When
CNN founder turned Philanthropist Ted Turner donated the mind-boggling
one billion dollars to the United Nations in 1997, he advertently
rekindled mega-billion dollar almsgiving race. Such humanitarian quest
persuaded other wealthy individuals to follow his lead.
There are a lot of people who are equally rich but have not
considered venturing into philanthropist territory. Turner said,
"There's a lot of people who are awash in money they don't know what to
do with. It doesn't do you any good if you don't know what to do with
it. I have learned -- the more good that I did, the more money comes in.
You have to learn to give. You're not born as a giver. You're born
selfish.'' Imagine: Turner’s $1 billion gift spurred Bill Gates, Warren
Buffett, FaceBook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and others to pledge over
$150 billion in donations. Philanthropist is a worthy title to earn.
Give to be good, not to be rewarded. As any true giver knows “it’s
better to give than to receive”.
However, before this group of America benefactors, there was one
Nigerian Chief Ugorji Eke. Although he is not as worldly known as the
American counterparts, he labored to foster philanthropy in Nigeria.
Sadly, and for some reason, there's hardly any evidence of his
generosity documented anywhere, even on the Internet today. His real
name is not well-known in Aba today; what does that say about us? Could
this be the fate of similar Nigerian philanthropic pioneers?
Chief Ugorji Eke was extraordinary human being who was larger than life. He was a true legend in hisown rights. He was admired by all, especially those who grew up in Aba,
Abia State from 1955 to 1980. If he had opportune to come from a
country that valued human decency, the movies would have been made about
his life, theses written, and monuments erected in his honor. Such
accolade goes to heroes like him. His sermons would be preached high
pulpit; not only to showcase his legacy, but to encourage others to
emulate accordingly. In the light of his devotion toumanity, he was our Father Theresa or Padre Pio. Chief Ugorji Eke had
the heart of God and gold! How does Nigeria pass his heritage to future
generations?
You and I need to exult Chief Ugorji Eke by researching and
documenting his life, and to memorize him. He was fondly known as "O me
furu onye o durum" (helper of last resort) for his generosity. This
article validates the beliefs of my friends Ndubueze Okonkwo and Ayodele
Anise. These two givers believe that Nigeria is endowed with adequate
resources to achieve greatness. We just need to harness our positive
talents and eschew corruption. If all Nigerians practiced the teachings
of Chief Ugorji Eke, Nigeria would become a better nation.
Citing Wikipedia, “Philanthropy etymologically means "love of
humanity". Chief Ugorji Eke was a lover of humanity! Just like Ted
Turner did two decades ago, he inspired Nigerians to be kind to one
another. Instead of waiting for the military, churches, politicians,
educated folks, or other wealthy individuals to act first, he 'showed
the light'.
Here are some of his good deeds: Chief Ugorji Eke was instrumental in
the establishment of the Umunnato Joint Hospital. More on this later.
He donated his lorries to evacuate some Igbos who could not readily pay
their way back to the Eastern Region (Biafra) at the start of the brutal
Civil War. When Aba was in dire strait after that War, he purchased
buses to provide low-fare transportation to help the people to get back
on their proverbial feet.
Delineating from my childhood stories of him, he derived a lot of joy
in helping the downtrodden. From the second story verandah of his houseEtc
BreakingNews 20/12/15 - There Was Nigerian Philanthropist Ugorji Eke Before CNN Ted Turner And American Bill Gates When CNN founder turned Philanthropist Ted Turner donated the
mind-boggling one billion dollars to the United Nations in 1997, he
advertently rekindled mega-billion dollar almsgiving race. Such
humanitarian quest persuaded other wealthy individuals to follow his
lead.
There are a lot of people who are equally rich but have not
considered venturing into philanthropist territory. Turner said,
"There's a lot of people who are awash in money they don't know what to
do with. It doesn't do you any good if you don't know what to do with
it. I have learned -- the more good that I did, the more money comes in.
You have to learn to give. You're not born as a giver. You're born
selfish.'' Imagine: Turner’s $1 billion gift spurred Bill Gates, Warren
Buffett, FaceBook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and others to pledge over
$150 billion in donations. Philanthropist is a worthy title to earn.
Give to be good, not to be rewarded. As any true giver knows “it’s
better to give than to receive”.
However, before this group of America benefactors, there was one
Nigerian Chief Ugorji Eke. Although he is not as worldly known as the
American counterparts, he labored to foster philanthropy in Nigeria.
Sadly, and for some reason, there's hardly any evidence of his
generosity documented anywhere, even on the Internet today. His real
name is not well-known in Aba today; what does that say about us? Could
this be the fate of similar Nigerian philanthropic pioneers?
