By Kelvin Jombo Onumah
Uche Ogah as an individual is taking the footsteps of Dr Michael Okpara, former Premier of Eastern Nigeria in his industrialization of Igbo land. Okpara was an extraordinary transformational leader who had the type of vision that Ogah is emulating today.
It’s on record that five years after Okpara’s ascendancy to the premiership of then Eastern Nigeria, it became the fastest growing and industrialising economy in the world ahead of Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, as recorded by a research group in Michigan State University in the US.
Within the South-East as we have it today, Ogah has singlehandedly placed Abia State on the global map in terms of industrialization. His expansive industrial city at Onuaku was once recorded as one of the biggest ongoing individual industrial concerns in West Africa.
Taking example in the culmination of Okpara’s unique vision in which agriculture and industrial development were the twin pillars on which he built the Eastern Nigerian economy.
Ogah invested massively in agriculture too. In agriculture his plans had a two-fold thrust – the development of the farm settlements as the anchor for food crop (such as rice) and poultry development, as well as the establishment of estates of oil palm, cocoa, cashew etc which were processed for export.
It is this burning fire for industrialization of Igbo land that is burning in Ogah today that led to leave the lucrative western market and come down to Onuaku, in Uturu to establish, following Okpara’s footstep in establishing the modern ceramic industry in Umuahia, textile mills at Aba and Onitsha a shoe factory in Owerri, and Nkalagu Cement factory in present day Ebonyi state.
It is not in contention that as a result of challenging economic realities like seaport, which give easy and cheaper access to raw materials, electricity and access to the market, a greater percentage of Igbo investors have their investments domiciled outside the South East. This is also attributed to a number of other factors ranging from the ubiquitous nature of Ndigbo, lack of basic infrastructure in the South East, and their natural quest to maximize opportunities where they exist.
Igbo investors faced with the above mentioned realities, especially, since the coming of the 4th Republic, are busy creating job opportunities and developing the economies of other nations and regions where they are scattered, ironically, their home front is desperately begging for development.
This is the narrative that Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah stepped out boldly to corrective.
Resultantly, because South East investors refused to follow the footsteps of Okpara, the zone which once prided itself was the fastest-growing economy in the whole world during the glorious era of the late Premier of the defunct Old Eastern region, Dr Michael Okpara, has of late, become a struggling economy.
The failure to follow the examples of Okpara and Sam Mbakwe led to the display of lack of vision and direction. If successive administrations and political players in the zone whose major intent of grabbing power seems to be wealth acquisition followed the steps of the visionary leaders, the state would have been among the most developed states in country if not Africa.
Regrettably, Igbo investments outside the South East have become a constant target of attack particularly in Nigeria. Despite these attacks, Igbo investors have continued to invest outside their home. This accounts for the presence of the Igbo man in virtually every nook and cranny of Nigeria as well as every nation of the world today.
Igbo investments worth trillions of Naira have been lost to the growing wave of unprovoked Igbophobia in parts of the country. Some of these hostilities come under the guise of unjustifiable demolition of illegal structures by host states. This has opened the flood gate for the Akurulo cry, which Igbos globally are so appreciative of Ogah to have answered.
Although, with some of his investments outside South East, Dr Uche Ogah, is one of the few Igbo investors that also believe in the Akurulo mantra (the come home and invest crusade).
Ogah, the owner of Masters Energy Group, a business conglomerate with commanding stakes in the downstream sector of the Oil and gas industry, production and education, has made a substantial investment in the South East.
He towers among the likes of Chief Chukwuma Innoson, the owner of Innoson Motors; Professor Barth Nnaji of Aba Geometric Power; and few others who believe in the Akurulo philosophy.
His decision to site an Industrial City in his Onuaku Uturu Community of Abia State, has been a major leap not only for the economy of the state, but South East and Nigeria in general. This strategic move has positioned Abia as one of the major industrial hubs in the zone.
This landmark investment has created thousands of direct and indirect jobs with multiplier effects.The industrial city which arguably, ranks among the biggest in South East, boasts of a range of modern facilities, including an Information Communication Technology (ICT) center, state-of-the-art laboratory facility, a well-equipped hospital, fire-fighting station, residential quarters for workers, and a fortified security station.
Masters Energy Industrial City currently has 10 functional factories producing variety of products such as lubricants, grease, electricity prepaid meters, PVC pipes, tanks, noodles, juice, wine, bottled water, plastic products, soap, aluminum, etc. The group which is also into rice production is set for fertilizer production at its multi -billion plant at the industrial city. This, will significantly, boost farming activities and food security in the state.
The combination of the entrepreneurial trajectory and patriotic spirit of Dr Ogah, plus the developmental efforts of the current administration of Abia State, signal hope and a new dawn for the State economy.
The Gov. Alex Otti-led administration has demonstrated commitment to providing a convivial atmosphere for genuine investors/investments to thrive in the state. Foresighted investors including expertriates are already leveraging on this to tap into the huge opportunities that abound in the state.
Therefore, it’s pertinent to call on other accomplished Abians in particular and Igbos in general to emulate Ogah and complement the efforts of the current administration to rebuild the economy of the state through industrialization and job creation.
The effective way to contain crime, and guarantee peace is to economically empower, and positively engage the youth population. Ogah as a private individual, has been a leading star in this direction.
As a strong believer in human capital development, Ogah has empowered a lot of people especially youths who are today self reliant and job creators. His uncommon philanthropic gestures have literally transformed his hitherto sleepy Onuaku Community into a mini- town with sprawling structures. He has either built a house , or economically empowered every family to own a befitting house in the Community by helping them to set up businesses.
The former Minister has always enthused that his motivation is his desire to give back to society and rebuild his state. As a de-tribalised Nigerian, Ogah built, and still maintains one of the biggest Oil Farm Tanks in West Africa at Port Harcourt, Rivers State. His investments in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria have also continued to provide food on the table of many folks.
If the South East economy must bounce back like in the days of Okpara, as the fastest-growing economy at least in the West African sub-region, Igbo investors must consciously begin to invest at home. While the dismantling of Igbo investments outside the South East is not advocated, it has become imperative for Igbo investors to make South East the strong base of their investments. Repositioning South East as a leading industrial hub in Nigeria, will not only boost the economy of the zone but also help to quell the rising tension and insecurity in the region.
Chief Kelvin Jombo Onumah, MD/CEO, Sublime Industries Limited, writes from Lagos