Celebrating Gabriel Ogbechie in His National Honours

Oluchi Chibuzor

It was Calving Coolidge, the 30^th President of the United States, that said, “No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.” This is true for the Group Managing Director of Rainoil Limited, a leading indigenous downstream oil and gas company in Nigeria, Dr. Gabriel Ogbechie, who was recently conferred with the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by President Mohammadu Buhari.

For Ogbechie, the honour is indeed a reward for what he has given to Nigeria and Nigerians and is still giving. It is a deserving honour for a true Nigerian whose life is a classic example of the Nigerian spirit of resilience, doggedness, and diligence. A graduate of Production Engineering from the University of Benin, Ogbechie has over 30 years of sales, marketing, and operations experience in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

As an irrepressible Nigerian, Dr. Ogbechie identified opportunities in the downstream sector of Nigeria’s oil and gas, and he took the bold step to start Rainoil Limited in 1997. Today, the company ranks among the leading downstream oil and gas companies in Nigeria. Dr. Ogbechie has, over the last 25 years, overseen the growth of the group’s business operations across the entire downstream value chain with huge investments in the agro-allied amongst others.

Rainoil Limited has three ultra-modern petroleum product storage depots which are 50 million litre capacity multi-product depots in Oghara-Delta State, Calabar-Cross River State and Ijegun Egba-Lagos State. The company also has an 8,000 metric ton LPG bulk storage facility in Ijegun, Lagos State; over 150 retail petrol stations and LPG plants spread across the country; and a fleet of over 250 petroleum product tank trucks for efficient delivery of products to the Rainnoil network of stations and customers across the country.

A leader by example, Ogbechie leads a workforce of over 2000 employees and he has successfully built sustainable systems and culture in the organization. His unflinching adherence to the organization’s core values of respect, integrity, teamwork, excellence, and safety has caught up with the workforce and this has been customers’ experience with the organization over the years. A multiple award winner, Dr. Ogbechie has a couple of prestigious awards in his closet, some of which are the Downstream Company of the Year Award at the 2020-Business Day Nigerian Business Leadership Awards, Downstream Man of the Year Award at the 2018 Oil Trading and Logistics Conference, and a Finalist at the 2014 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Widely traveled and recognized, the Rainoil boss holds an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Technology Management from Novena University, Nigeria. He is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School’s 57^thOwner President Management Program and a pioneer member of the Lagos Business School Owner Management Programme. He sits on the boards of a number of companies operating in the financial services, oil and gas, agro-allied and real estate sectors. He is also the Chairman of Norsworthy farms, Eterna Oil PLC, Fynefield Petroleum Limited, Rainoil Logistics among others.

In giving back to the communities, Dr. Ogbechie, via Rainoil Limited, has been at the forefront of social responsibility by investing in the social and economic lives of Nigerians. He has supported several humanitarian initiatives, including academic and sports scholarships; financial support to orphanages in Lagos and Abuja; provision of physical infrastructure and public amenities to local communities in Delta State; medical outreaches; and employment opportunities in Rainoil host communities. A passionate lawn tennis player, Ogbechie also hosts an annual lawn tennis competition which features participants from within and outside Nigeria.

The very humble Ogbechie considers it a thing of joy to have been singled out alongside 473 others for the national honour. According to him, it is gratifying to be recognized by one’s country out of over 200 million people for such an award. He found the honour encouraging and he has determined never to relent in giving the best of value, products and services to Nigerians and humanity.