The President General of an Eastern Nigerian socio-cultural group, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Mr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu says the region has the capacity to become an industrial giant in Africa, noting that the group has produced research based solutions to the challenges that may hinder the economic potential of he Igbo speaking region of the country.
Iwuanyanwu said this when he received the national leadership of Greater Igbo Forum led by its founder, Dr. Obinna Chukelu and President Lois Jonathan at his residence in Abuja.
The elder statesman also disclosed that the Eastern region of Nigeria has the largest deposit of gas in Africa, in addition to limestone and other precious minerals buried beneath it’s earth.
He said that his emergence as the leader of Ohaneze was divine because the organisation was in need of reforms to deal with a lot of challenges in the south east region.
“As an engineer, I work with data so I had to set up a committee to give me facts on Agriculture, education, industries, youth unemployment. When I got the report, I became very happy. When ever I hear good news about Igbos, I feel very happy, the report was very good. The potentials in agriculture in Igboland is enormous. In the industrial potentials, we discovered that God has put a lot of wealth in our soil.
“We used to have a glass factory in Aba and we have a special sand somwehere in Abia, a very special sand and if you just put some chemicals, it becomes glass.
“We had a ceramics factory at Umuahia and we have the raw material, ulo at Okigwe but one of the biggest raw material that we have is limestone for cement and for many years to come, cement will continue to be a source of wealth because there is no substitute for building. We have large deposit of limestone in Abia, in Enugu and Ebonyi. Reasearch told me that we have enough lime stone for five cement factories. With five cement factories, we can supply cement to Africa and that is enough to earn us all the foreign exchange.
“We also have oil too in Imo, Abia, Delta, Rivers, Enugu and Anambra but the biggest wealth we have from the report I got is gas. Igbland is sitting on the biggest reserve of gas in Africa and gas has a big potential”.
He noted that he is excited to work with the forum to move the region forward.
“I have accepted to partner with you. You must note that your vision is exactly the same vision I have. The vision of Ohaneze was conceived by me when I ran for the presidency.”
Earlier in his remarks, Dr. Chikelu, informed the Ohaneze leader that the aim of the forum was to explore all the critical tenacles the Eastern region shares with other regions of the country, in order to build a common developmental front for he nation.
