…As Aba Book Club begins preparation to mark 113th Anniversary of the commercial city, as a British colonial division
Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State was created to serve as a commercial and industrial powerhouse of the old Eastern Region.
Osondu Mbonu, the curator of Aba Book Club, while narrating the history of Aba, at a press conference to announce the start of activities to mark the 113th anniversary of Aba, as a British colonial division, stated that the commercial city is arguably the most cosmopolitan city in Nigeria’s South-East zone, which has a history that dates back to centuries long before the present era.
He noted that Aba was also originally supposed to serve as a feeder town, creating an arterial economic nexus between Port Harcourt, as a port city and other towns in the region.
This according to him, is evidenced in the number of local and foreign industries, including chains of European stores, whose presence were physically felt in the city, following the 1915 construction of railway therein, even up to the 1990s.
A few of these multinational corporations, include GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical Company, United Africa Company (UAC) Paterson Zochonis (PZ), G.B Olivent , Bata Corporation, John Holt, Leventis Motors, Unilever, and others that sprang up before the Civil War in 1967.
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He explained that Aba still thrives in multiple sectors like, fabrics, finished leathers goods manufacturing of shoes, bags, belts and Grinch box, automobile spare parts, mobile phone repair services, garment manufacturing with other numerous scalable small and medium enterprises, as well as ancillary works.
Mbonu stated also that Nigeria’s Nollywood industry started in Aba.
In his words, “The history of Nollywood itself, as we know it today, will never be a complete package without Aba, where movies like Lost Kingdom, Missing Mask, Conspiracy to mention a few were shot”.
Mbonu said that Aba’s contribution to the nation and world at large must be celebrated, regardless of the challenges, which is why the Aba Book Club is commemorialising the 113th anniversary of the creation of the city, by then British colonial authorities, as a division.
He called on government’s at all levels, opinion leaders, religious leaders, captains of industry, corporate organisations within and outside Aba to partner and support the Book Club to make the event a success.
According to him, “we need to celebrate the philanthropic gestures of men like Ugorli Eke, whose lives deserve immortalisation on the streets, just as we also need to talk about the hospitable Ngwa people, whose receptiveness remains unmatched to this day.
“Currently, the Book Club has undertaken the bold initiative of reimagening Aba with a view to churning out a better narrative , not the “China of Africa”, the “Japan of Africa”, or just a place of buying and selling, but boldly and unashamedly as Aba, the “Enyimba City”, as the city is known”, Mbonu stated.
