Kindness is the Motivation to bring Happiness to people, But Compassion is the Motivation to recognize people’s problems and suffering, takes action to help, to assist and to proffer solution.
A Compassionate Heart is never Self-centered. Rather, it is always Others-centered and Others-focussed. It notices the people, recognizes their needs, sympathizes with their lack, hurt, pain, or difficult position, and determines to take action, resolving to do anything possible to meet that need, then lifts their burdens, thereby alleviating their suffering.
Compassion is what drives society into becoming better. A Compassionate Heart is sympathetic to the plight of the less privileged in the society and always have the urge to ease the sufferings of the people, and when such heart joins political and leadership struggle, he proffers solutions to intricate situations. I will come back to this.
The Motivation that drives Compassion is anchored on the love of God (Ephesians 3:17).
The Disciples of the Master-General, Jesus Christ, didn’t understand Jesus’ Compassion for people. They questioned His actions when He asked the children to come near Him (Matthew 19:14). Also, they questioned Him when they felt they didn’t have enough food to feed thousands of people who attended his crusade (John 6:1-6). But Jesus’ Compassion extended beyond their questioning and reasoning into the miraculous. This is what we have available to us today : Jesus Christ’s Compassion to do the miraculous in other people’s lives.
Compassion is powerful and miraculous when backed with action.
1. Jesus healed the sick.
2. He raised the dead.
3. He fed 5,000 men with five loaves of bread and two fishes.
4. He walked on water.
5. He turned water into wine.
6. He died on the cross, for us.
7. And So On And So Forth.
All these because of his Compassion for Mankind. Simply put : Compassion has Miracle-Working Power in it. That is why God wants us to be someone’s miracle by releasing our influence, contact, money, love, etc, on the people, for great miraculous impact. This is achievable when we have Love for God and Love for our fellow human being. This Law of Love is giving and receiving, which is the way God designed all his creation. We are created to give God’s Love And Compassion to others, and if we continue giving, our Hearts becomes more Compassionate, like the Heart of God.
Hon Engr Innocent Ikechukwu Ikpamezie, the Member Representing Mbaitoli State Constituency in the Imo State House Of Assembly, has no doubt demonstrated this teaching and philosophy of Compassion And Love for Mankind practically.
This he has done and continued to do, by taking actions that have helped, assisted and proffered solutions to myriad of challenges facing the society.
For the purpose of this piece, I will focus on Hon Innocent Ikpamezie’s activities since he was inaugurated a lawmaker in June 2023, although his Compassionate actions had been known even before he became a legislator.
As a lawmaker, Ikpamezie has ensured that any Bill or Motion he brings on the floor of the House must be People oriented, with a compassionate background. His Bills and Motions always tend to meet the needs of the people, tend to proffer solutions to life challenges, tend to alleviate the sufferings of the masses. In less than one year as a lawmaker, the Mbaitoli legislator has sponsored Two Bills and Three Motions. He has also co-sponsored Three Bills and Seven Motions. And all these tend to lift the burdens of the masses. For example, his Compassion for People with Disabilities moved him from Empowering them to sponsoring *A BILL FOR A LAW TO REPEAL THE IMO STATE AGENCY FOR PERSONS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES (ESTABLISHMENT) LAW, 2017 AND TO ENACT A LAW TO DOMESTICATE THE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (PROHIBITION) ACT, 2018 IN IMO STATE AND FOR OTHER RELATED MATTERS.*
In the Bill, Hon Ikpamezie made his intentions known, with a clear objective, which is to protect persons with disabilities and to ensure they are no longer discriminated against. You get the point now. Innocent Ikpamezie’s Compassion for people supercedes his personal interest and comfort.
Again, his desire to ensure the people live and operate in a clean and conducive environment motivated him to sponsor a Motion to *STOP HOTELIERS, EATERIES, BARS AND ALLIED FOOD DEALERS FROM DISCHARGING LIQUID WASTE DIRECTLY INTO GUTTERS.*
Hon Innocent Ikpamezie was worried, he was pained and indeed, disturbed by the health challenge posed by the discharge of liquid waste directly into gutters, and he moved (Compassionate Action) to reverse the trend with his Motion.
