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When Chief Ikechi Emenike started attending international economic summits in the late 1980s, he made an observation that depressed his spirit, but stirred up a latent sense of self-worth and racial justice. Of all the publications that circulated in those fora where important global issues were discussed, none was published by an African. The implication was that while African diplomats and leaders regularly attended those conferences, they had no outlet for their opinions since few European-owned publications would deign publish their views or protests.
Thoroughly incensed by the disadvantaged position Africa was placed in, Chief Emenike decided to champion the black man’s cause by "adding African view to global discourse". For his efforts, the publisher won himself the quaint title of "Mr. Africa" among appreciative African conference delegations and others who empathised with him. He founded a newspaper, AnnualMeetings Daily to complement the magazine, The African Economy, which had already established as an authoritative voice of Africa in the international media space. Together, the two are the only African-owned publications that have won accreditation by the World Bank and IMF, the African Development Bank, the Commonwealth, the African Union and sundry other global institutions. Today, these publications have become standard fair at the meetings, conferences and summits of these international institutions, conspicuously available regardless of the location anywhere in the world. Chief Emenike and his retinue of journalists and support staff have been to every continent in the world, giving African leaders the voice they so desperately need to remain relevant in the global scheme of things. He argues that "Africa is not only endowed with the requisite resources needed for economic development, but also have the intellectual stuff to contribute to world affairs". Having made a mark in the international arena, it occurred to Chief Emenike that, his own home, Nigeria ought to serve as a base for his foray outwards. Since charity had not begun at home, he reasoned that it might as well end there. He chose politics as the vehicle for giving voice to his own people. In 2003, he contested in a primary election to enable him run for senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from his home state, Abia. He was thwarted due to a controversial post-election, intra-party manoeuvre. Undaunted he stepped up his game and ran a well-coordinated governorship race that again ended in controversy and legal tussle that is yet to resolve itself. Chief Emenike’s motivation for running for public office is discernible from the articulate manifesto he published during the campaign phase. A stickler for order and punctuality, he was first to hit the hustings preaching against the "obnoxious notion that Africa cannot achieve first-world type of development". He warned that such stereotyping was "too dangerous for hope, too inimical to our dignity and too ominous for our children and grandchildren". To further bring the message home, he drew parallels from his international exposure: "If Singapore can do it", he told his listeners, "Abia (his home state), nay Nigeria, can equally do it". He certainly knew what he was talking about. He likened Aba, the chief commercial city of Abia State to Dubai and Singapore. Going back memory lane when Aba was a bustling commercial hub of West Africa, he rekindled the dream of making the city the pride of the entire eastern region. He envisioned modern shopping malls, integrated transportation system including an airport to bring in shoppers from outside the state, and neighbouring countries. Offering to work as Chief Marketing/Commercial Officer, he dreamt of making a well-worn phrase, "made-in-Aba", a term to be truly proud of. Most ingenious of all his ideas was the proposal to inaugurate Nigeria’s first social security scheme. Chief Emenike pledged to pay all indigent citizens of the state above 75 year of age a monthly stipend of N500 if he became governor. Having had useful and humbling experience in community philanthropy, he believed that this vulnerable segment of society needed all the assistance they could get. "The small stipend, he explained, "would restore in them a sense of belonging in the community as many feel they are on the fringe and alienated". More importantly, Chief Emenike’s economist’s mind figured that "such payment would boost community economy as these senior citizens would be able to patronize local, small-scale businesses". Unfortunately, the grand mess that the 2007 elections turned out to be has stifled these lofty schemes and other progressive ideas, but not Chief Emenike’s fertile mind. What he could not achieve via the political, public route, he would in his private capacity as a successful publisher. And this is even more significant in this year of his golden anniversary. He was born on April 10, 1958, and hails from Umukabia Okpuala, Ohuhu in Abia State. Programmed for entry into the Nigerian media market, is a new economic magazine, The Economy, which Chief Emenike says will redefine financial and economic journalism in the country. To the publisher, true fulfilment, will come only after his publications become established as catalysts for economic progress at home as in the international circuit where he has made his mark. The international news magazine The African Economy and AnnualMeetings Daily newspaper are unabashedly Afro-centric. The Economy, a cross between a magazine and newspaper will take the message to its logical conclusion: awaken the consciousness of Nigerian entrepreneurs, while highlighting the innumerable opportunities literally floating all over Nigeria’s economic landscape. Chief Emenike maintains that he could do no less for a country that provided the platform for his own phenomenal growth in global publishing. His true dream is to create institutions that will throw up world-beaters in all fields of human endeavour. His commitment, his patriotism and his passion are rare in these shores. Mr. Akpederi, a media consultant, is based in Lagos.
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