By Benjamin Njoku

Former banker and philanthropist,  Obiora Agbasimalo has stressed the need to encourage youth development in Nigeria through charity.

Agbasimalo, who has been touching lives through his humanitarian activities believes that investing in the youth is investing in the future of the country.

Ahead of celebration of his 40th birthday, which comes up in October, Agbasimalo has revealed that his future preoccupation is in the area of youth development and social regeneration .

“I feel it is time for someone with fresh idea to come on board and make an impact especially in the area of youth development, waste management and control and most importantly structural development,” he said.

An avid student of  political geography, a stickler for training and a lover of movies, Agbasimalo’s said his future  ambition is to embark on humanitarian work towards helping the young Nigerian youth.

Agbasimalo is also an advocate of a cleaner city. “I detest seeing dirty gutters and environment, especially on the streets. These wastes can be recycled and converted to useful materials as is already being practised in Europe with the use of some technology that converts plastic bottles and some waste to useful building materials,” he articulated.

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Driven by altruism, Obiora Agbasimalo has silently built a reputation that endears him to the public as a man of action, a man of his words, a man of good deeds.

Born the first of four children to an engineer father, Mr Emmanuel Agbasimalo and a retired civil servant mother, Mrs Ada Agbasimalo, who is also an author, Agbasimalo is married to Eucharia with whom he has two children, both boys.

In keeping with his Anglican background, he remains active in evangelism, preaching the word of God at every opportunity.

He is an active member of the Good Samaritan Society in his church, a group renowned for humanitarian activities towards indigent patients who are unable to pay their medical bills in government hospitals, namely Gbagada Federal Hospital, Federal Medical Centre Agege and LASUTH.  In addition, Obiora Agbasimalo is also an active volunteer and donor of cash, clothes and kind to charity organizations. He is Financial Manager and brain behind the strategies for all Projects in Oga Ndi Oga Foundation, (ONOF), a non-religious, non-political, non-profit charity and private foundation that is active in Anambra State and renowned for its far-reaching programmes in the areas of healthcare and poverty alleviation, women and youth empowerment, back-to-school campaign and scholarships.

His 15-year banking career is built on a track record, starting from his first year when he was an outstanding team member of the marketing unit till presently that he is the bank’s highest earner of income in its zone, managing a portfolio of about N4billion and close to 20 million dollars in customers fund, aside from fixed deposit.