By Willy Eya

“Greatness is a property for which no man can receive credit too soon; it must be possessed long before it is acknowledged.”

When one of the world’s greatest thinkers, Ralph Waldo Emerson handed down the above words of wisdom, those he had in mind were certainly the likes of

Dr Daniel N. Chukwudozie, the founding Chairman, Dozzy Group of Companies.

For the trail-blazing business mogul and industrialist par excellence from Okija, Anambra State, it is certainly impossible to gloss over his attributes for greatness.

It is little wonder that the University of Calabar and Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effuru, Delta State would today, March 11 and March 14, 2017, respectively confer on him honorary doctorate degrees in Business Administration (honoris causa).

Those who are familiar with the exploits of Chukwudozie who went into business in 1982 as a trader would not be surprised that such respected institutions have chosen to bestow on him with such honour within a space of three days. But like they say, a goldfish has no hiding place.

Dozzy Group which started as an indigenous company metamorphosed into a conglomerate under the name of Dozzy Nigeria Limited – dealing in belt and general goods imported from Europe and Asia.

As a workaholic and a man who is always craving to explore new grounds in business, Chukwudozie established Dozzy Oil and Gas Limited and subsidiar¬ies including: Speciality Oil Company Nigeria Limited, Dozzy Plastic Industries Limited, Dozzy Gut¬troff Gas Limited, Lubricant Manufacturing Oxygen/Industrial Gas Production, Industri¬al automotive household as well as high pre¬cision plastic products, manufacturing wigs/hair attachments, artificial human hair and oil and gas supply and distribution. The Federal Government has given approval for the Dozzy Group to build a private jetty for oil depot in Calabar which will foster discharge of larger parcels of petro-leum products.

He believes in empowering people and has a work¬force of over 2000 staff.

Chukwudozie has also demonstrated notable cordial relationship with staff and regulatory bodies, customers and suppliers. He once said: “We are not the loud type and except for the serious operators in the down-stream sector of the petroleum indus¬try, many Nigerians may not even know that we are a force to reckon with in the marketing and distribution of petroleum products and lubricants.

“It takes a serious and patriotic group in the pres¬ent circumstances to build a petroleum prod¬uct storage depot that is capable of handling 120million liters of assorted petroleum prod¬ucts at once. We are happy the facility which we built in Calabar has helped to address the scarcity and the attendant high prices of pe¬troleum products in most of the South-South, South-East and parts of Northern Nigeria.”

On his philosophy of life, he said that “Leadership mentor¬ing culture, suitable team, unique and reli¬able product and service delivery channels, conformity of product and service with in¬ternational and national standards and policy of giving back to the host communities and the society result in business success as well as impacts society.”

In its profile, the Mission of the Dozzy Group is to “ excel and maintain a strong lead in the various types of businesses we engage in, through a strong and consistent emphasis on high quality and social responsibility”.

On the vision, “the Group aspires to be one of Nigeria’s best regarded conglomerates, measured by our performance and driven by a total commitment to our core values and philosophies.”

About a year ago, the eminent businessman completed and handed over a magnificent three-storey school building in honour of his late Mother, Lady Hannah Ugoyibo Chukwudozie, Mama Dozzy to the Anglican Church, diocese on the Niger.

Inaugurating the school building at St James Church Awada, Bishop of Anglican Diocese on the Niger, Right Reverend Dr Owen Nwokolo had announced that the school Wisdom Foundation Nursery/Primary School planted in 1985 has changed to Lady Hannah Model Schools in memory of Dozzy’s late mother—late Hannah Ugoyibo Chukwudozie.

In his sermon, Bishop Nwokolo insisted that wealth can never satisfy man’s want but an act of charity to the glory of God could leverage one’s name for eternity. He pointed out that the edifice by the Chukwudozie’s has become a monumental asset for the memory of not only her late mother but for the remembrance of the family name for good and challenged Christians to always take positive steps at all times to immortalize their names for Christ.

Bishop Nwokolo eulogised Dozzy oil CEO for not being carried away by money and all that money could buy and remembered to continue to register his name in the annals of history to the glory of God.

He was recently honoured by the Grassroots Newspaper publishers as the Industrialist of the year and have recorded many awards to his name. He was voted the most respected Ni¬gerian C.E.O 2010 by This Day Newspaper, Award of Excellence by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council amongst others.

Related News

 


 

Chukwudozie: Zero to hero

By Ingram Osigwe

The popular cliché, ‘first impression sticks’ is not applicable to Chief Daniel Chukwudozie.If you profile and categorize him based on the spur of the moment kind of judgment, then you have done so using the wrong barometer and faulty premise. This is because at first encounter, you are confronted with a man you could pass for a middle income earner. He wears no airs and there are none around him. He is as simple as air itself. The calm ambience he exudes is just natural. He is just being himself.

