Auto
Rolls-Royce, Daewoo gave my father breakthrough – Lanre Shittu Motors MD, Taiwo Shittu

Rolls-Royce, Daewoo gave my father breakthrough – Lanre Shittu Motors MD, Taiwo Shittu
Lanre Shittu Motors’ Managing Director, Mr Taiwo Shittu, was recently crowned Nigeria’s Auto Personality of the Year and the late father and founder of the auto company received a posthumous award for his developmental strides in the sector.
The MD, in this interview, reflects on the implications of these awards, the genesis of the company and its current state as well as other automotive industry issues
How do you feel winning the Auto Personality of the Year award?
First, I have to express gratitude to Almighty Allah. I thank Him for the opportunity given to me. I feel happy to be so honoured. I know now people are watching everything everyone is doing in the industry. This award, I know, is as a result of hard work. This also means working harder henceforth. One has set the pace; one cannot therefore afford to lower the standards or go down.
I also see this as an opportunity to do more for the industry and ensure that it does not collapse.
Where do you hope to take the company in the next five years?
I give God the glory for what we’ve done so far. The credit goes to my late father Alhaji Razaq Alanni Olanrewaju Shittu, for building the brand name. There is nothing like a good name. If you don’t leave anything for your children other than a good name, the sky is the limit for them. In our own case, he left us money and the good name.
We can’t thank him enough for leaving us with a good name. You can imagine that everywhere we turn to in the country, once we mention we are Lanre Shittu’s sons, we are ushered in immediately. People would say ‘Your father was a good man. He won’t cheat if you did any business with him. His word was his bond; he never broke his promises’. I have heard this many times. And the only thing we can do is to build on this legacy.
In the next five years, I see us growing the LSM brand name to become a sought-after brand in Nigeria. We are starting off with the commercial vehicles. Already, we have the LSM-branded CNG buses, 100 per cent CNG buses, in Nigeria. Right now, we are penetrating the market with the CNG buses. We want to bring in the smaller buses – the 18-seater and 11-seater buses (korope). We have the pickup too, which is also a commercial vehicle, lined up.
From experience, I can tell you that once the commercial sector has tested and found your brand worthy, it will be very easy to migrate to the passenger cars.
When the commercial vehicles are doing well and there is no downtime, you are in business. By the time you bring in the passenger vehicles, it will be a walkover.
One of the reasons we are coming out with the LSM brand is to immortalise our late father’s name.
We see ourselves taking a big chunk of the commercial vehicle segment in Nigeria in the next five years and making the LSM a household name in Nigeria. Lanre Shittu Motors as a company is a household name already, doing other automakers brands. But we want to shift the focus to the LSM brand with high after-sale service. We had represented a lot of brands in the past such as Mack, Yutong, Sany and JAC; we have learnt so much in 43 years from the industry on how to build a brand to penetrate the market – the support, communication. The good name and goodwill will be added advantage for us.
What is the secret behind the success of the Lanre Shittu Motors even after the demise of the founder?
I will say it’s God; the good legacy left behind by the founder, our father, and the unity among the 20 of us – his children, for trusting and believing in me to lead the business. A lot businesses collapse after the death of the owners. Once a business founder is dead, the next you hear is that a fight has broken out and while one person is taking the arm, another is claiming the leg, the other is going for the body. And in six months, the whole empire is gone down.
In our case, we have 20 siblings that are cooperative and believe in my ability to lead the business with my other brothers.
We had a father who never spoiled us. He taught us sincerity, commitment and accountability. All these are coming to play to make his business and legacies live after his death. Our target is to make it live to the next generation; that’s when we can say we are really successful.
What is the relationship between Lanre Shittu Motors and the Mack truck brand in Nigeria?
We still buy spare parts from Mack to support the truck brand in Nigeria. We sold the last Mack truck in Nigeria. No other auto company aw we speak has brought any Mack truck into the country. We are still supporting the brand. Some of my teams are in big oil and gas companies in the South-South catering to their Mack trucks. Our mission is to be one of the best auto solution providers with perfect after-sale service in the country. So we still support every brand that we have done in the past with after-sale service. That way, it will be easier for us to shift the customers to our own newer brand. It is the support they are buying now, not the brand.
Are the Mack trucks sold eight years ago still on the road in Nigeria?
Yes, they’re still on the road. I sold 30 Mack trucks last month.
Are you partnering other automakers to produce the LSM brand of vehicles?
We are partnering reputable automakers. For us at the LSM, we are careful not to select as partners anyone not in the top three of the segment of vehicle we’re doing in that country. For instance, in the our pickup segment, we are going to China for the selection of partners. Our target is for the first or the second in that country’s pickup.
