Follow Us on Google
By Brown Chimezie
The chairman of CEELUX Group, an infrastructure development company, Olive Udeh has given reasons why the governor of Enugu state, Peter Mbah is pioneering a $40 billion economy in Enugu state, among which is the international trade centre to be known as Oji River Industrial City, which on completion would be the biggest trade centre in the whole of Africa.
Speaking in an interview with Sun newspaper, Udeh said that the multi-billion dollar trade city project is in line with the mantra of the governor, which is rapid economic development of Enugu state in particular and south eastern state in general.
According to him, when the project is completed and commissioned, Igbos would have a place where they would proudly call their own and would be doing their businesses devoid of harassment, intimidation and exploitation as they are currently experiencing in different parts of the country.
He also spoke on other issues.
Excerpt:
What informed the construction of Oji River Industrial City?
Oji River Industrial City project is a pivotal part of the campaign promises of Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State. It is a mantra that is central to his campaign among many others, such as provision of pipe borne water in Enugu metropolis within 180 days in office, economic revolution and job creation in Enugu state visa vis eastern region and Nigeria in general. That is the cardinal objectives of governor Peter Mbah’s administration.
Choice of Ugwuoba Town in Oji River Local Government Area as location of project
Oji River local government is a border town with Anambra State. It is very close to Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, the capital city of Anambra state, just few minutes drive. Oji River has a major infrastructures such as power station, natural water resources, arable land and so on which are pivotal to economic development and industrial activities. The only coal fire power station in the old eastern region was built by the colonial masters to supply power to Onitsha, the city of Enugu, Awka and so on. This explains the importance of Oji River local government as a hub for economic development. However, subsequent administrations neglected the importance of Oji River with regard to industrialisation and development in the eastern region. These are some of the anomalies Governor Peter Mbah is trying to address in his quest to revamp industrial development in Enugu State and the eastern region. The concept of the project is first of its kind in Nigeria and African sub –region. It is expected to be a catalyst for social and economic re-engineering and transformation of the eastern region economy that has suffered serious neglect since the Nigerian war with Biafra. The region has experienced much neglect, economic stagnation, stagflation, marginalisation and under development of monumental proportions leading to mass exodus of Igbos for greener pasture. There comes a time in the life of every nation where noble leaders must rise to take their destiny into their own hands and start the process of nation building. Governor Peter Mbah is on the trajectory to emerge as the much needed “messiah”. We are all waiting to restart the engine of social and economic growth in Igbo land. Every Igbo man both at home and in Diaspora are yearning for this moment and we will do everything on our own part to galvanise together as Ndigbo and join hands with governor Mbah of Enugu state to start the process of rebuilding the economy of Igbo land. Igbos across the globe have more than what it takes to rebuild the nation and turn it into an envy of a global community and centre of commerce and excellence.
What we’ll do differently now
A man’s track records will always speak for him in every situation he finds himself. In the Bible, when the boy David was invited by Saul to explain the tactics he would adopt in fighting Goliath, he simply narrated his track records as he attends to his father’s flocks. He told Saul that whenever a lion or a deer comes to attack the flock and take any of the lamb, he would go after the lion or deer, open their mouth and rescue the lamb. Similarly, the record that Peter Mbah has in the business world speaks for itself. He built Pinnacle Oil and Gas from ground zero albeit zero financial support to an enviable multi-billion dollar company devoid of corrupt practices of any kind. The company is audited by KPMG, a renowned global auditing firm with headquarters in New York. With his records of achievements, it would amount to mischief or even ingratitude for anyone to doubt such a man’s capabilities and capacity to turn around a state economy with all apparatus of government at his disposal. So the question is not that of how he would do it going by the failures of others, rather what we should be talking about is when will the project be completed and commissioned?
With no seaport in Enugu, how will you overcome the challenge?
You don’t need a seaport to kick start social and economic re-engineering of any nation or city. Natural resources such as water, mineral resources in itself are mere privileges. It does not translate into wealth or economic development of any nation. We don’t need seaport in Enugu state in order to transform the economy of the eastern region. Governor Peter Mbah is currently pioneering the development of Enugu International Airport to a world class cargo airport to boast trade and commerce in Enugu state and the eastern region.
One of the construction work that people would see in the near future in Enugu state is a rail line that will connect Oji River Industrial city with the Enugu Airport Cargo terminal to facilitate movement of goods and services in the eastern region.
Necessities, modernisation and economic expansion are the essential elements of economic development and not natural resources such as water, though valuable but lack of it would never be a limiting factor to a great mind and a visionary leader like Governor Peter Mbah, whose mantra is premised on innovative governance.
Convincing Igbos to come home and invest appears to be a herculean task, why is it so?
I don’t really think so. Rather, the opposite is the case. What actually happened was that after the civil war, the Igbo man’s means of livelihood was greatly affected and it is natural for them to scamper in various directions in search of means of survival, but that in itself does not mean that an Igbo man has lost his industrious nature and ability to survive in every given situation .The desire of every Igbo man both at home and in Diaspora to rebuild Igbo land is growing assiduously but what has been the problem or lacking is the genuine desire of political leaders of Igbo extraction to articulate ideas that would facilitate the home coming of Ndi-Igbo from across the globe. Today, we have that leader in the person of governor Peter Mbah of Enugu state who is currently being supported by prominent Igbo leaders such as Peter Obi,Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, president general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the South east governors, Igbos in Diaspora, international communities and a host of others. The time has therefore come to rebuild Igbo land economy and make it centre of global attention.
What advice do you have for business owners concerning the project?
Oji River Industrial City is going to be a game changer, not only in the south east but in Nigeria as a whole. It is a great opportunity for any business man and would-be investors. It is a city of about 5000 hectares of land space which is like twice the size of Victoria Island in Lagos. It is a city that we have not seen before and it will be a great opportunity for all of us in terms of development in the south east and again with the type of facilities that would be in place,it would be generating fast return on investment.
