Hon. Chinwe Ugwu
There is a common maxim that some men
are born greatest, some attain greatness while some had greatness
bestowed on them. In another vein, the Holy Scriptures made us to
understand that a prophet is without honour except in his own place. One
of the most successful Nigerian businessman, industrialist and
philanthropist, Sir Emeka Offor is a man who achieved success, fame and
greatness through hard work but is unfortunately not given commensurate
accolades by the society, particularly in Igboland where he hails from.
Due to the fact that he is not given to blowing his trumpet, Offor who
sits atop a business conglomerate that spans power, oil and gas and
other areas of the economy keeps a low profile lifestyle. He is indeed
an unsung hero. Offor’s philosophy of life is to attain excellence
through hardwork, dedication and honesty. And as he clearly stated “I
want to make my mark. Actually, I want to make two marks. One as an
excellent businessman who has built a group of companies that will stand
the test of time. Two, to be as good at giving as I am at turning a
profit. I hope to set an example for the next generation of successful
Nigerian businessmen who will know they can make money while also making
a difference”
Born of a humble parentage in the
railway commercial nerve centre of Kafanchan in Kaduna state, the son of
a policeman braved the odds to become the successful businessman,
community leader, philanthropist and family man that he is today. A very
humble and humane achiever, Offor is detribalized Nigerian who accords
respect to the sanctity of life and the existence of God. Offor in one
of his media interviews described himself thus: “I am simply Sir Emeka
Offor, the son of a policeman, born in Kafanchan. I stand for
excellence. I am a goal-getter. I set big personal goals and enjoy the
challenge of achieving the extraordinary and being the best I can be. I
am a firm believer in the old Christian values of hard work and
dedication to duty, and am an ardent admirer of these qualities in
others”.
Offor is the chairman of the Chrome
Group, which has extensive domestic and international business
experience in numerous sectors of the economy. A dynamic and hard-flying
entrepreneur, he has the wherewithal to excel where others fail due to
his strength of character, vision and dedication to any cause he chooses
to pursue. The Chrome Group was founded in 1994 and based in Abuja is a
major player in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.
Due to his penchant for threading on
paths dreaded by other men, Sir Offor could not allow his humble
background to deter him from attaining Olympic heights in life.
Consequently, he has doggedly consigned poverty to the background and
having tasted that side of life has vowed to erase tears from the faces
of average Nigerian child. He has made his mark both locally and
internationally in touching lives. As such the history of the fight
against polio in Nigeria cannot be written without the audacious
contributions of the Orafite-born billionaire and philanthropist. His
contributions toward the eradication of the disease have been
acknowledged locally and internationally. It is on record that he
remains the only Nigerian to have donated $1.250 million dollars in
addition to the Rotary Foundation polio plus programme, for the
eradication of polio in Nigeria. We are aware that Nigeria is the only
country in Africa where the incidence of Polio is still being recorded.
Similarly, the philanthropist through
his foundation, The Sir Emeka Offor Foundation has not relented in
ensuring that the menace of river blindness, one of the foremost eye
diseases in the tropics is eliminated in Nigeria. Offor has in keeping
with his avowed commitment to fight this disease to a standstill being
collaborating with the Carter Centre financially and morally. He had
contributed variously and at different times to the Carter Centre for
the purpose. For example, Offor had some time ago donated $250,000 to
the Carter Center, in support of its River Blindness Control Programme
in the South East states of Nigeria. Similarly, the Foundation had
donated the sum of €250,000 to endow a professorship of glaucoma in the
Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Mainz, Germany. This is
to assist research on the early detection and treatment of glaucoma. So
far, Offor has committed the sum of $10 million over a seven-year span
towards a complete elimination of river blindness.
In the area of education, he has
instituted scholarships and other programmes to assist indigent students
and uplift the standard of education in the country. A few years ago,
he signed a 7million-dollar contract with Books for Africa (BFA) for the
delivery of 32, 40 ft HQ containers of primary, secondary and
University texts from November 1 2011- November 1 2014. This singular
contract brought in over 640,00 books and assorted computers, which were
brought in and distributed to schools. Since then, Offor has ensured
that these books are distributed annually to all these institutions of
learning. Besides, presently thousands of students across the country
are enjoying Sir Emeka Offor’s scholarship at various educational
levels.
