“…..January 4, 2025 will see Osima visiting orphanages and old people’s homes where he would be meeting and celebrating with children and senior citizens; and on January 5, 2025, the historical book on Osima, which chronicles his journey and trajectory would be unveiled….”
Today 1st January, 2025 marks my 67th birthday and the 60th birthday of my brother, Barr Osima Ginah and for some reasons, I will be celebrating his birthday instead of doing any write up about myself on this auspicious day. My wonderful children have on their own resolved to do more of the write-ups on me in this regard.
The fact remains that my relationship with this man of the moment goes beyond blood relationship that have spanned over eight years when we team up to see how we can sustain and improve democracy in Nigeria particularly in Rivers State.
From the records before me, it has been a barrage of activities in Rivers State, particularly, Angulama community in Asari-Toru local government area of Rivers State, since December 2024, in commemoration of the birth anniversary of Barr. Osima Ginah, a renowned Lawyer and rare breed politician from the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, who would be joining the class of diamonds on January 1, 2025, marking his 60th birthday.
In a statement made available to the media, erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Eze Chukwumeka Eze, says four great events including a 3-day power-packed crusade held in Angulama are part of activities lined up for the epochal anniversary.
The crusade was followed by a football tournament amongst the various communities of the central group with Minama clinching the trophy after trashing Omektariama three zero at the finals. Angulama came third after a 3-Nil defeat over Krakrama which came a distant 4th.
On 1st January, 2025, the very day of the anniversary, an empowerment program targeted at cushioning the effect of the harsh economic reality of the times and improving the livelihoods of families, will hold in Angulama at the instance of the celebrant in his characteristic penchant for philanthropy. This empowerment program will be preceded by a thanksgiving service as a mark of appreciation to God for bringing Osima this far.
January 4, 2025 will see Osima visiting orphanages and old people’s homes where he would be meeting and celebrating with children and senior citizens; and on January 5, 2025, the historical book on Osima, which chronicles his journey and trajectory would be unveiled.
To give a little glimpse of the contents of the historical book, Eze unmasks a portion of the literary piece in an excerpt culled from chapter Six subsection ten which beams light on the subject “Osima Ginah’s Strides in Development”
6.10
Osima Ginah’s Strides in Development
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a seasoned philosopher, says, It is the duty of youth to bring its fresh power to bear on social progress. Each generation of young people should be to the world like a vast reserve force to a tried army. They should lift the world forward. That is what they are for. In compliance with this postulation, many people in this generation have made numerous sacrifices towards the enhancement of the society. Some of the people indulged in the provision of social amenities while other engaged themselves in empowerment programmes and peacemaking, which is one of the essential tools for development in any given society. It is no doubt, however, that Barr. Osima Ginah falls in this category of people. He has through his developmental agenda touched many lives in his community and society at large.
Barr. Osima Ginah, knowing the importance of empowerment programme in a community, chose not to do away with it. He has indulged in Human Capacity Building (HCB) which is one of the numerous ways of empowerment, and has through this, helped many people, especially the youths who are not privileged to engage in any meaningful activity for the sake of surviving the current economic harsh weather. He aims at making a number of the youths in Angulama, in the Asari-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, contribute positively to productive economic activities, which will in turn, enhance their living standard.
Helper 1967, stipulated that “Capacity building is like an industrial processing, which converts basic ores and raw materials into useful tools through moulding, tempering, shaping and sharpening them for some ultimate purpose”. This belief, however, shows that the character and potentials of human beings will remain inactive like other factors of production, if not trained. They will only become agents of production and economic activities when they are developed through education and training.
To achieve this objective, the then Urban Development Commissioner instituted a scholarship scheme in his Local Government and dedicated his monthly salary to the education of some children and youths of Asari-Toru local government origin at the primary, post-primary and tertiary levels. It was equally gathered that Barr. Ginah did not stop there. In a bid to encourage other youths in the area, he took the burden of paying the WAEC and GCE fees of those that were interested in writing those examinations. The good gesture was also extended to his Alma mater, Kalabari National College (KNC). That gesture encouraged people to a great extent as those who would not have sat for any of the examinations declared their interests and explored the opportunity to sit for the examination that may lead to their pre-eminence in society in the nearest future.
While commenting on this noble development, Barr. Ginah said: “I decided that I would pay the West African Examination Certificate (WAEC) fees for every person in my community who was ready to write the examination. In one of the years, I paid for 50 persons and for 55 persons in my alma mater, Kalabari National College, Buguma. I believe that it will be a stepping stone for those who want to go a higher education. I also assisted those of my people in various higher institutions by paying their school fees. I did this so that my community and Kalabari Kingdom at large will have more people of my type and those that will be greater than me.”
Continuing, Ginah averred that he wanted to take the opportunity to carry out both infrastructure and human development in Anguluma, stressing that he laid emphasis on human capacity because of its importance in society, as no one would rise to a higher position without being educated. In his words, I see it as an opportunity to develop my community, to develop human capacity and for infrastructural development of my community. I have started because I always tell my people that if they killed one man, they have killed a Commissioner, because the standard in my community, for me, is that everybody is a Commissioner and I come from that community. There is still the opportunity that someone else can be a Commissioner. Since we have achieved that height of Commissioner, I encouraged people who are in the community to start learning because I know that the only thing that can help them to achieve that is when they go to school. Your curriculum vitae will determine what you will be. Those that are occupying important positions now passed through a process that qualified them for the positions. “
Barr. Ginah, having embarked on human capacity building, has been marked as of the eminent sons and daughters of the state that hold something meaningful for the people of his community, because developing human being is a very important instrument for development and survival of any economy. It is interesting to note that most people that benefited from the good gesture are those that come from poor families. This has indeed, forced people to describe the gesture as a wise one because one of the most powerful decisions a person can make is to do something for someone who does not have the power or resources to return the favour.
