James Ume: Touching Lives, One at a Time
People
In this report, Sunday Ehigiator chronicles the life and inspiration of philanthropist, and Founder of Unubiko Foundation, Chief Chijioke James Ume, and how he has been touching the lives of Nigerians, far and near
Just as the holy bible said in Acts Chapter 20, verse 35, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’, Chief Chijioke James Ume, has been an epitome of silent giving as many lives have been positively affected by his acts of charity.
Early life and career
Ume is a testament of grace, diligence and seizing opportunity as it comes which saw his meteoric transition from core editorial department to management in the print media and now media and management consultancy.
Born to Abam parents in Abia State, Ume was educated at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, where he earned a BSc in Accountancy. He also holds a BSc, in Business Management, from the United Kingdom and an MSc in Communication Management from a United States university.
He cut his teeth in journalism in 2006, when he was employed as a Trainee Reporter by the late Sam Nda-Isaiah, publisher of the Leadership Newspapers, Abuja, where he rose to become the Regional Editor, South-South/South East, and Regional Manager of the same bureau, News Editor, Leadership Newspapers, Abuja, Features Editor, and Politics Editor. He was later moved to become, first, General Manager, Business Development and later General Manager of Leadership Newspapers.
Ume left the Leadership Group to float Channels Koos Media Consults Ltd in 2013, and went on to begin one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing online newspapers, www.thewhistler.ng with over 40 staff.
That same year, the organisation hosted a training programme for media officers of federal government agencies in New York, Dallas, USA and Canada (April 2013 – November 2013).
As his way of giving back to society and being aware of the teething pain of lack, this budding media consultant set up the Unubiko Foundation to reach out and give hope to the needy. In this, he has made giving culture and this he has demonstrated without boundaries.
Happily married to Ngozi, a pharmacist and blessed with three children, Ume has become a pillar of support to the less privileged.
Ume’s humanitarian feats
As a true “village boy,” Ume’s humanitarian feat is legendary as all the 27 Abam villages bear the imprimatur of his benevolence and charity. Months back, he handed over a Customary Court he rebuilt at the cost of over N150million.
Ume may have imbibed his charitable act from a very young age through his parents who were also known givers in the community. Ume has over time, continued to demonstrate in action, what humanity should represent, as he continues to give succour to the downtrodden,
From building schools and government facilities, to providing water infrastructure, paying millions of hospital bills, investing in the young by giving out scholarships, empowering the youth with entrepreneurial skills and donating millions of naira to the government for the benefit of the people, among others, Ume, also known as Ike Abam (A chieftaincy title bestowed on him by his community), has attracted and won several awards and recognitions.
The latest being, the Gani Fawehinmi Impact and Integrity Awards (GFIIA) recently bestowed upon him by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre, and the ‘God’s Mission Ambassadors Award’ by the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (PCN), Ketu Parish, for his act of philanthropism, and service to humanity over the years.
Rudderless and impervious to standard democratic values as Nigeria has become, it takes such interventions from Ume to keep the country from going over the edge.
Evidence from all parts of the country point to the reality that there is no nationalistic messiah on the horizon and that only the little gestures from those still flowing with the milk of human kindness would continue to give hope to the people.
This was essentially what attracted him to the community service projects that have been undertaken by Ume, a young man from Abia State, who is demonstrating a rare but much-needed attachment to developing his community and the people.
Pandemic era
In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, long before politicians changed the meaning of ‘palliative’ to political tokenism, Ume had moved into his community, Abam, with 500 bags of Rice, hand sanitisers, hand-wash buckets and sundry other relief items to be distributed to the poor and vulnerable.
Pre-pandemic Initiatives
Ume did not just drop from the blues to dispense a one-off palliative for his people. Revelation from his digital footprints, which dates back to long before the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered the world, revealed that Ume single-handedly undertook the rehabilitation of a major access road to his community.
The Ndi Oji -Atan Abam road has been in very bad shape for many years and as the government paid little attention, the largely agrarian community lived behind the world. Erosion and other conspiratorial elements made the six-kilometre stretch of road unmotorable until his intervention.
For an individual, volunteering N13 million for relief works on a community road project must demand a sacrificial spirit but the overwhelming infrastructure needs of the people piling up for years continued to nudge the conscience of the willing benefactor, who was thus compelled to undertake the drilling of boreholes that provided portable water for more than six settlements in his locality.
