Dr. Mustapha Kazeem Lusty, MD, Kontz Engineering Limited.
The zeal to maintain quality and add value to whatever one is doing is making business tough in the Nigerian security engineering business, an engineering security expert has revealed.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with People’s Forum Online/Magazine recently, the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Kontz Engineering Limited, Dr. Mustapha Kazeem Lusty, noted that generally business has been good especially when you choose to add a specific value without bending the rules.
However, he stated that his company encounters different challenges here and there, as they refuse to compromise standard which affect some business opportunities they have.
His words: “We have opportunity but there are some things we cannot compromise about. We have opportunities and have good business that we are expected to compromise some percentage but we don’t want to compromise things that have to question our integrity. “So, it is so tough to say no, I only want to deal with top quality products, I don’t want to deal with less quality products. And it is very tough because we have to fight price and fight competition.”
Dr. Mustapha explained that they always have challenges with customers that have little knowledge of security engineering but just want something that is cheap. He said that such a person would be looking for a “good” price which can only be found with those who agree to compromise.
The Kontz boss maintained that his company has been able to look for and build a brand and have been able to have a good name in the industry with quality though the price may not be cheap.
He stated that some people complain about their price being high but end up introducing new customers to them.
“They don’t like our price but they want top quality. It’s been worthwhile because it’s so interesting that the same people who don’t like our price introduce other people to us, saying if you want quality talk to Kontz but their price is not cheap o. People will call us and say we need top quality products but they said your price is not cheap. You know what, how can you give us quality at a cheaper price? I like that actually. It shows that somebody is appreciating what we are doing.”
The Kontz boss noted that security is luxury because you need to have an asset before you talk of protecting it.
He lamented that those who have assets are even scared to protect them because some don’t know how to go about it.
He stressed that it’s also challenging that both government and people who have assets somehow find it difficult to protect them or allocate enough resources to protect the assets.
Dr. Mustapha further said that the industry is not also a knowledgeable one in the sense that most of the people that see themselves as security professionals have little or no knowledge.
“They don’t have that knowledge enough about using technology that complements their physical security to ensure that there’s no gap. The first thing is to combine all the technology, human and assets. The three have to be combined. Where you are talking of somebody that has manpower and not talking technology, you are creating a gap. The three of them have to work together to have effective security,” he enlightened.
He bemoaned Nigeria of today where people talk of only manpower without combining it with technology, believing that once they have guns they are secured. He insisted that the three – human, assets and technology work together for complete security.
He described Nigeria as a very lucky country in the sense that the country has everything needed to survive but that the question is whether the people are willing and secondly whether the decision makers actually know or have the knowledge that we have the technology locally as every solution Nigeria needs to solve her security problems is available.
“I don’t think we don’t know we have. I just think that we probably don’t have the belief in ourselves. You just need to launch cameras in the air, so if somebody commits crime we will see. Immediately you start using technology to arrest crime and people know that something is happening all of us will start adjusting ourselves.
Developed countries like Dubai do so. It is not about hiring one big police and do give them salary. It is about looking at how people think and wait for them ahead of their thoughts. Everybody commit crime but don’t want to be known, so if you can increase the chance of arrests and reduce the chance of escape everybody will change themselves. It is possible and even available for private organizations so why can’t it go to the state level?” he stated.
