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From Magnus Eze, Enugu
Former presidential aspirant on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last general election, Sam Ohuabuna, has called on the South East governors to partner Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide to fast-track the economic development of the region.
Ohuabunwa, who is the chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Council of Business Leaders, said involvement of the governors and leaders in the affairs of the apex socio-cultural body of Ndigbo will also stem the tide of insecurity in the land.
He said the ‘laissez-faire’ attitude of South East governors towards the affairs of Ohanaeze was capable of leading to the economic underdevelopment and stagnation of the zone.
Speaking on the sideline of a recently held Igbo leaders’ retreat in Enugu, with the theme: “Ako Bu Ije,” he said the national executive council of Ohanaeze had further expanded the tasks in the mandate given to his committee.
“The mandate is in three phases-one, is to act as catalyst of grooming young entrepreneurs in Igboland. The second aspect is to work to industrialise the states in Igboland, including resuscitating dead industries -that is industrialisation. The third major part is in the area of generally attracting investment within and outside the Igbo region. The fourth is to develop a blueprint for the economic development of Alaigbo and the establishment of business vehicles in Igboland. So, these are the four major plans (as enshrined in the mandate given to us).
“Several aspects in this assignment will involve the participation of the government. Let us take resuscitation of moribund businesses in Igboland for instance. The question is what made those businesses moribund? And you find that some of the reasons are as a consequence of the operating environment. Then you find that it is part of the responsibilities of the government to provide a conducive and enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
“These are fundamental; and to be able to get businesses to thrive, one needs a stable procurement and land tenure system. So, the government should be involved in helping businesses and businessmen obtain documentation for their land-bankable documentation.
“The constitution gives the state governments powers to handle this, and so, nobody can run away from their participation. I talked about the operating environment; and another is the tax regime, infrastructure, provision of security, among others. We need the government,” Ohuabunwa said.
