14/03/2023
Igbo Unity Project ( Historical Perspectives)
Okpara's and Ojukwu's plan was for PH to be our Lagos...but the economy would be oil driven.
Most of the oil wells and infrastructure in today's Rivers State up till 1967 were developed by Okpara. Chief Nwodo, Nnia Nwodo's father was the Regional Minister for Trade and Commerce at the time. He negotiated most of the agreements with Shell and the UK govt
Gowon and Awolowo nationalised those assets in 1967 without paying a Kobe in compensation...and forced all the oil companies to relocate to Lagos
Most of the refineries that NNPC began rolling out after the war were already in the industrial plan the the East had for Port Harcourt.
At the time,oil and solid minerals were under Regional control
The East lost everything...so Lagos and the north could prosper
Okpara's plan for Enugu was that there would be a 200km industrial corridor running between Emene where the airport was located and Nkalagu where the cement plant was located
Again, Sir Ojukwu was Nkalagu's chairman
The corridor was to focus on auto assembly and industrial automation. A steel plant was already located in Emene and Kaiser in California was to locate a car assembly and a plant for engines and turbines there in 1968.
The corridor was to mimicking the Ruhr industrial Valley in Germany under Otto Von Bismarck. The war destroyed all that
Onitsha was to drive the East retail economy - a shopping Emporium for all Nigerians and indeed West Africans. It was opened in 1956 I believe. And by 1960, it had attained its purpose. Its location gave the Anambra Igbo a head start in trading...a dominance that holds till date
Umuahia and Umudike were to drive our agro based and biotechnology industries. That is why the root research lab and brewery were located there
Enugu was to be the academic headquarters and the headquarters for our mechanical engineering industries
Zik brought in the US firm - Arthur D. Little as macroeconomic consultants. They advised
