A Lagos-based businessman, Dr Arinze Fortune Madueke, last Tuesday said he derives joy and fulfillment in meeting the needs of the less privileged in our society.
In a brief chat with journalists at his Lagos office, Dr.Madueke said “my first and primary focus is to uplift the standard of living of the downtrodden in our society.
“I will not be interested in politics, charity/humanitarian affairs or even business, if it does not concern the people; if it doesn’t concern the little boy and girl hawking along the road, when he or she is suppose to be in school”, he insisted.
“It doesn’t make any sense to me,” he added.
For those who should know, Dr Madueke is the Chairman/CEO of Zidora Group, a multi-million premium brand he found many years ago with various subsidiaries in travels and tours, agriculture & food services, pharmaceuticals, media, IT, oil and gas, real estate.
The company has offices in Lagos, Abuja, Onitsha and Port Harcourt.
When asked why he chose to become an entrepreneur, he said, “You see, medical practice will give me enough money so that I cannot be poor. I will be comfortable and can afford to live a fairly good life, especially if I had decided to live in the US. Though in Nigeria, I can still afford a fairly good life with my medical practice, but life is bigger than just for myself and my family and maybe a few other people. But I wanted more from life. Life and living is all about making impact in the lives of others. I don’t just want to be able to be comfortable all by myself. I don’t want to live for just myself and my family.
“Besides, I needed to be part of the solutions in the business world. No doubt, medicine is my first love but the reality is that if I had not followed my dream boldly, perhaps, the over two hundred employees in Zidora Group across the country, may be part of the unemployed Nigerians. They may also be part of the six Nigerians that joins the rank of extremely poor people in the world, every minute.
“Perhaps, what we have been doing with the Zidora Aid Foundation would not have happened.
“As an entrepreneur with major stake in the service industry, particularly in travels and tours, foreign education, real estate, oil and gas, media, among others, also as someone who practices the act of giving back through our Zidora Aid Foundation, I can say that there is nothing more fulfilling than providing solutions and meeting the needs of the less privileged in our society”.
The Ezeana Okaka 1 of Ukpor, a chieftancy title which means greatest was given to him by his community for his overwhelming philanthropic gestures at a very young age of 31, Okaka, now 33, is certainly not resting on his oars and has promised to do more for the society.
The young and vibrant entrepreneur, father of three, with such an uncommon relaxed approach to issues, had a good laugh when he was asked how much he invested in Zidora Group considering how big the company has become.
Responding, he said; “well, it is a seamless truth, proven over and again that big things start small. We started very small. But we were focused. Driven by the passion to provide best, world class quality services to ourclients. We simply persisted on the path of our focus. I personally celebrate the success of our clients. Each client means the world to me personally. Right now, we have over two thousand Nigerians alone that we have successfully offered our travel and tour service. So now, its a bit difficult for me to keep track of them all.
“But I celebrate every of our success because I understand that our efforts to each person’s pursuit may just be that missing link, the reason why theywill acheive academic or business sucesses, build companies, employ people, make contributions to better our society.”
Speaking further on what motivates him and how Zidora Aid Foundation was birthed, Dr. Madueke said, “running a successful business in Nigeria is not easy. Every now and then people always come bringing one problem or another. After sometime, we decided we needed a channel through which we can render help and also offer some of our friends the chance to also give to the needy. Right now, we are working out a plan so that those who have a need can get direct assistance from a donor within our platform. So but essentially, ZAF has helped us to really reach out to to the less priviledged. It has also helped us to commit certain part of our earnings to community service. The things we do through ZAF gives me more joy and a sense of fulfilment than my personal acheivements”.
It would interest you to know that Zidora Aid Foundation has given many scholarships to secondary school students and tertiary students in its 4 years of existence. The Foundation distributes education materials to students at the beginning of every term. It has also championed several community development projects both in Lagos and in Ukpor, Anambra State. Several hospital bills have been paid courtesy of the foundation. ZAF has been at the forefront offering relief materials in times of difficulty or disaster.
Okaka is one young man that is truly a role model to many.
