I spurned my family’s wealth to become a billionaire - Lona

Idoko Lona,30, is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lona Global Services, which is one of the most famous outdoor advertising agencies in Nigeria.He spoke on how he made his billions at such a tender age without recourse to his family’s wealth, submitting that one must combine the resources of prayer, hardwork, internal conviction and determination to be a success.

HOW was it like while you were growing up?
Growing up was something interesting. My dad was a strict man just like my mother and they have the fear of God and were always telling us to do the right things and never dream of depending on your family or anybody. They told us that once you have a dream, you should be able to achieve it. My grandfather was into oil business just like my father too, but at their level, it was the upstream sector that they concentrated on. I studied Geology and Mining at the university so that I would be able to get involved in the downstream sector and that, I did.

When I left the university, there were changes in my plans. I always like to do something that is new and it kept ringing in my ears. People always complain that Nigeria is bad. I asked myself that if Nigeria is bad who will change it? When I was at the university, we travelled most of the times for holidays outside the country. At that stage, I tried to look at all the sectors of the Nigerian economy with a view to knowing the best sector where I could really contribute my quota. I realised that there are so many things that needed to be done. I concluded that one needs to start from the easy ones where you can easily break through. I felt that Nigeria as a country, the biggest black nation in the world, unfortunately, had a messy outdoor advertising focus and I decided to take the plunge.

But it is capital intensive. How were you able to raise the funds or did you do that through your grandfather who is reputed to be the wealthiest man in Kogi State ?
Never.You see, after I left secondary school, I made up my mind that I wanted to stand on my own and not do anything called family business. I wanted to be a man of my own right from secondary school. After I left secondary school, I started doing business and throughout my four years at the university, I was so business-driven. I did one or two things like buying and selling, whenever we traveled out of the country. Then, my older ones bought personal items but I purchased things that I came back to Nigeria to sell. I also did some subtle business then before I entered the oil and gas industry.I registered with NNPC as a marketer and we always got allocations from NNPC. But, I just felt that it was not just what I really wanted to do and I decided that I must do something more challenging. I felt this oil and gas thing is just a static way of doing business because you just get the normal allocation and you sell and make profit. I decided on outdoor advertising in Nigeria.

I was about coming to that. You are a scientist and you were even lured into studying Geology and Mining because you wanted to partake in the downstream oil sector. Then, what made you drift to the advertising sector where you are one of the leading figures in the country today?
Abuja used to be an eyesore and a mess. What actually made it possible for me to come into this business and be fully part of it was the enabling environment that was created by the then Minister of FCT, Mallam Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai.If you remember before now, Abuja used to be a whole lot of mess when it comes to outdoor advertising. You come to a junction and you see about four billboards clustering round. There was no standard and everything was done in a shabby way. But when el-Rufai came and sanitised the whole system, that was what brought my interest. A body was set up to set standards and regulations for outdoor practice in Abuja and the whole environment was completely enabling.

So, el-Rufai engendered your interest in outdoor advertising?
Definitely. el-Rufai created the enabling environment and the standard. It is those standards that Abuja has maintained. You can see that Lagos State is emulating the same thing.

So, how well are you faring in the outdoor business?
Outdoor advertisement business is very interesting.

But people say it is capital intensive and very costly to patronise.
Yes, it is very expensive. It is not easy but it all boils down to determination and the will to do the right thing. If you look at what differentiates us from other outdoor practitioners in Nigeria, you would really appreciate what I am talking about. If you go round Abuja, you will see where we have LONA GLOBAL boards. You will discover that our boards are distinct from all other ones. Unfortunately, we import all our boards into the country mainly from South Africa , France, Sweden, etc. But we are looking into the next level and we are talking to our partners to set up a factory here where we can start manufacturing the boards.

Outdoor advertising is expensive if you want to go for the best, but I can assure you of the fact that I believe in the principles of doing business. If you start up a business today, it should take you up to two or three years to start reaping profit. Patience is what most Nigerian businessmen do not have. They believe in doing business today and reaping their benefit that same day but for us at LONA GLOBAL, it is different That is why you can see the standard of boards we are putting up in Abuja and the standard of outdoor innovation we have brought in.

At the LONA GLOBAL RESOURCES, our dream is to be the leading outdoor advertisement agency in Nigeria which would spearhead innovation in the outdoor advertising industry in the country. For example, last year, we got a report from our partner in France. According to the report, Nigeria was actually the second country in the world where our outdoor advertising boards are installed and that excellence is what we are trying to sustain. This is why I travel out of the country a lot.
But it is as if all your activities are confined only to Abuja.

No. we are not only very dominant in Abuja but we also have outdoor advertising billboards in Lagos, and also in Kano. Presently, we just signed a contract with Enugu State government to completely sanitise outdoor practice there and the contract was approved based on our track record So, I can assure you that at the end of the year, Enugu State would be the best in the country in terms of outdoor practice because we want to set a standard where other states including Abuja and Lagos can come and learn from.

But you already made your billions before venturing into outdoor advertising. Could you let the upcoming ones know how to make it just like you’ve done?
If you don’t have preparations and a target, how do you strike luck? Basically, we all need to rediscover ourselves. In everybody, there is this great potential and when you discover yourself, then, you will see what you can do. I know that one of the greatest challenges confronting everybody is finance. There are thousands of people lying down in the streets all over the country looking for breakthrough but there is no money to go about it. But at the same time, what you need is determination. So, you have to start from where it is much convenient for you. I set a target and gradually, that was how we have what we have now. This company is just about three years old because it was registered in January 2006 We started operation on July 1, 2006 but look at what we have. In Abuja alone, we have about four LEB Boards and about 30 large boxes. We don’t have any commitment to any bank and there is no bank that can come out to say that it gave LONA loan to do business. To be a success, you have to be convinced and determined internally. You need to have a dream because if you don’t have a dream, you won’t have a goal. Then I think God and prayers are very important. You should put God first, pray, work hard and success would naturally come.