Where are you in the CNG buses now?
For the CNG buses, we are assembling in our own brand name LSM. This is a new opportunity. It was a big risk we took; but it’s a risk that is paying off because we believe in the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We knew when he said fuel subsidy was gone, the next thing would be CNG-powered vehicles. It was clear that Nigerians would not run to electric vehicles as an immediate option.
Electric vehicles can only be driven by solar in this country. The high inflation has knocked off the national electricity grid to drive the EVs. You need an investment of over N300 million to have a commercial electric charging station. How many Nigerians can afford this?
Are you saying Nigeria is not ripe for electric vehicles?
Nigeria is ripe for EVs but we’re not yet there. But we’re there on CNG, with the government leading the initiative and abundance of natural gas. I see a lot CNG stations fast coming up. Lagos, Benin, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Ilorin among others are cities where CNG refilling stations are springing up.
The CNG idea is taking shape. A trip to the South-East now costs N53,000 per person (I was told). But with N72,000 of CNG, you can almost fill the tank of a bus and drive to the East conveniently. With a mass transit CNG bus, you can take a large number of people to a 400km destination on N72,000 worth of CNG. You cannot get that anywhere.
Apart from the high capacity CNG buses, our 18-seater and 11-seater will come out early next year. Thereafter, we will move into the passenger vehicles.
Are you planning to go into the coaches for long distance travel?
We missed the business this year. It requires adequate planning. We intend to go into it next year. It should be around September next year in preparation for the end of the year travels.
How did your father, founder of LSM, Alhaji Olanrewaju Shittu, start the automobile business?
He started the automobile business small, with three vehicles at Aguda, in the Surulere area of Lagos.
It was from a shoe business that he switched over to the auto business.
In starting, he travelled with his wife out of the country to buy things including vehicles around 1978. He bought the vehicles in Valencia, Spain.
Shoe and car business are not related. How did he suddenly develop interest in automobile business?
He just felt like changing his line of business. It was Debasco Motors Chairman, Otunba Babatunde Onakoya, that put him through. Debasco was a big auto company in Lagos at that time.
My father was seen as creditworthy, so people trusted him and were always willing to give him vehicles on credit.
He would go to Ogbomosho to buy six vehicles, by would come back to Lagos with additional six vehicles on credit. They had no doubt that he would pay back quickly.
Sometimes, he would travel as far as Kaduna to buy 12 cars from PAN, he would be the last driving the last vehicle while others were ahead driving all the way to Lagos.
This gave the auto company the strength to grow fast from the three vehicles he started with.
Which brand gave him a breakthrough?
It’s Daewoo and Rolls Royce that gave him a real breakthrough. That is why we have the signs of the two brands engraved on the wall of the LSM office at Alaka Lagos.
Lanre Shittu Motors was the only one selling the Rolls Royce then. That was in the 1990s.
Was he a car freak?
Yes, he loved cars. He used to have a Rolls Royce. But no longer had it before he died. What he had was a Mercedes-Benz Mayback. His car garage was not packed full. Even though he was a car dealer, he changed his main car every 10 years. He was a very prudent man. At the beginning of his adult life, he had many cars; in the middle, he was prudent It was at the end that he bought some flashy cars such as Lexus L600, MayBack 650 engine – at that time only he and ex-President Muhammadu Buhari had that car. He bought the car then because there were three weddings in the family. By time he died, the car had only ran 600 miles. He also had a Ford Expedition, which he liked to drive. He had a Lexus LX570 First Edition almost the same time.
He was a family-oriented man.
Auto
LAMATA announces 18% increase in BRT fares

LAMATA announces 18% increase in BRT fares
The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) has announced an increase of 18 per cent in fares under its bus reform initiative (BRI) scheme
The popular Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) is part of the Bus Reform Initiative Schemes,
LAMATA in a statement on Thursday therefore sought the cooperation of Lagos residents for new fares expected to commence on February 17.
It said the fare adjustment was due to rising operational costs and to ensure the continued availability of bus services for commuters in Lagos.
Part of the statement read, “Please be informed that there will be an 18 per cent increase in the bus fare on all Bus Reform Initiative (BRI) schemes.
“The fare increase is because of the increase in the cost of operations and the need to ensure that buses keep running and guarantee your movement around Lagos.
“We seek your understanding and cooperation.”
Auto
ABC Transport at 32: How we stayed afloat, achieved milestones, by MD Nneji

ABC Transport at 32: How we stayed afloat, achieved milestones, by MD Nneji
Managing Director of ABC Transport Plc, Mr. Jude Nneji, has flashed back to the road the company has travelled since inception in 1993, declaring that there have been some daunting challenges on the way.
