Written by Balogun Omeiza David (BOD) Media Aide to Alh. Dr. Umar Oricha Shuaibu the Director General, Government House Administration, Lokoja.
The 1st of October, 1960 happened to be a Saturday. On this day two significant things happened. Nigeria our beloved country gained her independence from the British colonial masters who held sway for many years. To those who witnessed this freedom Nigeria got from Britain, they said it was a happy day all over Nigeria. Like in Ebiraland where Alh. Dr. Umar Oricha Shuaibu (a man I will refer to as Oricha in the remaining part of this post) hails from, I was told the rain fell heavily on this particular day in 1960 as if it was a way of rinsing and cleansing colonial dominance within the shores of Nigeria. The same heavy rain is falling this morning in Lokoja where Oricha is marking his 61st birthday.
As Nigeria was gaining her independence, Oricha too was also ready to gain his independence from his mother’s womb which had kept him safe and sound for 9 solid months. As God will have it, Nigeria was born and also Oricha was given birth to on the 1st of October, 1960. Nigeria is 61 and today Oricha is also 61. Glory be to God!
Nigeria has been so many things to many of her citizens and so has Oricha affected the many people privileged to have come in contact with him. The name Nigeria was coined by Dame Flora Louise Shaw. She was Lord Lugard’s wife. She was a writer and British Journalist. The name Oricha that the Ebira people answer is from the root word “Orisha” in Youruba language which means a deity. The Ebira version which is “Oricha” is normally used to refer to the Supreme God but it is also a name that is given to a male child in Kogi Central. Many of our traditional musicians normally refer to God as “Oricha bedu-bedu” whenever they sing. It is also an expression used during prayers in Churches and even in traditional gatherings. The man Oricha we are celebrating his birthday today is indeed a god to many. No Nigerian citizen will for any reason love colonial rule in Nigeria and even the whole of Africa because of how the whites conveniently settled to rape the land of the blacks but everyone who knows Oricha will confess to have gained one or two positive things from him always longing to meet with him again and again.
As the Director General, Government House Administration, Oricha has shown that he knows his onions as he carries out his job responsibilities with relative ease. The security men adore him. The civil servants within the Government House community loves and stands in awe of him. He has a listening ear to official details and even to many coming to see him for one reason or the other. If we say his name Oricha means God in Ebira language and a deity in Yoruba language then, one should not be surprised that people frolic around him seeking for solutions to their nagging problems. This is akin to the way people submit their supplications before the God of heaven to come to their aid when they are faced with the vicissitudes of life. As a result of Oricha’s godly nature and generosity, he has become a sort of deity to the people. The Government House community refers to him as the landlord.
One way of knowing how much Oricha has used his fatherly nature to help many people in solving their problems is to always read the News Magazine published by his Media Unit trimonthly that is, every three months. God the divine Oricha has used the earthly Oricha we are celebrating his birthday to wipe away the tears of many from the meagre resources available to him. He has paid and still paying the medical bills of many patients that he does not know from Adam. The Federal Medical Center (FMC), Lokoja were so happy with him that they had to write a letter appreciating him for always paying up the medical bills of those he is led by God to foot their medical bills.
It will be an exercise in futility if we try to count the numbers of students Oricha has strived to pay their school fees. This fees ranges from the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and students in higher institutions. Oricha has helped in empowering tailors with sewing and designing machines. He has given cobblers the machines they needed to make shoes. He has attended to the plea of Okada Riders begging for motorcycles to go about their businesses conveniently. A young man who was barber ran to him for help and he funded him to buy everything needed in a barbers shop and also paid for his shop. Even a Hausa man all the way from Sokoto State supplying him fruits received a touch of Oricha’s benevolence when his damaged and painful set of teeth was given medical attention by a dentist. Oricha has helped many in getting both federal and state governments jobs. All these and more are real. They are not cooked up stories. We have the records for all to see.
One other striking quality of Oricha is his humble nature. He has never for once behaved like the peacock despite the many decorations God has beautified his life with. Anytime he is opportune to do good towards anybody or community, he ends up giving the praise to God almighty and also His Excellency, Alh. Yahaya Bello. He is fond of saying, “if not for God and Gov. Yahaya Bello, I wouldn’t have been where I am today.” He has never taken pleasure in pulling down people in order to curry favour from the powers that be. He believes that each and everyone’s life revolves around a destiny that is already scripted therefore, there is no need for him to cut corners and same time tampering with a script God has ordained for his life. Oricha is also a humorous man. If given the chance, he will do much more better than those cracking jokes and making millions out of it. His ability to make himself and other people laugh has made him look much more younger than his age. He has also not let go his farmlands that helped him and his family a whole lot before God started opening doors of favour unto him. The last thing Oricha will cling unto is farming. He loves farming so much that his face beams with smiles when he sees green plants growing gradually and dancing to the rhythm of the wind.
May God grant you much greatness, longevity and the wherewithal to carry on with life as you clock 61. May your children be blessed and lifted to greater heights in your days. May every machinations of the evil ones targeted against you meet their waterloo. Congratulations sir.
Picture credit: Johvibes- Official Photographer of Alh. Dr. Umar Oricha Shuaibu.