National Impact Glitz Magazine to Honor Four Architects of Nigerian Enterprise and Innovation at 17th Anniversary

_Lecture to Tackle “Nigeria’s Growth Paradox” as Business, Finance, Security and Science Leaders Are Recognized_  

By Lod Onyeji 

LAGOS — For 17 years, _National Impact Glitz Magazine_, published by Lumen Impact Communications, has positioned itself as a chronicler of Nigerian achievement. On its anniversary this year at Presken Hotel and Resorts, Ikeja, the publication will turn its lens on a question that has defined the last decade of policy debate: why does Africa’s largest economy grow without delivering prosperity at scale?

The event’s theme — “Nigeria’s Growth Paradox: Unlocking the Economy’s Full Potential and Creating an Agenda for Nigeria’s 2027 Presidency” — will frame a lecture, panel discussions, an awards ceremony, and the unveiling of a documentary, _“17 Years of Impact, Achievement, Milestone and Prospective Vision.”_

At the center of the day are four honorees selected less for celebrity than for institutional weight. They represent employment, finance, enterprise services, and indigenous science — four sectors that data show determine whether growth translates into jobs.

The Honorees

1. High Chief Amb. Dr. Nzeribe S. Okegbue, Ph.D  

President/Chairman of Council, Employers Association for Private Employment Agencies of Nigeria, EAPEAN.  

Dr. Okegbue’s profile is that of a builder of labor markets. With about 30 years in security operations and human resources, he has been central to formalizing Nigeria’s private employment and security sector. Through his companies, he has created thousands of jobs across Lagos, Abia, Imo, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Oyo and Ogun States.  

His academic record spans theology, sociology of religion, HR management, MBA, and PhDs in Business Administration and Criminology & Security Studies. He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Industrial Security, Institute of Brand Management, and Institute of Management Consultants, and holds international certification as a Management Consultant. He currently chairs the Security Committee of the Igbo Think Tank Group.  

In a country where youth unemployment remains above 30%, his advocacy for skills, education, and job creation places him at the intersection of security and economic policy.

2. Sir Stanley C. Amuchie, KSC  

Executive Director & Chief Operations and Information Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc.  

Sir Amuchie oversees the technical infrastructure of one of Nigeria’s tier-1 banks. He joined Fidelity’s board in 2022 after 18 years at Zenith Bank, where he rose to Group CFO and Group Zonal Head, and chaired Zenith Securities Limited. He began his career in 1995 at Arthur Andersen, now KPMG.  

A Fellow of ICAN and Honorary Senior Member of CIBN, he is directing Fidelity’s push into digital operations and innovation at a time when Nigerian banks are processing over 10 billion electronic transactions annually, according to CBN data. Outside banking, he leads the Goodlight Foundation, focused on grassroots education and human capital development.

3. Dr. Island C. Anyasi  

Chairman/CEO, Sheriff Deputies Ltd, Kleenrite Ltd, and Much@once Supermarket.  

Trained as a medical doctor, Dr. Anyasi pivoted to enterprise. He now runs companies in security, industrial cleaning, verification, and facility management serving corporates, schools, estates, and industries nationwide. He is also building a retail footprint.  

Since taking over businesses founded by his lateaaà father, he has focused on professionalizing labor-intensive services through systems, staff training, and technology. He is currently undertaking executive training at Lagos Business School. His work reflects a broader trend: the formalization of Nigeria’s facility management sector, now estimated at over ₦1.2 trillion annually.

4. Brig. Gen. Dr. Otu Oviemo Ovadje, OFR, MON (Rtd)  

Military physician, researcher, and inventor.  

General Ovadje is Nigeria’s most cited example of frugal innovation. While serving as Chief Consultant Anaesthesiologist at Military Hospital, Ikoyi, he invented the *Emergency Auto-Transfusion Set, EAT-SET* — a non-electric device that recovers and filters a patient’s own blood during trauma or surgery for immediate re-transfusion.  

Designed for settings without reliable power, it has saved lives in rural clinics across sub-Saharan Africa. Patented in nine countries and backed by UNDP and WHO, the device earned him the OAU/WIPO Gold Medal in 1995 as Best African Scientist, and the WHO Sasakawa Health Prize in 2000 — the first African to win it. He was later conferred OFR and MON by the Nigerian government.

Why This Matters Now? Nigeria’s GDP has grown, yet poverty, unemployment, and out-of-pocket health costs persist. The “growth paradox” the magazine seeks to address is empirical: between 2015-2023, Nigeria’s economy expanded but job creation lagged, and 63% of Nigerians remained multidimensionally poor per NBS.

The four honorees represent tested responses:  

- Jobs: EAPEAN under Dr. Okegbue is formalizing the staffing industry that employs millions.  

- Capital and Technology: Fidelity under Sir Amuchie is digitizing financial access.  

- Services and MSMEs: Dr. Anyasi is scaling indigenous firms in essential services.  

- Health Innovation: Gen. Ovadje proved that Nigerian R&D can solve low-resource problems at global standard.

The Program

Held at Presken Hotel, the event will feature the anniversary lecture on the 2027 agenda, keynote addresses across sectors, awards, and the premiere of the magazine’s documentary tracing 17 years of Nigerian enterprise.

For _National Impact Glitz_, the point is not celebration alone. It is documentation. In an economy where institutions are weak, magazines like this perform an archival function: naming who built what, and with what effect.

As the country approaches another electoral cycle, the question posed in Ikeja will be direct: can Nigeria convert growth into development by backing the kind of people now being honored — operators, not just orators?