However, many would be shocked to later learn that this unassuming Youngman who mingles with the lowly and the downtrodden without discrimination is a workaholic, a business czar, corporate tiger and sits atop multi-billion dollars investments spanning several interests. Chukwudozie is a tested industrialist and an achiever-a job creator, an employer of labour and a philanthropist. And he makes no noise about these.

The mark he has made in the Oil and Gas sector is indelible and his contributions to the economic growth of his fatherland undeniable. This is why Chief  Daniel Chukwudozie,Chairman of Dozzy Oil and Gas will be the cynosure of all eyes today at the University of Calabar as he stands shoulder high to be honoured by that respected citadel of learning.

The University of Calabar is conferring an Honorary Doctorate Degree on him. And all roads leads to that beautiful city as Chukwudozie’s friends, well-wishers and business partners empty there to celebrate a man who they say is a source of inspiration to budding entrepreneurs.

The institution’s decision to honour Chukwudozie confirms that his recent award of The Authority Icon by Authority Newspaper was well deserved. Essentially, besides The Authority Icon award and today’s conferment on Chukwudozie, the Oil and Gas Magnate has the Industrialist of the year award from Grassroots Newspapers Publishers Association, the most respected Nigerian  CEO award (2010) by This Day Newspaper among others, in his kitty.

Chukwudozie’s rise to the top was not a one-step movement. It was a humble beginning for a humble man. The inter play of factors that would establish him as one of Nigeria’s reputable captains of industry shaped Chukwudozie’s principle and philosophy of life and business-humility, honesty and hard work. His unassuming nature and infectious humility explain why he does not trumpet his numerous philanthropic gestures. One of these philanthropist acts was the construction and handover of a magnificent three storey school building to St. James Anglican Church, Awada, Onitsha.

Having lost his father at a young age, vicissitude and obfuscation became the family’s companion as his poor mother toiled to raise him and his siblings. But the young Chukwudozie would not allow poverty to limit him. He thus forcefully brushed aside vagaries of life to embrace hard work, and then reaped subsequent strings success in the business arena. Starting off as a trader in 1982, through the dint of hard work and resilience, Chukwudozie nurtured and expanded his trade, transforming it into a limited liability company under the name, Dozzy Nigeria Limited.

The Oil and Gas sector of the Group came on stream in 1994 with the incorporation of Dozzy Oil and Gas. The sector has grown to become the Group’s flagship. Dozzy Oil and Gas operation is anchored on four areas: Blending, distribution, industrial Gas and Liquefied petroleum Gas. Dozzy Oil and Gas depots are well entrenched in Nigeria’s three strategic, main port cities of Lagos, Port Harcourt and Calabar. Dozzy Oil and Gas is determined to meet Nigeria’s energy needs and this why the company’s combined capacity of oil storage will be 200,000 metric tons when fully installed.

Chukwudozie enthuses about his company’s success story: “It takes a serious patriotic group in the present circumstances to build a petroleum product storage depot that is capable of handling 120 million litres of assorted petroleum products at once. We are happy the facility which we built in Calabar has helped to address the attendant high prices of petroleum products in most of the South south, South east and parts of Northern Nigeria”

Dozzy Oil and Gas’ sister company, Specialty Oil, is into blending of base oil into different brands. With a state of the art and fully installed blending plant at Onitsha, Anambra State, the company has the capacity to blend 48 million litres of oil on continuous shift production roster.

Chukwudozie exudes patriotic fervor. Having tasted poverty and deprivation, the Dozzy Group boss goes about doing good-putting smiles on the faces of his fellow country men and women through philanthropic gestures and job creation. For example, he has over 300 skilled and unskilled combined workforces on his payroll in Dozzy Oil and Gas. The combined total workforce of the conglomerate stands at about 2,000.

Chukwudozie believes that mentoring culture, suitable team, unique and reliable product and service delivery channels, conformity of product and service with international and national standard policy of giving back to the host communities and the society result in business success as well as impacts on society”

Married to Lady Ada Chukwudozie, a Chemical Engineer and  a publisher, the Dozzy Group boss hails from Okija in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State.Chukwudozie is one of illustrious sons of Okija that have put the community on world map by executing many high profile people-oriented infrastructural projects.

Chukwudozie the gold fish has no hiding place hence the University of Calabar easily spotted him and earmarked him for honour. As he stands before a sea of academics, family members, friends and well-wishers to receive honorary academic laurel today, many agree that for a man with a large, kind and generous heart; a silent achiever and a blessing to humanity, his community, Okija and fatherland, Nigeria, the conferment of Honorary Doctorate Degree (Honouris Causa) is a fitting recognition.

• Ingram Osigwe wrote from Lagos.