By Victor Ahiuma-Young
IT WAS a touching, palpably compelling moment in Ika nation, recently, when a philanthropist, physician, humanist and aspirant into the Ika Federal constituency seat, Dr. Isioma Okobah, who is based in the United States, paid a sympathy visit to the families of the six pupils who lost their lives in the water tank tragic incident in Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State.

The condolence visit was made in the wake of an unprecedented  tragedy that befell  the  area and threw the entire community into mourning. The roof of a water tank serving the demonstration school of the College of Education, Agbor, caved in, killing six pupils of the school.

The soft spoken medical practitioner with the maternal disposition of the legendary Florence Nightingale flew in from her US base and immediately went to condole the families of the unfortunate children.

The condolence visit was to the family homes of Mr. Okoro Emmannuel, father of the late Favour Okoro; Mr. Okolie father of the late Constance Okolie; Mr Uyamasi father of the late Magdalene Uyamasi; Mr. Kiyem Nimbido of Aliokpu village and Mrs. Philomena Akwe who lost her husband barely a month before she lost her only daughter in the tragic incident.

Dr. Isioma Okobah addressing some Ika women on the tragic incident

During the condolence visit, Mrs. Okobah  sympathised with the parents of the deceased school pupils and urged them to trust in God. To cushion the negative effects of the tragic incident on the psyche of the families, she consoled and encouraged them to put the catastrophic incident behind them.

In a social environment where such phenomena as the tragic death of school children embody a significance of its own, outside pure sentimental considerations, the gesture of Dr. Okobah ought to be seen in its underlying context.

She said her decision in this respect derives from the fact that she is an avowed humanist and believer in the positive human condition and whose development vision transcends the narrow precincts of ethno-regionalism.

Indeed she is said to boast an antecedent of philanthropy and an unceasing crusade for the inalienable liberties of the grassroots population. Therefore her gesture in this regard must not be perceived as a propaganda material for short-term political calculations.

To her, it is more of  “a holistic programme of people-centered development, intended to reflect faithfully the proposition that true development resides in galvanizing the potentials of the people through the recognition of their humanity and aptitude for contributing to the development process”.

According to one of her aides: “The numerous cases of direct collaborative assistance to the healthcare needs of the people, in conjunction with the initiative of the Uduaghan administration, have clearly revealed not only the large heart of the physician, as a genuine believer in the material needs of the people for whom she toils, but also as an exceptional modern day  Florence Nightingale, who does not pay lip-service to the hallowed Hippocratic oath.

This faithful obedience to the Hippocratic oath is said to have essentially assumed a compelling resonance with Dr. Okobah contributing a whooping N150,000 to the Relief Trust Fund for the Agbor Tragic Incident established for the deceased pupils.