From Ike Abam To Ike Abia: How Philanthropist Chijioke James Ume Became Abia’s Most Celebrated Gift – Abia Patriots Scribe

The birthday anniversary of renowned philanthropist and business mogul, Chief Chijioke James Ume, may have come and gone, but the tributes and echoes have refused to die down in Abia State.

At the centre of the renewed celebration is the Secretary General of The Abia Patriots, Mazi Adindu Madumere, who says Abia is yet to fully appreciate its most unique gift to Nigeria.

Speaking with newsmen in Umuahia shortly after the birthday celebration, Madumere described Chief Ume, popularly known as Ike Abam, as patriotism personified, insisting that he deserves to be celebrated while alive.

“Chief Umeh epitomizes patriotism personified. He should be given his flowers now while he is alive. He is a gift not just to Abam, but to Abia and to Nigeria as a whole,” Madumere said.

According to him, The Abia Patriots, a non-partisan league of eminent Abians at home and in the diaspora, is deliberately spotlighting Chief Ume because his philanthropy is not cosmetic but structural, sustained and strategic.

He noted that it was for this reason that Governor Alex Otti had to elevate his chieftaincy title from Ike Abam to Ike Abia.

The title of Ike Abam was conferred on him in early 2021 by the 27 autonomous communities of Abam clan in Arochukwu Local Government Area. In Abam, the Forum noted, titles are earned, not bought, and the honour came after his Unubiko Foundation began to rewrite the story of the community.

But what started in Abam, Madumere said, refused to stay in Abam.

Under the Unubiko Foundation, Chief Ume completely rebuilt Ovukwu Abam Secondary School with over N250 million, rebuilt the dilapidated Onyereubi Comprehensive Secondary School from ruins, sank between 44 and 49 boreholes for the 27 villages of Abam and neighbouring communities to end decades of water scarcity, provided transformers to electrify villages, and built and gifted between 30 and 52 fully completed two-bedroom bungalows to widows and less-privileged families.

In the health sector, he has offset medical bills of hundreds of indigent patients at the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, built and donated a Level 2 Primary Healthcare Centre at Ndi Okereke Abam fully equipped with multi-parameter monitors, ultrasound, oxygen delivery system, modern laboratory and pharmacy, which is now part of the Abia State Government’s Project Ekwueme. He also rebuilt the 83-year-old colonial customary court built in 1939 at Amaelu Abam which had been abandoned by judiciary staff.

In education, his Foundation has awarded multi-million naira scholarships, including a landmark N300 million grant for primary, secondary and tertiary students across Nigeria, paid WAEC fees for students of Atan Abam, donated books worth N6 million to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) national and state councils, and donated N500 million to Abia State Polytechnic for vocational excellence.

At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, he distributed Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to all Abam communities and to FMC Umuahia, alongside food palliatives and cash support. His intervention and advocacy alongside Rep. Ibe Okwara Osonwa was also credited for Governor Otti’s approval for the reconstruction of the long-abandoned Omenuko Bridge linking Abam to Arochukwu, Ohafia and communities in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States.

It was this statewide spread of impact that made Governor Otti at a public function refer to him not just as Ike Abam but as Ike Abia, a new name that has since stuck.

Chief Ume’s humanitarian gestures have earned him The Sun Humanitarian Service Icon Award 2022, the African Hero Award at the 15th Voice Achievers Awards 2026 in London and commendation letters from previous administrations in the state.

“The lesson from Umeh is simple, patriotism is not press statement, it is what you do with your resources when government cannot reach everywhere. He does not wait for government budget, he builds a school, he does not wait for emergency, he builds a hospital. This is what we mean when we say Onye aghala nwanne ya – be your brother’s keeper,” Madumere stated.

He called on other well-to-do Abians at home and in the diaspora to emulate the Unubiko model of targeted intervention aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on poverty, education, gender equality, clean water and strong institutions.

“Umeh has shown you can be wealthy and still be humane. Abia needs a thousand Ike Abias, but we must start by celebrating the one we have,” Madumere added.