Dr. Patrick
Ifeanyi Ubah, Chairman, Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited and President,
FC Ifeanyi Ubah, is 45 today.
As
torrents of tributes from Nigerians, home and abroad, continue to pour in for
the Nnewi-born Billionaire and Chairman, Anambra State Football Association,
ASFA, celebrating him at 45, the uncommon leader and philanthropist, took to
his Facebook page, seizing the opportunity to pen down his captivating
reflections on happenings in Nigeria.
He wrote:
It’s been 44
long and hard years since my birth. The journey to where I find myself today
has been rocky, to say the least. First and foremost, I would like to give all
thanks and praises to my Father in heaven for the gift of life. His grace is
the reason for my continued existence and all glory must be given to him.
In the midst
of all that currently defines the world we live in, God has been faithful,
extremely faithful. His blessings in my life are too many to mention, such that
they cannot be enumerated.
May I use this
avenue to thank everyone who has contributed both positively and negatively to
my journey through life. At 45, I feel very fulfilled.
I count myself a man
highly blessed by God in all ramifications, starting from family to friends to
employees and to business associates, be it financially, cerebrally and
otherwise.
Today marks the beginning of my 45th year on earth, a day I have
chosen to reflect on a country I love so much and a nation so blessed by God.
Inasmuch as I would have loved a birthday celebration bereft of publicity as I
soberly reflect on the unflattering happenings in our dear country, I recognize
the fact that I cannot restrain well meaning Nigerians who desire to wish me
well via the pages of the newspapers and on different social media platforms.
To these people, I wish to say thank you very much for the public display of
affection. All efforts to put myself in a celebratory mood for reaching yet
another milestone has proved abortive.
I even had to take time off work to
travel with my family as I needed to spend ample time with them, as well as
give myself some room to reflect in sobriety.
If I am to be perfectly honest,
in the midst of all the blessings God has so much bestowed on me, the current
state of our nation Nigeria has rendered me an unhappy man.
How can I be happy
when all I see around me are people who are wallowing in hunger? What is
happiness when my fellow Nigerians can no longer engage in business activities
because of the escalating rate of the US Dollars which now exchanges for over
N400 per Dollar?
Where will happiness come from when Nigeria’s inflation rate
keeps rising and prices of common commodities are fast getting out of the reach
of the average Nigerian? Nothing is being done to empower our women and some
people are able to find happiness?
Nigerians are losing jobs everyday and I am
expected to find joy in celebrating? I cannot!
It is just not possible as I
sincerely believe there is nothing worthy of celebrating. My heart is heavy,
saddled with so much to reflect on as thoughts on the way forward for our
beloved country clouds my mind.
In a country with over 180 million people, I
can boastfully say we possess the capacity to turn this nation around.
Nigerians are very resourceful and highly industrious.
The fact that we have
not been able to get it right after 55 (soon to be 56) turbulent years beggars
belief. As Nigerians, we need to learn to work without greed. Contentment
should be the underlying feature in everything we set out to do.
As a nation,
we must fashion out a multi-policy intervention scheme that will not end up on
the screens of our televisions and the pages of our books, but policies that
will open up our system for job creation and reduction in the rate of poverty.
Our problems are man-made and same man who made it can make things right. But
first, those saddled with the responsibility of steering the ship of our nation
must favour a government of inclusion.
They must open the doors to Nigerians
(irrespective of one’s ethnic or political leaning) who possess the requisite
skills, knowledge and ideas on how to get Nigeria back on its feet. Earlier in
the year, I came out to tell Nigerians that the escalation of the Dollar could
be reversed if given the chance to proffer solutions and I meant it.
I also
challenged the Government of the day to do the needful which entailed making
consultations which I offered on a platter, even staking my life’s work to see
that this ugly trend is reversed.
Regrettably, my advice was not heeded to and
my calls fell on deaf ears. Nigeria’s current problem is beyond academics. It
is also beyond the vocabulary technocrats are known to toss around.
There are
other components and qualities needed alongside the technicality associated
with education to create the right mix as we seek solutions to the poor state
of our economy.
I believe that I am one Nigerian who possesses some of these
components.
I am highly confident in my ability to provide answers to most of
the problems Nigeria is faced with and hopefully, God will give me a chance if
man would not.
Permit me to state this loud and clear to avoid being
misconstrued: when I discuss the public policies of the government or make
suggestions on alternate policies for our government, it is because I want the government
of the day to succeed as their success will make Nigerians happy.
I am a
Nigerian who derives joy in seeing our people happy. After all said and done, I
wish to rededicate myself to the service of humanity.
At this stage in my life
coupled with the achievements I have made and the milestones I have reached, I
believe it is high time I channeled all my resources (financially,
intellectually and otherwise) to promoting humanity, starting from Nigeria with
Anambra state being my first port of call.
My biggest regret in life is that I
have not been able to help humanity the way I would have loved to. We can never
get things right unless we put conscious efforts into promoting humanity.
In
view of this, I pledge this day to continue serving humanity to the best of my
ability and as the Good Lord permits.
At this juncture, I would like to
expressly appreciate those who have made my journey through life a laudable
one. First and foremost, special thanks must go to my wife and beautiful
children who have been my firm pillar of support and strength throughout my
journey.
Your presence in my life has given me wings to soar as high as I can
dream. For this, I remain eternally grateful to all of you.
Also, I would like
to express my sincere gratitude to my employees across all sectors that I am
actively involved in which includes Oil and Gas, Media Publications, Sports,
Construction, Agriculture to mention a few. Your belief in me has never wavered
and your support for me has stood the test of time.
Even at the most difficult
of times, you all rally around me, giving me the needed assurance that we are
in this race together.
My belief in the depth of God’s love for me and his
immense blessings upon my life stems from you all. Thank you. To my friends and
well wishers, I wish to also say thank you for being there.
Your prayers and
words of support have gotten me this far and I would not trade you all for
anything the world has to offer.
To Ndi Anambra, umu nwannem, this piece would
be incomplete without expressing the depth of my gratitude to you for all the
love and support you ceaselessly showered on me. How can I forget my humble
beginnings? How can I forget how my beloved brothers and sisters contributed
immensely in shaping the man “Ifeanyi Ubah” and all he has achieved today?
From
the bottom of my heart, I say daalu umu nnwannem. Let us endeavour to keep our
leaders in our prayers as we continue in our quest for greatness. My fellow
compatriots, our strength lies in our togetherness. Let us keep praying for Nigeria
and her leaders.
Let us keep believing in our country and strive to ensure that
we make the best out of our nation. We have no other country to call our own.
We must make Nigeria great for ourselves and for the generations yet unborn.
To
our leaders, I wish to remind you all that the position which you find
yourselves in today is God given and has a mandate attached to it.
I implore
you all to do all you can to better the lives of those who voted you into
power. The welfare of the masses is paramount and the betterment of their
living standards should be the driving factor behind every action of every
leader. In everything we do, we should always remember that a day of reckoning
will come and we will all be made to answer to the creator.
On that day, would
the Almighty be happy with your report? Once again, I wish to thank everyone
for the birthday wishes. I feel highly blessed and honoured. VANGUARDNGR
God bless you all.
Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah
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