Being a welcome address delivered by Venerable Stephen Wolemonwu, the Rector, Ibru Ecumenical Centre, Agbarha-Otor at the memorial lecture and presentation of award in honour of Dr. Alex Uruemu Ibru held on November 25, 2023 at Ibru Centre.

It is with high regard and firm faith in God that I welcome you on behalf of the staff, workers and management of Ibru International Ecumenical Centre to this maiden edition of the memorial activities (which kicked started since November 19, 2023 with a Eucharistic celebration) in honour of a legend and icon, the late Dr. Alexander Uruemu Ibru, who passed on November 20, 2011.

We believe this meeting will avail everyone the opportunity to add a block on this legacy left to us by Alex Ibru. It is our prayer that as we fellowship today greater insight will be given to us into the vision and mission of Ibru Centre and the founder. Benjamin Franklin once said: “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”

Dr Alex Uruemu Ibru
Alex Ibru (March 1, 1945 –November 20, 2011) was a Nigerian billionaire businessman, founder and publisher of The Guardian (Nigeria) newspaper. He was also the Minister of Internal Affairs from 1993 to 1995 during the military regime of General Sani Abacha. Alex Ibru was a son of Chief Peter and Madam Janet Omotogor Ibru and brother of Chief Michael Ibru, founder of the Ibru organisations. Alex was born on March 1, 1945 in Agbhara-Otor, in today’s Delta State. He attended the Yaba Methodist Primary School (1951–1957), Ibadan Grammar School (1958–1960), Igbobi College, Lagos (1960–1963) and Trent Polytechnic in the United Kingdom (1967–1970), where he studied business economics

Alex once said: “As a Christian, and in particular, an Anglican, I have always been interested in the growth of the Christian church in Nigeria. As a newspaper man, I have always been concerned about the interface between church, state and society and how the church, alongside other elements in civil society, can play a meaningful role in the development process. As one of the supporters of the IBRU Centre, an interdenominational, ecumenical centre, under the watch of the Anglican Communion, based in Agbarha-Otor in Delta State, I have often tried to show interest in the all-important task of spreading the gospel of truth in society in order to widen this side of the Lord’s Vineyard and to ensure the promotion of an ideal society that is based on the principles of truth, brotherhood, justice, fairness and the fellowship of all mankind” (“Interface between Church, State and Society Is My Concern” Alex Ibru Chairman and Publisher of The Guardian [Lagos, Nigeria] Wednesday, January 26, 2005)

Ven. Ernest Onuoha, one time Rector of Ibru Ecumenical Centre in the Guardian of November 20, 2016 wrote: “Absent in the body, but present with the Lord, (2 Corinthians 5:8). Really, how time flies! Exactly this day on November 20, 2011, the founder and donor of the Ibru Centre, Dr. Alex Uruemu Ibru passed unto glory. His demise was a shock not only to his family, but also to the Centre, friends and associates. However, we are confident he is resting in the bosom of our Lord.

“Indeed, Alex Ibru lived ahead of his generation. By setting up the Ibru Centre, it met a spiritual purpose. We thank God the Centre has played a prominent role to different Church persuasion and organisations to His glory. We must place on record the valued role being played by Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) under the able leadership of the Primate of All Nigeria, Most Rev. Nicholas D. Okoh. It is to the credit of the Anglican Church that Ibru Centre, a place of spiritual rejuvenation, has received a great patronage.

“The programmes, which have been a continuum under this Church, include: Bishop’s Annual Retreat every January, Bishops Wives Retreat, Senior Clergy Advanced Management Training in January and August of every year, Church of Nigeria Ecumenism Conference, Church of Nigeria Communicators Conference, Diocesan Clergy and Wives Retreats, Diocesan Knights and Ladies Retreats, Catechists and Clerks Training, Church of Nigeria Theological Educational Conferences, Picnic for young people among others.

Naturally, being an Ecumenical Centre, Church denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church have also at one time or the other made use of the Centre; sometimes for seminars, meetings, workshops and revivals, among others. We commend Alex Ibru for such a serene environment, where people can come and be alone with God. More so, what he said in his Theophany: “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,” (Acts 26:19) is legendary. It is on record that this God’s own treasurer, when he yielded the place to the Anglican Church, Maiden, his wife and his children did not dissuade him. To God be the glory forever and ever, Amen!

We must, therefore, salute Lady Maiden, her children including Toke, as they have held the forte on every side, ensuring that the legacies of Dr. Alex Ibru were maintained, ranging from the Ibru Centre, The Guardian Newspapers and the conglomerate of tourists hotels, among others. We pray they endure.”

Alex Ibru believed in God, he believed in his fellow man, he believed in helping the poor, he believed in the Anglican Church, he believed in Agbarha-otor, he believed in our nation, he believed in religious tolerance, in ecumenism and interfaith, he believed not only in himself, but in ‘us’ and in ‘we.’ When I visited his royal majesty, Richard Oghenevwogaga Ebelle, Okorefe 1, Ovie, Agbarha-Otor; he said that “Alex is a great man that is worth celebrating, and that if Alex was alive today, Agbarha-Otor will not be in darkness as it is; that Alex and Olorogun Michael Ibru were two great men that cannot be forgotten in haste in his kingdom.”

