Sir E: Beyond a Birthday Celebration

By Okey Ikechukwu

When, on July 2, 2013, I wrote about Sir Emeka Offor on this page, it was not his birthday. It was a frank and unsolicited assessment of a man whom I felt, from my first impression of him 13 years and seven months earlier, had the capacity to affect many lives in a positive way over time.  I sought no information, or materials, from anyone around him for the article in question. It was simply the culmination of my frank assessment of the man and his activities; from the day I first saw him at the Lagos airport in the year 2000. I was then the Special Assistant to the then Minister of Transport, Chief Ojo Maduekwe. But more of that later.

Today, 13 years after that article, Sir Emeka Offor is cheerfully living out what I felt then he would find fulfilling if he focused on not being unduly obtrusive in everything he did, going forward; no matter its impact in the public domain. That article of 2013, titled “Emeka Offor’s Metamorphoses”, started by stating as follows:

“Late last year (2012), Sir Emeka Offor supported Rotary’s international network of Peace Centres with $250,000 for fellowships in peace and conflict resolution. The preference and focus, in terms of beneficiaries of the programme, are qualified applicants from Nigeria and other African countries.  Part of the aim was to promote peace in Nigeria, with its ethno-religious and regional diversity, wherein the beneficiaries are to become mediators of better peace management and transmitters of contemporary conflict resolution paradigms in their various spheres of influence”.

The article continued: “That is why the programme offers professional development certificate in peace and conflict studies to mid-level professionals from related fields, such as public health, education, international law, economic development, journalism, rule of law and social justice. The endowment is for practitioners and activists from sub-Sahara Africa and the dual purposes of the fellowship is to enhance future recipients’ substantive knowledge in their respective disciplines and encourage them to adapt this enhanced knowledge to promote social harmony and conflict resolution in their places of work, communities and nations”.

That massive intervention was 14 years ago. And the man has been making multiples of this sort of quiet and impactful financial, peace building, human capital development and special public health intervention continuously since then.

And, lest anyone should think that is the usual birth hype of noisily projecting philanthropic endeavours to no end, I need to make a clear distinction between a man who is merely doing good things in order to be praised and a man who has genuine goodwill and love for humanity within himself. Friends and associates of Sir E describe him as a good person, first and foremost.

Going back to the decade-old article, I said, then: “The first time I heard of Offor was in connection with Anambra politics, at the dawn of the current democratic dispensation, when someone who was making a rather offensively loud conversation with someone else, described him as ‘a terrible trouble maker’ within earshot. When, months later, I saw the man physically in Lagos, however, he did not quite look the ‘demon’ I had expected”.

The article continued thus: “His personal energy was evident but he was not trying to be noticed unduly, yet he had full control of his space and of what was going on within that space.  The man I saw is the type of person who can easily understand a situation and who can also take quick and far-reaching decisions without any fears. But he was no troublemaker in the conventional sense of the term but seemed, instead, the type of person who will boldly pick his fights, tell you that you are in the line of fire and throw his punches without subterfuge”.

Those who have known him for a long time knew this to be true, even now; and the above words were written in 2013.

In that article I also said this: “But he also looked like one who will abandon a fight if he sees that there is some higher purpose to be served. He did not look like the type of person who will kick somebody who is down. These observations only accentuated my interest, because it was either that the man was travelling on the wrong road or he is misunderstood – or both. He did not exude condescending airs in his interaction with those around him, including some that looked like his aides”.

The article continued: “Surely this is a man who would like to make an impact on his environment with his contacts and his wealth. But such a man must also find the right type of impact and sphere of activity, or his energy and resources will be wasted on nothing. Offor, at that first encounter, did not look like the type of person who will ultimately be satisfied with empty swagger and public attention. Yes, this man looked like he would like to smile at a baby, or occasionally sit and watch happy children at play, but not as a weak, dreamy man. He must channel his energies to what will make him feel happy and fulfilled before God and man – or remain unfulfilled”.

