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| See Ohaneze's economic blueprint for strategic development of Biafra that is terrifying Nigeria |
Time for Ndigbo to take their destiny in their hands - Soludo
The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, saturday released the economic blueprint for the strategic development of Biafra. The contents of blueprint has however, torn Nigeria apart as it showed a plan that will quicken the development of entire Biafra within a short pace of time. Successive Nigerian government had assiduously worked to underdevelop and undermine Biafran states.
The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, saturday released the economic blueprint for the strategic development of Biafra. The contents of blueprint has however, torn Nigeria apart as it showed a plan that will quicken the development of entire Biafra within a short pace of time. Successive Nigerian government had assiduously worked to underdevelop and undermine Biafran states.
Earlier in May, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, directed its President-General, Chief Nnia Nwodo to set up a committee to develop an economic blue-print for the South-East. Nwodo said: “The Planning and Strategy Committee, headed by former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, with Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa as deputy and Ferdinand Agu, will design an economic road map for Ndigbo. It is a rapid response to our new call on our people to develop a spirit of self-reliance.”
Nwodo, who spoke in Enugu, said the economic agenda would “be our home grown effort to initiate practical development models, powered by the private sector and specifically directed in the first place to production, commerce and education.”
However, with the quit notice issued to Igbos by Arewa Youths, facilitated the inauguration of the 100-member Planning and Strategy Committee, headed by former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Chukwuma Soludo, to design both the economic and political development agenda for Ndigbo.
According to Ohanaeze, the Soludo committee was also expected to come up with the best strategy that would enable the South-east zone become self-reliant in view of the alleged marginalisation of the zone.
Nwodo, who inaugurated the committee at the Nike Lake Resort Hotel, Enugu, however urged the committee to articulate and formulate sound strategic economic and political policies for Ndigbo, adding that the recommendations of the committee would be used by the Ohanaeze secretariat to formulate integrative economic programmes for the respective states within the zone, in collaboration with the South-east governors as well as Governors of Rivers and Delta States respectively.
The committee has the following terms of reference:
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| See Ohaneze's economic blueprint for strategic development of Biafra that is terrifying Nigeria |
Nwodo, who inaugurated the committee at the Nike Lake Resort Hotel, Enugu, however urged the committee to articulate and formulate sound strategic economic and political policies for Ndigbo, adding that the recommendations of the committee would be used by the Ohanaeze secretariat to formulate integrative economic programmes for the respective states within the zone, in collaboration with the South-east governors as well as Governors of Rivers and Delta States respectively.
Particularly, Nwodo charged the committee to zero in on the articulation of integrated railway network linking all the seven Ohanaeze states; an annual growth of one million palm trees in each of the states within the next five years; a corresponding growth of attractive processing industries for the palm produce but on high, medium and small scale levels and a policy for maximisation of the zones coal resources for power generation.
Other recommendations included a geological inventory of all mineral resources and a carefully scripted plan for engaging the federal government in their exploitation; the development of a refinery for petroleum resources; a paradigm shift to greenhouses methodology for vegetable production using the Netherlands experience as a typology and a deliberate policy for development of ICT hubs in the states of the region to encourage human capital development.
Ohanaeze charged the committee to look at an educational curriculum geared towards the development of skills amongst men and women in the region; recommendation of appropriate policies to states to improve the educational standards in their schools at all levels and growth of reliable financial institutions for mortgage, small scale business financing and research.
The committee has the following terms of reference:
- An integrated railway network linking all the seven Ohanaeze States;
- Annual growth of one million palm trees in each of the seven states within the next five years as well as a corresponding growth of attractive processing industries for palm produce but on high, medium and small scale levels;
- Design a policy for the maximisation of our coal resources for power generation, and another geological inventory of all our resources and carefully scripted plan for engaging the Federal Government in their exploration;
- Develop plan for a refinery for petroleum resources ;
- Plan for a paradigm shift to greenhouses methodology for vegetable production using the Netherlands experience as a typology;
- There must be a deliberate policy for development of ICT hubs in our states to encourage our human capital development;
- An educational curriculum geared to development of skills among our young men and women;
- Recommendation of appropriate policies to our government to improve the educational standards in our schools at all levels; and
- Growth of reliable financial institutions for mortgage, small scale business financing and research,” among others, he added.
Speaking on behalf of the committee, Soludo said it was time for Ndigbo to take their destiny in their hands as the region had become an emerging global tribe with huge population density of about 1,351 persons per sqkm, and largest concentration of human and material resources in Africa.
He said Nigeria’s population was estimated at 400 million by 2050, which would represent a huge market for the Ndigbo if a well-articulated economic development policy was put in place to harvest their enterprise and ingenuity.
“As an emerging global tribe, we must learn a new language of global business diplomacy and good neighbourliness. As the saying goes, to change your world, change your word! We need to change the conversation; we need to change the narrative!
“New bridges must be built, and a new politics needs to evolve. Public service in Igboland must take a new face and a new meaning. Our leadership recruitment process needs rethinking. The language on marginalisation also needs interrogation: is it about political appointments/offices or about economic empowerment through private enterprise, and the interactions between the two?”
Other members of the committee include Prof. Barth Nnaji, Prof. Mark Anikpo, Prof. Eugene Nweke, Prof. Osita Ogbu, Ambassador Frank Ogbuewu, Dr. Olisa Agbokoba (SAN), Prof. Hilary Edoga; Ambassador Alex Nwofe; Prof. Joy Ezeilo; Mr. Mike Chukwu, Dr. Adline Idike, 10 former governors.
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