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Anthony Ezenna: 63 Garlands for Ijele, the Orange Man

Published

4 years ago

April 25, 2020

Eric

By Ingram Osigwe

Turning 63 in today’s Nigeria, buffeted by obfuscations and valleys that limit life, is not a mean milestone.

IJELE Akokwa and Chairman of Orange Drugs Group of Companies, Sir (Dr) Anthony Ifeanyichukwu Ezenna, has just achieved that enviable milestone as he turns 63.

Those expecting a talk of the town birthday bash may not get it.Apart from the grim mood of times- the rampaging global pandemic, COVID-19 rendering such high octane social gathering impossible, Ijele is naturally not a loud person. So, neither his home town, Owerre- Akokwa in Ideato North local government of Imo state nor the sprawling city of Lagos from where he oversees his multi-billion naira conglomerate will stand still for him!

Many view Ezenna from the prism of a stupendously rich businessman and an industrialist. Yes, he is, but that is not the only elegant narration about the Orange Drug boss.

The other side of the Orange man speaks volume of a man who wears humility like a garb. This solves the riddle as to why Tony is not given to unbridled display of opulence and flamboyancy and the noise that come with them.

An incurable humanist and philanthropist, who gets quantum satisfaction from putting smiles on the faces of the needy, Ezenna would rather turn his birthday to a “giving Day”- reaching out to the vulnerable and needy.

Apart from creating jobs and putting smiles on the faces of the less privileged in the society, Ezenna also supports government in providing security to secure lives and properties of citizens as well as providing quality education for the people. He also contributes immensely to community development.

In Akokwa community for example, he ensures that the Vigilante outfit in the area and the police are properly empowered with logistics to secure lives and properties of the people.

Tony Ezenna has consistently helped the helpless, restored hope to the despair and rekindled life in the famished .These he has been doing, largely, through his Foundation which he set up in 2006 to further drive home his passion for the poor. The Foundation provides scholarships and financial support to indigent families that cannot afford the cost of sending their children to school.

He has also rebuilt, renovated or built from scratch, a plethora of schools all in the bid to help government make quality education available to his people.

Among these includes Akokwa High school, Bishop Shanaham Secondary School Orlu, National Ndizuogu secondary school, Ntueke and Cor Marie High School,Urualla, headquarters of Ideato North local government area of Imo state. The school was dedicated last December.

The Foundation also provides financial assistance to small scale businesses in his community, Owerre-Akokwa.

The community has equally benefitted immensely from their illustrious son’s community developmental blitz, including the provision of electricity and pipe borne water.

In the light of the ravaging global pandemic, COVID 19, Tony Ezenna is dedicating his 63rd birthday to helping his people cushion the economic impact of the pandemic. Consequently, few days ago he gave 1,000 bags of 50kg rice to Akokwa community.

Sir Ezenna’s zero to hero life trajectory conditioned his humble nature. He was not born with the proverbial silver spoon but like a phoenix, he would rise from the ashes of socio-economic limitations to become a towering testimony to fruits of hard work.

Ezenna was an apprentice entrepreneur under the tutelage of his late father before making a plunge into an own business which he registered in 1988 as Orange Drugs Limited.

The young company was at that time cited in Owerri, the Imo state capital. However, to meet standard of staff recruitment and ease of doing large volume business, given the advantages of seaport and other factors essential for the dynamics of international business, he moved Orange Drugs to Lagos. The company was initially located at Okupe Estate, Maryland but was later relocated to a bigger facility at its present corporate headquarters, 66/68 Town Planning Way Illupeju.

Ezenna’s resourcefulness and diligence in handling his father’s business at a very young age would later reflect in the success story that is Orange Drugs Group today.

The birthing of Orange Drugs, which has since grown from a mere retail outlet to a manufacturing conglomerate, was of course the beginning of Tony’s many other enchanting business and social milestones that has established him as an astute industrialist, business mogul, job creator and philanthropist on a similar pedestal as Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola, Obinna Uzor, Tony Elumelu, Jim Ovia among other leading bussiness czars and employers of labour in Nigeria today.

With Orange Drug multi-billionaire ultra-modern factories in Lagos and Onitsha, Anambra state, Ezenna has created thousands of jobs and saved thousands of youth Nigerians from roaming the labour market. His industrialization drive, with the Orange Group as platform, recorded a giant leap on Thursday, August 30th, 2012 when former president Goodluck Jonathan commissioned the Group’s ultra-modern plant in Onitsha.

The novel thing about Orange Group’s Onitsha plant that it is the first and only plant in Nigeria that manufactures bulk packaged goods that are later finished in other smaller processing factories.

The Orange Drugs Group is comprised of three subsidiary companies which include:

Orange Drugs Ltd (ODL)-manufactures soaps, distribution, and marketing of drugs, cosmetics and energy drinks.

Orange Kalbe Ltd (OKL)-Involved in manufacturing of drugs.

Orange West Africa Ltd(OWA)-Whole sale franchise partner to represent Osram GmbH, Germany.

