Computer ownership: Consumers task local assemblers on quality

The Federal Government-initiated Student Computer Ownership Scheme which is aimed at driving patronage for locally-assembled computers has been described as laudable. Consumers, however, say local computer manufacturers need to match international brands in quality to ensure success, writes DAYO OKETOLA

Nigeria, no doubt, holds a great attraction for computer manufacturers, whether local or international. This is mainly on account of its vast market potential. While international computer manufactuers such as HP, Dell Compaq, Acer and Samsung are raking in millions of naira from computer sales, local computer manufacturers have been operating on the periphery of the market. They have, however, blamed Nigerians’ seeming disregard for locally-assembled computers and the failure of the government to stimulate sustainable demand for local PCs for their woes.

However, consumers have said the quality of some of the locally assembled PCs leaves much to be desired. According to them, for local PCs manufacturers to gain the confidence of Nigerians and compete favourably with international brands, operators will need to work more on their products’ quality.

The Secretary-General, Computer and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria, Mr. John Oboro, who tries to capture the plight of local Original Equipment Manufacturers, says one of the reasons computer brands in Nigeria have been recording poor patronage and, by extension, slow growth, is because the government has not deemed it fit to truly assist local IT firms.

“They still pay import duties, even on Completely-Knocked Down components, whereas in other countries such as the US and others, IT importation by local firms is duty-free,” he says.

Amid increased calls on the government to introduce favourable policies to engender the growth of local OEMs, however, the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, says the government will develop captive markets for local computer makers to drive demand for locally-made computers. This, according to her, will be in partnership with five banks and five local computer makers.

She laments  a situation where international computer manufacturers sold several millions of computers in Nigeria in 2011, but only about 500,000 computers were manufactured and sold in Nigeria by indigenous firms like  Zinox, Omatek, Beta, Brian and Veda, as regrettable.

At the inception of the new scheme, she had said, “What we are saying is that there is a huge market for PCs in Nigeria, but the participation of Nigerians in meeting the demands of the market is very low. It will be good if we can open up the market for Nigerian companies. So, what we are trying to do is to create captive markets for our local computer makers and the first captive markets we are trying to create are students in tertiary institutions. The reason for this is because we believe that these are people who desperately want to have computers, but they may not be able to afford them.”

With the initiative, the minister said demand could be created for 300,000 computers in the first year and a million computers in the following years.

While local computer firms are basking in the euphoria of this new lease of life, consumers across the different sections of the society have been indicting them over the quality of their products.

The Chief Executive Officer, Royale Prestige Properties, who is also a Computer Science graduate, Mr. Seun Akinyele, says locally-assembled computers have not matched the quality of international brands.

“I can’t really explain why this is so, especially as local companies claim to be buying components from places where the international companies also buy theirs,” he says.

According to him, no Nigerian wants to buy a computer without getting full value for their money. As such, he insisted that for the student ownership scheme to be successful, local PC makers must be able to prove that the quality is high.

The buck, he says, stops on local PC companies’ table, adding that they must standardise their products and improve on the quality.

Mr. Dare Okanlawon, an undergraduate in the University of Ibadan, says the initiative is a laudable one. However, he says it will be a Herculean task for Nigerian students to opt for local PCs, irrespective of the incentive from the government.

He argues that most students prefer international computer brands to local ones due to perceived superior quality of the former over the latter.

He advises local PC manufacturers to ensure that the issue of quality is not compromised, while suggesting that the OEMs must work harder to prove their capacity to meet the needs of the students vis-à-vis computer ownership.

In the same vein, Mr. Charles Ifeanyi, who sells used computers at the Computer Village,Ikeja, Lagos attests to the fact that many young people, who patronise him, would rather settle down for a used international computer rather than a locally-assembled one. This, he says, is a great hurdle that must be surmounted by local PC makers, adding that the issue of quality and durability lies in the centre of most computer purchace decision.

While a majority of people, who have used locally-assembled computer, complain of low life span, low durability and poor aftersale service, they all see a brighter future for the country’s local PC industry provided higher quality is achieved and right government policies are enacted.

For local PC firms to compete with international brands, they say that increased efforts must be made to surpass the quality being offered by the international computer manufacturers.

While this appears to be a tall order, local computer manufactuers say they have the requisite capacity to deliver quality computers to Nigerians.

The Managing Director, Beta Computers, makers of the SpeedStar Computer brand, Mr. Will Anyaegbunam, identifies negative perception as the major challenge indigenous brands face in the market today. This, he says, is in spite of the fact that there is no real difference in what international brands are doing in PC manufacturing and what the locals are doing .

“All the laptops contain the same Intel processors and motherboards and the chassis known as ‘barebones’ come from the same top Original Design Manufacturers in Asia,” he says.

According to Anyaegbunam, Beta Computers products have been put through stringent quality tests that ensure the user gets the very best in performance, stability and compatibility, while providing excellent scalability and practical functionality for both home and enterprise computing demands.

Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer, Omatek  Computers Plc, Mrs. Florence Seriki, commends the government’s local content and local patronage policy, which she says, will generate demand and strengthen the local companies.

She insists that the company has capacity to produce computers that can match any computer brand from anywhere in the world.

She says “Ömatek has led the increasingly competitive Nigerian ICT market as the only company in East, West and Central Africa that produces computers and casings from Completely Knocked Down components sourced from the highest grades of manufacturers to give all Omatek computers the requisite world-class standards comparable to any other international brand.”

Seriki says the company remains undaunted by challenges and will work with government to achieve its transformational agenda, insisting that the government has the obligation to promote local companies driving local capacity and local content.

The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brian Integrated Systems, Mr. Tunji Balogun, says the company will increase capacity so as to meet up with the demand expected as a result of the student ownership scheme.

Balogun, who is also the President, Computer and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria, says, “We have the capacity to partner with the Federal Government on this laudable initiative. Our products, including Brian Platinum Laptop, Brian Gold Laptop, Brian Classmate PC and Brian Platinum Desktop, among others, have the state-of-art-technology to support the students PC ownership scheme.”

The Chairman, Zinox Group, Chief Leo Stan Ekeh, says the company is already investing in an automated digital plant to boost production, adding that quality control is very critical to its manufacturing operations.

Aside from the quality of the computers, the Zinox boss says the company has also built a huge customer service structure that will ensure that users of its computers get value for money.