As unemployment rates continue to soar, a stark contradiction emerges: factories that once provided livelihoods are being repurposed into worship centres. CHIJIOKE IREMEKA writes that these buildings, once symbols of industrial progress and with potential solutions to the unemployment crisis, now echo with prayers from worshippers seeking the very jobs these spaces once offered
In the 80s and 90s, Hardel & Enic Group was the model of success, commanding attention and admiration across Nigeria.
Situated along Funsho Williams Avenue, beside the National Arts Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos, its factory stood as a symbol of industrial excellence.
It was a dominant force in the real estate sector, known for its major construction projects, including the iconic Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, and its significant contributions to Nigeria’s economy during the military era.
Hardel & Enic, founded by the late Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, former President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, quickly rose to prominence, becoming one of the most influential players in the property development sector.
At its zenith, the company boasted a workforce of over 4,000 employees and soon spread across different locations, while its operating environments glittered like other progressive firms of that era like Dunlop Tyres, Michelin Tyres, Zoom Mobile, and Apapa Bakery among others.
These companies, at the time they thrived, were the lifeblood of the country’s industrial growth, their gleaming operations a testament to the thriving economy of the era.
However, the golden years of industrial growth began to fade. Hardel & Enic, along with many other giants, found themselves crippled by rising production costs.
The persistent lack of stable electricity, coupled with heavy taxes and a stifling business climate, became their undoing.
Faced with these insurmountable challenges, the once thriving factories were forced to shut down, their workers displaced, and their sprawling industrial hubs left to rot and gather dust.
In search of more favourable environments, these companies, once the pride of Nigeria’s manufacturing sector, were either sold off or moved abroad.
What was once a flourishing industrial era now feels like a distant memory, replaced by empty, silent spaces that once echoed with the hum of machinery and the hopes of a growing economy.
For Hardel & Enic, the increasingly hostile business environment in Nigeria forced its management to make a drastic move in a bid to reduce operational costs.
One major step it took was to scale down its Lagos operations and relocate to the Oriental Plaza office on Okigwe Road, Owerri, Imo State.
According to a company representative, Ben Akajiaku, while speaking to our correspondent, there was no longer a need to run both the Lagos and Owerri offices simultaneously given the escalating business challenges.
However, Hardel & Enic’s exit from Lagos marked the beginning of a series of changes for the company’s former operational base.
It was taken over by Zoom Mobile, a telecommunications firm that initially operated under the name Reliance Telecommunications Limited (Reltel Wireless).
Founded on August 25, 1998, Zoom Mobile capitalised on the deregulation of Nigeria’s telecom sector to launch its services in 2001.
Despite its promising start, Zoom Mobile faced severe challenges in the competitive telecom industry.
After 11 years of operation, the company struggled to remain viable, and harsh business conditions once again forced it to make drastic cuts.
In May 2012, based on reports, Zoom Mobile laid off 200 employees as a result of financial losses.
This move increased competition from dominant GSM operators, dwindling its revenues.
Workers retained to provide minimal services, such as managing the switches and base stations across the country, were later let go as part of the cost-cutting measures.
Despite these efforts, Zoom Mobile, allegedly plagued by challenges since its inception, ultimately closed its doors.
The property, once home to a thriving business, was subsequently handed over to The Covenant Christian Centre, which transformed it into ‘The Covenant Place.’
Today, the worship centre founded by Pastor Poju Oyemade, has become a prominent church with a congregation of over 5,000 members.
Located in Iganmu, Lagos, it rose from the ashes of the businesses that once operated in that space.
One of the church officials, Effiong Bassey, explained that The Covenant Place, consecrated by Bishop David Oyedepo, was founded on March 30, 1994, with the aim of blessing the local community, city, and nation in which it is situated.
He said, “We marked the 10th Anniversary here. Due to the growing congregation, we now hold three services on Sundays, while Tuesdays and Saturdays are dedicated to weekly activities.”
However, Sunday PUNCH observed that the building on the premises that once housed Zoom Mobile had been converted into a children’s church, while the other section had been extended to accommodate the expanding number of worshippers.
This transformation—from thriving businesses to a place of worship—paints a vivid picture of the changing landscape in Nigeria’s economy, where industrial hubs are becoming sanctuaries and spaces of spiritual solace in place of once-booming commercial centres.
