Dr. Salvation Onomroba is the Chief Executive Officer of Bliss Legacy Limited, an indigenous real estate development company based in Benin City. In this interview with a team of The Nigerian Observer journalists comprising the Acting Managing Director, OSA VICTOR OBAYAGBONA, Marketing Manager, IYAYI OWEGIE, and Correspondent, JENNIFER OSADOH, Dr. Onomroba shares insights into the company’s business, milestones, real estate market in Edo State, the challenges with land administration, among others. Excerpts:
How long have you been in business?
Real estate business, that’s about two years. I started as a cab business that was called Auto Bliss International, but I sold it off after four years.
What attracted you into real estate business in Edo State?
I saw the level of development in places like Lagos. I could look at Benin City and till tomorrow you can still count the number of estates we have here. Cities are known for estates, secured environment where you can stay and be safe, where you trust your security. How many known developed estates do you know in Benin City? If you go to Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Abuja, you see different estates, you hear of Banana Island, Mayors Estate. So I saw a need and an opportunity to help reduce unemployment. When I was in Auto Bliss when I started business, I employed over 200 drivers. It has always been my desire to create employment, so I saw an opportunity to use real estate business as a source to solve unemployment.
What challenges have you encountered in these two years and how have you been able to overcome them, especially with existing competition?
When we started two years ago, nobody wanted to listen to us. I started with so little capital, nobody knew us and the competitors whom we were looking at were already very big. So first, it was that lack of recognition and everybody was afraid of land business, people needed to trust you to buy from you. We overcame that by going back to think and then we came up with a unique product. We looked at the market that others were not reaching. We analyzed the market in Benin; the existing real estates that we saw, which market were they reaching? For example, when I came, I realized that nobody was reaching the market women with real estate, that everybody was selling land for N1,000,000.
I knew the average market woman out there cannot buy and I knew that the people in that category are even more than those in the rich category. So that was what we broke down and that was what brought about the N1,000 for land and we were able to really penetrate the market very fast with that. The good thing was that it was when we penetrated the market that we got access again to the top people that were there. So it’s always constant innovation, the market is always demanding.
Real estate marketing is about being on your feet; you always think, you can’t be monotonous, you can’t do the same thing, you have to be creative. So it has been creativity and innovation.
Today, we are the most innovative. We have our app, now you can pay through our app wherever you may be, just download our app through Play Store, Google or Apple Store. You can also get documents, choose a land and do anything you choose on the app. Someone abroad can download our app and pay.
The challenges have forced us to be the innovative, because when you look at the challenges, the best way is to be innovative.
Another thing was the banks; they don’t give real estates loans. Banks, financial institutions are not friendly to real estates. I can boldly tell you that as big as this company is, we are not under any loan because when the bank closed their doors to us, we had to think. So the challenges always come, the Nigerian factor, the dangling economy, the instability of naira. I always tell my workers: challenges will always force you to think and when you think, you get answers.
What has the Edo State government done to help alleviate these challenges with regard to policies, especially for new entrants into the real estate market?
I have to appreciate the Edo State governor; he has encouraged us. He even called us on one occasion, he wanted to give us lands to develop somewhere around Upper Sakponba. One of the best things I appreciate about the Edo State government is that they provided a conducive environment to do business for the real estate sector. I do business in other states; we have branches in Lagos and Ogun. In Edo, the government did not come for tax so quick; we were the ones that even went to them, because we have our tax certificate. The government gave us an opportunity to do business because it’s the best they can do. At least if you can’t give me light, road or anything, don’t suffocate us. So I must say that the governor has allowed real estate to thrive. Also, half of my staff came through EdoJobs. We partner with EdoJobs most times when we need staff and they recruit for us.
In terms of land acquisition, what has it been like, especially regarding disturbances from communities?
We have been very careful when it comes to land acquisition. It is an issue that will always come up, but with time you overcome it. We always do our research. Thank God for the Edo State government which has put EdoGIS there to always confirm the land, so we also do that. And before we buy land, we make sure all the elders of the community are seated. One thing I’m grateful for is that I have never had any direct fight with any community. We have always used the negotiation tactics with them instead of getting down dirty with them. So far, we have been managing them. It’s not perfect but it’s coming out well.
