Kamar Bakrin: Strong Institutions Are Built on People, Not Infrastructure Alone

Executive Secretary/CEO of the National Sugar Development Council, Mr. Kamar Bakrin, has spent the past two years deliberately reshaping the Council by developing people, systems and other factors that drive institutions. In this conversation, he reflects on leadership, governance and the discipline of building organisations that last, while also offering a glimpse into the personal habits that keep him grounded. Bakrin also talks about the progress being made in the execution of the recently launched Sugarcane Outgrower Development Programme, among others.  Sunday Ehigiator brings the excerpts:

Since you were appointed Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) two years ago, what key developments and reforms have taken place at the Nigeria Sugar Institute under your leadership?

A great deal has changed at the Nigeria Sugar Institute (NSI) over the past two years, and it has been by design rather than by chance. From the outset, our goal was clear: to reposition NSI from a largely dormant facility into a fully functional, industry-facing centre for research, training, and technical support. We began with the fundamentals: institutional structure and operating model. Today, NSI operates within a clearly defined governance and management framework aligned with global best practices. With the support of KPMG, we strengthened governance systems, clarified roles, and ensured a proper balance between strategic oversight, policy direction, and day-to-day execution. This reform provided the Institute with much-needed stability, clarity, and operational discipline. With governance in place, our next priority was people. Infrastructure alone does not deliver impact, human capacity does. Over the last two years, more than 60 NSI staff have undergone targeted capacity-building programmes spanning both managerial and technical competencies. On the managerial side, staff were trained in project management, stakeholder engagement, negotiation, conflict resolution, strategic communication, and professional reporting; skills that are essential for coordinating complex, multi-stakeholder industry programmes. On the technical front, staff received advanced, hands-on training in laboratory instrumentation, solution preparation, soil analysis, and equipment maintenance. These are efficient skills that directly enhance NSI’s ability to run its biofactory operations, support sugar estates, and deliver credible research, diagnostics, and advisory services to industry operators. In parallel, we deliberately repositioned NSI as a national hub for training and knowledge transfer. Through the NSDC/NSI Boot Camp initiative, the Institute began delivering structured, hands-on training programmes covering sugar processing, refining, quality control, industrial safety, and environmental compliance. These programmes are intentionally practical, blending classroom instruction with real-world demonstrations so participants leave with skills they can immediately apply in their operations. Significant investments were also made in curriculum development and standard operating procedures. The Factory Operations Department developed a comprehensive, end-to-end curriculum that covers the entire sugar production cycle, from cane preparation and juice extraction to crystallisation, refining, and by-product utilisation, with a strong emphasis on safety and sustainability. At the same time, the Biofactory upgraded its SOPs for sugarcane and other crops, introducing detailed protocols for explant sterilisation, culture media formulation, and acclimatisation technologies. Crucially, these reforms were not kept in-house. NSI translated its strengthened capacity into direct industry support. The Institute jointly facilitated technical training for the staff of Sunti Golden Sugar Estate, focusing on soil science, laboratory safety, sampling techniques, and the use of equipment.

It also designed and delivered a comprehensive field-to-factory training programme for 20 new hires at BUA Foods’ LASUCO operations, ensuring they understood sugar production as a fully integrated system rather than a set of isolated activities. So, when we speak about progress at the Nigeria Sugar Institute, we are talking about a systematic rebuilding of institutional capacity; strengthening governance, upgrading skills, formalising training, and reconnecting the Institute directly with industry needs. These reforms are already laying a strong foundation for NSI to fulfil its mandate as a credible national centre of excellence, supporting Nigeria’s long-term drive towards self-sufficiency and competitiveness in sugar production.

How do you unwind or recharge after a demanding workday?

I enjoy quality reading materials, movies and TV shows. I particularly like hosting my small circle of friends. This keeps me grounded and also gives me an excellent perspective on things.

I go for long walks in the morning as often as I can, which helps me clear my head.

What type of books, music, or films do you enjoy most, and do they influence the way you think or lead?

