Out of curiosity someone once asked Prof Gregory Ibe if he has any bad side. According to the person it is amazing that only credible reports are available about citizen Prof Ibe. In response to that question, Prof Ibe stated that his weak point is dread for failure. According to him, the thought of not achieving anything he sets out to accomplish motivates him to strive harder.
While it is true that many good things are spoken about this globally acclaimed human resource expert, it is important to point out that he is not a product of a perfect world of peaches and cream. No, not at all. Rather available facts confirm that he belongs to a rare class of humans who believe in turning ugly situations round for the better.
A case in point is the story behind the establishment of Gregory University Uturu. Prof Ibe was teaching pro bono in two universities, to satiate his passion for human resource development and fulfill the divine call of giving back to society aka Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR). As a classroom teacher he experienced first hand the sad commentary of falling standard of education.
The growing cases of moral decay in the school system, cultism, frequent strikes by lecturers, rampant protests by undergraduates, education tourism by the rich and lack of interest in schorlaly activities among students stared the passionate ‘Onye Nkuzi’ Ibe in the face. What do we do to right the wrongs in our education sector, became a nagging question that kept ringing in his creative mind. Being a very spiritual person he took the knotty issue to God saying,
“If you bless me with resources, I promise to build a citadel of learning that will change the narrative in our education system”.
When God in his faithfulness answered that prayer, Prof Ibe responded accordingly by designing and building Gregory University Uturu in the erstwhile forests of Amaokwe Achara Uturu. While executing the project he was confronted by such existing problems as water scarcity due to the rocky nature of the soil texture, absence of national power grid, no access road and difficulty in persuading land owners to sell their property. Undeterred by these he forged ahead inspired by the vision of providing an institution that would offer solutions to the challenges confronting the education sector. Drawing from his vast building background, he designed and constructed architecturally easthetic structures in one year that met the specifications of National Universities Commission ( NUC). Gregory University Uturu was thereby given the nod to commence academic activities on meeting all requirements.
Eight years after licencing by the federal government, the school achieved so much in the areas of curriculum expansion, accreditation by relevant agencies, infrastructural development, linkages with local and international organisations, that it emerged the best private University in the country for two years running, having repeated the feat in her nineth year.
Analysts have continued to associate the rising profile of Gregory University Uturu with the dogged can do spirit of industry of her Founder and Proprietor, Prof Ibe, who has left nothing undone in his quest to bequeath humanity with the lasting legacy of an exceptional educational, technical, technological and entrepreneural centre of excellence. If therefore there is a bad side of Prof Ibe, it is his insistence that nothing is impossible. Everyone that comes in contact with him goes away with the impression that he doesn’t give in easily when he believes in something. Be it in volunteerism, business or pleasure Prof Ibe hates excusism as a way of explaining failure. He will rather confront challenges with the positive mindset of possibilities. As a firm believer in God, Prof Ibe upholds the Christian tenet of faith while affirming the power of prayer and intercession as a means of guaranteeing divine intervention in human affairs.
A recent visitor to the village of Amaokwe Achara Uturu will surely marvel at the transformation that has turned the once quiet rural area into an emerging urban education city. Many of such visitors have been bitten by the irresistible Prof Gregory Ibe bug and subsequently joined in testifying that indeed everything Prof Ibe touches truly turns to gold. Your testimony is next…
ProGIMA-Prof Gregory Ibe Media Associates
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