How have the Federal Government’s policies of petrol subsidy removal and floating of naira affected real estate business?
The floating of naira and the removal of fuel subsidy have the capacity to kill many real estate companies. If you are building for people and someone is paying for a three-year plan, let’s say cement was N4,000 as at when the person started the plan and the contract has been signed, and along the line cement goes up to N12,000; not just that, every other building material goes up as well. What that means is that the cost of the contract as at when you signed it has tripled or doubled; you are already in losses and you signed a contract, so the law is the law. It is very frustrating. I told someone I was going to build a house for him for N10 million based on my calculation of the price of things. Would anybody have envisaged that within few months prices would skyrocket? For us as a company, we have studied the economy and we stopped all building plans and just sell lands for now. The few we did we had to sell in dollars to match the naira, so for now we are not building, until we are able to study the economy again. To sign any deal now will be suicidal.
You made mention of EdoGIS; how has the agency been helpful?
EdoGIS confirms the authenticity of land, to see if there is government acquisition, if it’s a free holding, or other encumbrances. EdoGIS has made it very easy to process your C of O, survey and many more. The government has made it easier to get a document or to know a fake document than before. So we use the agency a lot.
What would you say has set you apart from other real estate firms in Benin?
It’s our ability to reach every group of persons; even the poorest of the poor. Because of us, some boys who are hawking on the streets are buying lands, because we brought land down to N1,000 daily. So it’s that uniqueness: we sell to the richest and we also sell to the poorest. There are people who never dreamed of having land but because of Bliss Legacy they are paying. We were committed to everyone getting a land; we made so much losses but that commitment was there already. Most of the lands that these women paid N1,000 for, which was N500,000, before they even finished paying the land had appreciated to over N2 million. We have been able to give them land because that is what some people were scared of when they saw lots of persons coming to give us N1,000 daily. Some people where watching us from afar wondering if we were going to run away, but we have not disappointed the people of Edo State.
Many people who are not based in the state have lands and buildings here, but whenever they return, they prefer to stay in a hotel rather than their homes? How does Bliss Legacy hope to reverse this trend?
The estates we are building are to a great percentage secured because they are fenced, you enter with a code, and there is 24-hour security with police station inside. We are very particular about security and the serenity of the environment, because insecurity is one of the reasons they prefer to stay in the hotel than in their homes. But when you have all these features in the estate, they will like to go to their homes. As it is an estate, there is going to be order even in terms of building because if someone builds a mud house beside a mansion, it would somehow deface it, so we ensure order and serenity of the environment.
Where are your estates located in Benin and what is the state of access roads?
We have about 16 estates – three around Ugbowo axis, two around Siluko axis, three around Aduwawa axis, one at Upper Airport-Ureghin, one at Upper Ekenwan Road, two around Agbor Road and other parts of Benin except Sapele Road. The reason is because any place we try to acquire big plots around that axis, we see the hand of government and we prefer to rather not have there than have and our clients keep having issues.
Are you open to partnership and how do you go about it?
For now we don’t accept partnership. You can partner with us with your land; joint venture in different ways but for financial investment, we are very careful, reason being that you have to be ready for that. We have rejected money from many persons. You need a plan for every money invested or it becomes a waste. You need to have a perfect plan for that money because the person is coming back in one or two years’ time and what will you say? So we decided to build to a particular level before we open it for partnership.
The economy is harsh and many people prioritize feeding over capital projects like investing in real estate? What would you advise?
What I always tell people is that whether you like it or not, real estate is still the answer in this harsh economy. The thing is this, if the naira is losing value, where will you bank that naira? Real estate is on one of those few places. For example, those women that bought land from us at N500,000 paying N1,000 daily, even as naira has fallen, the value of that money has appreciated because that land is about N2 million and this is just within one year, let alone when it’s up to two-three years. So I’ll advise Nigerians, food is a necessity, but if you have any spare, then real estate is the place to bank the money.
