PAUL NWOSU
Today is the birthday of the immediate past First Lady of Anambra State, Her Excellency Chief (Mrs) Ebelechukwu Obiano, who earned stellar distinction an embodiment of compassion and the champion of the less privileged persons in our society. She almost always cites the biblical passage: Matthew 25:40 – “Whatever you do for the least of my brothers, that you do for me.”
In Anambra State, it used to be the norm for the governor’s wife to mostly perform her all-important role as the First Lady from the background, usually with no well-defined programme to specifically make the matching marks. Before the coming of Chief (Mrs) Obiano, former Anambra State First Ladies were seen but hardly ever heard.
Chief (Mrs.) Ebelechukwu Obiano, as the wife of the then Governor of Anambra State, Chief (Dr.) Willie Maduabuchi Obiano, changed the narrative and made history. Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano, in her capacity as Anambra State First Lady, elegantly occupied a pride of place in the annals of public service with the hallmark of waging a sustainable war against any semblance of decay or poverty where it matters most. By finding her own place in service, the First Lady fondly called Osodieme, showed the world that she’s a woman of dexterous capabilities who’s genuinely interested in what troubles women, men, youths, children, the less privileged, and indeed all humanity in the remotest villages, towns and cities across Anambra State.
According to Osodieme, “Putting Smiles on people’s faces gives me joy.” Her traditional title “Osodieme” which means “one who does good deeds like her husband” conferred on her in 2002 by the traditional ruler of Aguleri in recognition of her generous spirit and outstanding service to the community. In the words of Sixteenth Century English Writer and Preacher, John Bunyan, “You have not lived today, until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”
This, perhaps, explains Mrs. Obiano’s guiding philosophy in life, which in turn has generated ripples of heartfelt appreciations from beneficiaries whose lives she has touched remarkably, in one way or another. To Osodieme and her husband, acts of charity seem to be second nature, a practice steeped in family tradition of selfless giving. It is a testament to a deep humanitarian conviction and conscious effort at building social equity that Ebelechukwu and her husband, Chief Willie Obiano, chose the path of philanthropy.
It started early before she even became a governor’s wife. What else could make a mother leave the family residence located at the Gbagada suburb of Lagos, taking with her cooked food, assorted clothing and some cash, and embark on a visit to the nest of beggars along Kano Street Yaba, Lagos?
It’s therefore, understandable that as the Anambra First Lady she set up the NGO, Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFE). From 2014, Mrs. Obiano’s visits to motherless homes as part of charity outreach took her to Basden Memorial Special Education Centre, Isulo, Orumba South, Local Government Area where in her own words: “I had a gut-wrenching experience that left me in tears all day.” She said: “Nothing has tasked my emotion like that experience nor prepared me for the sight of physically challenged and visually impaired students living in squalid and unhygienic environment under dilapidated and leaking roofs, crawling to fetch drinking water from pit, and no means of sustenance”. Visibly shaken and saddened by the experience, Osodieme, swung into action immediately and paid for the commencement of a borehole water project to supply the school’s water needs.
Worthy of recall is the case of one Chuks Samson, a London returnee who reportedly lost his senses on arrival on December 4, 2017 and was roaming the streets of Lagos. On hearing the young man’s plight, Mrs. Obiano placed phone calls to contacts who were detailed to apprehend and take him to a hospital in Lagos where he got stabilized and sent to his relatives.
Osodieme stepped in after the dastardly act of cowardice of acid bath on a trader, Mrs. Chinwe Ozoemena at Nkwo Nnewi on March 2, 2013, leading to loss of an eye, parts of her ear lobe and second degree burns from head, face, down to her breast and right arm. The case of Nollywood actor and musician, late Ernest Asuzu readily comes to mind. Osodieme was on holiday abroad when she learnt of his plight and health challenges and how he reportedly took to the streets after losing his earnings.Mr. Ernest Asuzu was moved from Lagos accompanied by the wife to Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Awka where he was treated and later on discharged, supported and engaged in a business venture of his chosen. Unfortunately, the young man passed-on barely a year later in January 2021.
The free prosthetic limb Mrs. Obiano provided through her NGO CAFE to aid mobility of many physically challenged persons provided immense help to persons in Anambra State and beyond. The plight of indigent widows was another major source of concern for Mrs. Obiano. She created a project to help those without roof over their heads. The interesting testimonial about Mrs. Obiano’s interventions is that it did not discriminate on partisan basis.
A remarkable event occurred on March 5, 2018, which was the International Women’s Day, when Mrs. Obiano reunited a family and their mother who was lost for over thirty-five years and presumed dead. On that fateful day at the Home for Mentally Challenged, Nteje, in Oyi Local Government Area, a 77- bed facility managed by CAFE in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, there were no dry eyes on the scene as the then sixty-two-year-old Mrs. Rose Anene who reportedly left home years ago without trace was reunited with her grown children and kit and kin.
The successful management of mentally challenged vagrants who had the good fortune of straying through Anambra and were apprehended by a special team which raid the streets to apprehend them and ensure they are housed and treated at the Nteje home was of the many heartwarming tales of compassion and care dispensed by Osodieme as the First Lady of Anambra State.
The moving testimonies of CAFE housing beneficiaries can be celebrated alongside the over one hundred CAFE cleft lip and cleft palate surgery beneficiaries of Mrs Obiano. Osodieme successfully dealt with the birth condition of congenital mouth deformity of cleft lip and cleft palate in new born and children in rural communities used to be a source of anguish and pains not only to the innocent children but to the parents many of whom cannot fathom the cause of such facial and oral deformity.
Osodieme’s devotion to dispensing charity and lending a hand to touch and lift the most vulnerable in society has been widely acknowledged – from the game-changing free prosthetics for the physically challenged, free cleft lip and palate surgeries for children with congenital mouth disorder, building of modern toilet facilities in rural markets, widows’ housing, training and empowerment of indigent widows, women and youths.
There is no doubt that Mrs. Obiano enabled positive social change through the generous efforts of her charity organization, CAFE. Many in Anambra State and beyond bear testimonies to the social transformation effect of the charity works of Mrs. Obiano and the inclusiveness of her charity devoid of political identity or other social considerations
On this remarkable day of her birthday, it is worthwhile to recall the many awards she had been bestowed with. Mrs Obiano has been the celebrated recipient of the coveted Zik Prize for Humanitarian Services. The awards kept coming her way, such as the Most Supportive First Lady in Nigeria, awarded by The Sun newspapers, First Lady of the Year, awarded by Prime Time; Most Valuable Governor’s Wife; Excellence Award by Nigerian Women in Atlanta, USA; EU/UNISEF WASH Ambassador; and UK Award for Fight Against Sickle Cell and other Disabilities. She capped it all up with the Honorary Doctorate Degree by Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University.
An Amazon of uncommon distinction, Mrs Obiano, our very own Osodieme, earned her deserving plaudits as the Mother Teresa of modern-day Nigeria.
Happy birthday, Osodieme!