The celebrations of Nigeria’s 50th Independence Anniversary have come and are almost gone but the fall-out are still topical. From the bomb planted by some faceless, heartless terrorists to the dinners, debates, symposia, workshops and national recognitions and awards by the President. The solidarity visit of African Heads of State and goodwill messages from world leaders added flavor to the frenzy.


I join the rest of the world in congratulating our dear President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces on this auspicious occasion and wish him and all Nigerians well. The Nigeria project must get done no matter the odds by the grace of God.
The giving of awards and recognitions by any leader is not an exercise done hastily but one well thought out and one based on unassailable and known facts and measured achievements. Such awards tell a lot about the evolution of a people and when it is got wrong, it leaves much to be desired and distorts history. In Africa however, the choice of recipients of awards are most of the time determined by political expediency. The ones we saw at the 50th Anniversary are not different from the African style.

Not minding that Africans hardly get it right at occasions like this, I still felt a need to put down my thoughts (which I insist, are my personal thoughts for which I take full responsibility) on a particular award or recognition of the night for the record and for posterity. A half truth told over and over again assumes the status of truth. I write on the award given to Alhaji Dantata for being the foremost businessman of his era.


While I do not harbor any malice against this respectable and industrious Nigerian of his time, I wish to state (and I want to be corrected if I am wrong) that Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu (of blessed memory) of the same era was shoulders higher than any businessman or woman of his time. He was a colossus, pragmatic and humble. I believe Alhaji Dantata could have qualified for an award or recognition but in another category.


My conviction that Ojukwu was the greatest businessman of his time is informed by not only what I saw and heard (as I was barely born then) but what is recorded even by the Nigerian Government in our National archives. I know as a fact that the Queen of England visited Nigeria in 1956 and was chauffeured by Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu’s personal driver and guess what car she drove in, his Rolls Royce. Mr. Abiefo was the chauffeur and only passed on a few years ago with the honour of having driven the Queen.


My claim of the humongous stature of Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu as a business mogul of his time is not just based on this feat. It is on record that he was the first president of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, then the Lagos Stock Exchange. The record is there and his photograph today still adorns the Nigerian Stock Exchange gallery in Lagos. Under his Presidency of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, there was no rival claim or litigation on his Presidency as we see today. Stock prices were a true reflection of their value and there was harmony in the stock market.


Nigerian economy in Ojukwu’s era was an emerging economy but even at that, this great Nigerian carved a niche for himself by investing so much in blue chip Companies where he was either Chairman or Director. Amongst such Companies were Guinness, John Holt, Nigercem, Constain amongst others. In fact, due to his relationship with Mr. Constain, he, Mr. Constain became the guardian of Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu’s son, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu during his days as a student in Oxford University, England.


Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu was not just a good and large hearted businessman, he was a visionary. At a time when a lot of people did not reckon with the real estate sector, he moved in from the Capital Market and owned several houses in Ikoyi, Lagos and other highbrow areas in Nigeria. He also encouraged quite a lot of his friends both young and old to invest in the markets where he excelled. He encouraged his politician friends financially without counting the cost and asking for anything in return but good governance. The likes of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr. M. I. Opara to mention but a few were beneficiaries of his benevolence. This is a mark of a good leader, friend, patriot and trail blazer.


[b]Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu enjoyed the services of a number of lawyers including the late F.R.A. Williams, QC, S.A.N. He also enjoyed the services of other professionals at a time when his peers never believed in professionalism and were not ready to pay professionals for whatever reason. [/b]I can go on and on but I think the message is clear. Nobody did it better than he did. His educational foundation remains unrivaled to the glory of God. I therefore wish that the honour due to this man never goes to another again.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/sir-louis-odumegwu-ojukwu-not-dantata/77015/

A very impressive individual.

Emeka go sit down. Na where is Odumegwu influence to Nigerian economy these days? On the other hand Dantata's wealth impact is everywhere in Nigeria and west Africa.

Gayigaskia:

Emeka go sit down. Na where is Odumegwu influence to Nigerian economy these days? On the other hand Dantata's wealth impact is everywhere in Nigeria and west Africa.

who is emeka?

asha 80:

who is emeka?

the author of the article

Gayigaskia:

the author of the article

well odumegwu's influence in the economy of the of country these days matters not as it does not mean that it was a lie.it is like asking what is the influence of MKO wealth in nigeria these days despite his worth in the past.moreover odumegwu was the one that made MAMMY wagons popular back in the days.

Sir PHILLIP ODUMEGWU-OJUKWU-

reputedly first African multimillionaire in colonial Africa whose
commitment to his people saved the African
Continental Bank from British machinations. His
sprawling business empire was a fore-runner of the
possibilities of accumulation on a vast scale in
emerging Africa – in real estate, transportation,
finance and import-export. He later served as
Economic Adviser to Azikiwe and the government of
Eastern region. In his later years he served as
chairman of Nkalagu Cement, shaping it into a
leading employer of the 1960s.

