Giving Abam Communities Facelift

Obinna Chima writes on the intervention by the Unubiko Foundation in Abam community in Arochukwu local government area of Abia State

The sleepy town of Abam in Arochukwu Local Government Area came alive during the yuletide due to interventions by the Unubiko Foundation.

The organisation during the period handed over a set of infrastructure single-handedly developed to the community.

In line with its objective of promoting infrastructure development in communities as well as in promoting justice and peace, the Unubiko Foundation on Tuesday, December 20^th, 2022, hand over a newly built Amaelu-Abam Customary Court to the community. Also, on December 25, 2022, the St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Atan-Abam; the Atan-Abam Women Development Centre and the Ovukwu Abam Secondary School, Atan-Abam constructed by the Foundation were all dedicated and handed over to the community, a ceremony that attracted dignitaries from every part of the country.

All the projects were executed through the Unubiko Foundation. But the St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, was jointly built by the Founder, Unubiko Foundation, Chief James Ume and his uncle, Prof. Kenneth Kalu.

During the handing over of the multi-million-naira court building, the President General, Abam Development Union, Mr. Mike Onwuchechekwa, stressed that the occasion was a historic milestone in the history of Abam.

He explained that the story behind the renovation of the court by Unubiko Foundation was inspiring, saying it rekindled in him the true spirit of self-help as he hailed Ume for the intervention.

“The news of the relocation of the customary court first broke as a mere rumour. Our executive sought to confirm the veracity of this information through our traditional rulers/Nde eze. Furthermore, our executive wrote a letter to the Abia State Customary Court of Appeal, duly signed by me and the secretary seeking clarification on the status of the customary court.

“He confirmed to us the relocation of the customary court to Ozu Abam, the reason being that the newly posted chairman and members of the court could no longer stay in the old and dilapidated court house. He assured us that the court would be relocated as soon as it was renovated and made ready for use,” he added.

According to Onwuchechekwa, this made members of the Abam Development Union to reach out to illustrious sons and daughters of the community, soliciting for financial support for the project, but Ume’s Unubiko Foundation, when approached, chose to finance the project.

“A man of disarming humility, kindness and compassion, Ike Abam listened to us attentively as we made our case for the renovation of the customary court. When we finished, he asked us if we had any architectural design of our choice to which we responded in the affirmative and proceeded to hand over a design to him.

“As has become his trademark, he quietly informed us that he would single handedly bear the cost of the reconstruction. For our delegation, it was like a pleasant dream; God in his infinite mercy and grace had decided to wipe away our tears through one of our illustrious sons in the person of Ike Abam. Our gratitude on that day knew no bound,” he added.  

Commenting during the handing over of the customary court, Ume said: “I have been doing a couple of things for Abam in Abia State and beyond through our Unubiko Foundation. I was called upon to address the challenge they were facing with the court and through the Unubiko Foundation, we decided to embark on this project. I am happy that our people received it well.

“I am not into politics and I am not contesting for office as you can see, but I have been doing quite a lot for my people. What we do at Unubiko Foundation is to serve humanity. I believe in every segment of the society, as individuals we can make our contributions and we don’t all have to be in politics to contribute.

“I am also using this opportunity to encourage other Abams that have been contributing to the development of the community over the years to keep on with the good work they are doing for their people and I believe that at the appropriate time they would be celebrated,” he added.

The Chairman of the Council of Abam Traditional Rulers, Eze Ogbuka Origa, urged all Abam sons and daughters to emulate Ume.

“We are here to celebrate him because of what he has done for the community. This our son has passion to reach out to Abams in every part of the world. His outreach has reached out to several areas and persons,” he added.

The Attorney General of Abia State and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Uche Ihediwa, charged communities to partner with government in the development of the state.

Ihediwa, who was represented by Mr. Kenneth Ogbonna, thanked Ume for assisting the government in building the customary court.

Also, on December 25^th, the Unubiko Foundation handed over the state-of-the-art school built by the Foundation to the Abia State Government.

The school was initially constructed over 70 years ago, but just like most government educational facilities, due to lack of attention, it became dilapidated. When Unubiko Foundation was about to commence the project, most of the buildings had collapsed.

Also at the occasion, the philanthropist pledged a N20 million scholarship grant for students of the school, saying educating the children would guarantee development for the community and the state.

Labour Party Gubernatorial candidate in Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, while speaking at the handing over ceremony, encouraged other well-meaning Nigerians to emulate Ume.

He advised every successful Nigerian to seek to better the lives of those around them.

The Unubiko Founder who is also the Publisher of THE WHITSLER also handed over the reconstructed Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Atan Abam Parish, same day. The Church was first planted in 1919 by Chief Eme Nkugba, a trader in present day Akwa Ibom State.  In 1920, the Church attracted Church of Scotland Mission School Atan Abam. The church members had worshipped in a building erected by late O.K Onyike in the 1980s. In January 2022, Ume and Prof. Kalu undertook the reconstruction of the building and completed the project in October 2022.

The Prelate and Moderator of the Presbyterian Church, His Eminence, Ekpenyong Akpanika, who spoke at the commissioning of the project eulogised Ume and Kalu for their service to humanity.

According to him, the reconstruction of the historic church showed the commitment of both Ume and Kalu to the service of God and humanity. Akpanika said Nigeria would witness socio-economic progress when philanthropists actively engage in community development.

Mba Idika, the former Prelate and Moderator of Presbyterian Church during his remark, described the project as one of its kind.

Speaking on the building donated to Atan Abam Women Development by Unubiko Foundation, a former Commissioner for Information in Abia State, Eke Agbai, said the gesture by Ume would challenge other well-meaning Nigerians to push for developmental projects in the state.

He said such developmental projects were expected to be undertaken by government. He called for public private partnership to develop the states.

He said, “If you cannot account, you cannot lead. You must trust somebody whom you can leave your money in his hands. A good manager of money is a man who can provide leadership.”

Speaking at the handing over of the school, Ume said the intervention by his Foundation were part of the Foundation’s life touching projects, expressing belief that the renovated classroom block, court rooms, the Women Development Centre and church would be greatly valued and urged members of the community to protect the facilities against vandalism.

“The Abam Onyerubi community in Arochukwu Local Government of Abia State has for so long desired transformation and improvement in the development of the ancient community.

“We heard the cry of the indigenes and embarked on these hope-restoring projects across the community,” he said.

He revealed that prior to the intervention in the school, the students were learning under a dilapidated building, which was also a major discouragement to school attendance.

He wondered what type of learning outcome under such dilapidated structure would produce students that would be able to compete with their peers in other parts of the world.

“Government and individuals must do more to support education, we need collective action on infrastructure development if we are to produce the right leaders of tomorrow,” Ume added.

The Foundation had before now implemented many intervention programmes in areas of skills acquisition in digital technology and other areas, youths and women empowerment, job creation and poverty reduction among others.

Previous, the Foundation had embarked on various youth empowerment programmes in Abia State. It had pointed out that the interventions were necessary to accelerate the shift towards digitally-focused empowerment of youths in Abia State due to rising insecurity and youth unemployment.

It had also stated that its aim was to re-channel the negative vibes that some youths invest in unproductive ventures to something useful by starting to build enduring products and solutions that would power Africa with tech-innovation.

It is expected that other sons and daughters of Abam would emulate Ume’s good gesture for the development of the communities and betterment of lives of the people.