EDITOR'S DIARY: Chief Executives support launching of No Sense of Limits with cash, over a million naira raised

Four Chief Executives of companies operating in Nigeria – Mr. Les Blair (from Scotland) Dr. Lovett Lawson (from Nigeria), Mrs. Wilma Nakhai (from the Philippines) and Mrs. Lolita Victorio (from the Philippines) – generously made cash donations at the launching of my novel No Sense of Limits at the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines, Abuja, on 8th December 2012. Mr. Blair, Dr. Lawson, and Mrs. Victorio donated N250,000.00 each while Mrs. Nakhai donated N20,000.00. Donations from other supporters bring the total amount raised at the launching to more than a million naira, part of which will be donated to charity.

Mr. Les Blair, who made the cash donation on a personal capacity and in the name of the Blair family, is the Chief Executive Officer of Eland Oil and Gas. He has over 35 years’ upstream oil and gas industry experience, most recently with Addax. He spent 12 years with Addax in Nigeria and Kurdistan and he has held a wide variety of senior executive positions in the United Kingdom, Spain, Libya, Vietnam, India, Nigeria, Kurdistan and Dubai. Mr. Blair spent nine years in Nigeria with Addax from 1998 to 2006 where he was Executive Director Business Services, Managing Director New Ventures and Managing Director of Nigeria operations. In 2006 he assumed the position of General Manager of the operating company for the giant Taq Taq Field in Kurdistan and in 2008 became Managing Director of Addax Petroleum Middle East Limited based in Dubai.

Dr. Lovett Lawson is the Chief Medical Director of Zankli Medical Centre, a 45 bed hospital located in Utako district of Abuja. It was established in Abuja in 1997, growing over the years to become of the leading private hospitals in Nigeria. It is a group practice which provides excellent care in various specialties of Medicine and Surgery.

Mrs. Wilma Nakhai is the Managing Director of Nakhsh Nigeria Limited based in Port Harcourt, River State. 

Chief Launchers: Mr. Les Blair, Dr. Lovett Lawson,
and Mrs. Lolita Victorio

Mrs. Lolita Victorio is the MD/CEO of Britamold Limited and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of an association of Filipinos in Abuja called Pusong Pinoy Kind-Hearted Association. Her company, Britamold, is in the business of road construction. Britamold Limited introduced THE CONSOLID SYSTEM of Switzerland to Nigeria, its for soil stabilization & solidification, soil improvement, used for any type of road constructions, major highways, estate roads, waterlocked areas, erosion control, reclamation, soil brick housing, railroad,airport runways etc.

Also present at the event as Guest of Honour was H.E. Alex V. Lamadrid, Ambassador of the Philippines to Nigeria. In his message during the occasion, Ambassador Lamarid said: “I believe that this novel by Mrs. Araceli Aipoh is the first ever novel by a Filipino in an African setting and about Nigeria and about Lagos.” He thanked the audience “for attending this very unique event,” adding that “we look forward to more interesting works from Mrs. Aipoh and other Filipino writers in Nigeria.” 

Supporters included the reviewers Ms Chinelo Chikelu and Mr. Jide Atta (who was also the emcee), both of whom are members of the Abuja Literary Society; Mrs. Grace Blair (who supervised and financed the decoration, prepared cocktail drinks and read an excerpt of the book); Mrs. Catalina Jibrin (who provided fresh flower decorations from Nature’s Touch); Mrs. Izabela Bunza ( who contributed to the refreshments), and the entire staff of the Embassy of the Philippines in Abuja (who all assisted in the logistics and planning.)

Also gracing the occasion were Mrs. Grace Abrazado (President of the Filipino-Nigerian Families Association), Mr. Ramon Ruste (past President and current member of the Board of Trustees of Pusong Pinoy Association), Dr. (Mrs) J. Lawson (Medical Director, Zankli Medical Services), Mrs. Doha Sarieddine (President of the Abuja International Women’s Club), Mrs. Elisabeth Bada (President of the Abuja Branch of Nigerwives Nigeria), Mr. Clement Iloba (Public Affairs Coordinator, Julius Berger Nigeria PLC), Mrs. Grace Ayoola (Senior Public Relations Officer, Julius Berger Nigeria PLC), Ms Jeremy Boglosa (Coordinator, Gede Foundation), Mr. & Mrs. Wilmar and Gina Dadia (Eland Oil and Gas), Seang Cang (Gede Foundation), Ms. Andrea Lim Abella (Nisa Premier Hospital), Dr. Omo Idogho, Engr. Emma Iyelubo, Mr. and Mrs. Iyelubo, and Mrs. Melanie Pastor, Mrs. Flora Adole, Mr. Silva (Impact Hub), Mrs. Eva Barta (Cultural Officer, Embassy of Spain), Mrs. Dian Haseng (wife of the Ambassador of Indonesia), Mr. Floretta Rodrigues (PA to the Norwegian Ambassador), Mr. Michael Zimmerman (of Julius Berger),  Mr. Imal Silva (of Impact Hub), Mr. Abubakar Adam, Ibrahim (author), and many many many others...