"If We Build It, They Will Come"

Yesterday, March 24th, was the Igbo Community Association of Nigeria (ICAN), Dallas, Business Banquet, and it was an interesting one; preceding that the night before, was the meet-and-greet event to welcome the members of the Board of Directors of World Igbo Congress (WIC) to Dallas of the Professor Anthony Ejiofor-led administration for their first Board meeting. I had an obligation, as a parochial president, to attend both events which offered an opportunity to meet, interact with, and listen to some of the speeches and questions by some prominent Igbo sons and daughters that evening

I was not able to attend the WIC Board meeting earlier on the 24th, but if the questions of the 23rd night was to serve as a precursor, then the meeting proper was, or must have been, quite eventful. However, I was early enough to the Business Banquet to listen to, and analyze, the speeches and addresses of  most of the guests from Nigeria on the theme of the event: If We Build It, They Will Come".

The first to speak was Professor Obi Nwakanma of Florida Central University; a noted historian of international repute. He delved into history to remind us of the successes of the Michael Okpara administration of the First Republic and up to the Mbakwe successes of the Second republic; he traced the history of Igbo business successes, the reasons for those successes, and the opportunities which still exist beyond the shores of the Nigerian nation, all the way to the Congo basin, where untapped mineral and natural resources are in abundance waiting for the brave at heart to venture into. He decried the situation where Igbos build mansions in Abuja and Lekki, while erecting chicken coups in their villages, and lamented the fact that since the demise of African continental Bank (ACB), there is no Nigerian bank, or any other major financial business, headquartered in the Southeast, even the ones owned by Igbos.

After the good History Professor came the Consular-General at the Atlanta Consulate, Mr. Laro. He reminisced on his months as a youth copper in the east serving in a small boundary town between present day Imo and Anambra state; his witness of the hard work and resilience of an average Igbo business man on his trips to Onitsha and Owerri, and their determination to make something out of nothing in any environment. He praised the desire, in spite of all odds, to venture into areas and business ideas that others are either afraid, or refuse, to go - even to his home state of Kwara. He elaborated on the business opportunities both in Nigeria and within the Diaspora community, the available government assistance in both exports and imports promotion for prospective entrepreneurs to tap into, and the desire of his office to assist the Nigerian community in both consular and business services.

After the Consular-General, Chief Joe Madu introduced the Chief Executive Officer of Knightsbridge Property limited (KPL), the main sponsors of the night's event, who made a case for investing in real estate. Statistically, he said, Nigeria needs about 17-20 million houses to be able to provide affordable housing for all its citizens. With these needs come opportunities to invest in not only property development, but in management also. He urged prospective investors to look into areas of real estate where they can put their money in an effort to meet this housing challenge.

Finally, came the big masquerades of the night; the speakers everyone have been waiting for, and the reasons why most of us stayed up later than our bedtimes. First to speak was the CEO of Master Energy, Dr. Uche Sampson Ogah. There is no need to go into too much details about his speech, because it was very long, but necessary; however, one thing of note is his reason for embarking of the industrial city project at Uturu. Now, it must be noted that Master Energy has about 100, 000 employees in its payroll, but its offices and services are mostly outside the southeast. His reason, according to him, was that he got too tired of people trooping to him to ask for employment, every time he goes home, that he decided that, instead of building this industrial complex in Ogun state, where he has a sizable parcel of land, why not do it in his hometown. The complex will not only create 4500 direct employment in Uturu, it will feed accessory businesses that will not only support the community but the industrial complex also. He encouraged others - individuals and groups of investors alike  - to do the same. He also praised the business decision of Nnewi people to always headquarter their businesses in their hometown, and wished that many others outside Nnewi will do same.

I could not leave the event without hearing from the last speaker for the night, even though it was almost midnight. Dr. Bart Nnaji's speech was not long, because, according to him, most of the grounds have already been covered by Dr. Ogah. He listed 4 projects which was born out of a meeting of prominent some Igbos that was held sometime in December of 2016. That meeting led to the formation of Southeast Nigeria Development Corporation (SENDEC), which was tasked with looking into areas where private investors can augment government efforts in developing the 5 southeastern states. The group came up with 4 areas of critical need:
1. A major hospital which will serve as an anchor for rural and communal healthcare delivery
2. A standard gauge rail system that will connect the major economic hubs of the southeastern states.
3. Adequate power generation and distribution to provide uninterrupted power supply to the major business towns of the region, so manufacturers can locate their businesses in the southeast.
4. Provision of adequate housing and commercial property development in the Southeast.

To fund these projects will include public-private partnerships, joint ventures with both local and international investor, and crowd funding - which is where every Igbo is expected to be involved.

According to him, some of these projects are already at advanced stages of planning and logistics, and for some others, funding negotiations are already going on.  He informed the audience of plans by the CEO of Crown Property Development to build a business city, Aba Business City, on the outskirts of Aba, mirroring what Dr, Ogah is doing in Uturu. Finally, Dr, Nnaji narrated his experience at the hands of the previous Jonathan administration, when he and some investors were trying to provide stable power supply to Aba, and praised the Buhari administration for stepping in to their rescue, and saved them from a loss of about $560m. He promised that by October, the Geometric power project in Aba will come into full stream. Also, plans are underway, working with General Electric, to build other power plants outside Aba, while working on expanding the wattage output of the Aba project.

All in all, it was an eventful night, and most of the things I heard were music to my ears. One thing was clear from all the speakers: opportunities exist for business in Nigeria, especially the southeast, and investors should not be cowed by fear of insecurity. As one investor asked me in a side comment: "why is the white man who is in your village working for a company making money not afraid; yet, you the owner of the villager is afraid to go home?". Something to think about.