Agbaja Summit To 'Build On Our Legacies; Investments' - Ugo Chime

By Adadainfo

Mr Ugochukwu Chime, chairman of the planning committee of the forthcoming Agbaja Peoples Summit, says the event will be used to re-enact the legacies of the cultural zone, both living and the dead, to enable the present and future generations build on those legacies.

Chime stated this while briefing newsmen ahead of the summit, which comes up on Nov 2 and 3 2023 in Enugu. The event, with the theme ‘building on our legacies’, will focus on investment promotion of the zone, as well as showcase the economic potentials of the Agbaja Cultural Zone.

The cultural zone is made up of Oji River, Udi, Ezeagu, Igbo-Etiti, Enugu North, and Enugu South LGAs of Enugu State.

Notables from the zone are the famous Chief Onyeama of Eke, and Chief CC Onoh as well as Nollywood stars Nkem Owo, Patience Ozokwor, and Chiwetalu Agu. Former governor Sullivan Chime, Prof Chinedu Nebo, Prof Agu Gab Agu, foreign affairs minister Geoffrey Onyeama are from the zone.

According to the chairman of the planning committee, “The summit will showcase legacies of our heroes, then we build on them. Our economic potentials will be on the front-burner for positive harnessing. Investors from home and abroad will interact. While young entrepreneurs will tap from the established ones, we expect both to invest in Agbaja.

“We have the best water for production of beverages, and that is why beer and soft drink companies, water manufacturing companies, among others, invest in Agbaja.

“Investors from home and abroad will tap from what we have in the area of agriculture, tourism, mineral resources etc. We have caves, coal deposits and rich cultural and human resources.

“It will also energise our people and beyond to invest at home. It will be a yearly summit. We want to grow young investors by marrying them with established ones for mentorship.”

On the landmines and erosion being experienced in some parts of the zone, Chime said, “Agbaja Leaders of Thought, led by Prof Chinedu Nebo, is doing a lot towards finding a lasting solution to it. The summit will still look into the problems associated with the abandoned coal mines in some parts of the zone to avoid endangering our future generations.”