ABOUT OBI JACKSON - OKIJA

For Dr. Ernest Azudialu Obiejesi (Obi Jackson) , As He Donates A State Of The Art Hospital To His Native Okija
Ernest Azudialu Obiejesi means some many thing to different people but for his beloved people of Okija, he is a God sent and a Government to his community
The question then arises , who is Dr Ernest Azudialu Obiejesi?

 
Dr Ernest Azudialu Obiejesie is the owner and founder of Nestoil Nigeria Limited, an integrated oil and gas marketing company that are into, Engineering, Procurement and construction in the same oil and gas industry. One of the Nigerian elites that has oil wells at the creeks of Niger Delta
His oil company NECONDE In partnership with their Polish partners bought oil wells from Shell in the wake of diversification process the company did years ago
NECONDE Consortium (consisting of Gobowen Exploration and Production Limited, Aries Exploration and Production and Poland’s Kulczyk Oil Ventures) to acquire a 45% participating interest in OML 42, a large oil block in the swamps of Niger Delta from Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Limited, and Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited. The remaining 55% participating interest in OML 42 is held by NNPC. With nearly 1 billion barrels of crude oil and trillions of cubic feet of gas, OML 42 is one of the biggest assets in the Shell divestment drive. In addition, Gobowenacquired substantial shares in the Oriri field (OML 88) in the Niger Delta from Goland PDC and have also acquired 51% participating interest in OPL 917 – an onshore block – among other assets
Dr Ernest is also the owner of Smile communication, the fastest internet service provider in Nigeria that are hooked on 4 LGT
“Smile” is a new telecommunications company in Nigeria focused on the provision of high-quality, reliable, superfast internet services using 4G LTE technology.
Also this unassuming business man is the highest Nigerian shareholder at Julius Berger company Lagos. His investment vehicle Obijackson controls the majority shares in that company and calls the shot too
Dr Ernest has this sexy business name that he bears and that is Obi Jackson and for the purpose of this write up, permit me to use that name in addressing this man with deep pockets from Okija Anambra state
Okija the community that he is proud of has benefited so much from this gem more than the three tiers of Government would have ever done for them
Because of Obijackson, Okija community has Diamond bank in their community. Obi Jackson single handily built a banking building, then invited Diamond bank to come and do business. He donated the building to them, free of charge with a caveat: The staff to be employed by the bank for their Okija branch must come from his beloved cherished community. A request the bank gladly obliged and today, Okija can boast of a full fledged bank, something that was not there when I was a law student of Madonna uni Okija courtesy of their son's deep pocket
Because of Obijackson, many widows, vulnerable people, students, indigent folks and generally individuals from Okija in need of financial help were empowered and their hope in humanity restored
During my Madonna undergraduate days , it was a trend then for the school management to employ Okija women as cleaners for the school but today, that story has changed. Obi Jackson has empowered these women who used to work for Madonna uni to be self reliant
His foundation, Obijackson foundation empowers members of this community with grants, scholarships and financial aid to deserving members of the community. Because of him, many have had cause to live and smile again
Because of Obijackson, the crème de la crème of the Nigerian musical industry travels down to Okija every December to entertain the youths of his community free of charge. For many of us, the only time we see Nigerian musicians like Tuface, Don Jazzy, P-Square and other A- List Nigerian musicians is when Bella Naija or my sister Linda Ikeji features them on their Blogs. This story is not the same for many Okija youths, they see these stars every December in their community, they interact, rub shoulders and feel at home with them. it is like annual rite for Nigerian musical stars to converge in Okija every December because Obijackson made it possible
As if this is not enough, the same man do organize a football competition for the promising youths of his community who have passion for football. It is called Obi Jackson Foot ball competition and it is an annual event. During this competition, many talents are identified, groomed and nurtured to play at the highest level. Again, Obi Jackson's deep pocket made it possible
Obi Jackson is also the sponsor of " Face Of Okija" beauty pageant, a pageant designed to celebrate Okija ladies and the new queen is entitled to a scholarship and a brand new car
He also invested heavily in infrastructure by building roads and renovating schools in Okija
Even his Alma Mater, Dennis Memorial Grammar School Onitsha recently benefited from his milk of kindness when he built and donated to the school, a 240 million hostel facility to the management of the school
The Philanthropic gesture by Obi Jackson which takes the icing and deserves applause is the recent commissioning of Obi Jackson hospital for his people in Okija
A state- of -the -art hospital that is second to none in the land and not only that, Obi Jackson has succeeded in putting Okija in the world map and has turned that community to a medical tourist haven where Nigerians in need of medical attention can go to in search of medical succor and I believe that with the state- of- the- art Facilities manned by world class professionals whom were attracted home
they will find the answers to their medical plight
What a Man!
