Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu

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Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu (1909-1966) was a notable Nigerian businessman from Nnewi. Ojukwu was a director in various Nigerian companies and also won a parliamentary seat during the nation's first republic. He attended a primary school in Asaba and the Hope Waddell Institute for secondary education.

[edit] Life and Career

Ojukwu started his professional career at the Agricultural department before leaving to join John Holt as a tyre sales clerk. He also incorporated a textile company in Onitsha to supplement his income during this period, already exhibiting a little bit of his entrepreneurial spirit. While at John Holt, he noticed the severe strain a lack of adequate transportation had on Eastern textile traders. He later left John Holt to create a transport company to improve the trading environment for Nigerian traders. As a transporter, he was a tireless worker and meticulous to detail; he was usually the first to inspect his transport vehicles for oil and leakages. Apart from his work ethic, his success was also oiled by the economic boom after World War II, working with the West African Railway Company and the newly inaugurated produce boards, he provided his fleet for commodity transportation and for other traders use. During the 1950's, he diversified his interest, bought some industries, invested heavily in the real estate sector and became a director in numerous major corporations. He was a member of the board of Nigerian Coal Corporation, Shell Oil, D'Archy, and African Continental Bank.

Ojukwu died in 1966, just a year before the Nigerian civil war, his will located at Enugu was carted away by federal troops after the fall of the city, many of his properties where later confiscated by the federal government, many of which are yet to be returned back to his family.

[edit] References

• Tom Forrest, The Advance of African Capital:The Growth of Nigerian Private Enterprise