Igbo to Float Diaspora Fund, Spare Parts Factory
06.12.2009

Rising from the first Igbo economic summit in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, held from May 29 to 30, 2009, Igbo in diaspora resolved to set up a diaspora fund to fight the Igbo cause in addition to floating a spare parts manufacturing factory in Igboland.

A communique signed by Nze Joe Eto and Dr Anthony Ejiofor, Chairman and Executive Director respectively, noted that the summit also resolved that the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation should at all times champion Igbo unity.

The summit, attended by Managing Director of World Bank, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Professor Pat Utomi and the President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Ambassador Raph Uwechue also resolved to encourage Igbo to embrace self-help projects.

"In order to strengthen Igboland economically, education should be promoted aggressively. The great achievements of Ndigbo in the pre-civil war era was attributed to high quality education, the well-known Igbo hard work, competitiveness and ingenuity, the communique read.

The Summit, therefore, resolved to organise the Igbo Diaspora, to provide necessary support for quality vocational education across Igboland that will afford the unemployed the opportunity to learn valuable skills for the modern economy.

It also resolved "to create a Diaspora Fund built on contributions of $300.00 by all working Igbo man and woman in the diaspora immediately.

"We agreed to immediately put in place efforts to establish a heavy equipment spare part manufacturing factory in Igbo heartland and recognised Ohanaeze Ndigbo as the premier all-Igbo leader and pledged to work with the organisation and its eminent president to tackle all the problems in Igboland.

The summit pledged to work with Ohanaeze to source international funds to solve environmental problems such as erosion in Igboland, in addition to working with other Igbo groups to implement programmes identified in the Economic Development for the region under SENEC (South Eastern Nigerian Economic Commission).

Among the attendees were prominent Igbos in North America including the founders of the World Igbo Congress from Houston Texas, Dr. JOS Okeke, the Consul General, Honorable Chudi Okfor and prominent Nigerians who flew all the way from home to help shape the economic future of Ndigbo.

Others include Ambassador Raph Uwechue, President General Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, Dr Chukwuka Okonjo, economist, Obi of Ogwashi Uku and Dr Kamene Okonjo, Professor FNC Osuji, former Minister of Education, Professor Anya O Anya, former chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Professor Ebere Onwudiwe, political economist and public intellectual, and Dr. Chii Akporji, Communications in Commerce, The World Bank. among others.   

This is a noble venture.
Every Igbo man or woman in the diaspora and the ones who can afford it in Nigeria ought to contribute to this noble venture if the funds will be used as planned.
I will pledge my $300 in a heartbeat.
The government has failed Igboland and the nation,we cannot depend on them.

Kwezuonu!

Power should be tackled first.How is the purposed company going to work without light?

And enough of this summits that will in the end not solve any problem.

asha 80:


And enough of this summits that will in the end not solve any problem.

word !
Otego anyi huwara hausa na uta,anyi choro ihu onye/ndi ha ji uta gbuo.
Good intiative sha but i hope it wud be productive

I like this

Good idea. Erosion menace is a top priority. Erosion menace is a serious threat to Igbo culture as some of our cultural grounds has been split open or completely turned upside down. For example some of the market places where cultural festivals naturally takes place-Iwa akwa, Agu okonko, mbomuzo etc are in serious danger. Secondly, if erosion menace is unchecked, one day we will find out that some communities no longer exist.

OSUJI was there? Wasn't that the guy who tried to bribe senators to pass an inflated education budget?

Na chop the guy go chop una money.

Floating a spare parts factory? Is that what Igboland really needs? Why not a power plant?

What happened to all the other industrial facilities in Igboland? There was one (Innoson I think) visited recently by Americans and commended - should a pan-Igbo body be interested in building spare part factories? I personally don't think so - that is a misguided effort in my opinion.

Focus on infrastructure development and education - Igbos of all people don't need any grand daddy to provide them factories - give them power and roads and they will do the rest.

Andre Uweh:

Good idea. Erosion menace is a top priority. Erosion menace is a serious threat to Igbo culture as some of our cultural grounds has been split open or completely turned upside down. For example some of the market places where cultural festivals naturally takes place-Iwa akwa, Agu okonko, mbomuzo etc are in serious danger. Secondly, if erosion menace is unchecked, one day we will find out that some communities no longer exist.

Are you from Ihitte Uboma?

isinweke-ihitte/uboma (etiti) si ghi anwunooo.

debosky:

OSUJI was there? Wasn't that the guy who tried to bribe senators to pass an inflated education budget?

Na chop the guy go chop una money.

Floating a spare parts factory? Is that what Igboland really needs? Why not a power plant?

What happened to all the other industrial facilities in Igboland? There was one (Innoson I think) visited recently by Americans and commended - should a pan-Igbo body be interested in building spare part factories? I personally don't think so - that is a misguided effort in my opinion.

Focus on infrastructure development and education - Igbos of all people don't need any grand daddy to provide them factories - give them power and roads and they will do the rest.

debosky u are right there. what igbos need is infrastructure development and improvement in education and all other things will fall into place.sometimes i shake my head if i imagine what would happen if place like onitsha ,nnewi and aba begins to have constant light and good roads.

This is lovely, wishing it success