From industrial hub to church headquarters
In a dramatic shift in the industrial landscape of Onitsha, Anambra State, the premises of Nigerian Mineral Water Industries Limited, an Indian company once famous for producing soft drinks like Limca and Goldspot, had been taken over by three different churches.
The most prominent of the churches is the Dunamis International Gospel Centre, founded by Pastor on November 10, 1996.
The transformation has made the site, located along the Old Enugu-Onitsha Road, beside Tansian Seminary School and St. Charles Borromeo Hospital, almost unrecognisable.
The once-thriving company, a key player in the soft drink industry, has become a distant memory, especially after the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria took control of it.
In 1992, Coca-Cola Bottling Company acquired Limca, one of the company’s major brands, marking the end of an era.
In yet another striking example of this trend, the site that was once home to a thriving aluminium company, renowned for producing roofing sheets and other products, is now the location of the Living Faith Ministry, popularly known as Winners Chapel.
Harsh environment killing businesses
Experts studying the relationship between resources and their distribution have warned that the takeover of struggling factories and warehouses by churches was becoming a troubling trend in Nigeria.
They also noted that the country’s harsh business environment is slowly killing its industries and exacerbating the economic and unemployment crisis.
According to recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 5.3 per cent in Q1 2024, up from 5.0 per cent in Q3 2023.
Female unemployment stands at a troubling 6.2 per cent, higher than the 4.3 per cent unemployment rate among males.
A political economist and lecturer at the Legacy University in Okija, Anambra State, Dr Vincent Ezeme, expressed his deep concern over the growing unemployment crisis and the decline of Nigeria’s economy.
He lamented that many factories and industries, once the backbone of the nation’s economy, are now being converted into churches, where worshippers, ironically, pray for the very jobs that these factories once provided.
The lecturer affirmed that as businesses shut down due to skyrocketing operating costs, the spaces they once occupied are now being taken over by churches that offer spiritual support but cannot replace the jobs lost.
He warned that until the government adopts business-friendly policies, Nigerians will continue to gather in such places to pray for jobs that seem increasingly out of reach.
“If there are no factories and businesses to provide jobs, no amount of prayers will bring about jobs that no longer exist. Churches may offer some jobs, but these can’t compare to the jobs created by factories and businesses,” Ezeme maintained.
He stressed that addressing the root causes of business failures—such as high operating costs, exorbitant lending rates, erratic power supply, and multiple taxations, among others—is crucial to reversing this trend.
Without such reforms, the lecturer warned, more businesses will close, paving the way for churches to occupy their former spaces.
“The government knows what needs to be done if it wants to improve this economy. We should look at countries like the UK and the U.S., where underperforming churches are being repurposed for more productive ventures that contribute to the economy. Meanwhile, we are seeing more churches than factories, and it is taking a toll on our economy,” Ezeme said.
UK, US experience
The saying “nature abhors a vacuum” powerfully illustrates the contrasting realities between the UK, the U.S., and Nigeria regarding citing churches on the premises of closed firms.
In these two countries, abandoned churches are often repurposed for practical and profitable uses.
According to a media organisation, The Conversation, abandoned and underutilised churches have become a familiar sight in the U.S., and UK cities over the past few decades.
In many cases, congregations or church governing bodies sell off their unused buildings to developers, who transform them into apartments, offices, art galleries, museums, breweries, or even performance spaces.
This is done primarily to make the spaces more profitable and adaptable to urban needs.
For instance, in the U.S., the All Saints Church in Bristol was sold to developers and transformed into apartments and coffee shops, while St. Peter’s Church in Offord D’Arch, now hosts various festivals, including film festivals.
Similarly, High Pavement Chapel has been repurposed into art galleries, coffee shops, and even pubs, and St. Mary’s Church in Wythall, Worcestershire, is now the office of an electrical company, as reported by the Baltimore Sun.
These adaptive repurposings aim to make underutilised buildings profitable and functional.
Scrambling for factories and warehouses
In contrast to what is obtainable in these two countries, in Nigeria, at the Oregun industrial axis in Lagos, the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry acquired what was once the showroom of a Lebanese company that imported electricity-generating generators and spare parts from Japan. Located along No. 2 Kudirat Abiola Way, the showroom, which once thrived, was gradually shut down as Chinese imports flooded the market, offering cheaper alternatives that led to a decline in demand for Japanese products.
Today, the showroom now serves as a place of worship.
