By Enzo Nzeribe
Dr ABC Orjiako exemplifies the Nigerian Dream. Born on October 1, 1960, the exact date that Nigeria won her independence from Britain, Dr. ABC Orjiako represents the best of Nigerian nationhood.
Dr. Ambrose Bryant Chueloka (ABC) Orjiako is a progressive example that Nigeria is a project that cannot be associated with failure. Dr ABC Orjiako definitely runs against the grain of Nigerian businessmen and politicians who put up billboards to advertise their so-called philanthropy. He gives selflessly without asking to be applauded.
A precocious child, he took pride of distinction from primary school through secondary education until he studied the coveted course of Medicine. He obtained an M.B.B.Ch. degree in 1985 from the College of Medical Sciences, University of Calabar. Then he trained as a General Surgeon at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos, and thereafter specialized in orthopedic and trauma surgery. He became a fellow of the West African College of Surgeons in 1996. An esteemed orthopedic surgeon, he acquitted himself in medical science before branching out into business.
A man of uncommon courage, Orjiako threw his hat into the ring of competition at the very heart of the Nigerian economy: oil and gas. He has in the course of time been involved in distinguished enterprises such as Abbeycourt that traded crude oil and refined petroleum products with Britain’s Glencore, Abbeycourt Energy, Zebbra Energy and Shebah Exploration and Production Company Limited etc.
The stellar year of 2009 dawned with the founding of SEPLAT, the industry benchmark in management efficiency and corporate social responsibility in the oil and gas industry, where Dr. Orjiako led as chairman.
Orjiako’s intimidating business dimensions span construction, real estate development, pharmaceuticals, shipping etc. He is an indefatigable top player on the Nigeria Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange and Euronext Paris.
For Dr. Orjiako, business runs in his blood, as he once said: “I come from a business family – my late father was a businessman – and all around me I could see business opportunities either going begging or being handled very poorly. So I tried to do other things and found myself naturally slipping into the stream of the Nigerian economy.”
An avid lover of knowledge, he enrolled into the renowned Harvard Business School to widen his horizon.
He in 1996 founded the Daniel Orjiako Memorial Foundation (DOMF) in everlasting memory of his late father, Chief Daniel O. Orjiako. The philanthropic legacy of DOMF since inception has been truly phenomenal.
Dr. Orjiako is a deeply religious icon of the Catholic faith such that Pope John Paul II in 2003 bestowed on him the Knighthood of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (KSGG) in recognition of his services to humanity.
Dr. Orjiako remains an eternal friend of the one Nigerian who could have been crowned Pope. Religious leaders all over the world do not come more charismatic than our very own Francis Cardinal Arinze. In virtually all continents of the world, Cardinal Arinze’s name is a household noun based on his groundbreaking work as President of Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue at the Vatican from 1985 to 2002.
The ever feisty Cardinal Arinze was hosted in Lagos by Dr. Orjiako on September 30, 2013 during the presentation of the book, Cardinal Francis Arinze: The Church Pathfinder of Dialogue and Communion written by Monsignor Dennis Isizoh. Cardinal Arinze was his usual humorous self, in total rapport with Dr Orjiako, as he told the book presenters at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) Lagos that he had no need for the money being donated because “the Pope gives me enough money for spaghetti!”
Dr. Orjiako, who spoke on behalf of the Committee of Friends that put up the function, described Cardinal Arinze as “a profound prelate and apostle of the Christian faith, an ambassador of global peace, the world’s youngest Bishop in 1965, the first African Cardinal to head a Vatican Department, the people’s reverend, an accomplished clergy, a good shepherd…”
Dr. Orjiako easily connects with the lowly and the mighty. The awards he has garnered over the years include: the Distinguished Alumnus Award and Doctor of Sciences (D.Sc. Honoris Causa) by his alma mater the University of Calabar in 2001; Platinum Award of the West African College of Surgeons in 2006; National Honours as an Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR) conferred on him in 2012; the coveted Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe “Zik” Prize in the Professional Leadership category by the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre (PPRAC); the African Business Executive of the Year 2014 by the Oil and Gas Council etc.
On this auspicious occasion of Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary it is cool to toast to the country’s birthday mate Dr. ABC Orjiako who eloquently proves that our country is indeed a successful work-in-progress.
About Author
