A renowned economist and investment strategist, Professor Ifedi Okwenna, has called on South-East investors and business leaders to move beyond individual success and embrace collective capital, manufacturing and knowledge-driven investment as the pathway to rebuilding the region’s economy.
Okwenna made the call while delivering a keynote address titled “Remaking the South East Economy: Manufacturing, Knowledge, and Collective Capital” at the maiden reunion of Boys High School (now Osumenyi High School), Class of 1991–1996, held at the school premises in Osumenyi, Anambra State, on January 5, 2026.
Speaking as an older alumnus of the school, the Executive Secretary and CEO of the South East Business and Investment Summit (SEBIS) Group urged the reunion class to see the gathering as more than a social event.
“Most of you are now success stories. Individually you have succeeded, but collectively you have not. That is the bane of a typical African society,” Okwenna said.
“I don’t want this meeting to end with just partying, drinking and nostalgia. I want it to mark the beginning of planning for today and for tomorrow.”
He argued that while the South-East has thrived in trade and commerce, sustainable prosperity is impossible without manufacturing.
“No region in the world has grown sustainably without manufacturing,” he said. “Trade creates wealth, but manufacturing multiplies wealth.”
Okwenna introduced what he described as a game-changing investment model—Manufacturing Enablers—which shifts focus away from costly, stand-alone factories to shared industrial infrastructure such as plug-and-play factory shells, standardised industrial buildings and modular manufacturing estates.
According to him, the model significantly reduces entry costs, pools risk, lowers operating expenses and allows investors to scale faster.
“The future is manufacturing enablers, not stand-alone factories,” he said, adding that the approach mirrors the strategy that powered rapid industrialisation in Asia.
He identified Nnewi South Local Government Area as an ideal hub for such investments, citing available land, proximity to major commercial centres like Nnewi, Onitsha and Aba, access to supply chains and a youthful workforce.
“Imagine a Class of 1991–1996 Modular Manufacturing Estate in Nnewi South,” he said. “That is not politics. That is bankable economics.”
Beyond capital investment, Okwenna stressed that continuous education has become indispensable for modern business survival.
“Experience without continuous learning is a liability,” he warned, noting that many successful entrepreneurs fail when technology, regulation and business models evolve faster than their knowledge.
He highlighted the role of Aba Business School Global Business Education, where he serves as Pro-Chancellor and President of the Leadership Advisory Council, in bridging practical business experience with modern industrial and governance knowledge through executive programmes.
Okwenna also called for a reinvention of the Igbo apprenticeship system, arguing that it must become structured, certified and technology-enabled to serve the next generation.
“The Igbo Apprenticeship System built most of us, but the world has moved on,” he said. “The next phase must combine skills, certificates and manufacturing exposure.”
In a direct challenge to the reunion class, he outlined immediate steps they could take, including forming a class-owned manufacturing investment vehicle, launching a pilot modular industrial estate in Nnewi South and linking investment with continuous learning and apprenticeship pipelines.
“This is not philanthropy,” he said. “This is asset creation.”
Okwenna concluded with a charge for a mindset shift from trading to industrial leadership, urging South-East investors to build systems rather than pursue isolated successes.
“Lagos and Abuja will always welcome your money, but they will never celebrate your legacy,” he said. “Those who build manufacturing platforms control the future economy.”
He expressed hope that the Class of 1991–1996 would be remembered not just for a reunion, but for igniting an industrial renaissance in the South-East.
“Let it be said that this reunion did not end with pictures,” Okwenna said. “It started an industrial journey.”
