Idahagbon : The Measure of a Man

Just as George Washington was sometimes perceived as an American Moses — loaned to Americans from God as the right man for his time — so has Hon. Idahagbon Williams Omoregie Henry FICMC constituted himself as a forest of one tree: a veteran in human investment who assigned himself the purpose of making others happy.

Urbane and refined, he is a Nigerian public office holder and legal luminary who attended the Nigerian Law School (1989–1990) and studied abroad at Liverpool John Moores University, with diverse experience and uncommon commitment to human investment through job opportunities in public and private firms. He is a listening and humble political tactician and wordsmith.

The trademark decision of Idahagbon to put the nation and the interests of the masses first by always seeking employment opportunities for the youth, is a measure of a man who, through self-discipline, conquered himself. Zig Ziglar was right when he said, “You’ll always have everything you want in life if you’ll help enough other people get what they want.” This was why Barr. Idahagbon Williams Omoregie Henry assigned himself the purpose of making life worth living for others through job opportunities.

Who would have believed that the economic liberty and financial liberation of many youths would depend on the uncommon character of one man? What was it that gave him the strength to do the right thing when the temptation to do something less noble must have been overwhelming? Unlike many whose unconcern with the job opportunities of their people pushed them to the edge of ruin, Idahagbon’s extraordinary passion to help has lent him an aura of outsized fame as a veteran in human capital development. In a society where politicians give money to command loyalty, here is an Edo-born Idahagbon Williams Omoregie Henry who gives jobs and creates opportunities to liberate the suffering masses. The measure of a man, therefore, is not where he stands with his contemporaries but where he stands in outlasting life by planting people and not trees.

In a society like ours, where empty-headed celebrities and contemptible villains are honoured, true heroism and manliness lie in the passion to serve others at whatever cost and not in the desire to supersede others. This was why the father of applied psychology, Professor William James, said, “The best use of life is to do something that will outlast life.” Now, like never before in the history of Edo State, we have seen and heard of a man who has conquered himself for the benefit of the masses by planting people and not trees in his quest for a classless society where everyone has equal opportunity for self-actualization.

By

Divine Atu
Coordinator, Student Lawyers Outreach