I have typically enjoyed history books, especially those that help me understand the current state of Nigeria and Africa and provide pointers to how things may evolve. But increasingly, I now read quite a number of autobiographies, because the lessons are priceless. Again, you realise a lot of your struggles and challenges are not that unique or even that deep compared to what others have dealt with, successfully or otherwise. My taste in music is very odd, so let’s leave that for another time. I enjoy well-made movies with strong acting, characters that one can invest in, and plot lines that make you think ‘ah, I never would have seen that coming’. I don’t do horror movies, though, I just don’t see the point. In the same way, I don’t enjoy roller coasters when I visit amusement parks. I would definitely say I gleaned valuable lessons from both books and movies/TV shows.

If you were not working in public service or agro-industrial development, what career path do you think you might have pursued?

Remember, I spent 30 years in the private sector before coming into public service. This includes roles as Chief Executive in about three organisations and other C-level roles in Oil and Gas, consumer goods, infrastructure and principal investing.  My enduring passion is to build world-class institutions in Africa.

What personal values or life lessons guide your leadership, both professionally and in your private life?

My innate goal everywhere I am is to make it much better than I met it. I consider every role I have held a great privilege and a show of trust, because I know for a fact that there are other people just as qualified, if not more qualified than me.

The same applies in my interaction with people. I deem it a failure if their interaction with me doesn’t make either of us better than when we first met.

Recently, the National Sugar Development Council launched the Sugarcane Outgrower Development Programme (SODP) to attract and integrate more sugarcane farmers into the industry. How has stakeholder response been so far, and what progress can you report on the programme to date?

The response has been overwhelmingly positive and, more importantly, highly practical. What we are seeing is not just casual interest, but a clear willingness by potential participants to engage meaningfully with the programme.  That, for us, is a strong signal that the Sugarcane Outgrower Development Programme (SODP) is addressing real needs within the industry. What makes the SODP truly different is that it introduces, for the first time, a clear and structured national framework that deliberately integrates farmers, whether large agribusinesses, cooperatives, or individual smallholders, into Nigeria’s sugar value chain in a coordinated and sustainable manner.  The underlying philosophy is simple but powerful: farmers should not be left to produce sugarcane in isolation, without market certainty or support. Under the SODP, participating farmers are directly linked to licensed sugar processors through guaranteed offtake arrangements.  They also receive access to quality seedcane, essential inputs, and hands-on technical support through training and extension services. This integrated approach significantly reduces risk for farmers, boosts productivity, and builds confidence across the value chain for both producers and processors. What is particularly encouraging is that the programme is already gaining real traction. Through our engagement and expression-of-interest processes, we have recorded strong uptake, especially in communities located close to existing sugar estates where integration can be achieved quickly and efficiently. While this is not a programme that delivers results overnight, we have moved decisively beyond the policy and planning stage. The SODP is now firmly in its implementation phase, laying down the critical building blocks for a sustainable, scalable increase in domestic sugarcane supply. This is exactly the kind of structural intervention the industry needs, and the early signals are very promising.

Last year, the NSDC signed a landmark $1 billion investment agreement with the Chinese conglomerate SINOMACH. Could you outline how Nigeria’s sugar industry is expected to benefit from this partnership, and what tangible outcomes have been recorded so far?

The partnership with SINOMACH represents a real inflexion point for Nigeria’s sugar industry. In both scale and ambition, it stands out as one of the most significant agro-industrial investments Nigeria has recorded in recent years. What makes this agreement particularly potent is not just the headline USD 1 billion investment, but the structure underpinning it. The partnership combines engineering, procurement, construction, and development financing within a single, coordinated framework. For a capital-intensive and technically complex industry like sugar, this level of integration is a game-changer. It enables projects to move more swiftly from concept to execution while significantly reducing delivery and financing risks. From a practical standpoint, the outcomes are substantial. The partnership will unlock the capacity to produce up to 500,000 metric tonnes of sugar annually, bring approximately 75,000 hectares under sugarcane cultivation, and add about 50,000 tonnes-per-day in factory processing capacity. These are not abstract projections; they represent tangible, productive assets being built directly into Nigeria’s sugar ecosystem. Beyond the numbers, the broader impact is truly transformative.

