An Urgent Call For The Reviving Moribund Industries in Igbo-speaking States Of Nigeria.

Reviving Moribund Industries in Igbo-Speaking States: A Call to Conscience and Action

Today, we at the United Igbo Elders Congress gather, not just to speak about industries, but to speak about the soul of a people. For industries are not merely machines, they are the lifeblood of communities; they are the dignity of labour, the foundation of prosperity, and the assurance of generational survival.

The Legacy We Inherited

In the years following the devastation of the Nigerian civil war, our people rose from the ashes with grit and ingenuity. With twenty pounds left in our fathers’ pockets, we built industries that fed nations, clothed people, and built cities.

Nkalagu Cement Factory (Ebonyi State), established in 1957, was Nigeria’s first cement factory. From its kilns came the cement that built roads, bridges, and schools across Nigeria. Nkalagu was not just a factory; it was a town, a heartbeat of Eastern Nigeria.

Aba Textile Mill (Abia State) was once the pride of West Africa. Its looms produced uniforms for schools, the Nigerian Army, and markets across Ghana, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone. It clothed a nation.

Golden Guinea Breweries (Umuahia, Abia State) rivalled foreign breweries with its beer and malt drinks. It stood as a symbol that Nigerian enterprise could compete globally.

NAMMCO and the Emene Industrial Layout (Enugu State)—the Manchester of Africa—rolled out vehicles, gas cylinders, and steel products, employing thousands and energizing supply chains across the nation.

Asaba Textile Mill (Delta State) was another industrial jewel. It produced fabrics that dominated Nigeria’s textile market and supported thousands of families across Delta and the wider South-East region. Today, it stands in silence, overtaken by weeds, a shadow of its past glory.

Michelin Natural Rubber Processing (Delta State) once turned the rich rubber plantations of Delta into tyres that drove Nigeria’s vehicles and even found markets abroad. Today, the rubber still grows, but the processing plant is gone, and our raw materials are exported cheaply while jobs vanish.

These were not mere enterprises—they were the backbone of Ala-Igbo’s economy. They gave our people dignity, reduced migration, and turned our industrious spirit into tangible development.

The Harsh Reality Today

Sadly, what do we see today?

Nkalagu lies silent, its kilns cold.

Aba Textile is now a carcass of broken looms.

Asaba Textile is overtaken by grass.

Michelin has shut down and left Nigeria, abandoning rubber-rich Delta to raw exports.

Golden Guinea, ANAMMCO, and others are a fraction of their past selves.

Where once there was production, there is now poverty. Where once there were wages, there is now want. Where once there was dignity, there is now despair.

The Human Cost

Every abandoned factory is a funeral for jobs.

Every broken machine is a broken dream.

Every rusting warehouse is a wasted generation.

When industries die, communities collapse. Youth migrate in search of greener pastures, often finding themselves exploited abroad or drowning in the Mediterranean. Families break apart. Crime rises. Our best brains serve other nations, while our homeland decays.

Why We Cannot Remain Silent

My brothers and sisters, silence is betrayal. If we do nothing, future generations will ask us: Where were you when Aba Textile died? Where were you when Asaba Mill was overrun by weeds? Where were you when Michelin abandoned our rubber? Did you watch, or did you act?

We must act—because history will not forgive inaction.

The Way Forward

1. Audit and Secure Assets: States must document, protect, and legally safeguard all moribund industries.

2. Public–Private Partnerships: Encourage diaspora and local investment, with strong anti-corruption safeguards.

3. Industrial Clusters: Link industries together—textiles feeding tailors, cement feeding builders, rubber feeding transport.

4. Power & Infrastructure: Provide dedicated energy for industries, and upgrade roads, rails, and ports.

5. Policy Consistency: Protect local industries against unfair imports and dumping.

6. Youth Empowerment: Use revived industries as training grounds for skill acquisition and dignity of labour.

A Call to Action

To the Federal Government, we say: Reindustrialize the South-East and South-South as a matter of equity and justice.

To the State Governments, we say: Stop chasing prestige projects while letting factories die. Revive what we already had.

To our Igbo business leaders and diaspora investors, we say: Invest not only in hotels and plazas, but in industries that outlive you and provide jobs for generations.

To our Youth, we say: Your future is not only in Europe or America—it is in rebuilding Ala-Igbo.

Prophetic Declarations

Finally, let us declare with one voice:

That the silence of Nkalagu Cement shall break into the roar of production again.

That the looms of Aba and Asaba Textile Mills shall not remain idle, but shall weave prosperity for our people.

That the rubber plantations of Delta shall not be wasted, but shall once again feed factories that employ thousands.

That the ghostly halls of Enugu’s industries shall echo with the sound of machines and workers’ songs.

That our children shall not beg for jobs abroad, but shall find dignity in work at home.

That Ala-Igbo shall rise again, not in trading alone, but in production, in technology, and in industry.

Conclusion

History shows us that nations rise on the back of industry. Japan after Hiroshima, Germany after the war, Israel after repeated invasions—all rebuilt through production, innovation, and unity.

So too shall we. For we are Ndi-Igbo—resilient, resourceful, unstoppable.

May the God who blessed the work of our fathers bless the revival of our land. May the bones of our industries live again. May Ala-Igbo rise from the ashes, to the height of prosperity. Amen.