HAIL TO THE RICE MAN

 JOHN MAYAKI pays tribute to Kenneth Imasuagbon, an educationist and philanthropist at 60

I have read the poet, Thomas Dylan, who wrote; “Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, rage, rage against the dying of the light,” and I am convinced that there are men who pass through the world without disturbing its surface, and there are men whose passage leaves the ground changed beneath their feet. I, John Mayaki, have seen a great tragedy under the sun; I have seen that no prints exist in the sands of time to record the magnitude of some men in this transient world and yet, some men fill the annals of history with valiant deeds of excellence. Kenneth Imasuagbon belongs emphatically to the second order. 

As he marks the 6oth birthday, Nigeria and our ancient, storied land of Edo in particular, pauses to take account of one of its most singular sons: a man who has fed the hungry, schooled the ignorant, healed the sick, and raised his voice for those the powerful would prefer to keep silent. As a humble storyteller and admirer of the man, the myth and the legend that he is, shall I not write of his deeds, albeit concisely?

Now, it is a truism that a diamond is forged under immense pressure, in the hidden places of the earth, over time that most men cannot imagine enduring. And it is precisely this image that recommends itself most forcefully to any honest reckoning with the life of Kenneth Imasuagbon. He arrives at this sixth floor, having confronted the world’s cruelties through poverty, hunger, the cold indifference of fate toward the bereaved and the helpless. 

To understand Kenneth Imasuagbon, one must first understand Ewohimi, the community in Esan land, where there is a deep spirit of kinship. It was here he was born. It was there Imasuagbon absorbed what no school curriculum can teach: that the individual does not exist apart from the community, that a man’s worth is measured not by what he accumulates but by what he gives back to the soil that bore him.

After his father’s death, things were hard for the family, but a woman in the community gifted the family some rice. It was not a grand gesture. It was rice. But to a hungry child, to a bereaved family standing at the edge of despair, it was everything. It was the proof that the world had not entirely turned its face away. Kenneth Imasuagbon, in that moment of reception, made the kind of vow that only a child can make with complete sincerity, which was that he would give rice to those who have none when he became wealthy. He has kept that vow with a faithfulness that would have moved even the most skeptical observer. 

For more than two decades, through the machinery of an annual free rice distribution exercise that has become one of the most distinctive acts of private philanthropy in Edo State, Kenneth Imasuagbon has returned, year after year, to that original moment of grace, extending it and broadcasting it outward to thousands of households that would not otherwise have known its warmth. It is for this he is known by the moniker; “the Rice Man”.

When the price of rice doubled, trebled, and climbed still further beyond the reach of ordinary families, people thought that his philanthropy would reduce or stop. That was the most business-like decision. Imasuagbon is, however, not a business man when it comes to philanthropy. He does it wholeheartedly, giving like there’s no tomorrow. Thus, he has continued, he has refused to let economic headwinds extinguish what a widow’s act of grace lit in him decades ago and this is the quality of character that no balance sheet can adequately measure. 

Kenneth Imasuagbon’s philanthropy is therefore famously defined by his two-decade tradition of distributing thousands of bags of rice to the underprivileged across Edo State every Christmas. He funds free medical outreaches and maintains a long-standing partnership with the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), where he pledged ₦1 million annually to pay the bills of indigent patients. 

In recognition of this altruism, the hospital named a male surgical ward in his honor. Imasuagbon has stated that his mission is to “put smiles on the faces of the poor” and he often says, “once you remove hunger from the list of wants of a man, poverty is half solved.” His commitment to social welfare also extends to frequent donations of cash, clothing, and supplies to orphanages and Home for the Needy IDP Camp in Uhogua.

Beyond his feeding many families yearly, Kenneth Imasuagbon understands the value of education and the role it can play in preparing the next generation for leadership. As the Chairman of Pacesetters’ Schools in Abuja, he has presided over the growth of an educational institution that has expanded, since its founding footprint in 2002, to encompass campuses across some of the Federal Capital Territory’s most significant districts such as Wuse, Wuye, Gwarinpa, and Guzape among them. 

The name, “Pacesetters”, is not an accident. It is a philosophy compressed into a word. A pacesetter is an entity who determines the tempo at which others must run. And it is this ambition that animates the institution he has built. Imasuagbon believes that education is the great equalizer. So, campus by campus, year by year, he has built institutions. As an educator and Chairman of Pacesetters Schools, Imasuagbon leverages his professional background to provide numerous scholarships and educational grants. 

In a country where education too often serves the interests of those who already have everything, the Pacesetters’ model of quality schooling is a quiet act of revolution. He actively promotes youth development through the sponsorship of the annual Kenneth Imansuagbon Essay Competition, where winners from schools like University of Benin (UNIBEN), Ambrose Alli University (AAU), and Auchi Polytechnic receive laptops, iPads, and cash prizes ranging from ₦50,000 to ₦200,000.

Concerning the internally displaced persons’ camps in Uhogua which I mentioned above, it is remarkable to note that those that are hardly seen have seen his philanthropic hands. Indeed, his free medical outreaches across Edo communities have brought healthcare to people who were otherwise helpless. For the youth of Edo, he has invested in the twin currencies of mind and body through his annual essay competitions and football tournaments. These are deliberate, sustained investments in the coming generation that will inherit whatever Imasuagbon and his contemporaries leave behind. 

For him, the greatest gift one generation can give the next is opportunity to be seen, tested, and to discover what they are capable of. He views his wealth as a responsibility, famously declaring, “I am now fired up and forever, I will live my life in the service of society.” His charitable philosophy is deeply rooted in his faith, evidenced by significant financial contributions to church infrastructure and his stated belief that “the more you give cheerfully… the more God surprises you.”

Yet Imasuagbon’s odyssey is not over. If anything, a man who has spent 60 years accumulating the wisdom of lived experience, the credibility of kept promises, and the unbroken energy of a purpose-driven life is only now arriving at the fullness of his powers. Nigeria has no shortage of men who are willing to talk about the poverty in the country, but few of them are willing to do something about them. Imasuagbon is a voice for the voiceless. 

As the candles on the sixtieth cake are lit, let the reflection that follows be not merely sentimental but resolute. The Rice Man has more rice and more than rice to give. The Pacesetter has more children to school and the servant-heart that bent over the displaced in Uhogua, that arranged football pitches for children who might otherwise have had no pitch to run upon, beats still with the same insistence it brought to that first, formative moment when a neighbour’s generosity taught a hungry boy what it means to be fully human.

Happy birthday, Kenneth Imasuagbon. The diamond is formed. The light it casts is just beginning.

Mayaki is a Journalist and Diplomat