Every so often, God throws up certain persons to help salvage the situation of their people. Shakespeare puts it succinctly when he wrote that some people are born great, some achieve greatness whilst others have greatness thrust upon them.
The Biblical Joseph was a divine instrument through which God saved and brought the Israelites to Egypt. God also raised Moses to lead his people to Egypt the promised land.
History is replete with the stories about the great role played by certain persons in the lives of their compatriots. The story Chief (Dr.) Ifeanyi Ubah is a classic case of one achieving greatness through perseverance, hard work and a burning desire to excel.
It is not an exaggeration to say that today Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah is one of the leading lights in the oil and gas industry. His steady but meteoric rise to the apogee of his career is not by sheer happenstance, it is a divine and heavenly tale. His rise and rise in the political, socio-economic and sports spheres is not a fluke. It is a process which has the hand of God in its design, formation, actualization and maturation. Little wonder, then, that Chief Ubah has not relented in giving back to God and the society a substantial portion of his immense wealth.
A case in point is the Cathedral Church which he is building single handedly in Nnewi. Chief Ubah embarked on this great venture in the way and manner David built a temple for God. The wonderful architecture and the great masterpiece which the Cathedral represents is proof of Chief Ubah’s closeness and presence to God and his desire to build a befitting place of worship for God.
It is on record that apart from this Cathedral project, Dr. Ubah has done various things for churches of different denominations in Anambra State. He has contributed to building mosques for Muslim counterparts in a show of rare spirit of accommodating religious tolerance and brotherly spirit.
Dr. Ubah’s philanthropy and altruism is indeed from God, the fact that he has in his employ millions of people from across all the ethnic and geopolitical division in the country.
Even as a major player in the downstream sector of the oil economy and with losses staring him in the face, Dr. Ubah braved it and rolled out his trucks to supply fuel, gas and other products to Nigerians all over the country to the chagrin of his striking colleagues.
This bold decision by Chief Ubah in his capacity as a major player in the downstream sector broke the Carmel’s back and forced the oil and gas workers to call off the strike. By aligning himself with the people and calling the bluff of his colleagues, Dr. Ubah made a bold stride about his patriotism altruism, nationalism and sense of humanity.
In all this, Dr. Ubah is only fulfilling his divine mission and mandate to serve God through his resources and wealth. At every point in time, his ambition has been how to serve the people, alleviate their plight and help in God’s vineyard. This is a brilliant combination of philanthropy and spirituality. Any wonder, then, that this upwardly mobile business baron has continued to rise and rise and rise. Nobody who invests in the vineyard of God goes empty handed. On the contrary, not even the sky can be the limit for such child of God.
God has lifted Ifeanyi Ubah and catapulted him to the pinnacle of his chosen field of endeavour. His detractors and traducers must appreciate the hand of God upon this business mogul. Therefore, no weapon fashioned against him can prosper for if God be for him, who can be against him?
It is also worth stating here that Ubah has engaged in his business with the fear of God. For him, there are no short-cuts, no gang up against the people and the customers. The needless conspiracy of every profession against the laity is not for him instead, he is always in the side of the laity against his professional colleagues. The reason or Ubah’s meteoric rise is not far to fetch. It is the outcome of his trust in God, doing his will, loving his neighbor as himself and pleasing others first before himself.
On the whole, in the life and business of Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah, we see the fulfillment of Abraham’s blessings which were triggered off by the singular act of faith in God. Dr. Ubah is indeed a metaphor for faith in God. After all, those who trust in God according to the bible, are like Mount Zion which shall not be removed, touched, countless lives in many unique ways. His trucks supply fuel, gas and kerosene to all parts of Nigeria. His scholarship scheme is second to none in the country. By this scheme, many Nigerians have been aggraded the opportunity of western education without tears. Dr. Ubah has personally constructed many kilometers of roads as part of his company’s social responsibility to the people. Chief Ubah has built houses, made cash donations and helped many Nigerian in diverse ways.
His filling stations in Nnewi at times sell fuel free of charge to motorcyclists every Friday. His contribution to development projects throughout the length and breadth of the country is unsurpassed and unparalleled. His mind as touch light has been extended to sports. His F.C Ifeanyi Ubah F.C. which was formally known as Gabros Football Club has taken the Nigerian professional soccer league by storm as it has announced his arrival in elite division with a bang by posting may victories. It is expected that this football club will soon be a key player in the continent having won the Anambra State Challenge Cup.
Mention must, once more be made of Dr. Ubah’s key role in ending the recent strike reform of the oil and gas industry which resulted in the near cripple of the nation’s economy. In the course of the industrial action, Nigerians were subjected to massive suffering there was no fuel, no kerosene, no gas, no aviation oil and the like. Many Nigerian could not go to work. Others were stranded at the filling stations for many days. The national economy was virtually brought to her toes. Nigerians firm all walk of life and from every strata of the society were subjected to untold hardship, suffering and deprivation.
As a patriot and a true Nigerian, Chief Ubah could not stand the plight of Nigeria. Whereas his colleagues were unmoved by the complete breakdown of socio-economic activities in the country on account of the strike, Chief Ubah took a different view of the situation, in fact, he identified with Nigerians.
There is a divine hand in Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah’s activities. It is obvious that he has been set apart by God to accomplish certain mission in this corner of the earth. Therefore, no weapon formed against him will prosper as not even the sky will be his limit.
By Ndubuisi Okpala, a political analyst
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