Born on April 21, 1957 in Port Harcourt to Ernest Ukwandu Ebiliekwe Ezenna and Mrs. Comfort Ebiliekwe Ezenna of Owerri Akokwa in Ideato South Local Government Area of Imo state, Sir Tony Ezenna has in his kitty avalanche of awards from individuals, corporate organizations, groups, NGOs religious organizations etc. in recognition of his selfless service to his fatherland and humanity.

A dotting father to his children, grandchildren and loving husband to his adorable wife Lady Lizzy Ezenna, Tony Ezenna, a devout Catholic, is a knight of the church. He also holds the traditional titles of Ijele Akokwa and Ikenga Akokwa respectively.

Here is wishing the Orange man a happy 63rd birthday.

Featured

Airforce Confirms Nigeria’s Readiness to Acquire 24 Fighter Jets from Italy’s Leonardo

Published

9 mins ago

April 20, 2024

Eric

By Reuters

Nigeria plans to acquire 24 fighter jets from Italy’s Leonardo (LDOF.MI), opens new tab to modernize its fleet and bolster its air force, air force spokesperson Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet said on Friday.

The aircraft will arrive the country in four batches of six jets each, the air force said. Africa’s most populous nation will receive the first six M-346 fighter aircraft before the end of the year, Gabkwet said in a statement.

The news followed a visit by Claudio Sabatino, Leonardo vice president, to Nigeria’s air force chief in Abuja on Wednesday.

Leonardo will provide a minimum of 25 years maintenance support, the air force statement said.

Nigeria is trying to boost its ability to combat insurgency especially in the northeast of the country where Boko Haram militants and the Islamic State regional affiliate is active. Also kidnapping and banditry is rife across the country.

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Stay Away from CBT Centres, JAMB Warns Parents, Threatens Arrest

Published

2 days ago

April 18, 2024

Eric

As this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) begins on Friday, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has vowed to arrest parents found near any Computer-Based Test (CBT) centre during the 2024 UTME exercise.

The directive was issued at the final briefing of the CBT centre owners, which was held virtually on Wednesday, 17th April, 2024.

The spokesman for JAMB, Fabian Benjamin, said this directive became necessary following the intrusive disposition of some parents during the Board’s previous exercises.

Benjamin, who quoted JAMB Registrar Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, said any parent, who disobeys the order would not only be arrested but his ward would also be disqualified from sitting for the examination.

Oloyede explained that this measure became necessary as it has been discovered over time that many of these intruding parents are facilitators of examination infractions while others have, by their actions, disrupted the Board’s examinations in the past.

He added that some miscreants also disguise as parents to infiltrate the centres to perpetrate all forms of infractions.

“The Board’s helmsman noted that going by the extant national policy on education, a candidate for the examination must have attained the age of 17 years.

“Therefore, it is evident that these parents had not allowed their wards to pass through the classes as defined in the document, hence the desperation to follow their wards to the examination venue with the aim of compromising examination officials.

“At any rate, it is clear to any discerning observer that these parents deserve to be sanctioned as they had obviously ‘smuggled’ underage children into the ranks of those scheduled to sit the examination,” the Board note through a statement.

Furthermore, the Registrar said all arrangements have been concluded for the conduct of the 2024 UTME, which will be held in over 700 CBT centres across the nation.

He disclosed that the Board expects a seamless exercise but it has nevertheless made adequate provision to tackle any technical glitch that might occur in the course of the examination.

He, however, warned that if a session experienced any technical challenge, candidates in subsequent sessions would be allowed to sit their examination as scheduled while the candidates in the challenged session would be rescheduled for the last session for the day or the following day or even further depending on the centre schedules.

Featured

Oyo Govt Demolishes Operational Base of Yoruba Nation Agitators

Published

2 days ago

April 18, 2024

Eric

The Oyo State government, on Wednesday, demolished a building serving as the operational base of the Yoruba Nation agitators led by Modupe Onitiri-Abiola, in Ibadan.

Onitiri-Abiola, one of the widows of late Bashorun M.KO Abiola, had declared the creation of the so-called Yoruba Nation in a video posted online, which has been widely condemned.

Last Saturday, some armed men in military uniforms invaded the Oyo State Secretariat, with the motive to forcefully take over the State House of Assembly, before they were dislodged by the combined efforts of police and troops for the Nigeria Army 2 Division..

Mr. Fatai Owoseni, Special Adviser on Security Matters to Governor Seyi Makinde, confirmed the demolition of the house located at Toye Oyesola Street in Ibadan South West Local Government Area.

Already, no fewer than 29 suspects – including a lecturer – arrested in connection with the foiled armed invasion were on Wednesday arraigned by the police before a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Ibadan.

In a case with charge number Mi/520c/2024 between the Commissioner of Police and the 29 suspects, they were accused of a seven-count charge of treasonable felony, unlawful society, illegal possession of firearms, and conduct likely to cause breach of peace.

Inspector Bakare Rasaq, the Investigative Police Officer (IPO) at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku, Ibadan, said the offence contravenes, and is punishable under Section 516 of the Criminal Code, Cap 38, Vol. II, Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria, 2000.