Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman of Zinox Group, one of Africa’s popular integrated Information and Communication Technology (ICT) conglomerates has said that Enugu State has the potential of earning the status of the digital capital of Nigeria and that of West Africa in extension by taking advantage of the limitless opportunities which abound to create digital wealth.
Speaking at the at the first ever Enugu State Investment Summit tagged Oganiru 2016 which held at the Michael Okpara Square, Ekeh disclosed that what is required is for the state government to enhance the profile of the numerous resources it already possesses and the comparative advantage it enjoys in certain areas.
The three-day summit with the theme, “Beyond Oil: Fostering Inclusive Economic Growth & Sustainable Development”, brought together local and international business leaders and investors, bankers, financiers, the diplomatic community and the academia to explore Enugu’s rich potential – and that of the entire South-East.
“Enugu enjoys a rare privilege of being an established cosmopolitan city and remotely developed rural areas with minimum infrastructure. It is therefore easier for the government to take ownership. The state presently has the largest concentration of ambitious tertiary institutions in the country, you have fiber optic cables laid all over the state, you enjoy cheaper rental cost for quality accommodation, good roads and the general cost of living is less than 50 percent of most cities in Nigeria.
“The only thing holding you back is the political will and electric power infrastructure which you can provide temporarily with generators before partnering to build power plants and you will see this state transform into a haven for digital wealth creation as well as smart and quality lifestyle in the 21st century,” Ekeh enthused.
He decried the nonchalant attitude of some South East Governors who, according to him, have near zero investment on infrastructure for digital wealth creation in the 21st century. The serial digital entrepreneur who featured as one of the guest speakers at the summit wondered how leaders in the region intended to create billionaires who will pay taxes in the near future without any form of concrete investment in place for providing opportunities and nurturing the youths.
“I must state here that the Igbos are not ready for digital wealth creation as it is obvious that leaders in the region are not ready to transit to building the knowledge economy which holds the key to achieving this,” he stated.
“Digital wealth is the new mega wealth that rewards the effort in few months or years but you must create solid platforms to uplift your people. It is about building creative platforms for our kids and millions of today’s restive youths which will channel their energies and passion towards what is termed today as true miracle wealth. Increased access to education as captured in the building of a knowledge economy, a clear change of attitude, visualizing the bigger picture and liberalizing access to information through ICT are core essential requirements to achieving this.
“This is a century of results and not efforts and sincerely, no one was created by God to be poor in this century but government must invest in critical infrastructure for her people to benefit.”
Ekeh who congratulated the State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for initiating the professionally packaged summit while commending him also for the ambience and quality of invited speakers, expressed deep concern with the resource gap between Igbos of his age and the next generation of youths.
He disclosed that many in his generation were able to build and defend their franchises because the economy was transiting in all sectors from analogue to digital, which they were able to key into.
JUMOKE AKIYODE
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