By Eneojo Herbert Idakwo

It was a golden path walked by the young Hillary Edime Amodu, a young man with greatness gushing through his veins. The name Hillary is today synonymous wth a Document titled WHO’ S WHO IN IGALA LAND. The Documenter is celebrating the silver Jubilee of this all important document on the 27th of February 2021 with funfare, pomp and pageantry currying the attendance of the high and mighty and every important Igala personality in the society. How did he rise to this stratum of society in terms of building such a Brand? 

 In the year 1996, as a first year student of the University of Ilorin, Hillary had a lot of things going on in his head, “Each time I go out with my Uncle, Dr Amodu, I noticed his various interactions with his friends, I remember vividly the ABENELO CLUB which was a great pressure group they used to fight for the survival of the federal polytechnic Idah” the idea of a binding force , something like a platform began to form pictures in his mind.

“I saw men, young people coming together to fight a particular course, in a specific community and Government was listening to them” says Hillary.

That was how the idea of bringing them together began to evolve , “how to bring them together into a larger community in a larger scope , an idea came to me that , lets take this beyond Idah local Government area, beyond Idah federal constituency, covering the entire Igala land, the nineth largest Ethnic group in Nigeria”

Hillary admits that it was not rosy at the beginning which is usually the characteristics of startups that usually blossom into corporations at their formative stages.

The first manuscripts of who’ s who and the journey to its publication were not without challenges “when we started in 1996, it was a black and white publication then, not as colorful as the one we are printing today”, at a time when there was no GSM, Hillary had the task of locating all the prominent Igala people around the Nigeria federation and that meant Criss crossing the length and breadth of the Country.

It was strange for one small boy coming to ask for the resume or achievement details of a Big man, it was unheard of, but focus, resilience, the never giving up spirit kept him on.

Some of the people turned him down, some never took him seriously, “there were occasions i had to hang around the gate of some big man for hours on end, other occasions I slept at the gatehouse with the gateman waiting for the Big man to let me in. Some blatantly refused to give me their details, but later when we became accepted, they had to desperately talk to some elders to scold us into accepting their details.

The inspiration to package an Excellence rewarding Brand of this order according to Hillary was the who is who in Nigeria published by Newswatch Communications back then. “When I looked at who is who in Nigeria, I saw names like Dr Ahmadu Ali, SS Ameh, Late Abdullahi Ibrahim (san), Chief Alex Kadiri, Chief Gabriel Aduku etc. This was the final Bomb that exploded the clear picture “After seeing it, I became more interested in profiling the Achievers among my people”.

One of the things that got going for Hillary was the fact that while growing up and following his uncle about, he began to develop confidence in meeting people which is one of his greatest assets today.

The Book WHO’S WHO IN IGALA LAND is a compendium that is worth celebrating today being the only acceptable Document in the history of Igala nation that harnesses net-worth individuals and personalities of Igala Extraction with their background and contacts. The book has simplified academic research work, policy formation and showcasing of the positive image of Igala Nation to the world.

 The establishment of who’s who in 1996, has given birth to the following: Igala Carnival, Igala Merit Award, Igala Women of Substance Merit Award, according to Hillary, the who’s who foundation is on it way.

Hillary Edime Amodu was born 0n the 23rd October 1973 at Idi-Araba in Lagos State.

Growing up in Idah and Lagos, he came from a good family with a teacher as father (Mr Henry Amodu ) of blessed memory.

Hillary went to st Boniface primary school, Idah, premier primary school Mushin, Federal Government college Ugwolawo, Kogi state. He proceeded to the University of Ilorin for his Bsc Sociology and Kogi state University for his Masters degree in Sociology.

Hillary is a member of the institute of financial analysis of Nigeria, Member, Nigeria institute of public relations (NIPR) Member, Rotary International, Associate member, Nigeria institute of cost management, member, corporate affairs management of Nigeria, Associate member, certified institute of economics, Secretary Board of trustees Who’s Who in Igala land.

Hillary holds the Title of EJU’CHEGAHI EJEH OFU with the Greeting “DOGBAA”!

