Passion for Giving Back to Society

Rebecca Ejifoma writes that for the CEO of Zelo Homes Limited, Harvey Ugochukwu Igboanugo, who clocked four decades today, the true meaning of wealth is giving back to his community and society at large

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom,” says Psalm 90:12. This Bible verse is relevant to Mr. Harvey Ugochukwu Igboanugo, a philanthropist and real-estate entrepreneur, who clocked 40 today.

Igboanugo, as the founder and CEO of Zelo Homes Limited, has distinguished himself in different capacities including carrying out several empowerment programmes, community development and providing thousands of housing units in different parts of Lagos.

There is a notion that a fool at 40 is a fool forever but for Igboanugo, popularly known as “Havy Don” he is not a fool at 40. At 40 he is a fulfilled man with a lot of positive results to show based on his success and achievements in life. His fulfilment has gone beyond physical wealth to putting smiles on the faces of others through his philanthropic gestures.

For the businessman, clocking 40 is no mean feat given that he is celebrating it in abundance, most especially in good health and the love of the hundreds of lives he has touched over the years.

For him, the past 20 years has been all about testimonies because of great things God has done for him, family and business. This success is ascribed to God’s grace, hard-work and commitment to whatever he laid his hand on, he posited.

Right from childhood, Igboanugo had a big dream that he was going to be a great person in the future. Believing that heaven helps those who help themselves, he remain resolute, determined and steadfast in the pursuit of his big dream and today he is fulfilled because most of the things he desired in life has been accomplished with extra.

His company, Zelo Homes has provided shelter for thousands of Lagosians who quit the camp of tenants to become landlords. But one thing that has stood him out is his desire to use his vast wealth to touch lives. Over the years, he has made credible impact on his immediate community. His passion to bring positive change to his community has meet the needs of both his community and people around him on many occasions, especially on things that has to do with community growth and development as well as empowering the people.

Although he is not a politician, he is quick to dissuade those that think his philanthropic gestures are borne of a need to curry their favour for a political position. For him, whatever he does for his community, is borne out of love. For instance, to give back to the community that produced him, he used his resources to fix roads leading to some of the villages in his home. Aside that, he has carried out other projects to make sure his town is developed.

He is so passionate about his community and that is why since his birth 40 years ago, he has never spent any Christmas holiday anywhere in the world apart from his home town.

Another unique feature Igboanugo exhibits is his circle of friends. One thing that has contributed to the success that Igboanugo enjoys today is his closeness with his friends. As someone who believes there is a great value in friendship, he has overcome many challenges with the help of friends and those who he has never met before in life. In the trajectory of his life, people he didn’t know before but who went extra miles to assist him in crucial moments are now his friends today and those relationships has yielded great fruits and created impact in him.

Some of the experiences he had while growing up and in the course of his business made him to give friendship 99 per cent because it favoured him most times. Today, based on the way he values friendship, he has friends spread all over the world.

Giving thanks for clocking 40, Igboanugo, acknowledges that his life has been testimony without any regrets, noting that God has been so kind to him by blessing him with a good wife and three beautiful kids – a boy and two girls.

A family-oriented man, it was not surprising that one of the happiest moments of his life was the day his son was born. Despite his tight schedule and commitment to his businesses, Igboanugo is a family man, who cherishes his immediate family as well as the extended family.

He also acknowledged that one of the things that helped him to live a fulfilled life is the good wife he was blessed with, noting that he enjoys a wonderful marriage because he cherishes his wife and usually celebrate her always likewise the children who are God’s blessing to the family.

A firm believer that all work and no play makes one a dull boy, Igboanugo enjoys playing games in his past time- one of his favourite games is Formula1, which is not surprising as he is someone that has been actively involved in sporting activities from his childhood days. Back in secondary school, he used to be play tennis, football, badminton and javelin.