Nnewi;聽 town in Anambra State, Nigeria with a population of 900,000 (2019 est.). Nnewi is virtually dotted with industries of all types and sizes. Many indigenes of Nnewi would explain the town’s rural setting despite the preponderance of industries as unwillingness on the part of authorities concerned to reciprocate what they, in their individual capacities, have put on the ground to make Nnewi an industrial centre for Nigeria’s economic and technological growth.
Nnewi has always been reputed for being a town of dynamic聽traders and business people. The聽environment has had a telling聽effect on their professional inclinations right from the days of聽their forebears. The town’s land mass is small and not so fertile. Thus, by compulsion, they had to move out聽of the town and go into trading.聽But Nnewi’s meteoric rise as an industrial town could be聽traced to the pre-colonial years when some indigenes became聽prominent in business ventures spread all over the country. One聽of the most noticeable of this group was Sir Odumegwu Ojukwu聽who emerged as a foremost and pioneer transporter in Nigeria.聽Ojukwu brought in a lot of Nnewi聽indigenes into the transport business as mechanics, bus聽conductors, spare parts dealers and so on. As a result of this,聽the people became fully exposed to the business of transportation聽and allied services. Subsequently, Nnewi sons such聽as 聽Augustine Uodibe of Ekene Dili Chukwu and Chief E.E.聽Ojukwu of Eekeson聽dominate transport business in the country.聽A聽lot of companies that belong to indigenes of the town聽are involved in the manufacture of automobile parts.聽By the start of the Nigerian Civil War, Nnewi indigenes had聽consolidated their business interests nationwide.
One sour聽point of the war was the inability of Nnewi indigenes to do聽business effectively outside their town. Clashes between Nnewi and聽Onitsha people over trading and other business ventures at聽Onitsha during and after the War made聽many of the former to聽pack bags and baggages back to their town.” The result聽was a remarkable聽success. Nnewi metarmophosed into a big聽commercial centre and is today the home of automobile spare聽parts in Nigeria.聽With the coming home of Nnewi indigines to set up business ventures in the town, the stage was thus set for industrial growth. The first Individual to build an industry at Nnewi was one Samuel Anazodo. Anazodo’s efforts failed because foreigners involved with him were not honest. After Anazodo was James Edokwe who had a factory at Onitsha and a satellite at Nnewi.
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TELL May 15, 1995