The SINOMACH partnership strengthens domestic sugar production, reduces Nigeria’s reliance on imports, conserves valuable foreign exchange, and catalyses large-scale job creation across farming, processing, logistics, and allied services. Most importantly, it firmly positions Nigeria on a credible and sustainable path toward long-term self-sufficiency in sugar production.

The ambitions outlined under these initiatives are significant. How does the NSDC intend to deliver on these objectives within the proposed timeframe? Walk us through the implementation approach and any progress achieved to date?

That is a very fair question, and one we anticipated from the outset. Ambitions of this scale are not delivered through shortcuts or wishful thinking; they require discipline, clear sequencing, and rigorous execution. From day one, the NSDC has been deliberate about getting the fundamentals right before accelerating delivery. We established a structured coordination framework with SINOMACH, underpinned by continuous technical engagement and detailed information exchange. Critical project data, including proposed locations and site-specific information, has already been shared, enabling feasibility studies and technical planning to proceed in a focused and practical manner rather than in the abstract.

In parallel, the NSDC has taken proactive ownership of the issues that most often delay large-scale agro-industrial projects: land access, regulatory approvals, and community engagement. These are typically the real bottlenecks, and addressing them early is essential to maintaining momentum and protecting project timelines.

While the implementation approach is phased, it is very much in motion. The groundwork has been laid, stakeholder alignment has been achieved, and the necessary institutional coordination is firmly in place. This positions NSDC strongly to transition decisively from preparation to execution and to deliver on these objectives within the proposed timeframe.

Under your leadership, NSDC has identified greenfield sugar projects as a key strategy for closing Nigeria’s domestic sugar production gap. This informed the recent signing of Memoranda of Understanding with four greenfield promoters. What should Nigerians expect from each of these projects?

Greenfield sugar projects are not just a component of our strategy; they are absolutely central to closing Nigeria’s domestic sugar production gap. The Memoranda of Understanding recently signed with the four promoters were far from symbolic; they represent concrete commitments from credible investors with both the technical capacity and financial strength to deliver at scale. Each of these greenfield projects is designed as a fully integrated sugar operation, combining extensive sugarcane cultivation with modern, efficient processing facilities. Once they reach full operation, the four projects collectively are projected to add approximately 400,000 metric tonnes of sugar to Nigeria’s annual output, a significant boost to domestic supply. Equally important is the deliberate geographic spread of these investments across the southwest, north-central, and northeast regions of the country, being areas where sugarcane can be grown at a commercially viable scale. This approach allows Nigeria to harness its diverse agro-climatic advantages while ensuring that the economic benefits, employment opportunities, infrastructure development, and local enterprise growth are shared across multiple regions. These are investments anchored in host communities, built to operate sustainably, and structured to deliver lasting value to both the sugar industry and the wider economy.

GNAL Sugar, owned by the Lee Group, has also been identified as a greenfield project, with plans to invest in Taraba State. Can you provide an update on the status of this project?

GNAL Sugar is progressing steadily as a greenfield project, with Taraba State emerging as a strong and highly viable location for the investment. We recently undertook a joint visit to the state with the Lee Group, and the level of engagement and commitment demonstrated by the Taraba State Government has been both encouraging and reassuring. The project has now moved well beyond the stage of initial interest. Multiple local government areas have been identified as suitable for large-scale sugarcane cultivation and processing, and active work is underway on land access, site selection, and overall project definition. This phase is critical, as it brings together technical, environmental, and social assessments to ensure the project is anchored on a solid and sustainable foundation. Our approach is intentionally measured and disciplined. Rather than rushing to make headline announcements, we are focused on resolving all key prerequisites early. This ensures that when the project transitions into the construction and development phase, it does so with clear parameters, strong community alignment, and the long-term viability required for an investment of this scale.