Instructive to point out that Obi Jackson was not born with a silver spoon. He was even born in the back yard of Onitsha and his late dad was just an business man who wanted his son to manage his shops in Onitsha and ironically, we attended the same secondary school, Denis Memorial Grammar School Onitsha (DMGS)
But for his father’s last minute change of mind and refusal to allow him go to America to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alabama, his life would have been significantly different today. If only his father didn’t attend his friend’s funeral where the officiating Reverend Father said the things he said that fateful day. If only his father had come late to the ceremony and as such, did not hear what the Reverend said about sending one’s children to America. Dr Ernest Nnaemeka Azudialu must have agonised over his aborted American dream. But unknown to him and his father, perhaps, the immutable hand of fate was redirecting his life to a roadmap laid down for him. Red-eyed and still sulking from that disappointment, he grudgingly followed his father to his shop. He had to duck under the counter to hide from friends he had told he was travelling to school in America, more than a couple of times. And not a few mocked him for his fate then.however, it did not take long for him to see the opportunities in the business that even his father, because of his lack of education, failed to see. from then on, there was no looking back. obijackson limited was born. a small start-up company from the rustic backyard of onitsha has now transformed into a group of companies with global presence in three continents. it is from this seed that nestoil plc sprouted. azudialu has grown the group from a small start-up company to a multi-billion naira public limited group and one of the biggest indigenous oil and gas service companies in nigeria. his passion for hard work is only matched by his guilty pleasures for the good things of life. fast and expensive toys, all sorts adorn his garages. arguably the biggest roll royce collector around, he parades all models of the prized machine that many would die (?) for. but according to him, they don’t excite him anymore he recently told This Day Newspaper
He started his Nestoil business from the scratch in 1991 and one of the legacies of that company it bequeathed to Nigeria oil and gas industry is the 1.9 Billion Dollar export pipeline in the Niger Delta to reroute the Kolo Creek gas to Soku Gas plant (K2S) contract they did for Shell. The first indigenous company to do so
Also Nestoil owned by Obi Jackson handled Edjeba Sewage Treatment Plant in Warri in 1998. This project was executed successfully and today the plant is still in active use at the SPDC Edjeba complex. For this project, SPDC gave Nestoil an award for excellence in quality and safety.
This achievement was a significant landmark in the life of the Company and indeed a boost to the nation’s Local Content Initiative. The company has also constructed and commissioned a 20” X 38km Pipeline for Shell between 2005 and 2009 and is currently constructing the Nembe Creek-Cawthorne Channel Trunk line Replacement Project [NCTL] for SPDC.
His Nestoil company is currently building a 24 Billion Naira tower at Akin Adesola Street and Saka Tinubu Street Victoria Island Lagos which will serve as the corporate head office of the global conglomerate. A project when completed will add to the lightening and aesthetics of the city of Lagos
Nestoil owned by Obi Jackson is one of the few Nigerian company that advertise their brand on CNN platform, a feat that shows the class Obi Jackson belongs to
Outside all these written about this business man and one of the richest man to come out from my state, one of the enduring lessons Young people can pick from it is this: It does not matter where you started life, what matters is where you finally end up, ,meaning you can start life In Ajegunle but still end up at Banana Island
Ikenna Okani, A Nigerian Lawyer and a native of Okija has this to say about Obi Jackson:
"Each time his helicopter flys over my house in the village and all the kids in the compound rush out to wave shouting "obijackson bye bye" whether or not he's coming or going and afterwards boast to each other how they would own helicopters too like Obijackson when they grow up,I feel happy in my heart that little as they are,they have someone like him to inspire them. He has also empowered a lot of Okija women,most of whom were cleaners in Madonna university during my days as a student there. Some of his achievements beneficial to the community not captured by this article includes his construction company located in Okija and responsible for building roads in the town. It's a thing of joy that his success and that of many other young men in Okija has wiped away the stigma brought upon the town by the Okija shrine saga! God Bless Obijackson!!"
Obi Jackson's story is one of resilience, hope, compassion, uncommon courage and what determination to succeed can do in a man's life and I celebrate him today for being embodiment of all that is true and noble.
SOURCE- OKIJA ELITE ASSOCIATION