There is a saying by the former british prime minister Mr Tony Blair that the best philanthropy is not just about giving money but giving leadership. The best philanthropists bring the gifts that made them successful—the drive, the determination, the refusal to accept that something can’t be done if it needs to be—into their philanthropy.
In order to get a better grasp of the subject matter of this discourse. I am going to take the three keywords in the quote above, the drive , the determination, and the refusal to accept that something can't be done if it needs to be done in analysing the man ,Ifeanyichukwu Ubah.
Determination is a keyword that occupies a prominent position whenever the topic in discourse has to do with an Ifeanyi Ubah, and I will give instances
You will agree with me that it takes uncommon drive of a different level for a son of a poor teacher to attend school, drop out at some point , become a trade apprentice (nwa boi), become a trader and then re invent himself by dint of pure determination and handwork into becoming a millionaire as a 19 year old teenager. This 19 year old teen who has now found himself swimming in wealth did not decide to announce to the world that he has arrived by flaunting wealth and indulging in vices propelled by youthful exuberance.
He made the choice to get married at age 21 and organise his life !
Ifeanyi Ubah returned to Nigeria and took the petroleum sector by storm, where he became one of the major players with his conglomerate, capital oil, and gas Ltd . With his activities in Capital Oil and gas with its massive tank farm, Ifeanyi Ubah controlled about 40% of the entire oil business and bestrode the sector like a collosus.
Determination to make a difference in human capital development, saw Ifeanyi Ubah venture into the murky waters of poliitcs , a sector that his fellow billionaires in Nigeria dread to dare into .
The question then becomes, what was his motive ?
It is on record that Ifeanyi Ubah is one of the biggest philanthropists in the country . It is also a well-known fact that he was sponsoring various political office holders in the southeast with his personal resources and handing them one singular mandate .....Go and help our people break out from the chains of poverty
Being unsatisfied with the way several political office holders that he had sponsored in the past performed on the mandate above, he made the decision to personally venture into public office and by so doing show by example that quality representation is all about the will, the ideas and the love that one holds in store for his people.
In 2019, Ifeanyi Ubah emerged as an elected senator from a newly registered political party the Young Progressives Party (YPP) and had the presence of mind to take advantage of a Senate rule on committee membership to make a case for his party and ended up becoming a member of over 36 committees in the red Chambers.
He did this by making a case to his colleagues on noticing the provision of a Senate Act that stipulates that every political party in the Red Chambers be represented in all the standing committes in the Senate. Being the only YPP Senator in the Red Chambers, he had his way and became a member of over 36 committees
Ifeanyi Ubah's landslide victory with his then unknown political party was a loud statement of endorsement from a grateful people who reciprocated his well-known track records in human capital development.
It took immense determination for him to perform where others would have come up with excuses as he got confronted in his first year in office with court cases from his political opponents, followed closely the following year 2020 by the Convid-19 Pandemic that took the entire globe by surprise .
Senator Ubah quickly applied the third factor in Mr Blair's definition of philanthropism by refusing to accept that something can't be done if it needs to be and rose to the occasion by organising sons and daughters of Anambra as well as some of his colleagues in the National Assembly, and they donated funds totalling over half a billion Naira which he used in quickly building and equipping hospitals and isolation centres in Nnamdi Azikiwe UniversityTeaching Hospitals in Awka and Nnewi while the one billed for college of education Nzugbe was scuttled by the former Governor Obiano for political reasons.
Next came the Endsars protests, and one recalls with nostalgia how Senator Ubah once again rose to the occasion and came out without security to mobilise the restive youths into saving lives and properties in the commercial town of nnewi, ichi , oraifite and other neighbouring communities.
When one removes the aforementioned first two years , the realisation comes in that Senator Dr Ifeanyi Ubah's projects dropped in the entire 119 wards in Anambra South Senatorial District were all done in the last 1 year plus.
During the same period in review , Senator Dr Ifeanyi Ubah also got to his credit , a bill passed into law by the president on his sick bed in London to underscore its critical importance to the revenue needs of the country.
His colleagues, on seeing this uncommon drive in Senator Ubah, decided to break long-standing traditions of the Red Chambers and crowned him the prince of the 9th Senate
Recall also that Senator Ifeanyi Ubah has succeeded in placing 50 units each of the specially made solar powered streetlights in the entire wards that comprise the Senatorial District.
Recall also that Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah has since flagged off operation Secure And Light Up Anambra South Project through which he is presently collaborating with the state government in driving away criminality from the zone.This he did by donating 500 million Naira worth of security Equipments and walkie-talkies for use in securing the Senatorial District. Over one thousand youths are also being emgaged in security training on intelligence gathering and vigilante services in preparation for deployment into the security architecture of the Senatorial District.
Today, his efforts have started yielding fruits as businesses are once again beginning to flourish in the zone, while our people are now engaging in night trading courtesy of the streetlights and the present aura of safety
While delivering on his core legislative mandate , which is law making by having a bill already passed into law to his credit, as well as several other key bills in the pipeline such as the Orthopaedic hospital billed for Ukpor , the Federal Medical Centre Uli, the Petroleum Tankers Safety Institute Oraifite, the Sickle Cell Research and Treatment Centre billed for Nanka and many others. Senator Ubah also made sure that in delivering projects in the entire wards, he also simultaneously was empowering the men, women, and the youths in the Senatorial District . From buying SUV jeeps for the entire traditional rulers in the district to several other empowerment programs and interventions too numerous to mention in this treatise .
Not resting on his oars ,Senator Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah has again secured in the 2023 budget ,a start-up capital fund of 500k each for 50 youths in every local government in Anambra South Senatorial District.
If Senator Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah (nwa onye nkuzi) can do all these in less than two years of unhindered astute representation and in the process changed the narrative in the Senatorial District .
One does not require the services of a soothsayer to know that Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah, who has also kept faith with his party (YPP), has indeed performed and broken records in service delivery and deserves to be re-elected
If indeed all public office holders can display similar dexterity in attracting quality projects and human capital development to their people. The nation will have been much better than it presently is .
Indeed , when the righteous and contented is in power ,the people truly rejoice.
It is now 6 days to the D day, and the opportunity that the people are yearning for to reciprocate the Senator's performance by voting massively for his return for the second term is almost at hand.
To God be the glory
Kamen Chuks Ogbonna
Head media and strategic communications to Senator Dr Ifeanyi Ubah.