In the spirit of the season and in continuation of his avowed interaction as well as socialization with the masses in the LGAs, Dr. Matthew Chima Amadi, widely known as Mazi Gburugburu, continued his statewide show of solidarity with women across Imo State, as he attended the August meetings of women in different communities, last weekend.
Braving a downpour that kept most section of the audience inside, Amadi’s first port of call was at St. Anthony’s Parish, Ibeku Okwuato, Aboh Mbaise LGA, on Friday, where the women of the community were gathered to celebrate with a man who has an unflinching love for humanity particularly, the womanhood.
After visibly and practically enjoying the singing and dancing performances put together by the women, Amadi, in his humble and amiable disposition, introduced himself, assuring the women that he was one of them. He stressed the importance of August meetings as necessary tools towards the long sought after development of Ala Igbo, pointing to its origins as a developmental strategy among Igbo women after the Biafran War.
Hence, he declared that anyone who downplayed the importance of women in the structural compass of development was wasting their time. He therefore tasked the women present to take as much interest in governance as they took in immediate development of their families, to ensure that their efforts did not go to the dogs.
Concluding his speech, Mazi Gburugburu donated ₦1.5 million to the developmental initiatives of the women of Ibeku Okwuato Community, while also adding an additional ₦1 million to be shared to everyone present.
Subsequently, Mazi Gburugburu proceeded to the August Meeting of Nguru Oboama community, also in Aboh Mbaise LGA, where the women heartily welcomed him with loud cheers amid cultural performances.
Deliberately and dramatically repeating the message he delivered at Ibeku, Amadi who was quite elated and exciting in his delivery, acknowledged the efforts of the women in carrying their families and immediate communities on their shoulders, charging them to also include Imo State in their unfailing care.
Evidently acknowledging their sacrifices as most them had trecked long distances to the venue of the event, Amadi observed that a bad society was typically and critically bad moments for women, with all the burdens, as they bore the brunt of mismanagement and underdevelopment.
Before he left, Mazi supported the women of the community with ₦1.5 million cash, and also donated another tranche of ₦1 million cash to be shared among every woman present at the event.
Gburugburu continued his visits on Saturday, celebrating with the women of Ogbeke Obibiezema Community in Owerri North LGA.
After the presentation of kola nuts which was immediately followed by a colourful troupe performance, Amadi, calm, conscious and obviously enjoying the beautiful displays of the women, acknowledged their enterprising as well as amazing gestures.
He commended them for showing and showering him with such scale of enthusiasm, vigor and love. In his speech, he informed them that only a happy woman can lead to a happy family and society at large. Pointing out the proximity of the community to his own hometown, Gburugburu affirmed that whatever affected the women equally affected him, reiterating that, that was why he would work to make their circumstances better.
Just like in the other communities, at the end of his speech, Amadi donated the sum of ₦1.5 million cash to the community development efforts of the women, and also gave an August meeting gift of ₦1 million cash to be shared among every woman present at the event. As the women thanked him for his generosity, they prayed for him and promised him their support.
Still very much strong and determined, ebullient Amadi also honored the invitation to the August meeting of the women of Umuokpo Emeabiam in Owerri West LGA, where he was welcomed by an elaborate parade by the women of the community.
Identifying the shortcuts and hidden roads he used to take when he was young, he dispeled any doubt in the minds of the gathered women that he truly was one of them, and had grown up close to their community. He noted that he knew their problems on a personal level, and that there was no way he would ignore these problems if he was in the position to solve them.
Continuing his generous streak, Gburugburu donated ₦3 million cash to the women to help them in the projects they were undertaking, and also donated ₦1 million to be disbursed to all the women present at the meeting, as deafening cheers erupted from the crowd.
The joyful women thanked Amadi for his philanthropy as they pointed out that it was the first time they were being remembered when it was not yet election period.
