Ikpea: Hard Times Only Helped Strengthen My Businesses

Dr Leemon Ikpea beams. His fluorescent eyeballs never dim, even in tumultuous times. The business magnate’s gait is gracious, reflecting the grit and gumption with which he has set up everything around him. The chief executive officer and founder of Lee Engineering & Construction Company Limited has a spring to his feet at 67. Starting what has become a business empire from scratch, literally from a 40-foot container, the billionaire oil and gas mogul is the poster boy of inventiveness, innovation, intuition and industry. A man of the people, patriotic and perspicacious, Ikpea has an enduring devotion to God and humanity, well illustrated by his many unpublicised philanthropic gestures. Spick and span, simple and yet suave, the visionary Ikpea exemplifies the fusion of the past, the present and the future. Recently, he marked the 32nd anniversary of the company. In this interview with Emmanuel Addeh, among other issues, he talks about how the challenging climate of doing business in Nigeria has helped strengthen the company’s determination to succeed. Excerpt:

Could you give us a recap of what this journey has been like?

Thirty-two years is a long time, but at the same time, it is a very short time for me. The journey has been bumpy and has come with many curves and ups and downs, and I’ll say today that we are very happy the company is growing. All the staff are getting to understand that the company needs to grow for them to grow. The company is doing well, and our integrity is intact, and so is our competency, which is also improving. So, the journey so far has been very good.

What are those rough and tough moments that you talked about?

There have been periods of high interest rates, where invoices could not even pay salaries. We passed through those moments. We have also tried to pass other hurdles. That took us some time. It was very depressing, but it made us strong and solid. It has made us what we are today. So, today, I will say that the company is doing very well, and I am behind it.

Thirty-two years is a long time in the life of a young man. It’s no joke. So, tell us how you have been able to navigate this road.

We started with a 40-foot container, and from there, we graduated into using a bungalow, graduated from one to two to five and then from there, we moved to our own base, which is Warri in Delta state. Today, it is about 15,000 square meters, and we have the engineering, procurement, warehouse, administrative, and several other departments. And apart from that, we are rounding off the building of a state-of-the-art factory where we are building a lot of oil and gas infrastructure.

We are building high-pressure facilities, heaters and so many others. A lot of fabrication is going on there. We are also building the head office at the centre of Ikoyi, which is currently under construction. At the Ikeja office, it is for our aviation, travel and tours company. They are performing very well. Right now, we are carrying out reforms in all the offices in Nigeria, Italy and Houston. We are doing general reforms, reorganising the place properly for them to make profits.

Tell us, at what point did you grow into fabrication, making pipes for oil companies and all of that?

It had been in my mind right from the beginning. I’ve been in the industry for 46 years. So, during my learning years, working as a manager for some foreign companies in my early stages prepared me for what I am today.

I had seen this vision long ago because of the three companies I had worked for; I saw how they grew.

So, how difficult is it to stay the course? Because you will agree with me that it is not easy to be so focused for such a long time.

I can tell you that apart from work, I don’t know what they call social life. I don’t have a social life. First of all, all I do is work and work to ensure that the company continues to move ahead. I do not want any breakages or stoppages in our operations. Lee Engineering is a company that I know will stay forever for generations yet unborn to enjoy. So, I’m building a structure and a legacy that will benefit unborn children. A company in the class of Mobil, Shell and other multinationals in the world today. That’s exactly what I’m looking at. We’ll continue to grow to that point in the near future. So, after playing my role, by the time God calls me back, the structure would have been there, solid and strong, for it to drive itself. And with the good number of staff that we are training, including my children, who are willing to continue from where I stopped, they will take it to the next level.

So, what does it require to succeed?

To succeed, you must be a man of integrity. You must work very hard. You must be a God-fearing person. Because you cannot force yourself to succeed, you must earn it. You must work for it. You must have faith in God. And then you believe that with God, everything is possible. If you have that belief, I’m sure you’ll get to the next level. So, integrity, credibility, competence, hard work and the fear of God. Those are the things that that will take you to where you want to be.

So, what would you say is the single biggest challenge? Is it the business environment? Have you been able to overcome these challenges?

The greatest challenge for somebody who grew up in a place where there was unity and love is that all of a sudden, things begin to change. It is strange. I was raised in Warri and am proud to say I’m a Warri man. I was raised there. In Warri of those days, you didn’t know whether you were Ijaw, Urhobo, or Itsekiri. You just knew you were a Warri man, and everybody took you as a friend. But these days, we are seeing some things that are strange. So, it’s a very big challenge.

These days, the younger generations are just doing what they like. They disturb you when you are working, and it’s something you are doing that will benefit them and the community. But they don’t want you to do it. But we are determined because Warri is the same place where we grew up, and it is a place that I want to be when I retire. So it’s a place that we will develop to become a place that will become like New York.

So, it seems like society has changed over time in the last few years. The values that we had then during your time and what we have now are two different things. What caused this?