I continued in the article: “I recall taking up this matter with the very gifted current Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Osita Chidoka, who knew the man well enough; and who was Personal Assistant to Maduekwe when I was the latter’s Special Assistant at the time. I said that someone needed to tell Offor that he should face his business and find more rewarding means of impacting his world, instead of fueling the wrong vehicles for public good. The rest, as they say, is history”.

Am I eulogizing Sir Emeka Offor here today? I think not. I am merely repeating what I believe to be true about him, and most of which I have once said about him, as I say to him, “Jide k’iji, and wish him abundant blessings on his 67th birthday.

The man has been in the news in the right circles, and for the right reasons, since that piece on this back page. And the same Offor is still in the news within and outside Nigeria, also for very commendable reasons. His Foundation, the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation (SEOF), is still making all manner of interventions to eradicate various health problems, including Onchocerciasis, or river blindness. The role of the Carter Centre in the work, with headquarters in Plateau State, to which Offor once donated $250,000 to fight river blindness cannot be forgotten, because of how it joined hands with SEOF to beam a spotlight on the silent menace that was ravaging.

Sir E has since moved away from obtrusive political activities to the more fulfilling role of helping deepen and strengthen others in more lasting ways. He has distanced himself from one of the major preoccupations of many wealthy Anambra people, who demean their fellow Anambarians, rather than raise them in any way whatsoever. His Foundation is still helping many to become self-reliant, independent and self-sufficient through many programmes. It is also now a sort of reference for many who are looking at development efforts across Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.

Ofor’s profile within the business and political circles in Nigeria has been enhanced, instead of being diminished, since he began to pay less attention to visible local politicking and more attention to wht really pleases his spirit. Many can speak of improved livelihood and a better future today because of him.

And he never fails to acknowledge his humble beginnings, unlike many who are not half as wealthy, but who carry on as if their parents owned the exchequer before they were born.  His foundation remains unrelenting in its support for human capacity development, skills acquisition, the establishment of small and medium enterprises (SME’s) and cooperative societies. The results of its youth empowerment programmes, widows’ cooperative programmes, education programmes, health service programmes and infrastructure development programmes are still there for all to see.

Many who spoke of his Foundation’s important partnerships with international organisations in the areas of (1) Books for Africa and (2) Rotary International, among other initiatives, over a decade ago are still talking about it today. Those who were excited about how he was honoured by Rotary Foundation at a convention in Lisbon, Portugal, where he got a special recognition during the Arch C. Klumph (AKS) dinner for being the highest donor from Africa over ten years ago, are overwhelmed today by the many other honours he has received since then.

Back then, as also mentioned the article that has been quoted extensively here: “The AKS is the highest echelon of Rotary Foundation, attained only by those who have donated a minimum of $250,000 to its causes. But Offor has donated over $1 million to the Foundation; and he he captured his motivation for the interventions thus: “In Nigeria, many of us have lost friends to polio, but polio should have no place in our world… It is my deepest hope that my financial contribution and work with the Rotary leadership in Nigeria can bring about the final, permanent and irreversible eradication of polio. Together we can make this happen, and we will do so.”

Spoken from the heart!

Also over ten years ago, Offor said: “People are not poor because they choose to be. There are many able and creative people who could be making important contributions to society if they were not mired in poverty. In other words, God plants precious seedlings in the most unlikely places. He asks that we water these seedlings so that they can grow into the fruit-bearing trees he intended. Those of us who have received fortune’s blessings have a moral duty and civic responsibility to help the poor and vulnerable. For this reason, I established the Foundation.”

Here him again, also a statement he made over ten years ago: “I want to make my mark. Actually, I want to make two marks. One is that I have been an excellent businessman who built a group of companies that will stand the test of time. Two, that I have been as good at giving as I was in turning a profit. In my own way, I hope to set an example for the next generation of successful Nigerian businessmen. I want them to know that they can make money while also making a difference.”

Let what Sir Emeka Ofor represents to Ndigbo today speak to those who have ears to hear. Sir E onye o ga na adili nma n’’aga níru, ekenee m gi, ma kenekwaa ndi nékwelu gi egwu!