenabling environment such as home ownership.
Home ownership: This is a service that is always an incentive to staff. As part of the government policy
to increase housing stock in the early 1970s, the federal government mandated employers to institutehome-ownership programs. These programs were to assist staff in securing loans from the Federal
Mortgage Bank (FMB), local banks and building societies to purchase or build personal houses.
Incentives in form of tax rebates were given by the government. Compliance by the firms was monitored
for a few years. However, the FMB was unable to perform effectively and, with time, the firms
discontinued the program due to lack of a system. It is necessary to resuscitate this program. But, thistime around, all the bottlenecks should be ironed out. Home ownership is a panacea for better job
performance in Nigeria.

End Notes
1. United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) “The building
materials industry: the sector in figures” Sectorial Studies Series No. 16, Vol. 11(1985) as cited in UNCHS(Habitat) (1991) Development of National Technological
Capacity for Production of Indigenous Building Materials Nairobi:
UNCHS(Habitat).
2. Accessibility in respect to low cost building materials means material that isavailable in the location at all times, affordable, of appropriate technology,
contemporary and taking the short and long run costs into consideration.
3. As cited in Congdon, R.J. (ed) (1977) Introduction to Appropriate Technology(Towards a Simpler Lifestyle). London: Rodale Press.
4. This is referring to the experience of Egypt in introducing new technology tomodernise the brick industry, as cited in UNCHS (1991) Development of National
Technological Capability for Production of Indigenous Building Materials Nairobi:
UNCHS (Habitat).
6. This is not the real name of the company. The company demanded anonymity before
agreeing to interact with us. We gave it our word.

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Published by the African Technology Policy Studies Network, P.O. Box 10081, 00100 General Post
Office, Nairobi, Kenya.

© 2002 African Technology Policy Studies Network

ISBN 9966-916-88-1

ABOUT THE AFRICAN TECHNOLOGY POLICY STUDIES NETWORKThe African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) is a multi-disciplinary network of researchers,
policymakers, actors in the private sector and other end users interested in generating, promoting andstrengthening innovative science and technology policies in Africa. With a regional secretariate in
Nairobi, the network operates through national chapters in 17 countries, with an expansion plan tocover the entire sub-Saharan Africa.
One of the objectives of the network is to disseminate research results to policy makers, legislators,
the organized private sector, civil society, mass media and farmers’ groups through ppublications,dialogue and advocacy. Among its range of publications are the Working Paper Series (WPS), Research
Paper Series (RPS), Special Paper Series (SPS) and the Technopolicy Briefs.
Papers published under the Working Paper Series (WPS) shall be those produced from the ATPS
small grants process or from regional projects but do not meet the strict requirements set out under
RPS. Failure for these papers to meet the standards of RPS will not suggest that they do not havesignificant policy or methodological contribution to make to the work of ATPS. The Board supports all
efforts aimed at improving the WPS, such as building skills that will make most of the ATPS research
outputs to be published under the RPS. Researchers will be encouraged to produce their final drafts
in a publishable manuscript form that is shorter and easier to read. The format will be established by
the Secretariat.
ATPS is supported by a growing number of donors including the International Development ResearchCentre (IDRC), the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Rockefeller Foundation, the World Bank,
the OPEC Fund, Ford Foundation, Coca-Cola Eastern Africa, the African Development Bank, and theRoyal Dutch Government.

Yomi Oruwari, Margret Jev and Opuene Owei work at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences,
Rivers State University of Science and Technology, at Port Harcourt, Nigeria

For more information on this series and ATPS, contact:
The Executive Director
The African Technology Policy Studies Network
3rd, Floor, The Chancery,
Valley Road
P.O. Box 10081
00100 General Post Office
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: 254-2-2714168/092/498
Fax: 254-2714028
Email: info@atpsnet.org

Abbreviations & Acronyms

ASCON
AT
AT&P
BCM
FIIRO
FLTC
GERS
MAN
NATA
NBRRI
NIA
NIQS
NLTC
NSO
PRODA
RMRDC
SAP
UAC
UNCHS
UNIDO
USD
WAPCO

Administrative Staff College, Badagry, Nigeria
Appropriate Technology
African Timber and Plywood Company, Sapele, Nigeria.
Building Center Movement
Federal Institute for Industrial Research, Oshodi, Lagos.
Firm Level Technological Capability
Gross Energy Requirements
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria
National Agency for Technical Acquisition
Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute, Lagos.
Nigerian Institute of Architect
Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveying
National Level Technological Capability
Nigerian Standard Organization
Project Development Institute, Enugu
The Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Abuja.
Structural Adjustment Programs (or Policies).
United African Company (Nig.) Ltd.
United Nations Center for Human Settlements (Habitat), Nairobi, Kenya
United Nations Industrial Development Organization
United States DollarWest African Portland Cement Company Ltd

ATPS Working Paper Series
No.