 Let us Honour this singular feat by a young man of Igala Extraction with our support as we celebrate with him, the 25th anniversary of WHO’S WHO in Igala land which held on February 27, 2021 at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton, Abuja at 12noon. And the 4th IGALA CARNIVAL which also held at the Kogi state University Stadium, Anyigba on 21st July 2021, these programs were Occasions honoured by high profile personalities of Igala extraction.

Eneojo Herbert Idakwo is a Development Journalist, Communications and Media consultant and writes from Abuja, [email protected] , 08165818307

44 year old, devt-Savvy, masses-oriented Idah-Kogi Business Mogul, politician, and Philanthropist, Muritala Yakubu Ajaka is making a mark on the Kogi East terrain, now he has earned the accolade “The True Bridge” by spreading his developmental strides across the Three Divisions of Kogi East, namely: Idah, Ankpa, and Dekina respectively.

Flamboyant, young, handsome, sociable, and most of all, successful politician and philanthropist beyond most people’s dreams, with his ever-steady smile and gaze, laced with very unassuming and humble posture, Muritala Yakubu Ajaka is always looking like a star in an Igawood movie, too good to be true, but he is the real deal.

MURI as he is fondly called has empowered many young men with cars and they are driving Uber and Taxify, earning a living from it. This is a departure from the usual handouts or crumbs that older politicians have been using as bait to lure young people into thuggery and sycophancy to praise-sing them to public acceptance.

Thuggery, sycophancy, and bootlicking have become a pain in the butt in our modern society, young people have lost their dignity and value in exchange for licking the wounds of deceitful, unproductive, self-serving politicians.

MURI has also empowered many market women with business capital; he has become the darling and the praise in the mouths of these women who have confessed that they have not seen his type before. This is contrary to the status hitherto, where politicians share money to the masses to lure them or to buy their votes. Here is a man whose love for his people has propelled him into passionately changing lives.

A close contact with MURI reveals a man that is emotionally intelligent, a very important attribute of a true leader; he possesses the qualities of self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill.

MURI possesses the ability to recognize and understand his moods, emotions, and drives and their effects on the people he interacts with daily. The resultant effect is that he is able to control or redirect his disruptive impulses and moods, an evidence of a mental balance that is connotative of a propensity to suspend judgment, which can be explained as “Thinking before acting”

MURI is a Motivator, He has a passion to work and do things especially touching lives for reasons far stronger than making money and attaining status. He is a strong optimist even in the face of obvious failure, never accepting defeat nor taking no for an answer. Those that work with MURI can attest to his strong organizational commitment and a propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence.

Perhaps, MURI’s greatest weakness is his Empathy for people, his ability to understand the emotional makeup of his people and his dexterity in treating other people according to their emotional reactions. He achieves this through putting himself in the shoes of others, by this; he understands their pains and burdens. He possesses the social skill and proficiency in managing relationships and building networks, an expertise in leading teams, an ability to find common ground and build rapport. This has translated into his current effectiveness in leading change in the hitherto uncared-for Kogi East.

It is on record that MURI has revolutionized the mindset of the average Igala Man in his community development drive, through his leading role in the light-up Kogi East project. He remains the first Igala man to spread his communal development projects across the entire Igala land from Idah, through Igalamela/odolu to dekina all the way to Ankpa, Such an patriotic spread exemplifies his love for the entire Igala Nation de-emphasizing which part of the Igala Nation he comes from. No doubt he is the true bridge. An icon of Igala unity and development. His pioneer effort in this regard cannot be easily swept under the carpet. He is deserving to be shouted on the rooftops, let those who have ears hear.

As the days roll by, one thing is clear, a new Epochal wave of developmental Nationalism and consciousness is sweeping through the Igala Nation pioneered by a hitherto obscure young man who has made a weighty decision to answer the call to do things differently ,out of the box in a Chaotic and hopelessly normal situation.

Market Hub Media Celebrates MURI at 44 as the new icon of Igala and Kogi state Development.