Mfon Ekpo's Keynote Address Ignites Civic Commitment at GIFA 2nd Anniversary Celebration
Global leadership strategist and CEO of The Discovery Centre, Mfon Ekpo, delivered a keynote address of profound moral force at the Golden Initiative For All (GIFA) 2nd Anniversary Celebration, culminating in a standing ovation and immediate civic response. Attendees made firm pledges to fund community boreholes across the state, advancing the late First Lady's long-standing vision of access to clean water for all citizens.
Honoring a Legacy of Community Development
The address was delivered in honor of GIFA's Founder, the late First Lady Pastor Mrs. Patience Umo Eno, and attended by state leadership, development stakeholders, community leaders, and citizens. The event moved beyond ceremony into a collective awakening, reframing history, restoring dignity, and calling citizens into active partnership in development initiatives.
Established in December 2022, GIFA was founded by the late First Lady as a people-centred social intervention platform designed to strengthen families and uplift communities. The initiative complements government development priorities through comprehensive programmes focused on environmental health, women's economic empowerment, literacy development, sanitation, maternal and child health, and care for the elderly population.
The 2nd anniversary commemorates both the initiative's tangible impact and the enduring legacy of its visionary founder. GIFA is currently coordinated by the First Lady Designate, Her Excellency, Lady Helen Eno Obareki, who continues to steward its mission of compassionate, community-driven development across multiple sectors.
Restoring Memory and Reclaiming Identity
In one of the most resonant moments of the day, Ekpo addressed derogatory stereotypes historically directed at Akwa Ibom people, reframing them through the lens of trust, stewardship, and social capital. She explained that figures once mocked as "Okon" and "Ekaette" represented something far deeper: guardians trusted with families and homes, custodians of vulnerability, and architects of relational trust long before hospitality became a formal industry.
"You saw labour," she declared emphatically. "History recognises relational infrastructure." Her powerful words repositioned dignity not as something granted by external forces, but as something long embodied within the community's cultural fabric and daily practices.
Unity as Tangible Evidence, Not Mere Rhetoric
Rejecting the "crab in a basket" stereotype that suggests communities undermine their own progress, Ekpo offered personal testimony of communal uplift. She highlighted mentors, civil servants, leaders, and institutions that opened doors, wrote recommendations, paid bursaries, and invested substantially in the future of their people.
She framed Akwa Ibom's progress as fundamentally collective rather than individual, describing an ecosystem of support that systematically produces excellence across generations. "I am not an exception," she stated with conviction. "I am a product of this supportive community ecosystem."
From Inspiring Speech to Concrete Action
Honoring the late First Lady's vision with practical commitment, Ekpo called for the completion of boreholes across communities, emphasizing that clean water is not a luxury but a fundamental necessity affecting health, education, and human dignity. She led by powerful example, pledging to fund a borehole personally through her own resources.
What followed was immediate and completely unscripted: multiple attendees spontaneously pledged resources toward additional boreholes, transforming the moment from rhetorical inspiration to tangible civic action. This collective response reinforced a shared commitment to community wellbeing and demonstrated how leadership can catalyze practical development initiatives.
The Symbolic "Five Naira" Moment
In a deeply symbolic closing to her address, Ekpo recounted offering her father five naira as a child after thieves robbed their family home. She explained this was not to fund material recovery, but to affirm profound solidarity and shared responsibility within the family unit.
She described such contributions as essential citizen capital, providing clear evidence that community development is strongest when people participate actively rather than passively observe. "We are not spectators in development," she asserted. "We are active stakeholders. We carry with. And when we carry together, we rise together as a unified community."
A Defining Milestone for Sustainable Impact
The keynote address marked a defining milestone in GIFA's evolving legacy and reinforced a shared vision for sustainable impact rooted in unity, dignity, and disciplined execution. As GIFA enters its next chapter of community development, the message from this anniversary celebration remains unmistakably clear: leadership provides essential direction while engaged citizens provide necessary momentum. Together, these forces build lasting history through collaborative action.
