By EMAMEH GABRIEL
The dust of the Okpella road still feels like it is on my shoes, even back here in Abuja. I arrived for my second trip in three months armed with a journalist’s scepticism, hardened by years of promises that evaporate like morning mist. I thought I had the place figured out. I was wrong. I left with something unexpected: a firm belief that I had witnessed the beginning of a renaissance.
The stories filtering out from the community now are hopeful, tales of progress and light, though I know, as always, there are shadows working tirelessly to dim it. But after what I saw, I think their task just got much harder.
I sat in the corner of a few of His Royal Majesty Engr. Michael Olorufemi Sado’s meetings. It is one thing to hear a king give orders; it is another entirely to watch a strategist at work. This is a man who came prepared. He doesn’t just hold court sessions; he engages, his eyes fixed on whoever is speaking with deep concentration that makes one feels as though he is absorbing the words and thoughts behind them. He listens, truly listens, and has a way of cutting to the very heart of an issue. You find yourself mid-sentence, driving towards a point, and he is already there, waiting with the answer. It is almost unnerving, this intellect.
I remember one night particularly well. The fan hummed somewhere in the background, the only sound besides our voices. Barr Williams Usman and I engaged him in a conversation that stretched on for nearly three hours, the clock hands spinning lazily towards the early morning. It was the best time for us to see him after his numerous daily routines. This was not a royal audience; it was a deep, revealing exchange. And that is when I saw it, not just a man with ideas, but a visionary with a blueprint. He has a plan for what Okpella will look like in five years. Not a vague, hopeful dream, but something documented, tangible, with steps and stages. The King did not just inherit a throne; he came with a mission.
But the moment that truly left me in awe was a meeting with a team from UBA two days later. They had come, I suspect, expecting to explain basic banking to a traditional ruler. They were there to discuss a new mobile system for their Okpella customers. What they got in return was a lecture.
I watched as HRM Sado, an engineer by profession, began to engage them on their own turf. He spoke their language, but with a clarity and foresight that seemed to surprise them. He was not just listening; he was challenging them, using the right words.
He explained to them why a physical bank branch, not just a glorified cash hall, but a building with a first generation banking face; not a relic, was a necessity.
He laid out his plans for them like a project manager would do —the security measures already in place, the influx of new investors he was personally courting, the assurance that their investment would be not just safe, but profoundly fruitful. He was essentially providing them with a business case they hadn’t even fully constructed themselves. I sat there, my pen still for once, just watching. How could an engineer be so fluent in economic intricacies, even outmatching the banking professionals themselves? The answer is simple: he cares. He has to know, because his people’s future depends on it.
Anyone familiar with Michael Eshioronoya Olorufemi Sado’s trajectory, long before his ascension to the throne, will attest to his formidable acumen. As a young man, he built a business empire from the ground up through sheer hard work and remarkable resilience.
It is, therefore, no surprise, indeed, it is the firm expectation of all who know him, that he is now bringing that same visionary drive and indefatigable spirit to the development of Okpella. Under his stewardship, we are not merely witnessing change; we are building a thriving community defined by prosperity, success, and enduring strength.
And you can see that future literally rising from the earth. It is not cho cho cho cho on social media. You can’t walk through Okpella without seeing the physical proof of this vision. The skeletons of new buildings are pushing towards the sky. There is the site for the new Area Command, a promise of greater security that will make investors sleep easier and give residents long-overdue peace of mind. Not far from it, the modern court building is taking shape, a powerful symbol that justice and order are foundational to this new era.
Then there is the commerce, rows upon rows of modern market stores designed to bring trade into the 21st century, to give the vibrant local commerce the dignified space it deserves. And perhaps most symbolic of all are the roads. The giants of cement, whose presence has long defined the area, are now partners in this transformation, set to flag off serious road construction. It feels deeply significant; the very industry that has driven the local economy is now helping to pave the way, quite literally, for a more connected, accessible, and modern community.
The new cement bagging company by BUA Cement is underway. This means more jobs for our youths, more income to the state and local government IGR and of course, the host community.
This is not a king who rules from a distant palace. This is a leader who is building his kingdom from the ground up, with a spreadsheet in one hand and the sacred staff of his office in the other. He has a fire in his eyes, not of anger, but of conviction. It is a conviction that is so genuine, so devoid of self-aggrandisement, that it is hard not to be swept up by it. You find yourself wanting his plans to work, not for him, but for the obvious, profound love he has for Okpella and its people.
It is a kind of leadership that makes you believe, truly believe, in the possibility of change. And that, perhaps, is his greatest power. Even sceptics have been left feeling that if anyone can demystify the old order and build something new and lasting, it is him. This is the reason youths from all communities in Okpella, including Imiokhewa are trooping in daily to pledge their loyalty to his throne.
Our KING ENGR MICHAEL OLORUFEMI SADO THE OKUOKPELLAGBE OF OKPELLA, is drawing a map and laying the tarmac for others to follow.
Emameh Gabriel writes from Abuja.
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