By BARBARA KALU, Port Harcourt –
A media group in the Niger Delta has explained that it picked the Mayor of Housing, My-ACE China, as the highest award in business and investment because of the man’s track records in wooing investors to come to the oil region.
The group, Niger Delta Media Practitioners of Nigeria (NDMPN), said in Port Harcourt on Friday that based on the above consideration, the choice of the real estate success strategist was therefore not difficult to make.
According to the NDMPN, it was on account of the Mayor of Housing’s aggressive corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, his pro-youth programmes, and his massive campaign for return of investments and businesses to Rivers State and the Niger Delta.
The award was handed to him at the Dome on Peter Odili Road in southern Port Harcourt on behalf of the board of the group by the Rivers State Coordinator of the NDMPN, Amb. Joseph Asomeji.
In an address before the award, Amb. Asomeji said the idea behind the recognition was to correct the impression that journalists were adversaries who usually called for negative reasons. “Not so! Journalists are the friendliest persons you can ever relate with.
“We are pleased to inform you that your being chosen for this award was easy after screening and investigating you through a committee. Your nomination was made possible due to your immense contributions to the development of Rivers State especially in the real estate development sector as well as for your footprints in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This earned you the recognition as ‘Distinguished Company Director of the Year 2023/24’.
“We also thank you for choosing Rivers State as your base, a decision that has given countless job opportunities to our people. We make bold to say that posterity will be kind to you and your unborn generation.”
On ease of doing business, the state coordinator expressed concern over the security challenges in the country. He said, “As media practitioners, we shall continue to do our part in urging all citizens on the need for peace and security by remaining law-abiding.”
He said: “Let us however commend the Rivers State Government for creating a friendly atmosphere for business activities to thrive through the provision of massive infrastructure such as roads.”
The group listed their annual activities and requested for support in carrying them out more successfully.
The speech was followed with a full presentation of the person behind the brand, Mr China, in a profile compiled by one board members. The award plaque was presented by one of the leaders of the association, Mr Kennedy Weneh.
The Mayor of Housing and CEO of the Housing and Construction Mayor Limited, was full of bright stars last weekend when he bagged an award from a sensitive group in the Niger Delta.
In his response, Mr China said he was excited by the honour from the Niger Delta region especially from the Niger Delta Media Practitioners. As an advocate of regional development, he went on, “I believe that this is the manifestation of the thought I hold dear.
“If there is something you must take home today, its my quote that: ‘The most powerful force on earth is a sustained thought’.
“Any good thought you ever have, please do not discard it. The power of any thought is in the sustainability. Fact is that thought is as powerful as the Earth because the Earth was created from thought; but thought can be as useless as wind, when they are not sustained or acted upon. I have had the thought of not only the Niger Delta region but every other region of Nigeria to have some sort of regional economic plan and drive to develop their region by themselves. This is the only way the regions can help themselves.”
He went on: “And, from what I learnt long time ago, help can never come for you. The only person that can help you in this life is you. Even God Himself cannot do anything for you without you or without your consent.
“That led me to a quote that says: ‘Help can make or mar you.’ Seeking to be helped will mar you; seeking to grow to help will make you.”
He said he and his group, ‘The Mayor of Housing’, seek to grow the capacity to be able to help. “In fact, we are one of the few companies in Nigeria that believe that the future of Nigeria does not depend on the government but on courageous private sector-driven individuals that scale their services beyond business into regional development service delivery objectives.”
He said this is one of the awards that give encouragement. “There are two kinds of award; awards of appreciation for what someone has done; and award of encouragement for what someone should do.”
He stated: “I have not done anything yet, but I promise you, if there are 100 persons that will transform Nigeria, it is the Mayor of Housing and 99 others; if there are 10 persons that will transform Nigeria, it is Mayor of Housing and nine others; if there are two persons that will transform Nigeria, it is Mayor of Housing and one other. Now, if then there is only one person that will transform Nigeria, it is the man you are looking at. If there is no person that will transform Nigeria, that means I have died.”
He disclosed his firm promise thus: “We are to ensure that we partner with the Niger Delta Media Practitioners of Nigeria (NDMPN) to reach the region. It is not because we have all it takes but because we are the only company with an organic corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda and drive. It means that though we are starting and if you have one naira, there is something we can accomplish in the CSR space with that one naira. As we grow, we grow our CSR size and our reach.
“We are not afraid of starting small and we are not afraid of making our small effort go regional. With this little we can do, we ensure we use your group (Niger Delta Media Practitioners) to reach the region in the smallest way we can start it. And because we know we don’t grow arithmetically, we grow exponentially, and geometrically, we are sure that no year will meet us at the same level, and so our impact will not be same level.”
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