The Union
Innoson: The Candle That Glows From Nnewi
Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, presenting the Doctor of Science honorary degree to Dr. Chukwuma at the 37th convocation ceremony for the cadets of the 63 Regular Course, Nigeria Defence Academy, NDA, Kaduna. Watching are the Commandant, Maj-Gen. M. T. Ibrahim (right) and the Academy Provost, Prof. Nwankwo (behind the Vice President).
Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, presenting the Doctor of Science honorary degree to Dr. Chukwuma at the 37th convocation ceremony for the cadets of the 63 Regular Course, Nigeria Defence Academy, NDA, Kaduna. Watching are the Commandant, Maj-Gen. M. T. Ibrahim (right) and the Academy Provost, Prof. Nwankwo (behind the Vice President).
Innoson: The Candle That Glows From Nnewi

October 31, 2016

No doubt, Chukwuma has added value and is adding value to life and living in Nigeria. He needs encouragement. He needs further support of government especially of stated in the southern part of Nigeria. For instance, Innoson Motor Vehicle Manufacturing can change the landscape in transportation in the country if his host geopolitical zone sees the need to take the lead and expand his business through purchase of buses from his plant for transport purposes.

Achilleus-Chud Uchegbu

From selling motorcycle spare parts on the streets of Nnewi in Anambra state, Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma, also known as Innoson, has grown to be acclaimed by Nigeria’s most prestigious military institute, the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), in Kaduna, which recently crowned his modest efforts at changing the narrative on entrepreneurship and know-how of the Nigerian, with an honourary Doctor of Science degree.

Prior to that, Chukwuma had proven that Nigeria is indeed blessed with human capacity, which when properly harnessed, could technologically transform, and liberate, the country from over-dependence on western minds.

His feat in retrofitting and re-calibrating fighter jets for the Nigerian Air Force, which hitherto, could not be deployed because they were not fitted to do the job for which they were bought, placed Chukwumma and Innoson Group on high pedestal, and proved, in the process, that what the country seeks off shores, is indeed domiciled in its back yard. It took the serious-minded Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, to discover that off the streets of Nnewi, lies a company that could keep Air force jets flying and fighting.

That discovery, which the Air Force celebrated, further led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between NAF and Innoson Group for research and production of spare parts for the fighter jets. That was a huge statement in the capacity of Innoson to alter the narrative on Nigeria and announce to the world that a lot can be achieved if Nigeria’s governments look inwards.

Speaking during a tour of Innoson facilities, Chief Of Policy and Plans, Air Vice-Marshal James Gbum, said: “The Chief of Air Staff (Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar) immediately ordered our research and development cell in Kainji to start to research into this break assembly overhaul; they went ahead, carried out the research, (however) the first proto-type they brought couldn’t pass the test. The Nigerian Air Force later discovered that Innoson Vehicle Maintenance Company at Nnewi is capable of doing it and that they are very capable of collaborating with the Nigerian Air Force to achieve the required standards of overhauling our break assemblies. The company was invited to headquarters Nigerian Air Force for discussion and thereafter went into research and development collaboration with the Nigerian Air Force and the result was successful. To this effect, we have reasonable number of these Alpha Jets serviceable daily to fight the war in the North East”.

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That attestation to Innoson’s capabilities led to greater collaboration between the company and Nigeria’s armed forces in such a way that the results have become much more visible.

This was why when Chukwuma was called up for a honoris causa at the NDA, the ovation was loudest. Most of those at the event were seeing him for the first time. In him Nigeria seems to have discovered its lost soul. Chukwuma, who began selling motorcycle spare parts, moved on to importing same spare parts and gradually developed capacity for local assemble of motorcycles. Today, he has graduated into vehicle manufacturing boosting the Nigerian economy with different models of vehicles including cars, sport utility vehicles, buses of different categories, trucks and waste disposal compactors. His group also has its tentacles spread into other areas of manufacturing including household equipment and plastics. Through these, Chukwuma has no less than 7000 Nigerians gainfully employed. He shows that from very little and humble beginnings, a serious minded businessman can grow to become a world giant so long as he/she remained focused and driven by purpose.

Presenting Chukwuma for the honour, NDA Commandant, Maj-Gen. M.T. Ibrahim, had said that Chukwuma was specially selected because of the satisfactory performance of one the companies under the Innoson group in filling a void that would have cost Nigeria, and indeed NAF, huge capital flight in foreign exchange. The Commandant was elated that the local production of spare parts for fighter jets for the Air force was indeed a feat.