Chief Ugorji Eke was extraordinary human being who was larger than
life. He was a true legend in his own rights. He was admired by all,
especially those who grew up in Aba, Abia State from 1955 to 1980. If he
had opportune to come from a country that valued human decency, the
movies would have been made about his life, theses written, and
monuments erected in his honor. Such accolade goes to heroes like him.
His sermons would be preached high pulpit; not only to showcase his
legacy, but to encourage others to emulate accordingly. In the light of
his devotion to humanity, he was our Father Theresa or Padre Pio. Chief
Ugorji Eke had the heart of God and gold! How does Nigeria pass his
heritage to future generations?
You and I need to exult Chief Ugorji Eke by researching and
documenting his life, and to memorize him. He was fondly known as "O me
furu onye o durum" (helper of last resort) for his generosity. This
article validates the beliefs of my friends Ndubueze Okonkwo and Ayodele
Anise. These two givers believe that Nigeria is endowed with adequate
resources to achieve greatness. We just need to harness our positive
talents and eschew corruption. If all Nigerians practiced the teachings
of Chief Ugorji Eke, Nigeria would become a better nation.
Citing Wikipedia, “Philanthropy etymologically means "love of
humanity". Chief Ugorji Eke was a lover of humanity! Just like Ted
Turner did two decades ago, he inspired Nigerians to be kind to one
another. Instead of waiting for the military, churches, politicians,
educated folks, or other wealthy individuals to act first, he 'showed
the light'.
Here are some of his good deeds: Chief Ugorji Eke was instrumental in
the establishment of the Umunnato Joint Hospital. More on this later.
He donated his lorries to evacuate some Igbos who could not readily pay
their way back to the Eastern Region (Biafra) at the start of the brutal
Civil War. When Aba was in dire strait after that War, he purchased
buses to provide low-fare transportation to help the people to get back
on their proverbial feet.
Delineating from my childhood stories of him, he derived a lot of joy
in helping the downtrodden. From the second story verandah of his Etche
Road, Aba home, he had a bird's eye view of the two roads below. He
would see a woman carrying her baby on the back (head bubbling and all)
and her entire business on her head trekking to the market on a hot and
humid day. Chief Ugorji Eke would send someone to call the woman and
proceed to give her more money than her wares worth and tell her to go
back home and get that beautiful baby out of the sun. He would see a
truck pusher strolling the streets of Aba looking for fare and he would
give the person money to start a better business. He pleaded with armed
robbers to stop the violence against fellow Nigerians who were
struggling to feed their families. His son Ezinwa is too humble to
provide me more materials for this article. I respect his humility
because that is a characteristic of philanthropic families.
Although I am convinced my examples pale in comparison with numerous
first-hand accounts that confirms the good deeds of Chief Ugorji Eke
while he was living, I am delighted to add my tiny voice to (what should
become) the immense chorus of praise for this true legend from our
heritage. He believed when we join hands, this will ignite a measured
interest to enkindle a great flame that illuminates dark world of
selfishness, avarice, and not caring for the least among us. Everyone
can partake in this worthy cause because there should be Chief Ugorji
Eke in everyone.
The thought of writing this article has been percolating in my mind
for a while. I was honored to mention Chief Ugorji Eke's name in a
previous article. When asked if any of his siblings is following their
father's foot step, Ezinwa was quick to retort that "those shoes are too
big" to fill. No doubt, "O me furu onye o durum" left large shoes.
However, it's up to society to propel his legacy, not his family's job.
You and I can collectively enlist in Chief Ugorji Eke's philanthropic
army where empowerment is waged instead of war. Please join in!
History books are full of names who contributed to the Nigeria's
current sad state of affairs. Why not celebrate the few who truly gave
of themselves to better society? Philanthropy should be taught from
infancy.
Chief Ugorji Eke was a major contributor to the Umunnato Joint
Hospital fund. This was an ambitious community project that served the
tri-village of Alayi, Igbere, and Item. Hence the name Umu nna Ato or
three siblings. Although Abia State Government has ran the hospital to
the ground, in its heyday the hospital saved many lives, including mine
during the Civil War.
Let me recant this brief story. It was during the hospital
fundraising event that Chief Ugorji Eke and my father had a slight
discord. This was before my time but I grew up hearing about the
incident. The story goes that in his exuberance to galvanize the people
to donate money for the project, Chief Ugorji Eke used words that
implied anyone who did not pledge large sum was not being a "man"
enough. My father (who was a successful man in his own right and a
defender of the slighted) took offense to that tone and defended the
manhood of those who lacked the wherewithal to measure up. Both men
meant well. Others retold the story but my father never said a word
about it. Instead he spoke highly of Chief Ugorji Eke.