Just in April this year, Sir Emeka Offor
and His Excellency, Aminu Bello Masari, the Executive Governor of
Katsina signed into effect a Memorandum of Understanding between The Sir
Emeka Offor Foundation (SEOF) and the Katsina State Government where
the Foundation has committed to providing books and computers to higher
institutions in the state. The initiative is part of Sir Emeka Offor
Foundation’s continuing effort to promote literacy in the country and
the continent of Africa. The Foundation’s active partnership with an
Atlanta based non-governmental organization, “Books For Africa”, have
successfully facilitated the supply of books, reading materials and
computers worth more than $22 million to schools in over 18 countries in
the continent including Nigeria since its inception.
Not oblivious of the challenges faced by
widows in most of our communities, Sir Emeka Offor has developed a
special attention for the welfare of widows. In fact, the empowerment
programmes for widows go beyond the shores of this country. For example,
the widows in Orafite would always recall with nostalgia, when in
December 2012, the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation sponsored a delegation of
about 20 of them from Oraifite to India on a three week study visit to
the Talent research foundation. This group of women learnt a lot about
practices and activities that enhanced the economic, social and
political lives of the rural Indian populace. Areas of interest included
skill acquisition centers, small holder farms, orphanages,
rehabilitation centres and designated rural health centers. The Sir
Emeka Offor Foundation Widows Cooperative has since inception catered
for thousands of widows annually by given out bags of rice and other
food items to these women.
As a true son of Orafite, Sir Emeka
Offor has continued to identify with his people not only through charity
but also businesswise and job creation. As part of his resolve to
impact on his immediate community, Offor has set up a radio station,
Blaze 91.5 FM in Oraifite. Blaze 91.5 FM every 30th and 31st of December
hosts the Blaze blast concert where most “A “ list artistes in the
Nigerian Entertainment industry are brought in to thrill the audience
who do not have to pay a dime to have a swell time. The show which is
open to all and sundry is a platform which brings together south-east
youths and other youths across the country.
A man who recognizes that everything he
has comes from God, Emeka Offor built the Anglican Church that serves
the community and this edifice is a magnificent structure to behold. In
the area of infrastructure, he built the first access road from Oraifite
to Nnewi. It is also a well-known fact that he is the brain behind the
constant power source in Oraifite. He single handedly sponsors the New
yam festivities “Afiolu” in Oraifite.
Due to his humanitarian activities, Sir
Offor has been honoured both at home and abroad. He is a recipient of
several chieftaincy and other awards. In March this year, Sir Emeka
Offor, was honored by the Rotary International with an award as the
2015/16 International Service Award for a Polio-Free World in
recognition of his non-financial contribution to Polio eradication
throughout the region. The current Rotary International President, K.R.
Ravindran was present in Abuja with his wife Vanathy, to personally hand
over the award to Sir Emeka Offor at a lunch held in the latter’s
honor. The International Service Award for a Polio-Free World, according
to a top Rotarian is the first of its kind for a recipient from the
African country.
The former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria,
Howard F. Jeter (Ret.) was present at the lunch. In his brief comment,
he gave a broader insight in Sir Offor’s other humanitarian projects.
Speaking as a board member of SEOF, he highlighted the foundation’s
partnership with Books For Africa (BFA), a U.S. based organization.
Ambassador Jeter disclosed that SEOF’s partnership with BFA had
facilitated the delivery of over “2 million books and reading materials”
to over 18 African countries including Nigeria. He also spoke of an
ongoing collaboration with The Carter Center, another U.S. based
organization founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Rosalyn
Carter. The partnership according to Amb. Jeter is targeted at ridding
the five states of the southeast (Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo) and
two states of the south-south (Delta and Edo) of River Blindness.
This is just a tip of the iceberg of who
and what Sir Offor is and does; and what he stands for. But to properly
elucidate on his achievements and indelible contributions to the
society and nation building, one would need to write volumes of books
about him. This honourable son of Nigeria deserves not just a pat on the
back but an institution of his name and achievements in the sands of
times. The history of Nigeria can never be complete without the due
recognition of a man who has given his time, talents and resources to
the welfare of the less privilege and is still doing it. Sir Emeka Offor
God bless you the more!
Hon. Chinwe Ugwu is the Executive Director, Centre for Reform Education Initiative (CREI)
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