Anambra indigenes living in states outside
the Southeast have been urged not to
abandon their homeland, but assist in
developing it and stop the habit of
concentrating their investments on other
people’s territories. Eminent personalities led by Chairman/Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of Coscharis Group ,
Dr. Cosmas Maduka made the call at this
year’s League of Anambra Professionals
(LAP) End-of-Year Lecture and Dinner in
Lagos. Maduka, who spoke on the topic:
“Capitalising on untapped opportunities in
Anambra”, said his firm pays N450 million
tax yearly and he personally pays N50
million yearly. He added that his state,
Anambra, would benefit greatly from these monies for its growth, if he lived or was
based there. The renowned automobile and spare parts
dealer added that all of the riverside areas of
Anambra State are good for rice cultivation
and that his Cos Farms, sited in the state, is in
its second year of rice production and is
about to bring an irrigation system that would enable it to harvest the product thrice
a year. The Coscharis boss told Ndigbo to work
towards the dredging of the Onitsha port so
that container ships can berth there.
According to him, Igbo importers were
forced to take their operational headquarters
to Lagos by the Federal Government’s decision to have functional seaports in the
Western part of the country only.

Maduka expressed worry that rather than
love Ndigbo for their hard work and
immense contributions to their host
communities’ growth, the latter perceive
them as people who want to dominate. He advised Ndigbo to stop the Biafra
agitation, describing the Actualisation of
Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), the
Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Biafra
Independent Movement (BIM)-led agitation as
“unprofitable because Ndigbo would always venture beyond their homeland.” Instead of dreaming Biafra, they should
invest their energy in service. “Money
comes from service”, he added. Civil Engineer Dominic Ekesi, in his
contribution, lamented the neglect of
vocational education, stressing that artisan
and technicians are very relevant to the
economy of any state. He cited the case of the
founder of Fiat, who was just a mechanic when he went into automobile
manufacturing. He advocated the creation of venture capital
for Anambra graduates who have
entrepreneurial drive. Prof. Pat Utomi of Lagos Business School
called for the building of a megapolis
stretching from Awka in the Southeast to
Agbor in the South-South and another
megapolis linking Aba and Port-Harcourt as
additional centres of development to the Lagos-Ibadan axis, which Nigeria already
has. He said as an alternative to the long-awaited
Second Niger Bridge, three road-tunnels can
be built under the river linking the Southeast
to three points on the Western side of the
Niger.

The founder of Leap Africa, Mrs. Ndidi
Nwuneli, in the lecture, drew attention to the
discrimination the Igbo states faced in the
distribution of housing and development
grants. Mrs. Nwuneli said she has noticed a pattern
of giving a state such as Kaduna State grant
worth 500,000 dollars per year and Enugu
State just receives 50,000 dollars and
Anambra State gets nothing per year. As a
result, anytime she has opportunity of sitting in a granting board, she now asks “What is
coming to Anambra State?” Every
privileged Igbo should do likewise, she
counselled. The chairman of the occasion and former
President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Dr.
Raymond Obieri recounted LAP’s services
to the state such as promotion of unity,
electorate enlightenment and election
monitoring. He noted that the League needed to maintain
its secretariat, pay its workers and carry out
the major activities. He, therefore, called on those indigenous to
Anambra to donate to the League because its
activities require funds. Contributing, LAP President and renowned
chartered accountant Willy Nzewi asked for
funds, stating that the League’s need for
funds is heightened by 2017 being an election
year when it has to play its needed role. “I
will ensure judicious use of the money”, he promised. Dignitaries at the lecture included the Obi of
Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, the
Chairman of Nestle Nigeria Plc, Dr. David
Ifezulike, one-time Surveyor-General of the
Federation, Prof. Peter Nwilo and past
presidents of LAP, Dr. Ndi Onuekwusi and Dr. Katia Ekesi. LAP is an association of capable professionals
of Anambra State origin that partners
government at any level to re-build Anambra
State and Nigeria into a rich, modern and safe
society.

www.thenationonlineng.net/dont-abandon-anambra-indigenes-urged-2/

Bia Mr Cosmas, are you telling me that Nigerians don't have investments outside the this country ?. If Nigerians can have investments outside Nigeria, then Biafrans can have their investments outside Biafra as well when the time comes. You guys should stop emphasizing much on this investment of a thing, there is no big deal in it.

We cant abandon our homes o i:m coming home. Sorry for commenting without reading this man who is based in lag and all the tax he claims to pay is paid in lag. We should not abandon anambra but invest at home yet we should drop biafra agitation cos igbo will always invest outside is this not contradictory. Yet he claims fg willfully puts functional seaports in the west and how can we drop biafra when lack of seaport actually makes this same man pay huge tax in lag and thereby fuelling the biafra agitation more.hey cosmos not even ojukwu can stop biafra now

I'm happy he's pushing the 'THINK HOME, INVEST HOME' agenda, but he"s wrong saying biafra is an unprofitable venture even after he has given points why its legitimate.