Kenneth Ejiofor Ifekudu: An entrepreneur philanthropist par excellence

NONYE EZEONU

Chief Kenneth Ejiofor Ifekudu, OFR, Agbalanze Ezeonyekachukwu na Ozubulu, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Diamond Leeds Limited, a philanthropist, business mogul, and hospitality icon  is perhaps the perfect description of the age-long saying that hard work pays.

Also in life some men are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.

But for Chief Ifekudu, the reward for hard work is not just showering on him, it is simply pouring on him. And he has a long time to drink from the fountains of his investment in construction, finance, real estate among others.

Chief Ifekudu was born on 6th of April, 1979 into the family of Late Chief and Lolo Paul A. Ifekudu (Ezeonyekachukwu) of Ozubulu in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State, where he holds the prestigious title  “Agbalanze Onyekachukwu”.

He started his education from Patrick Okolo Primary School, Odoakpu, Onitsha where he made a good result in 1985 Common Entrance Examination. He proceeded to Our Lady Secondary School where he completed his SSCE in 1996 and later got admission at Federal Polytechnic Auchi, Edo state where he bagged OND in Business Administration with the best result in 1996. This step led him to gain admission into  Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka in 2003, where he studied Marketing and graduated in grand style with Second Class Upper.

To satisfy his unquenchable appetite for education, he moved on and acquired Master’s Degree in Business Administration at Enugu State Business School and further step up with another Degree in Law at Base University, Abuja.

He is a man that is majestic and always looking spectacular and happy. He takes every moment as a one off, capturing the glories without any irritability and sundry times counting his blessings.

Interestingly, Chief Ifekudu showcased the derivatives of his now excellence and an infinite result driven lifestyle with his unmatched academic achievements.

He has been able to use his entrepreneurship skills to motivate people particularly younger graduates and his workers. It is instructive to make the observation that those who work with him are motivated by his conduct into being committed to whatever thing or assignment bestowed on them.

Chief Ifekudu’s successes in his chosen career; construction, is not an everyday story, they  are the result of a well planned, articulated and executed initiative. Diamond Leeds Limited founded by Agbalanze Ezeonyekachukwu na Ozubulu has executed a number of outstanding architectural projects since it was established in the area of construction of buildings, bridges, road projects, sinking of boreholes, drilling, electrification, solar powered light and among others.

There is a saying that the height great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.

Similarly, what makes a man great is not his opulence, but what he has done to make people smile, ease their burden and raise hope of the less privilege in the society.

As a philanthropist, High Chief Ifekudu has been involved in several social activities and imbibed the saying that charity begins at home. Consequently, the people of Ozubulu and society at large  have benefited from his kind gestures and projects as he has used his establishment to improve the quality life of his people in so many ways such as  skill acquisition, medical outreach programmes,  grants, capacity building, entrepreneurship and management skills, erosion control in most affected part of the community, construction of  Obialigo lock-up shops, lighting up Ozubulu village with all-in-one solar powered street light, giving scholarship to his people, conducted easy competitions throughout Ekwusigo LGA on effects of drug abuse, distribution of gifts such as deep freezers, grinding machines, construction of roads including the  completed 3km road to be commissioned soon.

High Chief Agbalanze Onyekachukwu, as he is fondly called by his admirers and friends is a devout Christian and has made a lot of contributions to the building of the Christian community in the Catholic faith and other churches in general without any discrimination.

He holds a national honour of the Order of the Federal Republic ( OFR ) that was awarded to him by the immediate past administration of President Muhammed Buhari.

He has received several awards and recognitions  from many organizaions for his numerous efforts at improving the quality of life of the vulnerable and his achievements in business.

Chief Ifekudu is happily married with four lovely children.