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Cletus M. Ibeto (born November 6, 1952) is a Nigerian businessman from the industrial city of Nnewi. He is head of The Ibeto Group, the
largest business enterprise from Nnewi, a city unique for its entrepreneurial
spirit. In the early 1980s, when the oil
crash and a
controversial import licensing system was making a dent on the
Nigerian manufacturing environment, Nnewi went through a growth
period. The Ibeto Group under the Ibeto's leadership was a pace setter in the
region and nation's trading and later manufacturing development.
His story
teaches that no matter how your financial situation seems at any point in life,
seeing and taking opportunities when others don’t, smart-hard work,
perseverance, and the right network can change your status for good.
EARLY LIFE
On January
22, 1966, at age 13, the highly spirited Ibeto got his school box and
provisions all packed and set for school. Unknown to him, the
academic phase of his life was about to crash, as his father decided that
since he had multiple sons, he’d be better off sending some of them to school
and sending one off to be a trader, so as not to put all his eggs in one
basket.
Cletus was
the unfortunate one who got booted from school, and was sent off to learn a
trade. While his two elder brothers, Cyril and Louis continued their
education.
This
exclusion got Cletus angry and triggered a mild protest in him; by not eating
for days, crying, begging, and climbing trees as though he planned to end his
life.
His father sent him
off to a John Akamelu in Onitsha. He got to his master’s place in his school
uniform. This prompted people to make funny jokes of him and eventually tag him
with the name, “schoolboy”. The people in the market enjoyed their
mockery because they believed people who go to school were weaklings seeking
refuge, and could not compete in the world of trade.
Ibeto’s
master decided to ensure he never thought of school again, and didn’t fail to
use the rod when appropriate. Till this day, a mark of his masters whip remains
on his arms, and he views it as a trophy, because the discipline he received
brought out the best in him.
His time as
an apprentice with his master was filled with a thorough study of the trade and
an inculcation of sheer brilliance in him, which made him a formidable
competitor in the market.
At the age
of 17, his apprenticeship was shortened by the civil war. Since he was forced
to join the army, his life was only saved because, he was sent on an errand by
his superiors to go and get food. This little trip was the beginning of
his path to greatness.
After the war, Cletus Ibeto
decided to pursue his dreams of becoming a successful trader once again. To
raise capital for his business, one of his elder brothers, Louis, gave him a
leather handbag and a round neck suit, which Ibeto sold along with a packet of
APC tablets he picked up at an evacuated hospital.
With the
little he raised from the sales of these items, Ibeto was able to start and
gradually grow his business in smart baby steps.
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The government of Sehu Shagari triggered the big break for Cletus Ibeto. At the time, a policy in the country enabled the importation of goods without an import licence. This period helped Ibeto amass a great deal of fortune, which he subsequently put back into his business to grow it sporadically till the import licences were then reintroduced.
With the new
development and his short quick success, he was able to secure an import
licence worth 3 million Naira, at a time when the value of a dollar was equal
to 68 kobo.
With this
scarce licence, he proceeded to import 65 containers of motor spare parts. His
promptness to secure a licence greatly favoured him yet again because, shortly
after he had secured his, the country made it almost impossible for anyone to
secure an import licence, and to make matters worse for budding entrepreneurs,
the government changed hands and the borders closed, temporarily shutting down
all forms of importation.
His already
available containers give him an upper hand, as he traded when others could
not, and so enjoyed a great monopoly the system had unconsciously provided him.
This unexpected
situation gave Cletus Ibeto an exceptional edge. In his interview with
the Sun Newspaper, he said this: “That was the turning point for me.” he said. “Come and see the line-up of
people who wanted the spare parts. I was packing money with cartons. There was
no armed robbery then, no kid- napping. It was a seller’s market. And the
mark-up was almost 500%, but people were buying! In fact, within two days
of the arrival of the containers, I made four million pounds!!”
By the year
1995, the Ibeto group built a manufacturing factory and became the largest
indigenous manufacturer of auto spare parts in Nigeria. The following year in
October 2, 1996, he setup another manufacturing company called Ibeto
Petrochemical Industries Limited; which manufactures oil lubricants and other
various petroleum products both for local and international trade. The
company has the largest liquid storage facility for petroleum products in
Nigeria, with a large capacity to store over 60,000 metric tons, and is located
at the Apapa Warf and the Ibru Jetty Complex in Lagos, Nigeria.
Today,
Cletus Ibeto is one of the wealthiest people in Nigeria with a net worth in an
excess of 3 billion dollars according to Ventures Africa (2013) and a vast
conglomerate heavily placed in various sectors of the economy, such as cement,
automotive parts, petrochemicals, hospitality, real estate, banking &
finance, and oil & gas.
CONCLUSION
Cletus
Ibeto’s success story just like many others, depicts the story of a man who
sets himself on a journey to greatness and knows exactly how and when to take
advantage of an opportunity. He has gone through so much problems but was able
to overcome and withstand them. Mr Ibeto's business offer some of the best
services in the line of its operations. Even right now am sitting on the bed of
his hotel room in Gudu. And NO, he didn’t lodged me for free neither did he
know am writing this about him but the great services been offered here gives
me great sense of dependency on the fact that any of his other business
dealings must be rendering similar quality of service. If you liked this article,
please share us with your friends and don't forget to drop your comments, so we
can serve you better.
Thank You
.jfif)
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