At the Committee level, he is the House Committee Chairman On Environment, House Committee Vice Chairman On Science And Technology, and Member Of House Committee On Labour/Productivity And Pension. These are People oriented Committees, working for the welfare of the people, recognizing people’s problems and taking actions to assist and proffer workable solution. That is Innocent Ikpamezie for you.
Not long ago, disturbed by crisis in various Autonomous Communities in Mbaitoli State Constituency, this same Compassionate lawmaker moved (Compassionate Action) to restore peace. From Ezeship tussles to Town Union Executive crisis and Youth Restiveness, Hon Engr Innocent Ikpamezie jumped into the Conflict Resolution Boxing Ring, and one after the other, he brought peace to all the warring Autonomous Communities in Mbaitoli LGA by proffering “WIN-WIN SOLUTION.”
Ikpamezie’s Compassionate Heart has also led him to facilitate University and Polytechnic Admissions for Candidates from Mbaitoli Constituency and beyond, also payment of WAEC, NECO and JAMB Forms for students. This he has effortlessly done so as to change, for good, the Academic history of several less privileged families. This also includes the facilitation of job/employment for his people, both in the public and and private sectors. In all these, Ikpamezie has not taken his eyes off providing regular Palliative to his people. This is because, it is in his character to regularly provide and distribute Palliatives to his constituents every quarter.
Few weeks ago, the News broke out on Social Media about a woman who gave birth in January 2024, at the Holy Family Sisters Of the Needy hospital allocated in Okwu-Uratta, Owerri-North LGA. The woman (name withheld) and her husband had been unable to offset the hospital bill, and as a result she remained in the Hospital Ward for more than three months.
When the News broke out, Ikpamezie’s attention was drawn to it. Again, his Compassion for the downtrodden in the society moved into action, and today, the rest is history.
The Miracle Embedded in this particular case was that Hon Engr Innocent Ikpamezie visited the Hospital impromptu and unannounced. The Management of the Hospital was not in the know he was coming. The woman was not in the know, as well. The vibrant lawmaker simply visited and he was received by everyone present, and was taken to the Ward where the woman was staying. He had discussion with her and thereafter made the payment, and behold, the woman became free to go home. In that Ward, there were many other women who gave birth to new babies. Innocent Ikpamezie ensured all the women in the Ward and their babies received financial gifts from him.
Compassion is what drives society into becoming better. Like I stated earlier, A Compassionate Heart is always sympathetic to the plight of the less privileged in the society, and always have the urge to ease the sufferings of the people. And when such heart joins political and leadership struggle, he proffers solutions to intricate situations.
Correlating Hon Engr Innocent Ikpamezie’s Compassionate activities with that of His Excellency Governor Hope Uzodimma, one will agree that the Shared Prosperity Administration in Imo State led by the People’s Governor is a Compassionate Government that means well for the State and her citizens.
Because Compassion is what drives society into becoming better, Governor Hope Uzodimma has leveraged on it to give Ndimo People oriented and God fearing leadership, and our State is today better :
1. In Solid Infrastructure.
2. In Administration.
3. In Security.
4. In Youth Empowerment.
5. In Education.
6. In Digital Economy And E – Government.
7. In Healthcare Services.
8. In Attraction Of Foreign Investments.
9. In Quick Payment Of Salaries Of Civil Servants And Payment Of Gratuities And Pensions To Pensioners.
11. Indeed, In All Sectors Of The Economy.
May this Motivation which drives Compassion continue to Anchor on Love of God (Ephesians 3 : 17), so that Our Dear State, Imo, will continue to experience accelerated development, in Jesus Mighty Name I Have Prayed, Amen.
I Rest My Pen.
Citizen Ikenna Samuelson Iwuoha
