The Okezie Ikpeazu Leadership Colloquium

Chinenye Nwaogu and Sam Hart

On Tuesday, October 18, 2022, the creme of Igbo Leaders across all strata will gather at the Ishmael Ikpeazu Memorial Library and Centre for Scientific Leadership, Umuobiakwa, Obingwa LGA, Abia State. Their mission is to hold a Colloquium on a pressing and timely subject: How Ndigbo can leverage their God-given abilities in every sphere of human endeavour to better the lot of AlaIgbo.

This conversation series is the contribution of Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu to scholarship in AlaIgbo and Nigeria. Ikpeazu has already cemented his place in the historical firmament in Nigeria as a scholar in governance, a title bestowed on him by another erudite scholar, Prof. Eleazar Uche Ikonne.

It will also be noted that the incumbent President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Prof. George Obiozor had, at a function in Lagos a couple of years ago, named Ikpeazu as the emerging high priest of Igbo renaissance. This Colloquium, therefore, is Governor Ikpeazu’s further offering on the altar of socio-political discourse to properly situate the place of Ndigbo in Nigeria’s evolution.

There is no gainsaying the fact that since the amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914, Ndi Igbo have distinguished themselves individually, politically and economically. The story of the struggle with British colonialists reveals Ndi-Igbo as a very strong race. The prowess of Ndigbo in commerce and enterprise from that period till date is well documented.

However, these recognizable strengths have not been leveraged to forge a united, social cohesive strength to engage in the Nigerian polity.

Igbos have made global and national history as a people blessed with inherent capabilities to build strong and positive foundations for growth. However, over the years, these individual exploits, even at the global stage, have not reflected in a collective political and socio-economic development of Ndi Igbo and indeed, AlaIgbo.

Igbos have been noted as the biggest investors in the Nigerian economic space. Across the length and breadth of Nigeria, Igbos have visible business and commercial interests running into trillions of naira.

The Igbo apprenticeship model has been noted even by no less a reputable institution than Havard University, as the most formidable and robust entrepreneurial incubation platform in the world. It is a globally recognised system of wealth transfer and economic empowerment.

In academics, records available from ivy league institutions in the best centres of learning across the globe reveal that Igbos have made remarkable success amongst their peers in egalitarian environments where level playing ground and fairness is practiced.

In a nutshell, Ndi Igbo remain a race that no sane society desiring to make progress can ignore. However, the realities on ground within Ala-Igbo shows a people who have not harnessed these advantages to turn Igbo land into the region of strength in the Nigerian economic and political space.

The biggest question on the lips of all Igbos today focuses on the future of Ndi Igbo in the contemporary Nigerian political and socioeconomic firmament.

Several opinions, groupings, fora and thesis have been articulated and advanced to resolve this seemingly intractable quagmire. This colloquium is therefore Governor Ikpeazu’s avowed desire to elicit strong conversations and add to the avalanche of ideas, but more importantly, to narrow down with a more practical, functional and tangible roadmap that Ndi Igbo can reflect on.

It is for this reason that such Igbo great thinkers as Prof. George Obiozor, Prof. Bart Nnaji, Sir Frank Nneji, Darl Uzu, Dr. Pascal Dozie and Ide John Udeagbala will gather at Umuobiakwa to synthesise this thesis.

Governor Ikpeazu believes that glowing tribute should be paid to our forerunner leaders in all shperes of life who have laid this enviable and solid foundation for Ndi-Igbo to remain a force to reckon with even on the global stage. He believes that our ‘What Next’ questions should henceforth occupy the minds of Ndi-Igbo.

The big question should revolve around if Ndi Igbo have properly accessed their strengths – politically, economically and socially. The next series of questions will then reflect on how Ndi Igbo have leveraged these strengths to really make Ala Igbo the centre of excellence in these spheres.

It is submitted that how we as a people reflect and resolve these issues will form the foundation of whatever efforts needed to position Ndi-Igbo in the Nigerian project. It will also reignite the igbo values, norms and character of ingenuity, hardwork, enterprise and selflessness and make Ndi Igbo a solid race in the political and socioeconomic landscape called Nigeria.

Dr Okezie Ikpeazu has a big idea for Igbo Renaissance having been around for sometime now and from the vantage position as Governor of Abia, a state nature conferred with strategic geographical advantage as the epicenter of the old eastern region and its commercial confluence. He believes that for Ndi Igbo to play big in the Nigerian project, beyond having a united and enlightened group agenda, Ndi Igbo must also make use of their best and biggest assets.

Whilst it will be arguable that Ndi Igbo have done well politically, nobody, even our most virulent critics, can dismiss our entrepreneurial and business showing in Nigeria and beyond.

What Governor Okezie Ikpeazu wants to leave on the table for discussion however is how will Ndi-Igbo leverage their most formidable advantage to secure a permanent and prominent seat on the table called Nigeria.

This thought process is what led him to conceive with strong private sector flavour, the Enyimba Economic City project as a global business hub supported by world class infrastructure and services that will become the industrial, manufacturing, trading floor through which Nigeria and the rest of Africa can become a major global production centre.

This pan-Nigerian project fits into the bill of making Nigeria a strong player in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area regime. The project is our window into the global market space. This project is the deal maker that will redefine the industrial and economic landscape of Nigeria and position Ndi Igbo properly on the economic space that cannot be ignored in political conversations in Nigeria.

For Ikpeazu, weaving this through successfully should be the Agenda for the future of Ndi-Igbo in the Nigerian political and socioeconomic firmament and that is the conversation we are having. This event is designed to be an annual conclave of ideas and will be held on the 18th of October every year which coincides with the birthday of Governor Ikpeazu.