Well agree to all above, but Dantata Influence has led to a Nigerian being the richest black man in the world whether directly or indirectly his name comes up every time you talk about Dangote.

where is the legacy of ojukwu today......which of the business is still alive......... He was indeed great. I had which his children could have continued from where he stopped

It is very nice to read Igbos herald all these successes by Sir Ojukwu. It is evident that Mr Ojukwu was the shaker and mover of all coroprate companies operating in Nigeria at that time and on record in the security exchange registers.

So then on the topic of lost savings and investments, Achebe must not be aware of these feats by Sir Ojukwu. If he did he should have directed ndigbo to ACB, Guiness, Costain, John Holt and the rest of them for recovery and not waste time assassinating the character of Awo as he did blaming him for Igbo losses.

If Awo could single handedly sit on the entire Igbo treasures, then whatever Sir Ojukwu was known for and narrated by you all is only ceremonial and did not in anyway had a rooting influence, one way or another, on economy and business or finance and trading.

[size=18pt]I GET AM BEFORE NO BE PROPERTY !![/size]

How come there's hardly any pic of him; i haven't got a clue what he looks like.

Gayigaskia: Emeka go sit down. Na where is Odumegwu influence to Nigerian economy these days? On the other hand Dantata's wealth impact is everywhere in Nigeria and west Africa.

^^^ The trajectory of the growth and influence of Dantatas' wealth (and by extention that of his realtives like Dangote), at a point linked up with and ran parallel to the growth and influence of the Hausa/Fulani in Nigeria: whereas he was a self-made millionaire in his own right, his wealth and influence went stratospheric when his ethnicity became 'owners of Nigeria' after the civil war, and this is the major reason Dangote is the richest man in Africa today.

Dudu_Negro: It is very nice to read Igbos herald all these successes by Sir Ojukwu. It is evident that Mr Ojukwu was the shaker and mover of all coroprate companies operating in Nigeria at that time and on record in the security exchange registers.

So then on the topic of lost savings and investments, Achebe must not be aware of these feats by Sir Ojukwu. If he did he should have directed ndigbo to ACB, Guiness, Costain, John Holt and the rest of them for recovery and not waste time assassinating the character of Awo as he did blaming him for Igbo losses.

If Awo could single handedly sit on the entire Igbo treasures, then whatever Sir Ojukwu was known for and narrated by you all is only ceremonial and did not in anyway had a rooting influence, one way or another, on economy and business or finance and trading.

Shut up your wild putrid mouth. Awolow never had a character talk less the one to be assassinated by venerable Chinua Achebe. Why would impeccable intellectual such Achebe want to soil his hands by assassinating a tribal bigot and convicted criminal such as Awolowo?

Awolowo never sat on Igbo treasures but was once appointed commissioner for finance of federal government of Nigeria. Baring Gowon, Awolowo would have remained politically nobody and will never surface in a meaningful discussion in Nigeria.

:oThe author of that article should step forward and receive the award of the dumbest individual of the year!
So because someone drove an expensive car and borrowed same to the queen means the person is richer than the guy who trekks? That's like saying the p-square boys are richer than warren buffet! No offense but its in the okoro man's trait to flaunt wealth while the aboki man is more calculated and reserved!
While louis ojukwu was buying flashy stuff and showing off wealth,dantata was putting in place structures to last after him period!!

torkaka: :oThe author of that article should step forward and receive the award of the dumbest individual of the year!
So because someone drove an expensive car and borrowed same to the queen means the person is richer than the guy who trekks? That's like saying the p-square boys are richer than warren buffet! No offense but its in the okoro man's trait to flaunt wealth while the aboki man is more calculated and reserved!
While louis ojukwu was buying flashy stuff and showing off wealth,dantata was putting in place structures to last after him period!!

^^^I don't get it.....what's with the grinning emoticon ? Kinda reminds me of a deranged chesire cat!

So you read the whole write-up and all you took away from it was the fact the Queen used his Rolls-Royce on her first trip to Nigeria?; you didn't read about his achievements in real estate and the stock market?; you didn't read about his large stake in blue-chip companies of the day like Guinness, John-Holt and Costain, to name but a few (so much so that he entrusted his son Emeka into the hands of Mr Costain during his University days at Oxford)?

There's nothing wrong with one flaunting his wealth, provided it isn't ill-gotten and he worked for it; if Alhaji Dantata wanted to live an austere life (maybe for religious reasons) that's still a good thing.

Could you fill us in on Alhaji Dantatas' business interests, its scope and his achievements at the time?.....just so we can have some idea of the structures you're talking about.

This osu Igbos have come again with their ethnic wahala. Did you bother to research on the achievments of Dantata? Why do you Igbos like basing everytin on ethnicity,when the facts are obviouse? Kaiiii!

Jump! Jump!!

Some witchy bigots will spoil this fine thread....Wat a pity

The man himself. Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu KBE (knight of the British empire)