BENIN CITY – A United Kingdom (UK) based Businessman from Benin, Mr. Monday Ohuimuwen has rallied Edos in Diaspora, consisting of Benins, Esans and Afemai to partner with the Palace of the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II in order to have a specialised market established in Benin City for used machineries and domestic appliances.
Speaking with The NIGERIAN OBSERVER, from his UK base, Mr. Ohuimuwen who has been involved in International Trade for over two decades stated that the Group, Edos in Diaspora, has contacted the palace at the movement to inform it that such a project will soon take off in Benin City.
According to the International businessman, “we want the palace to help us with a land and we are suing for the Omo N’Oba’s support which will do a lot in the area of Public Relations and advertisement.”
He further explained that the way the Group intends to work is to get Edos in Diaspora to pull resources together to form a cooperative and the money so gathered will be invested in used machineries and domestic appliances like cars, spare parts engines, fridges, cookers, clothings such as towels, plates, cutleries, pots and pans, etc.
According to him: “We will have a specialised market, where a lot of people in Europe will pull let’s say 50 Euros or pounds. That money will be used to send the goods to Nigeria.”
He further revealed that, “the good thing about it is that before the present Oba of Benin came to the throne, I was privy to it, as I was very active in the palace then. In one of his interviews, the Oba stated that he likes to have something like a market for the Diaspora where they will sell imported used machineries like I have mentioned. The Oba knows what we are saying.”
On the modalities for selling the goods, Mr. Monday Ohuimuwen said: “These goods will be sent to different local governments markets where our brothers and sisters from the various villages will come and buy. Some of these local government areas have boundaries with other states, such as Delta, Kogi and Kwara, which will further buy from us and it will spread. These border states do not have as many people in Diaspora as we are.”
He stressed that arrangements have reached advanced stage for the planned specialised Diaspora market to take off soon and pleaded with the palace of the Oba of Benin to facilitate the take-off in terms of logistics support and provision of the site to be used for the Diaspora market.
