Emmanuel Ijewere, successful accountant, administrator and businessman is dead. His demise was announced by Kabir Ibrahim, chairman, administration of the Nigeria Agribusiness Group, NAGB, which the deceased led for many years. Agribusiness? Not many people remember him for agriculture, because in public life in was an accountant, a businessman, a financial guru, the man who chaired the committee that designed the Value Added Tax, VAT during the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. He at different times presided over the Institute of Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN, the Institute of Directors, IOD and the Red Cross. He started accounting practice in 1965 with Coopers and Lybrand before starting Emmanuel Ijewere and Co, a firm of Chartered Accountants in 1979.
But after 38 years of exploits in the accounting, banking and finance, and he decided to retire, something else dropped on his lap. It is right to say that it dropped because even he said he became a “farmer by accident”. How did it happen? He saw the way meat was being transported on the streets in an unhealthy manner and felt that rather than indulging in criticizing the people in the position of authority he should contribute to the society. He started an abattoir in Lagos State and ensured that the global best practice is adopted and practiced there to supply to consumers.
There was something so amazingly unique about Ijewere that wherever he found himself people saw that passion and leadership spirit and they pressured him to lead them. The Best Foods Group, which started with a poultry, developed to a pineapple plantation in Edo State from where he exported to the United Kingdom before the poor state of infrastructure turned it to bad business. His supply in the UK lost steam because the fruits were getting there damaged as a result of the delay on the then dilapidated Benin-Lagos Road. Yet, he refused to be defeated. So, he started juice production, an effort gave birth to Sunshine Juice. Again, his product was embraced by some of the hotels in the cities. However, he later exited that production when expansion and modernization of the business needed much more funds than his purse could handle and the banks were not willing to provide loans. But he held on to other parts of food production. So, it was not surprising that Best Foods Global got bigger than a retirement exercise.
Aside from serving with Akinwunmi Adeshina (now president of the African Development Bank, AfDB), when the latter was Nigeria’s minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, he also served as a member of Agriculture Transformation Council, both under President Goodluck Jonathan. He led the chain of businesses like Best Foods Livestock and Poultry limited; Best Foods Fresh Farms Limited; Best Foods Multiconcept Limited and; Naija Pride Agribusiness Limited.
So, is it any surprise that his demise was announced by the NAGB?
