THE UNTOLD STORIES OF DR. SAM MBAKWE

THE UNTOLD STORIES OF DR. SAM MBAKWE

THE UNTOLD STORIES OF DR. SAM MBAKWE

Chief Dr. Samuel Onunaka Mbakwe, fondly called Dee Sam, was the first democratically elected governor of Imo State during Nigeria’s Second Republic.

He governed from October 1, 1979 to December 31, 1983. That is four years and three months.

Dr Sam Mbakwe remains deeply revered for his visionary leadership, developmental drive, and commitment to grassroots empowerment.

The old Imo State was so massive, it covered the territories of today’s Imo, Abia, Enugu, and Ebonyi States combined. He was governor of all of it. And he didn’t have the kind of oil revenue today’s governors enjoy.

Despite financial constraints and federal government neglect, Mbakwe’s ability to mobilize resources, including communal contributions, showed his capacity for creative governance.

In fact, despite not being part of the ruling party and facing financial challenges from the federal government, he was nicknamed “the crying governor”, not because he was weak, but because he was visibly moved by the suffering of his people. He cried, and then he built.

No story captures Dee Sam’s spirit better than the Sam Mbakwe International Airport. It was the first state-owned airport in Nigeria, built through local community efforts and financial contributions from Ndi Igbo. Think about that for a moment.
The federal government wasn’t going to give him an airport, so he went to the people. He mobilized them. Such was Mbakwe’s ability to inspire and galvanize that he once mobilized most of his followers to the site of the airport project to work manually and patriotically towards its realization, which then seemed like climbing Mount Everest.

Today, that airport bears his name. It is a monument to what collective will and purposeful leadership can achieve.

Dee Sam, understood that a people who cannot feed themselves cannot develop. So he built farms, not small token farms, but serious, large-scale agricultural enterprises.

He built the Avutu Poultry Farm in Obowo which was once the largest poultry farm in West Africa, providing employment and a steady supply of poultry products, contributing to both the local and regional economy.

He also built the Ada Palm, the Adapalm plantation in Ohaji/Egbema/Oguta, which became the biggest palm plantation in the entire South East and South South, processing palm produce at scale and employing thousands.

He also built the Golden Chicken Poultry Farm in Ukwa, in present-day Abia State, another large-scale agricultural investment.
He built The Aluminum Extrusion Industry in Inyishi, designed to support the construction industry with locally produced aluminum materials.

He also built The Resin and Paint Manufacturing Plant in Aboh Mbaise.

He built the Imo Glass Industry, the Standard Shoe Industry, and the Nsu Ceramic Industry. The Imo Tiles Industry at Nsu in Mbano and the iconic Concorde Hotel in Owerri

Dee Sam truly separated himself from those who governed with press releases. He established over 100 industrial and commercial enterprises across Imo, Abia, and parts of Ebonyi States.

Dr. Sam Mbakwe believed that educated people were the real infrastructure of any state.
In 1981, Sam Mbakwe set up Imo State University, with the campus located in territory that was later ceded to Abia State in 1991 and re-christened Abia State University. But the vision didn’t stop there.
He also established the College of Technology Nekede, today’s Federal Polytechnic Nekede, a hub producing engineers, technicians, and innovators, as well as the College of Agriculture Umuagwo, a solid foundation for agro-based development and youth employment.

Decades have passed. Multiple governors have come and gone. Some have had more money, more federal goodwill and yet, when people in the South East want to point to what good governance looks like, they still point to a man who served one term and was removed by soldiers in 1983.

God bless his soul 🙏