Build Industries At Home, Not Palatial Residences, South-East Billionaires Urged

Industrialists from the Igbo extraction should build companies in Igbo land ‘not multi-million naira residential houses that do not contribute to any human development’.

Dr Dele Maxwell Ugwuanyi, a development expert, stated this on Wednesday during a programme in Enugu.

Ugwuanyi said it was unfortunate that people from the South-East region would establish industries outside their country homes, ‘only to return home to build edifices that benefit only the owners. ‘

He said, “Our people should learn from the people of South-West that collaborate to invest in their communities to develop them. They also invest in businesses that outlive them by engaging investors to drive such businesses.

“It is not the same with Igbo investors whose businesses tend to die with them. A majority of Nigerians that import goods from China are Igbos. It is not as if what they import are being produced by multi-national companies in China. Most of them are family businesses and their allied arms. It is not rocket science.”

He, however, advised governments of South-East states to play their own roles by making business environment of the region conducive.

According to him, “The states should make industrial layouts available, and equip them with all necessary tools, such as power supply, good road networks and security.”

He regretted that Emene Industrial Layout in Enugu has been converted to a residential area. He also advised South-East states to reconsider the hike in getting certificates of occupancy in their respective states, noting that the “current fees being charged will scare core investors to seek alternative places to site their industries.”