“Presently, Innoson has made inroad into some African countries, such as Ghana, Sierra-Leone, Chad, Niger, and Togo where the presence of hi Group of Companies is felt. Dr. Chukwuma is also into the hospitality industry with ownership of Beverly Hills Hotel and Resort, located in Abuja”, a paragraph in his citation read before Vice president Yemi Osinbajo and about 400 graduands, including 133 cadets of the 63 Regular Course, as well as postgraduate students, noted.

Days after the awards, Vice President Osinbajo, would again sit with Chukwuma as he received a consortium of Chinese investors who had agreed to pull $1billion for investment in Nigeria through the Innoson Group.

In Chukwuma, the Chinese investors found a trust-worthy ally, through whom they have agreed to pump $1billion into Nigeria for development of digital television and satellite TV stations. The agreement indicates that $400 million will be invested in Nigeria’s Digital Switch Over (DSO) project for Digital Satellite TV Station while $600 million would be invested in other important sectors to boost the economy.

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The consortium of Chinese Foreign Investment Group was led to Nigeria by Liu Baoju, a Deputy Minister of Communist Party of China in Shandong Province, who is also the Chairman of world’s biggest TV operators, Shandong Broadcasting Group and Shandong Cable Interactive Service Ltd and Huang Gang, Senior Vice President of Inspur Group and President of its Overseas Headquarters. Inspur Group is China’s leading cloud computer solution supplier and cloud service provider involving all IT applications.

A breakdown of the investment as, agreed with the Chinese Consortium in an MoU, indicated “financial foreign investment credit facility of $300million for local production and supply of a minimum five to eight Million (5-8million) Set-Top Boxes to support the Federal Government of Nigeria’s Digital Switch Over (DSO) project being handled by the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) in order to meet the deadline switch of June 2017” and “financial foreign investment of $100million to establish the latest technology and biggest DTH (Direct-To-Home) Digital BING Television Station across all states of Nigeria”.

According to details of the agreement, the $600 million investment would be deployed to “Smart City (CCTV camera) using cloud computing total solution that is known as E-Policing to cover the whole landmass of Nigeria; Cloud Computing Total Solution on Taxation with IT applications for such institutions as Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other taxation agencies for seamless and stress-free tax collection mechanism and E-Education IT Solutions with big data centers for all Federal Universities and Polytechnics in the country”.

This investment, single handedly brokered by Chukwuma, is expected to boost the local economy by assisting government to meet its June 2017 deadline for the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting services; establishment of 40 lines of production and manufacturing complex for making Broadcast Digital Set-Top-Boxes; creation of over 5,000 jobs in the Innoson Group Set-Top-Box manufacturing complex in Nigeria within the next two years; creation of additional 2,000 jobs by Innoson BING Digital DTH Television operation across Nigeria within the first two years; make Nigeria the manufacturing hub for Set-Top-Box in Africa with the attendant benefit of earning foreign exchange through exports from Innoson Manufacturing Complex; boost Innoson Group’s plastic industry at Enugu through manufacture of most of the plastic components of the Set-Top-Box thereby saving cost; provide adequate National security using cloud computing technology to secure Nigeria against insurgency, militancy, kidnapping and all other forms of dangerous crimes.

It is also expected that the investments will spur interest in the under-utilised Nigerian Communication Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) in Abuja with its numerous benefits of saving foreign exchange by buying into Nigeria available goods and services, instead of engaging foreign satellite and transponders as all other competitors here in Nigeria are currently doing.

No doubt, Chukwuma has added value and is adding value to life and living in Nigeria. He needs encouragement. He needs further support of government especially of stated in the southern part of Nigeria. For instance, Innoson Motor Vehicle Manufacturing can change the landscape in transportation in the country if his host geopolitical zone sees the need to take the lead and expand his business through purchase of buses from his plant for transport purposes.

For instance, if a state government decides to buy all its mass transit buses from Innoson, the multiplier effect will have a huge impact on job creation and employment. I believe that if the Imo state government, for instance, recreates its transport policy and purchase Mass Transit buses from Innoson, such decision could lead to the establishment of a maintenance plant in Imo state. This in effect, will create jobs and boost economic profile of the state. Replicating this in all states of the zone will be value added to the economy of the region and boost capacity of the group to expand and employ more people.

Such template can be replicated further outside the zone. Our economy suffers when state and federal government run off shore to import mass transit buses. The capital flight that comes with such action is enormous. But the effect on a company like Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing will be huge if properly directed.

Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma is adding value to life in Nigeria from his place in Nnewi and Enugu. His modest efforts are being felt even beyond the shores of Nigeria. Therefore, Nigerians need to support him like the Nigerian Air Force had done because in the end, Nigeria can only take pride in Made in Nigeria.

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