Speech Delivered By Sam
Ohuabunwa, OFR at the ICRA Held in Owerri, October 11-13, 2016
INTRODUCTION
Process matters on its face value
I thank
God for this opportunity to be here. And I thank God for the Igbo Christian
Restoration Assembly (ICRA) for putting together this conference, whose time is
actually overdue. Nevertheless, Ndiigbo “si na mgbe Onye Obula tetere na ura bu
ututu ya“. For long, we have bemoaned the situation where Ndi igbo largely have
abandoned home for foreign lands. And everywhere we go, we settle down, build
our businesses, grow our families, build houses and begin to develop those
areas. Yet, very so often, the people we have helped to develop their areas
turn around to threaten us.
In many cases, our lives and
assets are assaulted and destroyed. It is true that, perhaps, learning from our
experiences during the Civil War, many of us have built houses at home. But
most of the houses are only guest houses visited once or twice a year. The
entire Southeast Nigeria is ravaged by poverty, essentially because of low
capital investment in the region. I believe that the threat of the Oba of Lagos
to throw the Igbo into the Atlantic Ocean during the 2015 elections was a major
wake-up call. The patently obvious discrimination against the Igbo by this
present Federal Government has added impetus on the need for us to begin to
think HOME and invest Home. “Agha amara okwa adigi eri onye ngworo and Onye
ajuru aju anagh aju onwe ya.”
IGBO ECONOMY BEFORE THE WAR
It is
on record that in 1964, the Eastern Nigeria had the fastest growing economy in
the world, anchored on agriculture and manufacturing. We were the largest
producer, processor and exporter of palm oil and palm kernel. We were the
largest producer of cassava. We competed with Western Nigeria in the commercial
production and export of cocoa and rubber.
We had Abakaliki rice before we heard of Uncle Ben’s or Ofada Rice. Our
People were known for farming yams, the king of the tubers, hence we celebrated
new yam festival, which we still do, but with yam imported from Benue/Kogi
states.
We
had the most remarkable and extensive industrial base that stretched from
Trans-Amadi in Port Harcourt to Factory Road in Aba and extended to the
Onitsha-Nnewi axis which produced essentially light consumer goods, many of
which we import today. We built an
industry around coal in Enugu and developed big commercial centers in Aba and
Onitsha that distributed the agricultural and manufactured goods from our
industries. Everybody came either to Aba or to Onitsha to buy, including those
from West and Central Africa. At this time, the rate of unemployment was close
to zero in Eastern Nigeria and poverty was less than 10%.
IGBO ECONOMY TODAY
Since
the war ended, the economy of Southeast Nigeria has declined steadily and as we
speak, it is lying prostrate. Its GDP is the least in the South. Unemployment
and underemployment have risen to frightening proportions, helping to spike
criminal activities in the region. The Southeast virtually depends on food
imports from the North. In consequence, there has been unparalleled migration
and emigration from the Southeast to every part of Nigeria and every corner of
the world, leaving our villages for the old, infirm and the desperate. Chinese,
Indonesian, Malaysian and UAE prisons are filled with our young men who are
running away from poverty at home into the misery of cold prison walls. Ndi
b’anyi, must we allow this to continue? Tufiakwa! God forbid.
IGBO INVESTMENT IN NIGERIA
Meanwhile, Igbo investment is
sustaining Nigeria. Many non-Igbo writers and commentators have opined that if
you take away Igbo investment in Lagos, the state will crumble. And they may
not be lying.
One Clement Udegbe writing in the
Vanguard Newspaper of July 26, 2013, estimates that Igbo investment in Lagos is
around 600 Trillion Naira, twice that of Abuja. The estimated Igbo investments
in other parts of the North are as follows:
. Plateau – N15 Trillion
. Kano/ Kaduna – N10 trillion
. Borno/Yobe/Adamawa – 5 trillion.
In
the south of Nigeria, it is estimated that Igbo investment in each state
especially in the Southsouth is not less than 5 trillion Naira per state. These
are all investments made since the war ended.
In
2007, Nasir El Rufai, the then FCT Minister, had this to say about the Igbo and
Abuja: “Igbos have acquired 73% of Landed property in Abuja. Abuja is the sixth
State of the South East.” He added for effect that “68% of the land has
actually been allocated to the North but now the Igbo own 73%”.
In 2010, Governor Gabriel Suswan
of Benue said, “Any state that ignores the Igbo does so at the risk of its
economy”.
Recently, a magazine published the
names of 50 Igbo Men and Women who live in Lagos alone who are billionaires.
Yet, Alaigbo lies desolate, its walls broken and its gates burnt.
AKU RUO ULO
We are the NEHEMIAHs that will
rebuild Alaigbo and return it to the state described by Olaudah Equiano in the
18th Century: “A nation of clean and happy people – without unemployment,
without drunkards, without prostitutes and without beggars”.
HOW
DO WE DO THIS?
Every Igbo businessman or professional, who is outside Alaigbo, should
within the next one year set up an office, a branch, a shop or a depot in
Alaigbo. If this happens in one year, we can create at least one million Jobs
in Alaigbo, assuming one business employs only one person to run the office or
depot. The impact will be revolutionary!
Give priority to investing in any part of Alaigbo should a need for new
investments arise. Henceforth, before we put new investments elsewhere
especially in Nigeria, we should have first tried putting the investment in
Alaigbo.
Gradually, over the next 3 years, transfer the headquarters of our
businesses to Alaigbo and maintain branches outside Alaigbo just as ABC
transport, Innoson, Ibeto and some others have done.
Mentor young Igbo entrepreneurs and assist them to set up new businesses
in Igbo land, instead of crowding into Lagos and Abuja or taking greater risks
up North.
Technical expertise of local work
force.
Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) plant assemble various types of
sedans, buses, vans and sports utility vehicles at Nnewi, Enugu etc
Help organize cooperatives in our villages and assist them to have
access to government, banking and other support in agriculture and commerce.
Take every opportunity to invite our business partners, within and
outside Nigeria, to Alaigbo. For example, determine that all board meetings of
your companies should hold in Alaigbo.
Model Christian business ethics in our businesses and teach young
entrepreneurs how to prosper in righteousness.
Make deliberate efforts to support each other’s businesses as the Jews,
the Chinese and the Indians do. Let our wealth remain preferentially amongst
Ndiigbo.
Introduce or reintroduce the culture of Ndiigbo building businesses
together – partnerships, combines and group effort. Minimize too much
individualistic approach to investments.
Give preference to Alaigbo and Igbo organizations, including our local
churches and assemblies, in our corporate social responsibility and in our
giving. No one else can help our people. Other people are investing and helping
their people. We are busy joining them to invest and help their people. Not
bad, but who will help our own people?
Thank you and God bless.
Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, OFR, KSC
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