Meet The Most Generous philanthropist in Nigeria and How He is Making and Giving Out Millions of US Dollars

Prince Arthur Eze

Arthur Eze, a Nigerian Business Tycoon with interest in oil and gas, is a generous man. I know Prince Arthur in the late 80's when he used to be a special guest at my former church's annual harvest and bazaar at St. Gabriel Catholic Church, Umunnachi in Anambra State of Nigeria. The Late Chief Eddie Obi Okoye of blessed memory, the former MD/CEO of the defunct Cooperative and Commerce Bank (CCB) at Enugu,  used to invite Prince Arthur to the aforementioned harvest and bazaar. And when ever Prince Arthur honors the invitation he always donates and supports the event with huge amounts of money. And since then till date Prince Arthur Eze has been rise from riches to wealth to validate the a popular aphorism that ''givers never lack''. No wonder the Prince is prospering, because whatever you are blessed with, you are blessed with it to be a blessing to others with it.
 Prince Arthur is from the Eze royal family in Ukpo, under Dunuokofia Local Government Area of Ananmbra State. One thing i have observed about this industrious son of Anambra is that He always find favour before most Nigerian heads of State and Presidents. 

Prince Arthur has donated generously to a whole lot of noble projects, He is one of the most celebrated philanthropist in Nigeria and he has reportedly donated $12 million (1.8 billion Nairas) to fund the construction of an Anglican church-affiliated Youth Development Center in Nigeria last year 2013.

Eze, who is the founder and Chairman of oil exploration company Atlas Oranto Petroleum, made the donation during a fundraising dinner on Saturday to the St. Stephen’s Anglican Deanery and Youth Development Centre, Otuoke, in Bayelsa State, in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region. Otuoke is the hometown of Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan. Eze is usually referred to as Prince Arthur Eze because he is a descendant of Eze royal familyin Ukpo town in Anambra State.

The St. Stephen’s Anglican Deanery and Youth Development Centre in Bayelsa state will consist of formal educational training facilities, hospitals and a skill acquisition center where youths can learn trade skills and receive start-up capital, among other things.

An elated President Goodluck Jonathan, who was present at the event, thanked the organizers and donors and urged wealthy Nigerians to support the development of impoverished communities in the country and to empower the youths to make them useful towards national development.

He said the project for the St. Stephens Anglican Deanery and Youth Development Centre was dear to him because he wanted to make sure that the younger generation passed through a better system of education different from the one he experienced while growing up.

“I feel the only thing I can do is to make sure that from nursery school to primary and secondary school, there should be a standard educational facility and youth programme, so that it gives opportunity for the younger ones to grow. Even if we die in the next 100 years, people will remember that those before them have something for them,” he said.

Apart from Prince Arthur Eze, who was the largest individual donor, other wealthy Nigerians who were present during the event and donated generously include Jim Ovia, Oba Otudeko, and Tony Elumelu. In total, about $38 million (N 6 billion) was raised for the center.

Eze’s Atlas Oranto Petroleum owns several producing and non-producing oil and gas assets across Nigeria, Liberia, Equatorial Guinea and the Gambia. In 2010, Oranto Atlas sold a set of oil blocks in Liberia for a reported $250 million. Eze is believed to have pocketed $200 million from the sale. The Nigerian businessman is fast becoming one of Nigeria’s more recognizable philanthropists.  Last year, he donated $6.3 million (N1 billion) to flood relief efforts in Nigeria and also made donations to some Nigerian universities.