Obinna Gabriel

Obinna Gabriel was posted to Ayegbami, a community in Kwara State, Nigeria in June 2021 for his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program, a scheme all Nigerian graduates are required to go through.

Upon arriving as a Corps member, he witnessed the negative impact of the erosion, including the loss of lives, closed businesses, and limited access to neighboring communities.

Driven by compassion, Obinna took it upon himself to address the issue. He and his fellow corps members drafted proposals and contacted organizations, the Commissioner of Works, and media houses to raise awareness.

Through his advocacy efforts, the community’s representative in the House of Representatives became aware of the situation and included the project in the constituency budget for 2021.

As a result, the link road in Ayegbami has been repaired, bringing immense joy and gratitude to the community’s residents. Despite the challenges faced, the outcome has made all the efforts worthwhile.

In addition to this, he embarked on an environmental project tagged #cleanupAyegbami which addressed environmental cleanliness and sensitization.
He also continued his advocacy work even after his NYSC program in Ayegbami. He advocated for a young boy from Ayegbami community who had dropped out of school due to his parent’s inability to pay his school fees and resorted to working as an apprentice in a mechanic workshop.

When the founder of ChessInSlums, Tunde Onakoya, got wind of the situation, he became involved and ensured the young boy returned to school. He remains a student and also continues his apprenticeship in the mechanic workshop.

As a student of the University of Benin, he also established the first departmental library, encouraging fellow students to donate books to the library.
Obinna is from Isiagu-Ibagwa, Igbo-eze South LGA, Enugu State, Nigeria.