To some people, celebrating birthdays means inviting friends and family members to dine and wine while joining whoever is celebrating in thanking God for another year gained.

But when Chief Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion, the Esama of Benin turned 75 recently, he decided it was time to celebrate with the less-privileged. His own style of celebrating with the less-privileged was not eating and dining with them in an elaborate party but affecting their lives in a most special way.

Some of the ways he decided to celebrate with the less-privileged included giving non-loanable funds to market women, paying of special allowance to any family that was delivered of a set of triplets between when he celebrated his 75th birthday and his 76th birthday. Free one-week medical treatment to people in his medical clinic, paying school fees for less-privileged children and also paying allowances to widows within the state are also part of his largesse package.

Barely two weeks after he announced the payment to less- privileged families who gave birth to triplets, two families were blessed with triplets at the Stella Obasanjo Women and Children Hospital in Benin-City, the Edo State capital.
True to his promise, he visited the hospital and donated a cash gift of N300,000 to the triplets after which a special account was opened by the Esama to which he called for donations from individuals towards caring for the triplets.
His visit to the hospital brought relief to one of the families as the father of one of the sets of triplets simply identified as Onyeka had fled leaving his wife, Beatrice and babies at the hospital.

The Esama of Benin who disclosed that the triplets would be paid monthly allowance for a period of five years, said he was felicitating with the less-privileged as part of activities to celebrate his 75th birthday.

He said he would open a dedicated account for the families and called on other well-meaning Nigerians to donate towards assisting the families.

Mrs. Beatrice Onyeka disclosed to newsmen that she and her husband had three other children and that he was last seen at the hospital when she was delivered of the triplets.

She said her husband was a commercial bike rider but had since lost his job when the bike he was riding became faulty.

Also, father of the other triplets, Mr. Eghosa Amasowomwan thanked the Esama for his assistance and promised to raise the chidren as God would provide for him.

All through the one week that the free medical treatment lasted at the Igbinedion Medical Centre, hundreds of individuals trooped to the clinic to receive free treatment.

Drugs were given freely while patients were promptly attended to by the medical personnel on the ground.
Last week, the Esama of Benin doled out N2m to market women who sell petty articles of trade in the major markets within the metropolis.

The markets whose traders benefitted from the Esama’s largesse include Ekiosa, Ekioba, Ekiuwa, Ogiso, Oliha, Yanga, New Benin and Agbado.

The traders under the aegis of Edo State Commodity Welfare Association are to share the fund among their members.

The loan is non-refundable but any member that benefitted has one year to do business with it before it is given to another trader.

Secretary of the association, Hon. Eddy Ogbomo said the fund was meant for poor market women.
Madam Titi Aiwerioba, President of Edo State Market Women Association thanked the Esama for his philanthropy and called on other rich Benin indigenes to emulate him by helping the poor.

Also, 30 widows have been trained in small-scale enterprises under the sponsorship of the Esama of Benin.
They are to be given funds to start up little businesses as well as be paid monthly allowances for a period of five years.

Chief Igbinedion told newsmen that it was his dream to see the less-privileged persons empowered so as to be out of poverty.