Dr. ABC Orjiako is the Nigerian Dream writ large having been born on October 1, 1960, the exact date that Nigeria won her independence from the Great Britain.
Dr. Ambrose Bryant Chueloka (ABC) Orjiako is a clear and present example that Nigeria is a project that cannot be associated with failure. Being born on the date that Nigeria arrived at independence, it is as though the self-effacing Dr. Orjiako has carried the undying dreams of his beloved country on his formidable shoulders. He is an ennobling personage who gave many businessmen and women their startups without making any noise whatsoever about his abiding benevolence. He initiated a landmark scholarship scheme and employed people to sift through the many applications from distressed Nigerians asking for his help. His life of rendering service was never advertised in the press.
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. It’s against this remarkable background of hidden rendering that Dr. Orjiako became a fascination for well-meaning Nigerians.
A precocious child, he took pride of distinction from primary school till his time in medical school. He obtained an M.B.B.Ch. degree in 1985 from the College of Medical Sciences, University of Calabar. After that, 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. He acquitted himself in medical science before branching out into the oil and gas industry. He has in the course of time been involved in distinguished enterprises
such as in 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. He superintended over intimidating business concerns spanning construction, real estate development, pharmaceuticals, shipping, and many others. He is an indefatigable top player on the Nigeria Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange and Euronext Paris.
An avid lover of knowledge, he enrolled into the renowned Harvard Business School to widen his horizon.
He had in 1996 founded the Daniel Orjiako Memorial Foundation (DOMF) in everlasting memory of his late father, Chief Daniel O. Orjiako. The philanthropic legacy of the foundation since inception is so vast such that it would need a voluminous book to document.
Dr. Orjiako is a deeply religious icon of the Catholic faith. 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 Francis Cardinal Arinze.
Dr. Orjiako easily connects with the low 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.
He is happily married to his beloved Henrietta and they are blessed with four children. On this auspicious occasion of Nigeria’s 63rd Independence Anniversary, let’s all toast to the country’s birthday mate, Dr. ABC Orjiako, the guru with the MIDAS touch, who eloquently proves that Nigeria is indeed a successful work-in-progress.
Written by HON. JUDE NGOBILI
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