Ned, Ned, Ned phew!
Where does one begin from now? Anywhere one chooses to discuss Ned, one will have rich contents to share, and so rich one can spend eternity writing.
Ned Nwoko, the billionaire businessman and philanthropist today means differently to different people as a result of his selfless service to humanity. He has been the voice of the voiceless, a guardian angel, a great support system to his community, a giant wall over a city about to be ravaged by charlatans, a friend to the poor, the tyrant’s nightmare, the light of African advancement, the father of several fatherless, to a child’s superhero…
Ned has transformed from being a noun to a verb, always changing to suit the occasion for everybody to easily relate with.
When one leaves the comfort of their private life, their luxuries, their peace and tranquility to pick up people’s burdens and problems and make them theirs and in a moment or a blink of an eye, change lifestyle abruptly to one of sleepless nights, starvation, advocacy, peril and precariousness, no amount of money, of appreciation or gratitude can ever be enough to express sincere acknowledgment. This, Ned has done all his life in a bid to make the world a better place.
At a very young age, to his time as a lawmaker in the House of Representatives, Ned has grown from wisdom to wisdom, strength to strength, relevance to relevance and above all, an advocate and defender of social justice and a safer world. He has advanced too quickly giving credence to the metamorphic nature of the human mind. Ned is futuristic in all he does, I like to call him the Elon Musk of Africa.
It’s no surprise Ned, as an explorer, made history as the first black man to reach the South Pole, Antarctica, where he hoisted the Nigerian flag and gave Nigeria a global recognition and name cast in stone.
When one is described as being Obstinate, and uncontemporary. If these attributes are not quintessential of Ned Nwoko now, I wonder what are. These rare qualities in a society dominated with a population that acts mostly in the present, Ned stands out.
Ned has been promoting tourism in Africa through Project Tourism, a JV between his company and the Federal Government of Nigeria.
He is regarded as an icons of positive change in Delta and Nigeria, not just as a result of the Paris Club refund that he singlehandedly handled through the years of atrocious arrows targeted against him, he remained steadfast till his hard work changed the destinies of not just a few states in the country but the whole Nigerian population. He’s sparked the desire to achieve more and not be limited by any obstacles in the Nigerian folks. He fanned the ember of the can-do spirit in the average Nigerian.
His reforms influenced positive growth in all the sectors he’s come in contact with such as the Malaria project that world leaders have all come to laud.
Only recently, the Sports University of Nigeria, the first of its kind in Sub Saharan Africa situated in Idumuje was approved by the federal government of Nigeria.
There’s no gainsaying the public importance of such a university that seeks to combine education and sports and allow for systemic training of sports men and women at a time when the world talk sport will be our future Olympic champions breeding ground.
Ned, it appears, was baptized by this same spirit in Christ, Delta North is lucky to have a man like Ned leaving his comfort zone to represent his people.
We can go on and on about this rare gift of nature to humanity, but let us stop here and raise our glasses as we celebrate this iconic colossus to walk through this generation and show him our gratitude and appreciation that he is truly loved, by turning out en mass to ensure that he is in the upper legislative chambers to represent the good people of Delta North in the 2023 general elections.
Ibrahim Abubakar writes from Abuja
