Oricha: The Bridge That Leads To Ones Destination
By Balogun Omeiza David (BOD), Lokoja.
On the 8th of April, 2024 I wrote a story titled ORICHA AND HIS DISPLAY OF RARE LEADERSHIP QUALITIES BRINGS BACK A DRY BONE BACK TO LIFE. In summary, the story revolved around one Yakubu Yusuf popularly known as Captain. He was said to have lost touch with reality and life generally became meaningless to him. He had no home to call his own. He went ahead to take refuge under one of the many bridges in Lagos. Chief among his possessions according to the video and audio clips made were his international passports. It was also alleged that his wife had gone abroad with all this man known as Captain ever had.
The call for help from Ebira sons and daughters based in Lagos rented the air as Yakubu Yusuf who was well known for speaking only English to even his Ebira brothers and sisters now started speaking Ebira as a medium for him to curry for help. It was at this point that Alh. Dr. Umaru Oricha Shuabu watched and listened to the video and audio clips about this man. To cut a long story short, the Director General Government House Administration, Lokoja made sure he sent some people to go and look for Yakubu Yusuf under the bridge that became his abode. He was brought down to Lokoja, given proper medical attention and after he was discharged, an apartment was rented for him with a chef and a caregiver. Like a prince, proper care was given to him to the point that Alh. Dr. Umaru Oricha Shuaibu made sure new shoes and clothings became part of his collections.
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For sixty (60) days plus, Captain was under the total care of a vessel unto honour popularly known as “the Landlord of Government.” No matter how much you love and keep someone faced with the vicissitudes of life that is not related to you by blood, you will one day begin to find a way of reuniting such a helpless person back to his family. This actually became a herculean task to achieve by Alh. Dr. Umaru Oricha Shuaibu. He made frantic efforts to locate the nuclear and extended family of Yakubu Yusuf all to no avail. The friends of Captain became a once upon a time allies that could not be traced anywhere in the world. Alh. Dr. Umar Oricha Shuaibu had to add the enormous responsibility of taking care of Yakubu Yusuf while still enquiring round the biological relations of Captain.
We need to bring to the public the latest development about Yakubu Yusuf because it is a human being we are talking about. The public listened to the audio and also watched the video when Yakubu Yusuf was shamefully living his life under the bridge in Lagos. The same public also read how Alh. Dr. Umar Oricha Shuaibu took it upon himself to give succour to Yakubu Yusuf by bringing him down to Lokoja. I can boldly submit that Yakubu Yusuf enjoyed enough hospitality that cannot even be given to a baby when he arrived the Confluence City. This was made possible by a leader, Alh. Dr. Umar Oricha Shuaibu whom God has given rare grace of capturing the true spirit of leadership.
The good news at the moment is that Yakubu Yusuf aka Captain has been reunited with one of his blood brothers in faraway Katsina State, Nigeria. Alh. Dr. Umaru Oricha Shuaibu had to comb all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria till he was able to heaven a sigh of relief when he finally found a blood brother of Yakubu Yusuf named Alh. Yahaya Yusuf based in Katsina. The Director General Government House Administration, Lokoja, made available all the logistics needed to ferry Yakubu Yusuf down to Katsina State for him to once again have the privilege of relating with his blood relations, a family warmth that has ducked him for many years.
At this juncture, we all need to pray, praise, thank and register the name of Alh. Dr. Umaru Oricha Shuaibu in our hearts for helping one of our Ebira brothers to stop living a dejected life in the rain, under the sun, under severe harmattan and hot weather under the bridge in Lagos State. Adayi Oricha has presented himself as a bridge that is readily available to rejuvenate the life of a man and finally take him to the right destination. Let us celebrate him.
