Mathias Nwafor Ugochukwu (1926–1990) was a prominent

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

businessman from

Anambra State Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi State ...

. A leading industrialist from the Eastern Region of Nigeria, he played a pioneering role in large scale manufacturing in the region. He was sometimes called by his alias, Ugobuzuo. He was a friend to various

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a t ...

politicians such as

K. O. Mbadiwe Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe (1915–1990) was a Nigerian nationalist, politician, statesman and government minister in the Nigerian First Republic.and a Biafran Roving ambassador during th civil war. Early life Mbadiwe was born to the family of Mbad ...

and the former Nigerian Vice President,

Alex Ekwueme Alexander Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme (21 October 1932 – 19 November 2017) was the first elected Vice President of Nigeria from 1979 to 1983 during the Second Nigerian Republic serving under President Shehu Shagari as a member of the National Pe ...

. His relationship with the vice president may have led to his detention under the administration of General

Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 Au ...

Life

Mathias Ugochukwu was born in Nsogwu,

Umunze Umunze is the headquarters of Orumba south local government area in Anambra state of Nigeria. Its geographic coordinates are 5° 58′ 0″ north, 7° 13′ 0″ east. History The name Umunze was derived from the name of the originator "Nze" ...

in the present Orumba South L.G.A of Anambra state. He attended

St Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

's Primary School, Umunze. After completing his primary education, he left for Jos to work as a residential caretaker for Rufus "Ofor Jos" Ofor, an Igbo businessman from Enugwu-ukwu, Anambra State. However, hoping for more opportunity, he left Jos and joined the police force in present-day Anambra State. Before joining the force, he was involved in minor trading. As an officer, he entered and won 50,000 pounds in the Irish Sweepstake. After collecting the sum, he found private enterprise more fulfilling and productive; he entered business full-time. As a businessman, he founded many firms, forming a strong conglomerate. He established a transport company, and formed a business venture with John Holt, later becoming the chairman of John Holt Inc. He also invested heavily in spare parts, textile importation and real estate development. As a leading Igbo businessman, he was the chairman of the board of directors of the African Development Corporation, the board also had C.T Onyekwelu and Louis Ojukwu as members. The company was part of a project to encourage African entrepreneurship and was supported by N.C.N.C. In 1964, he was appointed chairman of the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank, becoming its first chairman. During the 1970s, he bought various subsidiaries of John Holt as part of an

Indigenization Indigenization is the act of making something more native; transformation of some service, idea, etc. to suit a local culture, especially through the use of more indigenous people in public administration, employment and other fields. The term is ...

decree; he was one of the few Igbo businessmen with enough capital to acquire shares in the multi-national firms of Nigeria.

References

*Tom G. Forrest, The advance of African capital: the growth of Nigerian private enterprise, International African Institute, Edinburgh University Press/University of Virginia Press, August 1994. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ugochukwu, Mathias Igbo businesspeople 1990 deaths 1926 births Igbo people People from Anambra State People from Umunze 20th-century Nigerian businesspeople