Not far from there, the Victorious Army Ministries International, founded by Apostle Joseph Agboli in 1995, acquired what was once a thriving industrial hub on Acme Road, Ogba, Ikeja.
The church, which has grown into an international organisation with branches across Nigeria, South Africa, the UK, and the U.S., took over seven warehouses and two empty plots that once served as the base for a bustling business centre.
Similarly, a bakery on Kukoyi Street, Olodi-Apapa, Lagos, once employing around 15 workers, was purchased by the International Gloryhouse Christian Centre after it was unable to recover from mounting production costs and business decline.
The bakery, once the leading supplier of bread and confectionery in the locality, shut down over 14 years ago.
A shop owner, Tunde Ibrahim, who is familiar with the bakery’s history, explained that its owner sold the place after being unable to cope with high production costs.
As part of ongoing developments in the area, Household of God, led by Pastor Chris Okotie, has reportedly acquired several properties and parcels of land along Kudirat Abiola Way over the years. The church is said to have secured significant tracts of land for its operations in the vicinity.
In another case, the property formerly occupied by Dunlop Tyre, a globally recognised brand established by John Boyd Dunlop in 1890 in Dublin, Ireland, has undergone significant changes. Once a major employer in Nigeria, with over 12,000 employees in its prime during the 1980s and 1990s, Dunlop faced increasing challenges due to an unfavourable business environment in the country. This eventually led to its relocation to Ghana, where a more conducive business climate and infrastructure were available.
Following Dunlop’s departure, the premises were utilised by Triumphant Christian Centre. The site has since been repurposed, with indications that it is currently available for rent or lease, as noted on a signpost at the property.
800 companies shut within three years – LCC
In its 2012 report, the Nigerian Chambers of Commerce revealed that at least 800 companies closed shop in Nigeria between 2009 and 2011 due to the harsh business environment.
The companies that survived were also struggling, with over half of them classified as ‘ailing.’
The President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture, Herbert Ajayi, shared these details while presenting a paper at a zonal workshop on economic diversification organised by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission in Asaba, Delta State.
However, in an earlier interview with our correspondent, Dr Muda Yusuf, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise and former Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the said government policies were primarily responsible for the failure of businesses.
He argued that churches should not be blamed for the closure of businesses, as they are simply occupying available spaces, and that it is better for landlords to collect rent from churches than have properties remain vacant.
“If the property doesn’t belong to the company, then the landlord would want to give it to another tenant willing to pay. The church is the only thriving industry right now. Though we don’t export finished goods, we export services.”
Yusuf added, “The church has also contributed to the GDP of the country, especially through diaspora remittance. It’s not the churches that killed the businesses. They’re just the only industry thriving right now, so they can afford to acquire the properties of failed businesses.”
‘It’s difficult to assess church’s contributions to GDP’
The General Overseer of Vision of God Bible Church in FESTAC, Lagos, Reverend Victor Obiora, on his part, said it’s difficult to assess how much churches contribute to the country’s GDP.
“The church doesn’t kill businesses; they merely utilise available space. However, the church is a significant part of the economy, employing tens of thousands of people and attracting tourists. Remember, people travel to Nigeria because of TB Joshua’s Synagogue of All Nations. The church and business are not the same. We deal with spiritual matters, while businesses focus on commerce.”
Churches not responsible for business failures – Economist
A former President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Professor Olusegun Ajibola, described the current trend as regrettable and a dislocation to the country’s economy, asserting that churches cannot be blamed for business failures.
The economist emphasised that the service sector should support, rather than outpace, the real sector in growth.
He said, “This imbalance has implications for job creation, GDP, and the overall health of the economy. In a situation where a property is no longer occupied by a failed business, the landlord may opt to lease it to another business or individuals willing to pay.
“If the property remains vacant, it will depreciate over time and become vulnerable to vandalism. Therefore, we cannot blame the church or any other entity for stepping in.
“If they have the resources and are willing to pay, the landlord will lease the premises to them. However, this is not a healthy trend for the country; it represents a dislocation in the economic structure.”
While proffering a way forward, he stressed the need to address the policies that cause businesses to fail.
“This is a structural issue within the country that must be fixed so that businesses can thrive and retain their presence,” Ajibola said.
“We need effective industrial policies, new investment policies, and updated trade policies. These are critical to ensuring that the business sector of the economy can grow and become strong enough to sustain the nation.”