About Ibru Centre
It was two days to Christmas in 1989. The harmattan was on. Dr. Alex Ibru and family were inside their serene and expensive Delta country home at Agbarha-Otor. Something made him leave the room for a garden chair in the court. Soon, he realised that God was inspiring him to give up his personal use of the vast country home and instead deploy it for spiritual use. It was a clear dialogue with the Holy Spirit, and he returned to the lounge to disclose to his wife, Maiden and their children this experience and its content.

The reaction expectedly was disbelief. Dr. Alex Ibru had a choice either to give heed to this voice or not. There was no element of compulsion. But Maiden, his wife and their children made no attempt to discourage him: Remember there had been before now a strong feeling of contentment at God’s generosity. Alex Ibru recalls.

The next couple of hours witnessed the conflict between the flesh and the spirit. To beat off succumbing to temptation, Alex. Ibru hit the road to Warri to discuss this strange experience with the Roman Catholic Bishop for a joint effort at discernment. After reflection, dialogue and prayer, it became clear that God entrusted Dr. Alex Ibru with a service. After that, Dr. Ibru finalised the decision to make the country home available as a spiritual centre by the Christmas of 1989.

For the efficient and expensive usage, the centre was handed over to Trinity Foundation on March 1, 1995. It is interesting to note that Trinity Foundation is now fully under the control and management of Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion ably led by the Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of all Nigeria, His Grace, The Most Rev. Henry C. Ndukuba. The centre welcomes guests for retreat, spiritual solace, short courses, pilgrimages and other spiritual rejuvenating exercise in a holy and serene environment. You are welcome to use the facility for your spiritual growth.

The Essence Of This Celebration
This meeting is important because it is targeted at honouring a man who is no more with us physically but lives through his legacies, and to build a strong base for the furtherance and sustainability of his vision and aspiration for Ibru Centre, a place he once cherished and revered.

Over these years, the Ibru Centre has experienced wear and tear, therefore the management bids to raise the sum of One hundred (100) million Naira project fund for the furtherance of Dr. Alex Ibru Vision for Ibru International Ecumenical Centre, Agbarha-Otor. It will be a great honour to have you to be part of this project. We know your love for God and humanity, we plead that amidst your tight and busy schedule that you grant us the privilege.

Our Targeted Projects Includes:
• Installation of solar energy/street solar lights
• Investment fund
• Renovation and refurbishment of the rooms, especially in the Trinity House
• Renovation of the swimming pool among others

Ibru Centre Land Under Threat!
We regret to say that some persons have encroached into Ibru Centre land and somehow are trying to defy its sanctity and serenity. This centre has existed for over 34 years now. This place was given to God and for the development of man and his spiritual life; trying to encroach into it after a period of over 34 years can only be best described as ‘dishonourable.’ I call on all meaningful sons and daughters of Agbarha-Otor to discourage such ‘dishonour.’ If we who are alive seats down and watch such dishonour done both to God, his church and in memory of a great son of Agbarha-Otor and the Urhobo nation, then I fear for the future.

The theme: “Marks In The Sands Of Time’ – Creating Lasting Legacies In A Challenged World.” The hymn ‘fading away like the stars of the morning; authored by Horatius Bonar who was born at Edinburgh, in 1808 in its chorus said: “only remembered by what we have done.”
Thank you and God bless you.

Man is not celebrated by how much he has looted, by how much he has rooted, not by how much he has taken, but how much he has given. Life only celebrate what we contributed and not what we circumvented.

Mary Oliver, a poet said: “I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.”
And an author Maya Angelou wrote: “If you’re going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can’t be erased.” Dear great people of God, legacy is something you consciously or unconsciously set into motion. In other words, it moves beyond your life. It moves beyond your being alive. In Proverbs 13:22, we are challenged to think about legacy. Here Solomon said: “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.”

Today, we celebrate a man whose legacies transcends the borders of his family to the shores of national and religious development and to the defense and blessing of the ‘common man.’ As long as life is and man exist the legacies of Alex lives on. He is to us today; a challenge and an example. If we consider the enormous challenges starring at us as a people no one will help each other; howbeit, we must realise that no one was created for himself. God made us for one another the reason the scripture said in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (KJV): “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.”

Time will fail me if I am asked to tell you all I have learnt about Dr. Alex Uruemu Ibru within the few months of trying to know him. I thank you for coming, may God bless you as you partner with us here in Ibru Centre, and I pray that God will grant you safety in your journey as you travel back.
Thank you and God bless you.
• THE VEN. STEPHEN WOLEMONWU, Rector, Ibru Ecumenical Centre, Agbarha-Otor