I think there are so many factors. In those days, there was water (a public water system) and street lights. In those days, I would drive from Warri to Eket and then from Warri to Ilorin. But can I do that today? So many things have gone wrong. Children nowadays don’t have respect for their elders or their parents, and they want to get rich quickly and get it now. Some don’t want to work at all, but they want to get money: they’re going into fraud, 419, and so many other things, so certain things have changed.

But we pray that with the new government in place now, which is already settling down, and I’m sure that by the time they finish settling down, all these vices will change, then we can go back to our good old days where we were our brothers’ keepers, where love was given priority, where electricity worked, and there was water.

So I’m very sure, and I’m watching, and I’m waiting for this government to do it because I know very well that the person heading the government is somebody who wants to succeed. And in spite of all these troubles here and there, he will succeed by the grace of God. We are praying for him.

You’re one of the poster boys for the success story of local content in the oil and gas industry. There has been a leadership change in that organisation, the NCDMB. What advice do you have for the new leadership?

Believe me, the discussion of local content started in my office in the early 90s and continued until we finally took it to the first legislative house in 1999. And I’m happy that it was signed into law In 2010. And then the leadership that has been handling it, one way or the other, have tried their best. I pray that the new one coming in will be able to build on this structure built by the previous ones. Actually, the last one did very well. We had several meetings where we told them they must stand by us because we are the pioneers of local content.

So, anybody coming in to be in charge of the office must remember that that office is for Nigerians. It was established for Nigerians for the growth of Nigerians in the oil and gas industry, and I’m sure the government will not make the mistake of bringing the wrong people around the place. So, I’m sure they will build on what is on the ground. From what I have heard, the new people coming in would definitely build on what is on the ground and follow in the footsteps of the others. If there’s anything that needs to be modified, I’m sure they can modify it to suit the purpose of local content.

Looking at the general state of affairs of the country, what do you advise our politicians to do?

My advice is that we should join hands in building this country. We should join hands with the government to build this country so that things work because we don’t have any other country. I’m appealing to all the politicians to join hands with the president to build a sustainable economy, a stable society devoid of kidnapping, armed robbery and killings. If we can do that, they will see this country grow like every other part of the world, like Europe.

Now everybody’s running to Canada, but it is because those people have organised themselves properly. Nothing stops us from organising ourselves properly so that people start coming here too. I will personally join hands with the president to ensure that things are done in a good way for the benefit of this country.

You have just marked 32 years of Lee Engineering. What’s your vision going forward?

During the last town hall meeting, where I spelt out my vision, we were looking at the next five to 10 years to do something extraordinary. Because I’ve been in this field for so many years, I want to go back to taking the back seat and leaving the younger generation to be in the driver’s seat. Within the next five to 10 years, I will just take the position of chairman, but I will not be directly involved in the day-to-day running of the business.

I’ll be giving them guidance to ensure they don’t derail and they don’t lose focus. I will be talking with the board to strengthen the structure and make sure they are properly put in place and properly run in line with the policies of the company. In the next five to 10 years, I will move to the back seat and then let the younger generation take over. I want them to continue to grow the company because the focus is to look at the next 30 years and for them to go to the capital market, and I think by the grace of God, it will happen.

What is your advice to young people?

My advice for them is to remain focused. They should not think of what they are going to get now. If you think that way, you may get it, but it may not last. But if you have been able to garner experience, work hard because when I was working, I think it was about N200 I was earning, but today, some people are getting N3 million every month, and they still want more because they are not satisfied. Let them just stay focused and learn on the job so they can become masters of it. It is better that way because, eventually, money will come. They should not look for money first.

They should look for experience and focus on the job first, then money will follow. If they can do that, the company will be more efficient and effective and earn a lot of respect from clients. But if they rush, there will be problems because it will crash. So my advice is that they should know that their integrity is very important, hard work is very important, and the workers should be carried along.

Tell us, is there any moment you look back and regret?

When I look back, that would be my parents. I lost my mother 50 years ago, and I lost my father 40 years ago, so when I look back, these are people who are supposed to get some bite of the pie, but nobody can query God because I know everything is decided by God.

So, you will be 67 on the 19th. How does it feel to be 67?

I feel so happy, and I thank God because the past two to three years have been a testy period. But I thank God that I was able to cross into the present.

How will you spend that day?

That day, I will go to church to give thanks to God. Thereafter, I will receive guests, do some good reflection, and then give thanks to God for more years ahead. I will ask Him to take care of those he has put under my care, both biological and non-biological.

You give a lot of scholarships to students you don’t know.

Yes. As of today, I have trained over 40 doctors, most of whom are working in different parts of the world. Out of these 40, I don’t think I know more than five. But I don’t even need to know them. There are over 200 in other fields. As we speak, we still have about 75 students undergoing various scholarships. So, we enrol new ones for every year.

You look so energetic. You don’t even look 67. What is the secret?

It’s because my mind is free, and I don’t hold grudges against anybody. I eat well, sleep well, and exercise. Sometimes, I play golf and listen to music. So, really, I am so happy. It’s been very tough for the past three years.