Last Wednesday, Dr. Nelson Omenugha, the Special Adviser to Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, CFR, on Youth Reformation, was accompanied by a handful of young people to a courtesy call on Mr. John Ezeobi of Zobis Cables. The visit, which started as ordinary as such visits do, turned into lessons in leadership, industry, and personal development, in a way that directly speaks to Governor Soludo’s youth reformation agenda, piloted by Dr. Omenugha. From a simple visit originally meant for just some minutes, we extended to several hours of deep and inspiring conversations. Mr. Ezeobi is a man of conviction. No one builds at such scale without strong conviction. Remarkably, Ezeobi is building without noise or needless attention. He is just focused on building, while withdrawn from all the noise and distractions that accompany success.
Mr. Ezeobi has his vast cable industry in Ogbaru, Anambra State, where he has done business for a long time. He did not start as a cable manufacturer. He started as a pure water producer at the same place where he now has his massive industrial complex, with a vision to expand into a continental cable powerhouse right from Anambra State. After a while, somehow, he was convinced that we were the right audience with whom to share his vision. Then, he opened the drawing of his enormous future industrial complex in Ogbaru, which he is already working on. I was convinced that Africa will, sometime in the future, come to Anambra State. What is driving Ezeobi is the same message the Youth Reformation team led by Dr. Nelson Omenugha has been pushing. An Anambra youth must be inspired to honestly and legitimately outdo himself, for God and humanity. Mr. Ezeobi encapsulates the mantra of hard work, diligence and faith which every Anambra youth needs to imbibe as core values to be transformed into a new Onye Anambra.
Confident in the quality of his product, Ezeobi said he voluntarily invites quality assurance to evaluate the quality of his products. He then narrated how he started his pure water factory in the same place where his Zobis Cable now stands. Before then, he was helping to offload yam, harvested by farmers and brought to the shore by boats in the same Ogbaru. Today, in that same Ogbaru, he now owns one of the largest cable industries in Africa, with a compelling vision to expand further. This is the same story of many successful businessmen and women in Nnewi, Onitsha and elsewhere. There is absolutely nothing wrong with starting small while walking towards a big dream. This is an important lesson because nothing speaks to a success founded on a clear vision more than the traces left behind by the journey to that success. This is what Governor Soludo calls wealth with industry. There is always a story behind every success, and when such stories are missing, that is when wealth and growth become unexplainable. Such wealth becomes a vice. But, unfortunately, we are in an age where so many people flaunting wealth are not able to explain how they came about the money they flaunt. For others, there is no story and no history. This is inconsistent with the new Onye Anambra who is tactful, like those in our past, focused on building honestly and diligently.
For John Ezeobi, at just 42 years, he is standing as a source of inspiration to a generation in search of mentors and honest people making a difference. Beyond his current vast industrial empire in Anambra State and Abuja, Ezeobi has a persuasive long-term vision for a full industrial complex, with full administrative and research arms covering a large expanse of land in Ogbaru. No real success rests satisfied on what has already been accomplished. Mr. Ezeobi is not just a man who has built an industry and business and made a fortune from it. His story is a demonstration that a man’s vision can become the hope of generations. This is the whole essence of the youth reformation agenda. One youth can make a whole difference!
Taking us round the industry, I quickly observed such a rare cordiality between Mr. Ezeobi and his staff. Throughout the various sections of the industry, the cordiality remained the same. He expressed pride in the work of his staff and announced to us his pride in their work ethic. Right inside the Zobis Cable complex, there are well-built, polished, and furnished staff quarters, with a gym house for his staff. Then, by the entrance to the complex, he has a hospital that was built and equipped to attend to Zobis Cable staff members, as well as members of the host community. There are even more staff quarters coming up behind the hospital. Mr. Ezeobi has not only founded an industry, but he has empowered a community and built a functional system of service and public responsibility around his brand.
Anambra youths aspiring to play in the industrial component of the State can look up to Ezeobi, and many like him, and be inspired to make a difference through honest means.
About Author
