By Amaechi Ogbonna
As a retired Senior Petroleum Engineer at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Chief James Okwu Uzuh could have opted to retire home. He however opted to invest in the future of the country and the generation to come.
In 1992, he decided to give back to his society and nation at large by establishing J_Jumac Industries Limited, where he currently sits as Chairman/Chief Executive Officer. His target was to ensure that the country begins to manufacture most of the products it was then importing from abroad.
Not minding the constraints of the harsh operating environment, Uzuh’s faith in the greatness of Nigeria propelled him to forge ahead with his vision and mandate.
Part of his vision was to ensure that youth of the country are not left idling away without having jobs.
J_Jumac Industry then came as the special purpose vehicle to meet the founder’s aspiration for an industrialised Nigerian state that can compare with any other anywhere in the world.
Today however, although Nigeria is yet to attain a full industrial status, the foundation for its future industrial emancipation has been solidly laid and Engineer Uzuh’s pioneering role in the process cannot be taken for granted.
It is indeed a dream come true for him for those he had groomed in the line of succession as the company currently employs over 500 youths working at various cadres directly and indirectly as engineers, distributors, marketers and factory hands.
Through the J_Jumac Industries experiment, Uzuh has also directly contributed to conserving the nation’s scare foreign reserves by ensuring that most of what Nigeria imports can now be manufactured locally, thereby boosting the federal government’s backward integration policy.
J. Jumac International Company Limited is today one of the leading indigenous professional manufacturers duly incorporated under the Companies & Allied Matters Act, 1992 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It’s specialty is manufacturing of all forms of suitcases and travelling bags, domestic and industrial plastic products.
Under his strong and versatile technical force, compromising Nigerian technocrats, expatriate engineers and quality control personnel, who are equipped with advanced and highly sophisticated testing equipment to ensure strict quality control, the company has continued to ensure that its products are readily available in the market. These products are being given an uncompromising standard of quality comparable to any other elsewhere.
It is for visionary commitment and tenacity of purpose that Uzuh is The Sun Industrialist of the Year.