I am a past president of the Rotary Club and a Paul Harris fellow. Whereas the Rotary Club is committed to advancing global understanding, goodwill and peace, Paul Harris fellows are individuals who have made significant contributions to the Rotary Foundation. I was attracted to the club because of the opportunity to serve humanity with my talents. I leveraged my official capacity and embarked on a very ambitious food bank project during my tenure. I raised substantial funds from targeted high net worth individuals, triple-A companies, family, friends, and well-wishers. With the cooperation of my fellow Rotarians, I procured large consignments of foodstuff, clothing, and other materials directly from the manufacturers at concessionary prices. These items were subsequently distributed to various institutions of less privileged people in Nigeria like the Motherless Babies Home, Boys Remand Home, Pacelli School for the Blind, All Saints Orphanage, and the Wesley School for the Deaf and Dumb.
As I mentioned earlier, I was born in Accra, Ghana. I completed my primary school education and started my secondary school education in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. My secondary school education was truncated in 1967 by the Biafran war. I lived with my maternal grandparents until the end of the war in 1970, when I traveled back to Accra, Ghana. I returned from Ghana and completed my secondary school education in 1971, and eventually left for Lagos, Nigeria, where I started my working career in 1973. I occasionally visited our town at Eziama when my parents returned from Ghana because of their expulsion and settled in Nigeria.
I had never interacted effectively with my people in Eziama, where my father was born, until he died in 2003. Meanwhile, there had been a leadership crisis in Eziama that coincided with my resignation from the bank in 2005. I deliberately campaigned and was elected to the position of president-general of the town union with Eze Zeb Phillips Nwosu, the traditional ruler. I had lived with him when I migrated to Lagos in 1972. My involvement was a conscious strategy designed to serve my community and develop a good relationship. I committed all the resources and applied all the leadership and organizational development skills at my disposal to ensure success.
I had been exposed to minor political manipulations during my banking career. I loathed it because it did not align with my honest, transparent, and straightforward attitude. Together with members of the executive committee of the town union, I changed the orientation of the town union and steered it on to the path of sustainable growth and stability. While diligently discharging my leadership responsibilities to improve the circumstances of the town union, I observed that there were covert, selfish aspirations and political maneuvers designed to undermine my authority and impugn my integrity. I promptly resigned from my position as the president-general of the town union after serving for five years. At the end of my tenure, I prepared and delivered a formal and elaborate handover document to my successor. I enumerated the accomplished projects and those in progress to facilitate continuity in the affairs of the town union.
I mentioned the cohesive structure that I had established, the upgrade of the local infrastructure to enhance revenue mobilization, and the security architecture that needed to be maintained and strengthened. I also talked about the desire for peace and unity, the education and youth development programs, the politics and social services efforts, the strategic development initiatives, and finance. Unfortunately, my successors preferred to pursue selfish projects with primordial instincts. Even though we eventually succeeded in redirecting the town union to the path of stability, the disruptive and selfish interests of enemies of progress attracted the community’s wrath. They plunged it into another round of crisis. The crisis is ongoing. These unhealthy permutations have partly informed my determination to avoid politics at all costs. I recognize that my decisions may have implications of far-reaching dimensions, but that is a sacrifice that I am willing to make. I have resisted all requests to attract me to party politics in Nigeria.
I know that my wife and I have engaged in numerous acts of support, benevolence, and goodwill to the community. We continue to do so. It is not my desire to recount them. However, we have encouraged our children to follow in our footsteps so that they can appreciate the joy and satisfaction that accrue from giving. I have been conferred with several honors for my contribution to the development of the community and beyond. I do not publicize them.
Despite a flurry of invitations, I have refused to accept a chieftaincy title to validate my contributions to the community. I do not believe that I must be rewarded for my charitable actions. Many people do not know I have a doctorate because I do not flaunt it. I did not acquire it for the sake of recognition or the improvement of my social status. I did because of the degree of skill and empowerment it confers on me to contribute to the development of society.