Today I feel privileged to celebrate an exceptionally outstanding Ingenious man. He is popularly known as Nana but his full name is Enyinnaya Nwafor,an Engineer by profession. An Abian by birth.
Nana is well known for his spectacular break through’s: first as a civil Engineer, a philantropist and an Industrialist.He has proven pedigree in the design and construction of durable structures, like roads, buildings and bridges. He has also distinguished himself as an unassuming power broker whose maverick approach to issues of Power and Control unsettles the lily-livered. Nana is eclectic.
Nana is chiefly associated with Aid one Each one foundation. Just recently, he chose to feed all the junior civil servants in the 17 local Govt. Arears of Abia state. He can go for a collosus of sort.
My encounter with Nana was as revealing as it was impactful. On this historic stint, I felt a touch of conscientiousness,diligence, humanity and class.Though, seemingly soft spoken, his emotions however determines his demeanor to an extent. Nana has a near omniscient knowledge of everything that pertains to now.
On that fateful day we had worked into this ambitious facility, located at km 4 Aba/ Enugu express way (on the left before the Osisioma flyover when coming from Enugu), not knowing exactly what awaited us. But I must quickly confess that the content in this architectural container is far beyond the imaginations the exterior could evoke.
The last I saw of such well equipped furniture factory, with such state of the art equipment, was an Italian company, called Prodeco, part of the conglomerate owned under the Intels group.
Prodeco facility could not excite me, as much, because I know they are owned by some Nigerians/Italian expertriates with versed global connections and weight.
Nana is neither a foreign expert nor a political office holder but a consummate industrialist whose love, to touch lives, motivated him to establish a company that is not only reputable for class and quality but one that will enhance capital development and skills acquisition in line with the avowed visions of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu.
“Hallowed hands” furniture company is 100 per cent Nigeria.” Nana revealed. Although his machines were imported overseas and of course installed by the OEM, but Nana ensured that as soon as the expertriates were done with the installation his business with them ended . His reasons: ” the cost of paying an expert is equivalent to what it will cost to keep ten or more of my brothers from Abia state.” He stressed. “Why will I keep forigners when my brothers in Aba are endowed with as much quantum of ingenuity ,if not more, than the fair skinned experts.” He continued ,more enthusiastically, “I took my time to survey the raw materials and capital replete in Aba and within Nigeria and I discovered that, aside the equipment, every other thing I needed to run this factory is endowed in my people.”
By the date we visited, about , 100 Abians were already employed at different strata of engagement by this company that is less than a year.
I am extremely proud of Nana Nwafor. He represent that obscured Nigerian vision with unarguable global endowment and appeal. He is a man of today, tomorrow and the future. His finished products are ,in every standard, world class !
“Hallowed Furniture” could stand in the gap of luxury, for the contemporary bougousis without losing the modesty deserving of the lowly. While it pride of prices so competitive and affordable ,it also exudes a quality so irresistible!
In Engr. Nana Nwafor I can make bold to say that, indeed, “Maduforo.”
