By Linus Aleke
The Chairman, South East Traditional Rulers Council and Paramount Ruler of Edem Ani, His Royal Majesty, Igwe Ogadagidi, Samuel Ikechukwu Asadu, has not only etched his name in gold and lifted many souls out of squalor, despair and despondency, but had also shown them the path of cheerfulness, joy, peace of mind and opulence.
Like the literary conceptualization of the road least travelled, and the ecclesiastical proposition of narrow is the road that leads to life everlasting and very few finds it, the Chairman Enugu State Traditional Rulers Council, is leading his flocks through the narrow path.
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He is indeed a good shepherd. His
boundless crave to put smiles on the faces of his people is second to none in this part of the world and even beyond. Those who know him, said that he is Jesus Christ personified for the good people of his kingdom. Like a biblical story of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who was moved by compassion for those who followed him across the sea to listen to the message of salvation, who he had pity on and fed with five loaves of bread and two fish. – Matthew 14:17-21. Igwe Ogadagidi is also replicating such kind gesture to Edem Ani people in contemporary time. Though he has not bragged of feeding a crowed with five loaves of bread and two fish and still had left over, but he is feeding the hungry every day of his life. To sustain this humanitarian gesture to his people as instructed by the creator of the universe, Igwe Ogadagidi built a food bank in his kingdom, the first of its kind in the entire Nsukka cultural zone. His concept of food bank is such that from dawn to dusk, villagers and visitors alike are free to walk in and eat to their fill, free of charge. His Royal Majesty, Igwe Ogadagidi, provides the food and condiments for the food bank and pay staff who cook and serve the villagers the sumptuous meals, all year round. Beyond tackling hunger, deprivation and starvation, this noble gesture, is also assisting national and sub-national authorities in the fight against malnutrition and food security. Igwe Ogadagidi is certainly not like the proverbial king who taxes his people dry, and when any of them falls sick, he would simply retort, “Ugwu Gbaa Ogwu,” or Nkwo Gbaa Ogwu, loosely translated, ‘Ugwu or Nkwo, try and take injection, as if Ugwu don’t know that he is supposed to go to the clinic to take medication. But how can Ugwu possibly do that without finances? As Apostle Paul would say, give food to the hungry before preaching the message of salvation to them as that is the only way they can listen to you and grasp the message of the kingdom, stressing that faith without work is as good as dead.
As a compassionate king, His Royal Majesty, Igwe Ogadagidi, chose not to mock those he is leading by asking them to take injection without bothering to know if they have the means to do so. Rather, he quietly built a 20 bed hospital for his people in Edem Ani. This hospital attends to the health need of both the rich and the poor, free of charge. All the bills including payment of salary of health workers, stocking of the pharmacy with needed drugs are all taken care of by Igwe Ogadagidi. There is probably none like him in Nigeria, if not the entire African continent. As a trained nurse who practiced in the United States for over three decades, he exemplified the saying that health is wealth for his people in Edem Ani. He also constructed the only access road to his Chiefdom, while, the local government is busy collecting all manner of taxes and rates from the people to service the extravagant lifestyle of the officials.
Igwe Ogadagidi has no doubt redefined welfare, capacity building and empowerment project for his people. In December 2023, His Royal Majesty, Igwe Samuel Asadu, selected no fewer than 63 young men from the four autonomous communities that make up Edem Ani. These young men were selected from a pool of skilled youths who needed start up capital to put into practice their acquired skills and capabilities in various sectors including business. These lucky youths were given a sum of N1 million each from Ogadagidi as their start up capital. On the occasion, Igwe Samuel Asadu tasked each of the beneficiary to replicate the good gesture to other youths in the community when they succeed in multiplying the wealth.
This is in addition to the scholarship scheme for indigent students from the community. He also offered foreign scholarship to all university students from Edem Ani who graduate with first class or second class upper honor in professional courses.
Just last month, the Chairman Southeast Traditional Rulers Council, empowered another set of youths. This time around, no fewer than 24 youths including girls benefited from the current empowerment programme launched in Abuja on 26th May 2024.
Speaking at the unveiling of the new empowerment project for Edem Ani youths, Igwe Ogadagidi said that the vision of empowering another set of youths in his kingdom came to him while he was attending a programme in Abuja on 17th January 2024. The Paramount Ruler said that he moved into action almost immediately to bring the idea to reality. Addressing the beneficiaries in Abuja, Igwe Asadu said that his idea of bringing them to Abuja is to take them away from their comfort zone where they would not be tempted to lazy around and drink cheap local gin.
Speaking at the grand reception in his honour, and the launching of the empowerment programme, Igwe Ogadagidi, said that the youths will be camped in Abuja for two years. Within this period, he said, they would be mentored by successful business men and entrepreneurs who had succeeded in their chosen vocation. The youths, he averred will also be entitled to N40,000 stipend monthly, while they would equally be fed and their medical needs taken care of by him.
Igwe Ogadagidi, further pledged to support the first, second and third persons to leave the camp and establish themselves in their chosen endeavour, with N500,000, N300,000 and N200,000 respectively, while the remaining will get N100,000 at the end of their two years mentorship or whatever they are prepared to stand on their feet before the expiration of the time frame.
Greg Eze, Chairman Organizing Committe of the grand reception, said that Igwe Ogadagidi is a pacesetter whose love for his people knows no bound. He applauded the Paramount Ruler for his endless empowerment projects for the good people of Edem Ani, and called on the beneficiaries to make the best use of the opportunity.
Hon. Chinedu Onu, Chairman Governing Council, Enugu State Polytechnic, Iwollo, eulogized Ogadagidi’s philanthropic activities. He equally promised to help young engineering graduates from Nsukka cultural zone to acquire practical experience through Julius Berger internship programme.
Sen. Okechukwu Ezea, the Senator representing Enugu North Senatorial District at the National Assembly, prayed God to continue to strengthen Igwe Ogadagidi to do more for his people.
He tasked captains of industries and wealthy entrepreneur in Nsukka cultural zone to emulate Ogadagidi’s philanthropic gestures, to replicate same in their individual communities. The Senator regretted the high level of unemployment in the country, stressing that army of youths who had completed their higher education, roams the streets without jobs.
It is nonetheless on the premise of the fact that His Royal Majesty Igwe Ogadagidi is as straight as an arrow, that I conclude that he has not only epitomized the ancient aphorism that “he who lives for himself lives for nothing, but he who lives for others lives forever,” but like Jesus Christ, he is already living forever because he is touching the lives of many positively.
Aleke writes from Abuja and can be reached on 07030735240, [email protected]
