Dr. Nkemkanma Kama is the House of Representatives candidate for the Labour Party in OHANIVO- Ohaozara, Onicha and Ivo Local Government Areas in Ebonyi State in the February 25th, 2023 Presidential and National Assembly general elections.
Before emerging the Labour Party candidate for the Federal Constituency in October last year, Kama, a sophisticated entrepreneur whose business engagements have revolved around the National Assembly since 1999, had already set in focus, his grand vision for a better representation.
Since 1999 when his fellow Ishiagu man, Hon. Eusebius Aja, represented the Federal Constituency to the present era where another indigene of the community, Hon. Livinus Makwe, has been in the same position for another two tenures, the perennial lack of government presence and aggregate lack of basic social amenities in his Ishiagu and some other parts of the Federal Constituency including the distressing poverty statistics in Ebonyi are all factors that have buoyed the young and successful business mogul to venture into the politics of 2023. These and more reasons he clearly identified as his motivation to take the dive during a press conference in his Amaeze Ishiagu residence earlier in October last year.
Despite being very rich in mineral deposits such as limestone among others, with many quarry companies crushing stones and making heavy resources from Ishiagu, the town still remains lacking like the irony of many resource-producing states and communities in Nigeria.
Common basic amenities like water is lacking and wherever one can find them within the community, it is always very expensive. Ishiagu as a community has been without electricity for a very long time, despite its sons and daughters occupying many appointive and elective positions since the return of democracy in 1999 and there seems to be no hope in sight that the people would be salvaged.
This is why many are excited that good-spirited individuals with passion for community service indicated interest in the 2023 election. They believe that with such calibre of men who preach and live their messages of changing and impacting lives, things would never remain the same, not even the February 25th elections and its anticipated outcomes especially with the new electoral reforms.
Uncommonly debonair and sartorial in his fashion style, Kama has been a fountain of inspiration on all fronts, what with his colossal achievements in life and industry and with his affable personality.
Born some 47 years on the 10th of October 1975 and without the proverbial golden spoon into the Ossi family of Amaeze Ishiagu, Ivo local government area, Ebonyi State and spent his early years in Suleja, where he obtained primary and secondary education from Model Primary School Suleja, Niger State and Government Secondary School Tungan-Maje, Abuja, he has evolved to become the source of myriad golden spoons to many, achieving the challenging heights of success through the sweat of his brows and a life ethos firmly rooted in love for humanity.
Nkemkanma Kama is a Certified Management Consultant, and a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants. He also holds an honorary Doctorate Degree in Information Communications and Technology (Ph.D).
He is widely known as “Kama”, “Mr St Andy” “Ijele Chukwu” among his friends and acquaintances.
His life’s journey so far, defines determination, commitment to purpose, tenacity, resourcefulness, diligence and the grace of God.
A demonstration of his dedication to the Nigerian project is that his businesses and associates span across all parts of Nigeria and he has expert fluency of the three main languages of Nigeria.
He is the Chairman of Hadar Group, a multimillion-dollar conglomerate, which employs hundreds of Nigerians, with varying skillset who are guaranteed a livelihood, personal development and astute mentorship as they journey through life at Hadar.
Dr Kama built his businesses from bottom up, establishing the foundation of what has grown into a conglomerate at the tender age of 16, and the vicissitudes of life that led to that notwithstanding, he ensured the firm values of integrity, honesty, hard-work and immutable belief and trust in God were the pillars of his enterprise, an ethos that the Hadar group confidently sits on till this day.
A business which commenced on the audacity of hope has grown into the multimillion dollar conglomerate, it today is. As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hadar Group, he oversees the group’s endeavours across industries developing and deploying strategies that ensure sustainable growth and profitability.
The leading contender for the Ohanivo Constituency race once told a press conference in his Amaeze country home, “One of our major concentrations if God finally gives us power is poverty alleviation. We need to find a way to bring our people out of poverty and education is one of those measures.
