She said that they must begin to reinvent their mindset, intellect and commercial creativity in building enduring business and investment empires in Igbo land, rather than developing other places and their economies.
The cerebral Omu Dunkwu made this assertion at the maiden edition of Igbo Entrepreneurship Conference codenamed “Iru Afia Bu Iru Olu”, held on Friday 4th December, 2020, at the Oma Event Centre, Awka, Anambra State.
According to Omu Anioma, “If the Igbos feel they are industrious and creating wealth through business, then they should use their industry to build enduring business empires in their father land with economic development in mind.
“We are tired of speaking grammar since 2014 when Prof. Nwala started galvanizing the Igbos on the need to begin to divest their business interests to the East. It’s time for action.
“That you don’t develop your place is not the fault of the Hausa, neither is it that of the Yoruba; you must take responsibility for your actions.
“They will praise you of being industrious and using your business sense to develop commercial empires in their lands, only to laugh at you behind your back for being foolish. And then when they are done with you, they find a way of chasing you away.
“They chase you from your business empires, they chase you from politics and you will be running helter sketter when you have a place you can go back to.
“The Igbos need commercial stability to truly have a hold of the economy. If your activities are bringing the money and adding value to our GDP, then you should be in charge of the economy. And then you need political stability to earn relevance and respect in politics.
“You need population to achieve that as long as we remain Nigeria. Who says you cannot have a political control when the economy is in your hand and the population is there too. All you need is to speak in one voice and the future of Nigeria is in your hand”, Omu Dunkwu affirmed.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the occasion and President of Ala-Igbo Development Foundation, Prof. Uzodinma Nwala reemphasized the struggle for a collective Igbo agreement to return home to do business.
He said the above had been the mindset of the Ala-Igbo Development Foundation, founded by him and had been on the movement since 2014.
Nwala reiterated that Igbos must rethink a way forward in business and culture to make them stronger at home.
The Professor Emeritus stated that participants of the Igbo Entrepreneurship Conference must spread the message of repatriating Igbo investments to Igboland (Aku luo Uno), recognise the Igbo identity and brand, protect the Igboland and protect the Igbo business.
The keynote address for the conference was delivered by the President of South East Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (SECCIMA) and Chairman of Ngobros Company Limited, Mr. Humphrey Ngonadi.
He challenged the Igbo businessmen that it was time to think home and time to start establishing their business investments in Igboland.
He said that it was enough of the Igbos controlling business empires all over Africa and in most parts of the world with nothing to show at home, maintaining that this was time to begin to build the Igbo economy.
Other speakers included Emeka Umeagbalasi Esq. of the Civil Liberty and the Rule of Law and Engr. Ugochukwu Obi of Ovus Nig. Ltd who focused on harnessing proper spiritual and mental intelligence towards establishing cottage industries and engaging in productions that will metamorphose the Igbos into business and economic destination of the world.
Moreover, the focal person of the Igbo Entrepreneurship group, Mr. Chukwuemeka Obinwugo gave an insight into what the group plans to achieve in the next five years.
He said if what the Igbos achieve in business and marketing does not commensurate with what is achieved at home in terms of production factories, capital assets and quality of life, it then means something is wrong.
Obinwugo challenged the Igbos to encourage building cottage industries at home, in order to move on to full scale industrialization of the Igboland in no distant time.
He further gave an analogy of what he termed ‘Cluster Strategy’, thereby calling on Igbo business gurus to henceforth start thinking home to encourage production and investment.
Obinwugo concluded by saying that “The wealth of the Igbo man is not by the mansion he builds but by the jobs he creates for other Igbos to leverage on for their economic self sustenance and communal growth and development”.