Title Publication

1

The Effect of Economic Reform on Technological Capability

2
4
5
6
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

Authors

T. Adeboye
M. S. D. Bafachwa
O. A. Bamiro
Methodological Issues in Science and Technology Policy Research T. Adeboye
N. Clark
Rehabiliation in the Manufacturing Sector in Tanzania
S. M. Wangwe
Agricultural Policy and Technology in Sierra Leone
C. Squire
Effectiveness of Agricultural Research Extension in Sierra Leone
A. K. Lakoh
Generation and Utilization of Industrial Innovation in Nigeria
O. Oyeyinka
G. O. A. Laditan
A. O. Esubiyi
Irrigation in the Tuli Block, Botswana Water Conservation Techniqes
or Optimal Strategies
I. N. Masonde
Endogenous Technology Capacity and Capability Under Conditionsof Economic Policies of Stabilization and Structural Adjustment
S. E. Chambua
Technology and Female-Owned Business in the Urban Informal
Sector of South-West Nigeria
Dr. R. O. Soetan
Technology Innovations Used to Overcome the Problem of Resource
Scarcity in Small Scale Enterprises
C. W. Ngahu
Financing of Science and Technology Institutions in Kenya During
Periods of Structural Adjustment
M. Mwamadzingo
Impact of Economic Liberization on Technologies in Enterprises
Processing Agricultural Produce
P. Madaya
Technology and Institutions for Private Small and Medium Firms
B. Oyeyinka
Institutiona Reform, Price Deregulation and Technological Change
in Smallholder Agriculture
E. C. Eboh
Adoption of Agricultural Technologies by Rural Women under the
Women-in-Agriculture Program in Nigeria
D. S. Ugwu
Electrical Power Utilities and Technological Capacity Building in
Sub-Saharan Africa
Brew-Hammond
Investigation into Factors that Influence the Diffusion and Adoptionof Intentions and Innovations from Research Institutes andBwisa, H. M. andUniversities in Kenya
Gachui
The effects of Economic Reforms on the Quality on the Quality ofTechnological Manpower Development in Nigeria
H. E. Nnebe
Issues in Yam Minisett Technology Tranfer to Farmer in Southern Michael C. Madukwe
Nigeria
Damain Ayichi
Ernest C. Okoli

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31

Technological Respone to Telecommunication Development: A
Study of Firms and Instituions in Nigeria
Gender Differences in Small Scale Rice Farmers’ Access toTechnological Inputs in Enugu State of Nigeria
Adoption of Sustainable Palm Oil Mini-Processing Technology in
Nigeria
Domestic Energy Situation in Nigeria: Technological Implications
and Policy Alternatives
Technological Capability in the Nigerian Leather Industry: A
Firm-Level Case Study
Agricultural Research and Delivery in the South-Eastern Highlandsof Ethiopia: A Case Study of the SG-2000 Approach in Hitosa
District
Impact of Computer Technology Adoption on Banking Operations
in Nigeria
Agricultural Technology Adoption on Small-Holder Farmers: Policy
Policy Options for Nigeria
Donor Funding and Sustainability of Rural Water Supply andSanitation Technologies in Swaziland
Promotion of Production and Utilization of Ceramic Roofing
Materials in the Informal Housing Industry in Sierra Leone

Adeyinka F. Modupe
David Nwoye Ezeh
Nkechi Mbanefoh
Olabisi I. Aina
Uka Enenwe,Enwere dike,
Anthony Ihuoma,
Mike Duru.
G. Yiemene
A. I. Odebiyi
J. O. Olusi
Aja Okorie,
M. Mabuza,
U. Aja-Okorie.
Tamba Jamiru

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Technology Transfer and Acquisition in the Oil Sector and
Government Policy in Nigeria

R.I. Chima
E.A. Owioduoki
R.I. Ogoh

33

Acquisition of Technological Capability in Africa: A Case Studyof Indigenous Building Materials Firms in Nigeria

Yomi Oruwari
Margaret Jev
Opuene Owei