He however disclosed that through a combination of astute management and support of loyal customers, the company was able to navigate the challenges to stay afloat and achieve some milestones that define the road transport industry today.
Nneji, who spoke on the 32nd anniversary of ABC Transport, stated “There have been challenges in the past 32 years. But we were braced for them. You know it is not easy for a company to survive three decades in Nigeria.”
He said currently, the company was focusing on rebranding and consolidating on the achievements of the past three decades.
“We are doing a lot of renewal; the logo change, the rebranding, and re-fleeting, among other things, just to move on to the next stage.
“We are consolidating the divisions we have. For now, focus is on our haulage and cargo divisions, as well as our Driver Training Academy (DTA), which is turning a lot of graduates into the professional driver market.”
The success story of ABC Transport Plc began on February 13, 1993, when five mini buses emblazoned with the ABC Transport reindeer logo departed Owerri on a maiden trip to Lagos.
Little did the observers know that the vehicles were paving the way for what is today the foremost land transport company in Nigeria.
The history-making Toyota Hiace buses were procured with a loan from Diamond Bank (now Access Bank) by a youthful and audacious entrepreneur, Mr. Frank Nneji OON, who had the dream of delivering world-class transportation services to Nigerians.
ABC Transport was not among the first generation of luxury bus transporters where a pathfinder like Ekene Dili Chukwu (founded by the late Chief Augustine Ilodobe) belongs. But with Frank Nneji in the driver’s seat, it revolutionised road transportation and set the standards for modern, long distance passenger services.
As the founder of ABC Transport, Frank Nneji recalled in a recent interview that it was the unpleasant personal experience he had during a trip from Owerri to Lagos on board a bus which finally broke down at Ore, that led to the conception of the idea of a modern transport company in 1993.
The objective then, according to him, was to set standards in luxury bus transportation with emphasis on passenger comfort, safety and strict adherence to schedules.
Today, like the oak tree, ABC Transport has not only scored many firsts in road transportation, but has also grown to become a household name in the industry, with a fleet of about 500 vehicles and a network of over 90 locations across the country and in West Africa.
Following the success recorded in the beginning, the ABC Transport fleet was sustainably expanded with the injection of more mini buses and state-of-the-art luxury coaches .
This earned for the company the travellers’ acclaim across the country as the first to introduce air-conditioned coaches with toilet facilities, as well as on-board entertainment featuring video screens and mid-journey refreshment.
One of the innovations introduced by the management in the years following that inaugural trip by the five mini buses was the ABC Customers’ Forum hitherto unknown to the country’s road transport industry.
At the event, which was sustained annually until a few years ago, the management interacted with the customers, and fielded questions, complaints and suggestions on how to improve the company’s services.
On July 16, 2004, ABC Transport scored yet another first with its Coach West Africa – the ECOWAS region’s first scheduled coach service taking off from Lagos (through Cotonou in Benin Republic, and Lome in Togo) to Accra, Ghana, and back, on board the purpose-built coaches.
Online ticket booking, which has since been embraced by most luxury bus transport operators, was first introduced by ABC Transport in 2007, making it easier for travellers to book their trips and pay from the comfort of their homes and offices.
A mobile app was subsequently introduced to enhance the self-service.
Similarly, ABC Transport was the first to establish ultramodern terminals in Nigeria and beyond, with some of them in Lagos, Abuja, Owerri and Port Harcourt.
A high reputation for innovation, outstanding safety records and unique customer experience has since combined with the founder’s entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to excellence as the driving force behind the company’s success.
Over the past 32 years, ABC Transport has achieved numerous milestones, including, of course, the addition of ABC Cargo Express, the logistics and warehousing division; and ABC Hauls, the haulage services arm.
With the recent deployment of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks, to boost its cement haulage capacity at Lafarge Africa Plc’s cement factory, ABC Hauls and Cargo Express account for about 50 percent of ABC Transport operations.
ABC Hauls is one of Lafarge’s major transporters for the distribution of cement around the country.
ABC Cargo Express, which commenced operations also as a division, has now grown to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of the parent company. This was necessitated by its rapid growth and its ability to focus on the innovations going on in the logistics sector.
Through the Cargo division, the company moves hundreds of thousands of packages around West Africa, empowering many businesses with its dedicated e-commerce services.
ABC Transport also has the record of being the first, and so far, the only road transport company to be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Along with a seamless succession plan which ensured that the former Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Jude Nneji, took over from Mr. Frank Nneji, as the managing director, the company has been enjoying considerable stability, liquidity and ease of management.
The older Nneji (founder and former managing director) has since moved up to higher responsibilities, including playing a role as a director of the company .
