By Emma Amaize

WARRI,  the  oil city in Delta State,  wore the toga of tranquillity, penultimate Thursday, as celebrities from different  parts of the country converged on  the town to have a good time with criminologist, attorney, business mogul, educationist and politician, Olorogun Kenneth Omemevwa Gbagi, who turned 50.

From the political class came the former Ministers of Land, Housing and Urban Development,  Chief Nduese Essien;  Housing and Foreign Affairs, Dr. Aliyu Idi;  Finance, Alhaji Ahmadu Abubakar; former military administrator of Niger-State, Brigadier-General Cletus Emein (rtd.); Senator Adegor Eferakeya; Prince Ernest Okojie; a top stalwart of the South-South Peoples Assembly, SSPA, Chief Ayakeme Whisky; Chief Godwin Ogbetuo, among others, while the national president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, and the Bishop of Warri Catholic Diocese, Rt. Rev. (Dr.) John. O. Afareha, who delivered the homily, shepherded the religious assembly. The Orodje of Okpe  Kingdom,  Orhue I;  the Ovie of  Uvwie Kingdom,  M.E. Egbi (JP), Owahwa II; and  the Okobaro of  Ughievwen Kingdom were among the royal fathers that added colour to the event.

Legal luminary, Chief Albert Akpomudje, SAN, led the learned gentlemen to the celebration. Others in attendance  are a director of Vanguard Media Limited, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed, Prof Victor Peretimode, Hon. Justice Sybil Nwaka, Chief Moses Obokor, Chief T.O. Apah, Otota of Ughievwen Kingdom,  Olorogun Okiemute Oviri Okwagbe, Alhaji Isa Clark , Chief Patrick Okitikpe, Chief Peter Ekpihwre, Chief J.U. Umukoro and Otota of Orhowhe, Chief D.A. Okome.

It was a birthday celebration with a difference and,  indeed, more of a sanctimonius affair than the typical birthday  bustle of drinks, dance, fun and women. To cap it all, the celebrant and former Minister of Education gave an unsual gift to his guests. More than 1,000 copies of  the Holy Bible were distributed to guests  as a way of advancing the kingdom of God.  He planned for 300 guests but over 1,000 persons showed up.

Former Minister of State for Education, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi (celebrant) flanked by his wife and well wishers during a thanksgiving service to mark his 50th birthday.

The first thing that struck guests at the occasion was  a private chapel in his off Jakpa Road  compound. Many  affluent people are not known to give attention to the things of God, but here is one of them, by all standards, the biggest industrialist in Delta  State, who built a chapel in his house, since December, 1996, ever before he stepped into financial fortune.

So, what motivated him to build a house for God in his residential complex more than 15 years ago in memory of his  father, the late Robinson Gbagi, a polygamist with 21 children of which he is the 13th . Gbagi said it was his absolute confidence and trust in God, adding, “Since I  built a house for God, even when  I  had no money, God has  continued to build  my  life in all departments.”

Bishop Afareha, who disclosed that  Gbagi approached him to conduct a mass on his birthday in his private chapel , about a week before the celebration, said he was surprised when he checked his busy diary and discovered that September 22 was not booked for any other event.

He asserted that it was not in his character to accept such an invitation given his status as a  bishop, but he knew there was something divine in the life of Gbagi when  he saw that September 22 was free in his diary. The bishop said in preparing for the mass, he also thought he was going to preach to  a few friends and associates of Gbagi, only to behold a  crowd that further energized his spirit.

The bishop, in his homily,  thanked God for the life of  the former minister,  saying God was interested in what human beings do with the  gifts (wealth) He  had given to them. In the case of the celebrant, he said it was evident like the case of one of the 10 lepers that returned to thank Jesus Christ after his healing, that the business mogul (Gbagi) was grateful to God for His blessings, and was touching the lives of others with his wealth.

Afareha’s  words, “The only thing God is looking forward to from the gifts He had given us (human beings) is gratitude. God owns all we have, we should be grateful to Him. When we are grateful to Him, we are growing in His image”.

He urged the celebrant to continue to bless others with the substance God had blessed him, pointing out that it was pleasing in the eyes of God and wished him more of God’s grace and favour.

Gbagi, who later cut his  birthday cake amid cheers from  friends and admirers, told Sunday Vanguard, “I have said countless times in the past that God is biased in my favour and I don’t know what I have done to merit all the  mercy and kindness from Him”.

He said that at a  time before the commencement of the  ceremony, it was as if the heavens would not withhold  the rains from disturbing  and he had to pray to God  to shut up the heavens  because he (Gbagi) would not want his guests to be drenched. “To my amazement, the rain ceased at the venue of the celebration even though it was falling in other parts of Warri. This is nothing short of the wonder of God”.

What marvelled a lot of persons is not just the wealth of Gbagi, but  also the discipline that  enables him to manage his various concerns that span multi-billion naira  investments in real estate,  education, hospitality,  security services,  paint, water, plastic and butter production.

On what gives him joy at 50, he said it is the grace God has given him to return to the society what He (God) had given him (Gbagi), adding, “I am happy when I look around and see that through the businesses I have set up in Delta, Lagos, Abuja, London and other parts of the world, thousands of persons are gainfully employed and feeding their families;  it is a source of great happiness to me”.