"God Raised Me For Ndi Igbo" - Chief Dr. Sam Maduka Onyishi. NANS Celebrates The Chairman of Nigeria’s Leading Transport Company, Peace Mass Transit (PMT)

Ogene Romanus

The National Association of Nigerian Students NANS, saddled with the responsibility of catering for the welfare of all Nigerian Students both in overseas, also rated as the largest students movement in the Sub-Saharan Africa, has honoured Chief Dr. Sam Maduka Onyishi, the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of the leading transport company in Nigeria, Peace Mass Transit, with a 5-Star General Medal Of Honour in appreciation to his numerous contributions, developmental projects and his recent establishment of Maduka University Ekwegbe in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area, Enugu State. An event which the apex students body used to induct him officially into NANS Hall Of Fame, making him the first to receive such prestigious honor in the South East Region.

Recognizing Dr. Sam Maduka Onyishi's humanitarian contributions towards the welfare of Nigerian students, the leader of the high powered students delegation, Super Comrade Nwuruku Alfred Olisah CNS, The Director of Special Duties, NANS National Headquarters FCT presented the honour on behalf of the organisation during the event held in Maduka University, Enugu State.

While appreciating Dr. Onyishi, the leader of the delegation, Comr. Nwuruku stated; "Today is a good day in the NANS book. We’re called upon to come and undertake this National assignment. I and my team arrived Enugu this morning to honour you. Sir, the leadership of NANS appreciate you for all the things you have been doing in the Nigerian Society and to thank you in a very special way for the wonderful projects we have witnessed here today in this University, knowing very well that you could have invested anywhere in the world, but you chose to do it here in Nigeria to create employment and make education accessible to our people. We are not surprised, our office has been inundated with your numerous humanitarian projects in Nigeria and the establishment of the subsidiaries of Peace Group of Campanies in the South East Region. This honour stands as a deep expression of our gratitude to the love you have shown the Students Community in Nigeria"

"thank you for your relentless effort towards the development of youths and for building this magnificent university with international standards in the Nsukka cultural zone with the intention to contribute to the development of education. We have come to thank you for building the institution here in Enugu State. The school will not only standout but will create records. We want this school to produce people of good character that will change the country for the better. You have done what the government could not do. We will keep celebrating and supporting you to ensure that the school becomes the best among the best,” he said.

While commending the CEO of Peace Mass Transit for his unalloyed support to the development of education in Nigeria, The former Deputy Coordinator and NANS Chairman of the state chapter who is currently the Technical Assistant to the Enugu State Governor on Health Matters, Comr. Sct. Darlington Ugwuegbe, said that Dr. Maduka was selected based on his contribution to the development of the education sector in the country.

Responding to the Youths and Students delegates, Chief Onyishi said that the thank you visit by the youths together with the awards was a fulfillment of what God had told him, “to be a helper to humanity”. Onyishi said that the school was God’s way of impacting the lives of Nsukka people and South Easterners and not a profit making venture.

He also charged the students not to relent in the pursuit for academic qualifications, adding that the higher the qualifications the better chances for them.

He said: “You have to prepare yourself for greatness and be ready to multitask. Don’t say I want to be here alone. Don’t say I am a graduate, continue learning, no knowledge is a waste.

“When I see people like you coming to appreciate me, it means that what God told me is coming to reality. So, as long as I live, I will serve God and be a help to humanity. If it’s about money, where to invest the money and make profit, I know where to invest and make more money in hard currency, fly my jets and drink with people but at the end God will not be happy with me.

“I advise you, as you grow, don’t steal people’s money because you will invest it in people but God will not be happy with your sacrifice, God is not happy with stolen money. You can use the money to help people but the credit will not come to you because God does not work with stolen money. It’s a dirty sacrifice and not worthy of the Holy spirit.

“I want you to grow with the message, understand and multiply it. The essence of University is to have a platform to multiply the little God has given me. Freely we receive and freely we shall give. I love education. I told my children that none of them will join the business until they become a Phd holder.

“I made a promises that am going to use the money God blessed me with to bless people. When I reached 50 years, I said what am I going to do with these and my own kind of God understanding is to invest on my people, where am coming from. As far as I’m concerned, God blessed me for Nsukka people and Igbo people. If he wanted me to be a blessing to Americans, He would have made me to be born in New York.

“If he wanted me to be a blessing for Lagos or Abuja People, He would have made me to be born there but He made me to be born in Nsukka, He made me to be a blessing to Nsukka people, He raised me for Nsukka people. He raised me for Igbo people.

“The Igbos are the major people that do road transport in this country, but am the only transporter at that high level that has a head office in the South East part of Nigeria. It’s because I don’t follow money but impact. God has revealed the message I am carrying to me. I didn’t understand it on time. The message I am carrying is that God raised me for Ndigbo, the impact I will make is here first, in Igbo land.

“If I don’t build the university here first, it means I don’t even know my message from God. I have the headquarters of all my automobile, lubricant and others here in Emene, Enugu and people used to tell me that because of that, I will not raise much money. Any amount I raise is okay for me. Do I need all the money in the world? Am okay, if I get enough to do what I want to achieve.

“The university is not an accident but a plan by God to help my people. Though, it’s a little bit late but half bread is better than none. I will continue with the scholarship to my people because I know they don’t have money. In 1998, when I was still driving the bus, God told me that I come from darkness and he will make me become light for them but I didn’t understand it then.

“When I started building this University, people came and said there is no money here. How can you recover your money? Our people can not pay school fees, South Easterners can not pay and that’s why you can’t find a big school here in the South East. I told them when they come, let them not pay school fees, because they have already paid. They brought the money I am using to build the university, so they have already paid their school fees,” he said.