By Collins Opurozor
Recently, the Governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, made a presentation at the South East Regional Engagement of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council. His address set, renewed and reinvigorated the discourse on the survival of Imo state in a post-petroleum economy.
Diversification of the economy has become almost a cliché for political office seekers, yet rarely does anyone remember diversification when elected. The policy priorities of political incumbents in Nigeria do not mirror the realities of an economy that is living in borrowed times. Oil is a fleeing resource. It is becoming obsolete by the day in view of technological innovations. Not more than four states in Nigeria are viable, and a typical governor in Nigeria serves as an accountant-general who receives oil-enabled FAAC allocations at the end of every month and makes disbursements, and waits for the next allocations.
So, it is imperative to dissect the presentation of Gov Ihedioha and understand the prospects his blueprint holds for Imo, a state that is emerging from the maelstrom of almost a decade of ruinous misrule.
We have it on Ihedioha’s authority that, “The years of the oil palm are not over. In the light of this, our State is poised to regain its leadership place in the subsector by planting one million oil palm seedlings every year in the next three years. We have in view both the multiplier and accelerator effects derivable from the oil palm. Our other agricultural produce consists of cassava, cashew, yam tubers and maize among others.”
Agriculture is obviously the way to go. In the next five years, there may not be any country buying oil from Nigeria. Car makers like Volvo have said by next year their cars will no longer run on hydrocarbon fuel. India has said that in the next ten years there will be no longer be the importation of automobiles that run on petrol or gas into their country. America has increasingly stopped buying oil.
It is heartwarming that Imo is leading the way in revamping agriculture and unleashing the potentials in the entire agricultural value chain. Already, the government has begun to train thousands of Imo youths as “agripreneurs” to take advantage of the innovations in that sector.
With the agricultural revolution ongoing in Imo, the industrial sector will certainly also grow in leaps and bounds. For instance, the policy to make Imo the hub of oil palm production in Nigeria will invariably lead to the growth of other downstream industries that get their inputs from oil palm. Industrial lubricants, glycerine and fatty acid are all derivatives from oil palm. Similarly, the cassava and yam initiative of the government will also deliver food security and make Imo an exporter of pharmaceutical grade starch, a goldmine waiting to be tapped.
The opportunities are endless and the gains are enormous. Imo is being rebuilt to the glory of God and for the benefit of all.
