Mr Adekunle Julius was one of the employees of Epe Plywood Industries Limited. He was employed in the early 70s and worked till 2007 when the company folded up. In this interview by TUNDE BUSARI, the septuagenarian went down memory lane and lamented the impact of the collapse of the industry on Epe and its people. Excerpts:
When did you join the company?
I joined in the early 70s, when Nigeria was good andbusiness was booming for us at Epe Plywood Industries Limited.
How much of the company did you know before you joined?
The company was our pride here in Epe because it opened up employment opportunities to us, our brothers and sisters and even our children. You would see a young artisan, who just completed his apprenticeship, getting job in the company with good salary.
What do you know of the history of the company?
The little I know about the company is that it used to be known as Swiss-Nigerian Wood Industries Limited. I was told that a German brought it to Nigeria. The German was running the company in Germany, until it was attacked during the Second World War. The incident affected the business and caused him to seek an African country to relocate it. Nigeria, in those days, was a country to be, I think that was the reason the man chose Nigeria. Before the company began operations, two prophets had foretold that a big company would be sited in Epe.
How did it become one of the subsidiaries of the Odu’a Investment Limited?
I don’t have the details of this, but I think, it was in the 70s. It was the former Western State Government that jointly owned it until they bought it over. The first General Manager was one Mr Pitan.
Considering your experience in the company, did you ever suspect that it would suffer its present fate?
The answer is two-way – No and Yes. It is ‘no’ if the profit the company was making then was anything to go by. We were the best in the business. Our products were sought after both at home and abroad. Our veneer was selling like hot cake. In fact, many people became wealthy selling veneer they bought from us. It was a successful business. However, on another front, I would say Yes, in the sense that those who had no experience were brought to head the company. This particular reason contributed to the problem the company later had, which partly was responsible for the collapse. But I must single out one General Manager, Mr Olaleye, as a true manager of human resources. That man knew his job well and excelled. He rewarded merit. If you are a junior staff, and you had better experience, he would always encourage you to do more.
How were you disengaged?
How we were disengaged is one of the cruelest ways to treat human beings. It started by owing us salary arrears and we were bearing it with them, because we were committed to move the company forward as it was our source of survival. Epe Plywood Industries was blessed with dedicated workers. We did the work as if it was our personal property. However, suddenly they sent one Mr Lawal from Odu’a headquarters in Ibadan to come and talk to us. He said the then Group Managing Director was ready to pay our arrears on condition that we would agree to forfeit 50 per cent. That was strange to us, but because our people were suffering seriously, we agreed and the company came one day with cheques and paid us.
What happened thereafter?
Thank you very much. The next thing they did was to close the gate and said production had been suspended. That was in 2007. Since then nothing has happened in the company.
and then