…Why you cannot buy bag of BUA Cement from any distributor @N3,500
By Al Humphrey Onyanabo
I was excited at the news that BUA Cement had crashed the price of their cement to 3,500 a bag.
At least for once, something that goes up in Nigeria has come down. As at last week, a bag of cement was averagely N5,000. A savings of 1,500 in this post- subsidy economy of Nigeria is a big deal.
I spoke to a couple of friends who were excited too with the development.
Nigerians sang the praises of BUA Cement management and heaped abuses on Dangote Cement, words like greedy and mean were freely used; I shared their sentiments. Any thing that will save you some naira is welcome news and needs commendation at this time.
Nice as it sounded, but I needed to be sure for myself. I desperately wanted it to be true for the sake of thousands of Nigerians who needed some kind of good news to lift up their spirits. I had even very eagerly broadcast the news of the price slash to N3,500 to my friends and family. Free of charge, though.
I had an assignment in Ibadan, Oyo State this week so I decided to use my time out in the city of Oluyole to investigate the authenticity of the news and help those who were already building castles on sand based on the new price of N3,500 per bag.
A friend had told me last night, “imagine the huge savings if I buy 300 bags of cement at 3,500. I will save a whole 1,500 on each bag. That’s a lot of money, it will do other things”.
After my investigation and visit to BUA Cement regional office at Ibadan, I don’t know how to break the sad news to him. Story plenty as they say in the Niger Delta.
For starters, I got online to locate BUA Cement Ibadan office, it was advertised as 23 Queen Elizabeth Road, Mokola, ibadan. There was also a phone number. Good sign, I said. Makes my job easier.
Pronto! I called the number on Monday October 1st and someone picked. The first shocker I got was, wrong number, this is not BUA cement. Haba! I said to myself, how can, but it’s on the website. That’s my first wahala. The guy had dropped.
No worries, I took off to Queen Elizabeth Road, Mokola, on Tuesday morning. Mokola round about is bursting with activities being first woking day of the week. People were happy the NLC strike was called off. At a vendors stand, people where engaged in deep discussion, Mohbad has taken back stage. Sam Larry is in the police net…
Mokola is in the centre of ibadan, to the north you will get to the university of Ibadan, to your left is the famous Sabo, with lots of mallams selling forex. I head right, which leads to the famous UCH, the University College Hospital. I am on Queen Elizabeth Road.
The numbering is haphazard. I eventually found No 23, another shocker, no BUA Cement office there. Which kind wahala be this. I went on a house to house search. My visit can’t be in zain. Thirty minutes later a gentleman directed me to the VIVO building across the road where I eventually found their office on the ground floor. I had made progress at least.
Straight to business, I told the receptionist that I want to buy cement at the new price of 3,500. Sorry sir, she said, we don’t sell cement here. She called her boss, a smiling, tall dark gentleman to explain.
” This is just our office, we don’t sell cement here. You have to go to a distributor”.
Haba! why na.
So how do I take advantage of the new price?
He started,
” Really that price is only for distributors”.
How do you mean, I asked him.
” Only those who have been registered with us before now as distributors can buy it at 3,500, and even then you have to take a truck to our factory at Okppela, Edo State to pick up”.
So it means I can’t buy like 200 bags I wanted to buy from you here?
” No way sir,” was the young man’s reply..
Where can I make enquiries from a distributor in ibadan? He gave me a number to call. I called and a lady picked.
How much is a bag of cement I asked?
N4,920 she said.
But they said it’s now N3,500.
” I am selling old stock”. she said.
The scales fell off my eyes. How will I tell my friend that the 3,500 a bag price was another pie in the sky? I won’t be a bearer of sad tales.
In Naija, they never stop to shock us.
In plain English, if you are looking for cement at 3,500 banish the thought. It won’t happen. Forget what you read on Facebook BUA Cement is not N3,500. It is a fluke. Distributors will always tell you they have old stock.
A customer told me,
” When you add the transport cost of going to Okppela, perhaps staying a night in the guest house and renting a truck to carry your cement to whatever, you must add all these additional costs to the retail price. We can’t sell at N3,500″.
First of all you need to register with the company as a distributor, and I ask myself because of how many bags. Registration is a whole kettle of fish, which I am sure comes with a healthy deposit of cash. Don’t even go there.
Then you will hire a truck and go to their factory at Okppela, that’s somewhere in Edo North, close to Auchi depending of which part of the country you are coming from. Add up all the costs and you will just be wise to buy your cement at the 5,000 they sell around you and forget this long story of price slash.
A Huge disapointment if you ask me, but we will survive.
Bottom line; it was a PR hoax. They were trying to project themselves as trying to ameliorate the sufferings of the people. Don’t also forget Dangote Cement had been tongue lashed for selling cement cheaper in Cotonou a rumour they denied vehemently. Who knows who even started the fire… Anyway, BUA holdings as a company has the right to announce a price crash, but they should have Included that it’s only for registered distributors, and that you will need to pick up at their factory and with your own truck. They raised our hopes and broke our hearts. How do we put the pieces together.
