Ikpeazu at 62: DOVIS Scholarship to Reward Academic Excellence, Promote Youth Development

Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain and former Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, has announced plans to establish the DOVIS Scholarship Scheme for exceptional first-class students, reaffirming his call for empowerment programmes that prioritise education, skills acquisition and sustainable livelihoods over handouts.

Ikpeazu disclosed this during his 62nd birthday celebration and the Fifth Okezie Victor Ikpeazu Colloquium, organised by the Pa Ismael Ikpeazu Library and DOVI Scientific Leadership Centre.

The event, themed “Empowerment Beyond Handouts: Building Responsible, Skilled and Self-Reliant Young People for Sustainable Development,” focused on strategies for equipping young people with the knowledge, competence and resources needed to contribute to economic growth.

The ambassador said the proposed scholarship would be tied to sustained academic excellence, explaining that beneficiaries would be expected to maintain high standards throughout their studies.

He added that students whose academic performance declined would risk losing the award, stressing that the initiative was intended to encourage discipline, commitment and a culture of excellence.

According to Ikpeazu, sustainable empowerment goes beyond distributing money and material items to building human capacity through education, mentorship, practical training and enterprise development.

Reflecting on his tenure as governor of Abia State, he cited agricultural interventions that equipped young people with the skills and resources to establish independent businesses.

He explained that the poultry development programme provided participants with poultry pens, feed stores, veterinary clinics and access to expert instructors.

The initiative combined classroom instruction with practical farm management, allowing beneficiaries to acquire the experience needed to run their businesses after completing the training.

Ikpeazu said the model helped minimise business failure by ensuring that participants were adequately prepared before venturing into independent enterprise.

He also expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing him Nigeria’s ambassador to Spain, commending the President’s economic reforms, which he said had placed the country on a positive economic trajectory.

The diplomat further thanked his family, friends and political associates for supporting him throughout his academic, professional and political career.

Ihendinihu: Measure Empowerment by Capacity Created

Delivering the keynote lecture virtually, Professor John Uzoma Ihendinihu, Professor of Accounting and Taxation at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, said the effectiveness of empowerment programmes should be assessed by the skills and capabilities beneficiaries acquire rather than the immediate assistance they receive.

He argued that lasting youth development requires an integrated approach that combines character formation, education, practical competence and self-reliance.

Ihendinihu urged governments, educational institutions, businesses and community leaders to invest in vocational training, mentorship, entrepreneurship support and market access instead of relying solely on cash transfers and material donations.

He described Ikpeazu’s career as an illustration of how education, discipline and public service could contribute to individual advancement and community development.

The professor highlighted several youth-oriented initiatives introduced during Ikpeazu’s administration, including the Made-in-Aba campaign, international training opportunities for local artisans, the Enyimba Automated Shoe Company and the Enyimba Automated Garment Factory.

He also cited efforts to secure institutional markets for products made by Aba-based entrepreneurs, saying such interventions sought to strengthen local production, create employment opportunities and promote economic independence.

According to him, these programmes reflected a shift towards empowerment models designed to build productive capacity and generate lasting economic benefits.

He called on stakeholders across government, business and education to develop responsible, skilled and productive young people capable of driving sustainable national development.

Colloquium Examines Pathways to Self-Reliance

Earlier, the event’s moderator and former spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, described Ikpeazu as a scholar, statesman, diplomat and accomplished public servant whose career had been characterised by scholarship, humility and service.

Ebienfa said the annual colloquium had consistently addressed critical issues surrounding economic development, entrepreneurship and sustainable empowerment.

He explained that previous discussions had examined entrepreneurship and economic growth before turning to the reasons many empowerment programmes fail, with this year’s edition focusing on human capital development as a foundation for lasting results.

He stressed the importance of equipping young people with the knowledge, skills and values required to become self-reliant and contribute meaningfully to society.

Guests attending physically and virtually from different parts of the world paid tribute to Ikpeazu, praising his contributions to public service, education, youth development and community advancement.

The celebration concluded with goodwill messages, birthday tributes and a birthday song in honour of the ambassador, who was joined by family members, friends, associates and well-wishers to mark his 62nd birthday.