The company has also been recognised for its outstanding performance in the transport industry, winning several awards and accolades both nationally and internationally.
Driver Training Academy, another offshoot of ABC Transport, and the first of its kind in Nigeria, graduated its first set of trainees in 2004.
The Academy was founded with a mission to ‘prepare and produce’ for Nigeria’s motoring environment, law-abiding and safety-conscious drivers who appreciate the value of human life.
It admits trainees from within ABC Transport and other organisations wishing to benefit from the comprehensive training packages approved by the Federal Road Safety Corps.
In 2012, ABC Transport ventured into auto production with its 50 percent stake in Transit Support Services Ltd (TSS), which is into the assembly of heavy and light duty trucks with its flagship brands as Shacman (including fire trucks), SETRAC CNG buses, as well as Forland Trucks.
TSS also provides to the local automotive market Asiastar luxury buses and BAW mini buses and ambulances assembled at its facility in Emene, Enugu.
This is in addition to the sale of automotive parts and after-sales support services
With its DTA, Cargo Express, TSS, and ABC Hauls, ABC Transport is the most diversified transport company in the West African sub-region, having also launched a hospitality arm with City Transit Inn in the Utako area of Abuja, to serve travellers arriving the Federal Capital Territory with budget accommodation.
Looking back to 1993, the founder recalled that to succeed, his management adopted, as a matter of policy, an uncompromising focus on the quality of service ABC rendered and gradually began resetting the standards for road transport operations in Nigeria
This they did by providing a comfortable and suitable alternative road travel means for the discerning traveller who would have otherwise opted to fly.
Thus, the average customer in Nigeria’s travel space embraced the new innovative, more comfortable, timeous, customer-centric and safety-conscious services ABC Transport provided at considerably cheaper rate than what it cost to travel by air.
As the management engages top gear in its current renewal efforts, the Managing Director says he is grateful to God, “and all our customers who have kept faith with us and kept faith with the brand. We will not let them down.”
Auto
Dana Motors releases more Kia EV, CNG vehicles to Nigerian market

Dana Motors releases more Kia EV, CNG vehicles to Nigerian market
Dana Motors Limited has introduced more eco-friendly automobiles comprising electric vehicles (EVs) and compressed natural gas (CNG) cars and buses to the Nigerian market.
It announced this in a new statement, stressing that it is part of its commitment to reducing carbon emissions and mitigating the impact of climate change in the country.
It said Dana Motors would continue to be at the forefront of promoting eco-friendly vehicles and transportation solutions in the country.
“We are proud to be leading the charge in sustainable transportation solutions in Nigeria,” Jacky Hathiramani, Managing Director of Dana Motors Limited, was quoted in the statement.
“Our commitment to reducing carbon emissions and promoting eco-friendly transportation options is unwavering, and only recently, we released about 27 units of our locally assembled 45 seater CNG buses from our state-of-the-heart vehicle assembly plant in Lagos.
”Also expected to be released soon are our EVs as part of efforts to support President Tinubu’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions with a just transition to clean and renewable energy, promoting environmental sustainability and economic growth.”
The statement by the firm said for over two decades, Dana Motors Limited has been at the forefront of Nigeria’s automotive industry.
It stated, “Since its inception in 2002, the company has consistently pushed the boundaries of innovation, introducing luxury vehicles and auto finance schemes that have made car ownership more accessible to Nigerians.
“The company’s Managing Director, Jacky Hathiramani, a Nigerian businessman and industrialist, was deservedly recognized as Auto Personality of the year by the Nigerian Auto Journalist (NAJA), not just for his zeal and contribution to the development of the Nigerian auto industry, but his visionary leadership and Dana Motors’ unwavering commitment to excellence.
“As Nigeria continues to navigate the challenges of economic growth and environmental sustainability, Dana Motors Limited; a multiple award winning Auto Company, remains a shining example of innovative leadership and corporate responsibility. “The auto company’s dedication to the Nigerian market for decades is not just a beacon of hope for a sustainable future but a shining example of vision and strategic partnerships.”
-
Business3 days ago
JUST IN: CBN announces new ATM transaction fees effective March 1
-
Business3 days ago
MTN increases price of N2k data to N6k
-
metro1 day ago
UNIZIK lecturer assaulted by female student speaks
-
Entertainment2 days ago
Portable appeals to Tinubu over Ogun State property dispute
-
Auto17 hours ago
LAMATA announces 18% increase in BRT fares
-
Entertainment2 days ago
Tuface says he wants to marry Natasha, Igbinedion granddaughter
-
International2 days ago
UK plans mass deportation, Nigerians, others on edge
-
Entertainment19 hours ago
Tuface proposes to Edo lawmaker lover, Natasha