Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has urged Ndigbo to respond to the growing presence of Chinese traders in Nigeria by embracing manufacturing, technology and digital commerce rather than fighting for dominance in conventional retail.
Otti spoke on Monday night at the Igbo Day Lecture and Dinner organised by Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide at the Michael Okpara Auditorium, Umuahia.
He said the growing competition from Chinese traders, particularly in Lagos, should prompt Ndigbo to rethink their traditional reliance on physical markets and move towards manufacturing and digital businesses.
“We are leaving that place of trading. In Abia, we have markets; the markets are important. But we are moving from the market to manufacturing,” Otti said.
The governor said his administration was positioning Abia as a manufacturing and technology hub while investing in digital skills for young people.
He cited the state’s TechRise initiative, saying some young Abians trained under the programme were already working remotely for global companies, including Google and Amazon.
“We are driving digital delivery. We are leaving that physical store for digital delivery. So, when somebody talked about Alibaba, that’s exactly where we are headed,” he said.
Otti urged Ndigbo to see the changing business environment as an opportunity to adapt and compete in the global economy.
“So, why are the Chinese coming to compete with us? We are moving away from there. And it’s going to start in Abia,” he said.
“Abia is both manufacturing and then trading. But we are moving from conventional trading to digital trading. That’s where the world is going. You either embrace it or you risk being left behind.”
Ohanaeze raises concern
President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Senator John Azuta-Mbata, said the increasing presence of Chinese traders in Lagos should make Ndigbo more alert and deliberate about protecting and expanding their economic interests.
He noted that retail trade had historically been a major area of Igbo enterprise but said individual commercial success needed to be translated into coordinated economic development.
Azuta-Mbata said the Igbo Charter for Strategic Engagement for National Development, produced by more than 67 Igbo technocrats and business leaders, provides a framework for engaging the Nigerian government and the wider world.
He also called for stronger protection of Igbo culture and language, including making Igbo compulsory in primary and secondary schools across the South-East.
The Ohanaeze leader further urged the Federal Government to seek a political solution to the continued detention of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
Chairman of the occasion, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, urged Ndigbo to move beyond complaints and take practical steps towards shaping their collective future.
“We must look forward to building a brighter future, moving beyond complaining about those who won’t give us our due, to taking our destiny in our own hands,” he said.
Otti, who pledged his administration’s continued support for Ohanaeze, said the theme of the celebration, “Njikọ Ka” — Unity is Supreme — underscored the importance of collective action.
He said his administration had laid the foundation for Abia’s transformation, adding, “We have retrieved and recovered our state. And the only way to go is up.”
Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, Chairman of the Igbo Charter Committee for Strategic Engagement for National Development, delivered the keynote lecture at the event.