Also those that drank from the fountain of Ume’s kindness are young people in his community. On August 17, 2020, 20 youth from his state were sponsored to digital and leadership training, which embeds exposure to computer coding skills, digital marketing and leadership.
When asked why he was undertaking the funding of such an enterprise, Ume spoke of the importance of harvesting the energy in young people and channelling the same for values that would help better their lives and enrich society.
According to him, “It’s imperative that our young people in Abia get the opportunity to immerse themselves with relevant leadership and digital skills that are critical for them to effectively compete and survive in today’s hi-tech economy.
“We aim to re-channel the energy that some of our youths invest in unproductive ventures to something useful by starting to build enduring products and solutions that will power Africa through tech innovation.”
Late last year, Ume handed over the Presbyterian Church he rebuilt, a women’s development centre, and Ovukwu-Abam Secondary School, Atan-Abam, which he rebuilt, valued at N500 million to the owners.
Ume has empowered hundreds of widows, awarded no fewer than 200 scholarships for students in Arochukwu Local Government Area, paid WAEC fees for all students in Atan-Abam in 2020, and donated 100 brand new laptops to trainees in the digital economy.
He has also provided transformers to aid rural electrification and financed 44 boreholes for the 27 villages that make up Abam, among other philanthropic projects.
Payment of hospital bills
In October 2023, Ume’s Unubiko Foundation, defrayed the bills of many indigent persons, who could not pick up their hospital bills at the Federal Medical Centre, (FMC), Umuahia, Abia State after being discharged.
Ume, said the donations were made to help the needy and indigent go back to their homes, reunite with their families and resume their normal lives.
The Foundation also paid the bills of people from Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal Constituency who were on admission at the hospital.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Njasi Agwu, from Ohafia, disclosed that even though they had discharged weeks ago, she was detained because she wasn’t able to raise the balance of N601,000 till it was cleared by the foundation.
Another beneficiary, Jombo Goodness, who was at Ludlow ward expressed joy to God Almighty for bringing an Angel in human form to pay her hospital bill. According to her, she was discharged on June 9, 2023, but was unable to raise the N309,000 balance, till the foundation came to her aid. She described Ike Abam as a Messiah sent by God to help people like her.
Similarly, Mrs. Enyinnaya Akudo, who benefited from the philanthropic gesture of the Foundation, was overwhelmed with happiness when the news of the payment of the hospital bill of N411,000 got to her. The patients didn’t hold back in praying for the foundation and its founder who has continued to give hope to the needy.
Recognitions
As a result of his immense contributions to Abia State and community development efforts, Ume was singled out for commendation by former Governor of the State, Okezie Ikpeazu, in a personally signed letter. This was followed by his installation as “Ike Abam’’ by the 27 autonomous communities in early 2021.
He was also named the ‘The Sun Humanitarian Service Icon Award winner for the year 2022, and was awarded Defender of Press Freedom, by the Federal Capital Territory chapter of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in 2021.
Similarly, in May 2023, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) honoured Ume with the prestigious honour of ‘Ray of Hope for Abia Youths’.
More charity
For Ume, charity may begin at home, but its impact is felt beyond home.
Speaking with THISDAY during the presentation of his last award from HEDA, Ume, said, the awards and recognitions he has gotten are a call for more service, as the reward for giving is more giving.
“It therefore also means that we just have to keep working harder. For me, serving the people is what gives me ultimate satisfaction, and that’s what I believe in.”
On what to expect from the foundation, moving forward, he said, “We are very grateful for the recognition that is coming. And I can tell you, we didn’t know how all these awards came about, just some random guy reached out to me to inform me about the awards.
“For us, it’s just a beautiful thing. And for the Unubiko Foundation, we are not stopping here. We have had many people support us in many ways, with the work we are doing.
“This December, we are handing over a brand new secondary school that we built to the community and the government on December 26, and we will also be handing over N300 million for scholarships to Abia State students.
“So we are not stopping, we will keep uplifting humanity and keep hoping that we will get support from our friends and associates who help us in the works that we are doing.”
Ume and his Unubiko Foundation should be emulated so as to build a better, stable society, eradicate poverty, spread hope and happiness.