Barr. Osima Ginah’s quest for the execution of empowerment scheme in Angulama and Kalabari kingdom at large could on the other hand, be seen as one major way of solving the problem of militancy in the Niger Delta region. It is a fact because most of the idle youths from the area who would have been lured into sub-mission by the militants that time, were encouraged to enrol in school by Osima Ginah. It is worthy of note that Barr. Ginah’s programme is in line with that of the then Executive Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, who took human empowerment as the first priority of his administration, thereby contributing immensely to the resolution of youths restiveness in the Niger Delta region and Rivers State in particular. The then Governor Amaechi, having discovered that idleness, which Nyefibo (2006) described as devils workshop, is one of the major causes of the problem of militancy that bedevilled the State, hastily embarked on youth and human empowerment programmes and succeeded in engaging a number of the youths in meaningful activities that may not give them the opportunity to take up arms again. So, for Barr. Ginah to also embank on such programme with his little but hard-earned resources simply showed that he really means well for the State and should be encouraged in the interest of the people of the State.
As a progressive-minded fellow, the Kalabari-born politician did not stop there. Ginah has made considerable donations to several other institutions with the aim of improving them to peoples advantage. Recently, he donated media equipment to the palace of the Amanyanabo of Kalabari kingdom, and as well engaged a Press Secretary for the Palace of the Amanyanabo, a development that was described by many as first of its kind in the history of the kingdom. The reason behind this is not farfetched. It is to bridge the gap between the ruler and the governed by bringing information closer to the people of the kingdom and to market the Kingdome to the world and attract goodwill and development. It is pertinent enough to note that once the information gap is bridged, cooperation and proper understanding between the two classes of people will definitely be achieved and this will go a long way in promoting peace and order in the kingdom.
In furtherance, peace, they say, is one of the essential ingredients of development in any society. Any community that lacks peace will invariably lack development. So, for effective development to take place in any community, there must be absolute peace. This could be seen as the reason why Barr. Osima Ginah sponsored a peace rally at Augulama community, which helped to restore peace and conducive atmosphere for developmental projects in the community that was rocked by crisis. It will also be noted that apart from sponsoring the peace rally, Barr. Ginah was instrumental to the resolution of the crisis that erupted as a result of who occupies the position of the King and Chiefs in the Community.
As a youth leader in the Angulama community, he carried out a study on why the area was in crisis and found out that in the history of the Community there was no Chieftaincy institution. It was not known to their tradition because it was introduced there during the administration of late Melford Okilo, the governor of the old Rivers State.
Having discovered the cause of the crisis, Ginah organized the youths of the community and formed a Peace Committee for the resolution of the conflict. He was appointed the Secretary General of the Peace Committee, and at the end, they succeeded in restoring peace in the Community. This singular effort, to a large extent, has brought development to the Community, as the people now speak with one voice and pursue their common interests collectively.
Confirming Barr. Osima Ginah’s role in the resolution of the crisis in Angulama Community, a source from the area said; “The Kalabari Kingdom, just like others in Rivers State, is a kingdom that is bedevilled by numerous problems including the kingship and chieftaincy tussles in the various communities with factions claiming that they are the right people to the throne. In this regard, several moves were initiated and executed in other to actualise their dreams. There were several litigations instituted by the different factions to enforce their demands for the titles. Hon. Ginah was also one of the front banners of those agitating for the kingship of Angulama and made immeasurable contributions towards it. The kingship struggle became so intensified that it degenerated to what could be described as a mini war between two factions at one stage. That was capable of tearing the entire community apart.
Today, having realised the importance of majority rule in a democratic society, his people were told that there was no need for factions. This has since brought everybody together.
Hon. Barr. Osima Ginah is a peace-loving gentleman who never subscribes to violence, but prefers to adopt dialogue to press home his demand. He believes that with dialogue, there is nothing one cannot achieve. He had initiated moves to reconcile all aggrieved parties in the Kalabari kingdom with a peace rally at Angulama, which later gave birth to the grand Kalabari Peace Rally in order to ensure rapid development both in Angulama Community, the Central Group, and Kalabari in general.
Again, when the communal clash between Krakrama and Minama communities erupted years back, Barr. Osima Ginah was among the personalities in the area who felt disturbed, aware of the negative impact it would have on the affected areas, and even beyond. To him, it would affect development, claim lives, and as well lead to the destruction of already acquired wealth. To arrest the ugly situation in the interest of the future generation, the Kalabari-born legal practitioner personally visited the turbulent Krakrama community at the wake of the disturbances. He did not only paid the visit but also organized and hosted peace meetings and instituted a Peace and Reconciliation Committee to forestall further crisis. The crisis came to an end and peace was restored.
It is, however, quite unarguable that without the quick intervention of the government of Rivers State at that time and that of some personalities in the state, including Barr. Osima Ginah, the problem would have degenerated.
Interestingly, Barr. Ginahs philanthropic gesture has been extended to various religious institutions in the state. As a devoted Christian who appreciates Gods blessings in his life, he has funded several church projects. He was said to have built the pastors residence at Angulama and at various times donated musical equipment, electricity generating plants worth millions of naira for churches in Rivers State, and has as well supported religious crusades.