Why was Taraba State selected as the location for this investment?

Taraba State was selected after a rigorous and competitive assessment process that evaluated multiple potential locations across the country. From a technical perspective, Taraba consistently stood out. The state offers extensive land availability, dependable water resources, and favourable agro-climatic conditions that are well-suited to high-yield, large-scale sugarcane cultivation. However, site selection goes far beyond natural endowments. Equally decisive was the level of commitment demonstrated by the Taraba State Government. Large sugar projects are long-term investments that thrive on strong collaboration between investors, host communities, and government institutions. In this regard, Taraba clearly showed the political will, institutional alignment, and readiness to provide an enabling environment for sustained development. When strong technical fundamentals are combined with clear government support and community engagement, the result is a location capable of supporting a project not just at start-up, but over decades.

Based on our assessments, Taraba has the potential to evolve into a major sugar production hub, playing a strategic role in strengthening Nigeria’s domestic sugar industry.

One recurring concern around greenfield sugar development is the availability of critical inputs, particularly quality planting materials. How is NSDC addressing this issue across the various projects?

That is a very important concern, because the availability of quality planting material is one of the most critical success factors in sugarcane production—and it is often where greenfield projects run into difficulties if the issue is not addressed early.

To tackle this, NSDC has adopted a deliberate, multi-layered approach. First, we have established dedicated seedcane farms specifically designed to support greenfield sugar projects. These farms are meant to close the existing gap in quality planting materials by creating a reliable local supply of seedcane, reducing dependence on imports, and allowing planting material production to scale in a controlled and sustainable manner as new estates come on stream. In parallel, through the Nigeria Sugar Institute (NSI), we are deploying modern planting technologies, particularly pre-sprouted bud set, or bud chip, technology. This represents a major shift from traditional whole-cane planting methods. Bud chip technology enables us to multiply planting materials far more efficiently, using smaller quantities of cane to produce a significantly larger number of healthy, disease-free seedlings. It can cut between 12 and 18 months out of the project development cycle. The NSI is already building capacity for large-scale bud chip propagation and integrating this technology into its research, training, and extension programmes. The impact is substantial: faster estate establishment, lower planting costs, improved field uniformity, and stronger quality control. Taken together, the combination of dedicated seedcane farms and advanced bud set technology provides a resilient, scalable system for supplying planting materials. This is a critical foundation for the successful rollout of greenfield sugar projects across the country and a key enabler of long-term growth in the sector.

Turning to the Nigeria Sugar Institute (NSI), there have been varying public perceptions regarding its status and ownership. Can you clarify the institutional status of the Institute and NSDC’s role in its establishment?

It is important to clarify this issue, as there have been some misconceptions around the Nigeria Sugar Institute and its institutional standing. The NSI is a purpose-built national institution established to serve as the research, training, and technical backbone of Nigeria’s sugar industry. It was incorporated in June 2019 and formally commissioned in January 2021, and it operates under the strategic oversight of the NSDC. The NSI is headquartered in Ilorin, with specialised bio-factory and tissue culture facilities. These laboratories play a critical role in varietal development, seedcane multiplication, and applied research, supporting both the sugar and ethanol value chains. In practical terms, the Institute exists to ensure that the industry has consistent access to quality planting materials, skilled manpower, and credible technical expertise. The Institute was deliberately structured as a shared, industry-wide platform developed by NSDC in collaboration with key stakeholders. Its purpose is to consolidate research and development in a single national centre of excellence and to ensure that critical outputs, such as improved seedcane, training programmes, and technical services, are accessible to all industry operators, not just a select few. Today, industry players are actively utilising NSI’s services for seedcane supply, capacity building, and technical support. As the Institute continues to scale its operations and demonstrate its value, discussions around broader industry participation and long-term support will naturally evolve. What is clear, however, is that NSI is functioning exactly as intended: as a national centre of excellence strengthening the growth, resilience, and competitiveness of Nigeria’s sugar industry.