The Kwara State Government has disclosed how it attracted IHS Nigeria, one of the world’s largest independent multinational tower companies, to partner with them to build and equip the Ilorin Innovation Hub, considered the first of its kind in West Africa and the best thing to emanate from north-central Nigeria.
Executive Chairman of the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service, Mrs. Folashade Omoniyi made this known while featuring in a fireside chat staged as part of activities for the program kick-off of the Hub. According to her, it all started in May 2020 when the Governor Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq-led administration in the State stopped demanding the N300 million being generated annually from Right of Way permit to telecom operators who want to lay fibre optic cable in the state.
The decision, according to her, was taken to incentivise possibilities and prospects which such digital infrastructure holds for the people of Kwara. IHS Nigeria was almost being extorted of the discontinued levy by some phony consultants before they met with the Internal Revenue Service boss who advised them against paying the purported license fee. In line with the directive of the Governor, she asked the company to only pay one naira (N1) per kilometer for the sake of paperwork.
While corroborating Mrs. Omoniyi’s disclosure at the same fireside chat, the Chief Operating Officer of IHS Nigeria, Kazeem Oladepo disclosed that they had to step into the Ilorin Innovation Hub project of the State Government following their Chief Executive Officer, Mohamad Darwish’s disposition that IHS Nigeria gives something in return to any state that grants them waivers of some sort or eases their operations. This is even as the sustainability ring to the government’s initiative further piqued the interest of IHS Towers since Sustainability is among the organisation’s core values.
Unique Value Propositions of the State-of-The-Art Facility
Earlier at a press conference, the project manager, Gbenga Adegbiji disclosed that “The total land mass is about 13,000 square meters. The footprint of the building is about 4874 square meters and can host about 700 people in terms of capacity. One thing that is unique about this innovation is the fact that it is all green. We have about 631 units of 555KW Solar PV panels which powers the entire building. Put in context, this system will power about 200 units of three-bedroom flats from this building. That is the capacity you are having here.
“About 584 megawatts of annual energy yield is being generated here with solar and we have about 600 kilowatt per hour of battery storage system. Looking at what it costs to be on Band A in Lagos, this is about N120 millions of energy savings, thanks to the power of IHS. If you look at it in terms of the over all lifespan of the energy storage system, you will be saving over N2 billion per annum.
“The cooling system consists of 96 units of DX cooling systems. To put it in context, you can actually power about eight units of four-bedroom flat from this building and this is supported by the solar system. What this means is that the Hub does not need to be connected to a generator. This is so that the over all cost of operation can actually be minimized.”
While assuring of efficient management of the facilities, Adegbiji stated that they are poised to correct the impression that there is lack of maintenance culture in Nigeria. To prove this, they will ensure that every component of the infrastructure installed in the Ilorin Innovation Hub remains exactly the same way it is for the next 10 years.
The press conference was followed by a facility tour where the Hub’s managing director, Temi Kolawole led the Governor’s representative and commissioner for tertiary education, Dr. Mary Ande, the IHS Nigeria chief executive officer Mohamad Darwish, and other dignitaries round the architectural masterpiece. He explained that open spaces inside the building are without ceiling to accord the complex industrial feel, adding that the designs, porches, lounges, seminar/conference rooms and general ambience are to induce creativity, fertilization of ideas and digital innovation.
The Unicorn-incubating Hub Welcomes All Nigerians with Ideas
During the main event of the day, IHS Nigeria boss told the story of the Company’s humble beginning of owning just one telecom mast in Nigeria into having 39,428 telecom towers across different continents of the world and being listed in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). He said that he expects the Ilorin Innovation Hub to be the trajectory of startups which after being incubated in Ilorin, will become unicorns few years later.
The chief executive maintained that if IHS Towers which didn’t have such support system in its formative years could become the biggest Africa-based company to ever list on the NYSE, techpreneurs who will be passing through the Ilorin Innovation Hub programs can.
According to Darwish, “Nigeria can create companies that can compete globally. This Hub is meant to create several mini IHS’s that will start small and grow to become global superpowers. This Hub is open to people from Kwara State, but I also have to say it is also open to people from across Nigeria. We have to open it to everyone and see how we can enable people from Katsina to Imo to Abia to everywhere to come to this place and benefit from it.
“This place is supposed to welcome people who want to know something; they may have an interest in AI. You have an interest in learning something? Come to this Hub, enroll for some of the courses, learn the basics and if you like it, go on and become an expert. You want to come up with an idea? Come to this Hub, meet with people like you, figure out which is the best idea and then this Hub will help you set up your company and put it on track.
“The Hub will help you even talk to financiers who could be interested in financing your company and give you funding. This was not available for companies like IHS. This is why we are investing in this Hub because we want to remove difficulties and challenges preventing young Nigerians from pursuing their dreams.”
A Leisurely End to the Pleasant Day
The program launch of the Ilorin Innovation Hub had a perfect finishing with a Soiree that held outdoors in the cool of the day. It was a time to unwind, the highpoint of which was the celebration of the Art Hackathon winners whose drawings and paintings will adorn the hallway and lobby of the Hub building.
While 125 applicants entered the competition, 25 paintings were shortlisted, 10 emerged as winners for their masterpieces which the Chief Corporate Services Officer of IHS Nigeria, Dapo Otunla upheld as a reflection of the impressive talent that resides in Kwara State.
In no particular order, the winners are as follows: Stephen Ifebajo, Oluremi David, Alani Timilehin, Oluwatobiloba Ogunjobi, Endurance Oye, Yusuf Abdulateef, Ifeanyi Ofemeje, Kabir Isah, Iyowu Michael, Solomon Okehi. After they had all walked the gathering through the thought process that inspired their works, each of the visual artists received five hundred thousand naira (N500,000) prize money from IHS Nigeria.
