*Trains bricklayers in Oyo State on use of Falcon Cement
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The National Artisans Coordinator, Dangote Cement, Mr Johnson Olaniyi has disclosed that with Dangote, Nigeria no longer import but start exporting cement for other countries
Mr Olaniyi said this while addressing participants at a one-day practical on Falcon Cement variant, one of the brands of the Dangote Cement held at Oremeji/ Idi-Osan axis of Ibadan on Monday.
According to him, ” In 2004 the total consumption of cement in Nigeria is 10 million, local production was 24%, import was 36% then you only know when you’re paying for your cement and you didn’t know when you’re likely to get it, but Dangote came and changed the trend”.
Mr Olaniyi during the training advised the artisans not to be far from their workers on site to ensure appropriate usage of mixture of cement and sand which are the major components of the materials needed for a building construction.
“We are here today to share product knowledge with bricklayers in Oyo state, is not as if they don’t know what they’re doing, we are here to add value to what they’re doing, and we are here to lecture them on one particular products of Dangote cement, that particular brand is known as Falcon Cement”, he said.
Mr Olaniyi added, “I want them to fall in love with it because it will give them more than what they anticipated for, and that’s why we have the practical demonstration of tiling, screeding, plastering and block setting, we allowed them to do it themselves because whatever you do you don’t forget, and the overall benefits is that when they go their various sites they will be using the products, they will be adding value to Dangote cement, they’re doing a business that will value to them and also to Dangote cement.”
“More importantly now that the price of the building materials are so expensive we now want them to have the real benefit of using Dangote cement, particularly on screeding and tiling, because they’re going to get it cheaper and get it better. If you’re using Dangote Cement that means you’re using a product that has a name and integrity, that means you’re doing a job that is perfect”.
He stressed further, ” We are lucky to have Dangote as a Nigerian, if you have been to Tanzanian, Zambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast and many other countries when you say you’re a Nigerian, they will say is that not where Dangote come from? They will look at you and say you’re a brilliant person, I’m 35 years old in cement industry and I know what I’m saying”.
Tasking the bricklayers not to be too far from their business sites, particularly those into block making business by monitoring their workers to ensure they use adequate measurement of mixing concentration for your blocks, adding, ” for those of you working on the site always monitor your site workers because they can do something else while you’re not on site and this will affect your job and the relationship you have already established with your clients.”
Lauding the turn out of participants and their response to the training, Olaniyi said, “For now we are training them and we are giving them branding such as Dangote T-Shirt and Face cap, this kind of training is not what you can get anywhere and it’s free of charge for all the participants.”
Chairman of Bricklayers Association in Oyo state, Comrade Muhammed Adebayo Arowoselu commended Dangote Cement for the training, saying the training has added value to their profession.
“This training has further unite us together as members of this noble association. Some among us have been using different cement without knowing the actual usefulness of it. With this training we have gotten more knowledge and additional skills to all the already existing ones”, he said
Arowoselu added, ” We’ve known the difference between these cement and their usages. I believed we will still have this kind of training in the nearest future, we are so happy and we really appreciate Dangote Cement for this training.”
At the training the Regional Technical Sales Engineer, Mr. Adesheila Mitchell, assisted by four other artisans engaged all the participants that were invited for the training throughout the 33 local government areas in the state for productive hours of practical training on the usage of Falcon Cement.