“I’m also looking at Agriculture. We have not been able to harness the agricultural potentials we have in this arable land that God gave to us. We have just been wallowing and talking but nothing has been done so far to use what God has given us to help ourselves. So, we are going to focus on how to alleviate poverty among our people, especially women. We are going to form co-operatives for them and engage them meaningfully,” Kama emphatically stated.
According to him: “I have been in the confines of the National Assembly since 1999, so I know the workings of the National Assembly from A to Z. I can say that almost 90% of my business have been in the National Assembly until recently.
“So, it’s difficult to know that I’m not a member or staff of the National Assembly because I’m there all the time. With that, I believe that the knowledge I have about the workings of the National Assembly will help me in attracting different empowerment and development to my people.
“And coming from the business sector, it will also help. I have the privilege of knowing a lot of people and I will leverage the people I know to get things done for my people. I’m also looking at the international community, I’m sure that if we talk to them very well, a lot of them are willing to look at our case in every situation and see how they can come in.
“So, I’m going to go out of my way to reach out to international organizations and leverage my contacts, exposure and connections to bring better representation to my people.
“The election of 2023 is more of the individual and not political party this time around; and I have seen that people are looking at antecedents, what you have done for them so far without having an office. They will be assessing you based on, if this person is given the mandate, what can he do for us?” Kama concluded.
It is symbolic to state however that the young political rookie is not one of those sitting idly and waiting for when fortunes or opportunities for community service beckons on them to impact the lives of those around them.
He has therefore been alert and responsive in meeting community’s social and welfare needs for a long time now. But then, because he leads a rather quiet and off-the-camera life, not many people, particularly from the other parts of his Ohanivo Federal Constituency and indeed, Ebonyi State knew so much about the sterling and uncustomary charitable works of the publicity-shy consummate businessman.
But Kama has persistently touched lives for a long time. In 2020 for instance, he increased the number of those under his scholarship scheme, which started since 2007 and also provided a lot of economic succour and other palliatives to beleaguered citizens recovering from the harsh effects of the COVID 19 pandemic within and beyond Ebonyi State.
With his personal resources, he has constructed some trunk C roads within his community. Last year, he began the construction of Engine Oku Amaeze-Comprehensive Secondary School, Ubegu road through Ubegu playground and targeting Nwankere-Evi-junction-Obugwu road.
For nearly a decade, a lot of widows, the elderly and the needy within and beyond his community in their hundreds have been assisted (off-camera) with bags of polished rice, wrappers, other food items and cash to enjoy every festive season. That had been on without any form of discrimination or political intentions until fate beckoned on him to vie for the Federal House of Representatives position shortly after declaring support for the Obi-Datti-For-President movement.
To meet the yearning demands of many within his constituency, therefore, Kama stepped up the reach and niche of his philanthropic gestures during the last festive season to practically every community within Ohanivo.
He deployed a team of medical experts and professionals to treat, counsel, make recommendations and provide drugs for the elderly and young villagers in what has now been recorded as one of the largest and longest medical outreaches in the State. Over 5, 000 women, youths and the elderly had their health needs attended by the scores of health professionals and care-givers during the medical outreach.
The socio-religious aspects were also not left out as his team, popularly referred to as ‘Kama-lites’ organized a colourful and massively-attended Christmas carol musical concert in his Ishiagu country home, where they sang praises to God in appreciation of his goodness and the community services they have so far enjoyed from their son. His interest in improving the teaching and learning conditions of his people has made him support education of young people and provide facilities for others where they are grossly lacking.
In Kama, the ordinary Ohanivo constituent would have an urbane, industrious, young, accomplished, outspoken and sagacious lawmaker whose grass to grace story will inspire our generation as his representative. Through his HIPE agenda; Health, Infrastructure, Poverty Alleviation and Education, Dr. Nkemkanma intends to use his wealth of experience and connections within the corridors of NASS and beyond to change the narratives of representation in our Green Chambers not only for Ebonyi but indeed, Nigeria.
May Dr. Kama Nkemkanma’s dream of representing the good people of Ohanivo Federal Constituency in Nigeria’s Green Chambers become a reality!
Edwin Anayo Okorie, a commentator on political issues, sent this piece from Oshiri in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.