Destination Peace Ambassador, Chairman of the Traditional Rulers Council in Nigeria.
“David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.” … Psalm 78:72
An Expression of Gratitude
During our trip to Nigeria last year, we were inspired by the Chairman of the Traditional Rulers Council in Nigeria‘s words, his journey, and his unwavering commitment to his people. We are deeply grateful to have him in our lives. We know with certainty that God placed him where he is and brought him into our circle for a reason we may only be beginning to understand.
The Foundation of Gratitude
What strikes us most powerfully about the King is something he himself emphasizes with regularity: gratitude to God, and the understanding that leadership is not a privilege to be claimed, but a calling to be answered. This is not a man who sought power for its own sake. Rather, he is a servant who answered a higher calling, and in doing so has become an instrument of God’s grace in his community and in our lives.
From Humble Beginnings to a Life of Purpose
The King’s story is one that humbles us. Born into a family of six with parents of modest means, he did not inherit a throne, he built a life of dignity, excellence, and service. He traveled to America and spent thirty years building a career in nursing, dedicating himself to the healing profession. This was not a man seeking shortcuts or comfort. This was a man of integrity, working with his hands and his heart to provide for his family and to develop himself.
This was only the first chapter of his purpose.
What moved us most profoundly was learning how, after achieving success abroad, he chose to return home. He could have remained comfortable in America, enjoying the fruits of his labor. Instead, he answered a deeper calling, to serve the land that shaped him, the people who share his blood, and God who guided his steps. This decision, born from gratitude and faith, shows us what it truly means to live a life of purpose.
The Heart of a Philanthropist
The King’s philanthropy is not performative charity; it is love made tangible and real. He established a fully equipped 20-bed hospital in Edem-Ani, providing free medical services to the sick, the elderly, and the vulnerable. He created a food bank that nourishes the hungry. These are not temporary gestures; they are institutions sustained over years, rooted in a commitment to the dignity and well-being of his people. The King is not merely speaking about serving humanity, he is living it, day after day, in the lives of those who need him most.
This is what true leadership looks like. It is not about titles or ceremony. It is about bending low to lift others up. It is about using whatever blessings God has given you to ease the suffering of those around you.
Modernizing the Throne, Honoring Tradition
We were equally impressed by the Chairman of the Traditional Rulers Council in Nigeria‘s vision for modernizing traditional leadership. He has brought a refreshing commitment to development, transparency, and progress. He honors the sacred traditions of his throne while refusing to let those traditions become excuses for stagnation or corruption.
This balance between respecting what came before and building what comes next requires wisdom. It requires humility. It requires a leader who is secure enough in his calling to ask hard questions and make difficult changes. The King embodies all of this.
A Message for Our Times
He does not minimize the real challenges, security, infrastructure, and systemic obstacles are genuine concerns. He refuses to let these challenges become reasons for abandonment or despair.
Instead, he calls the diaspora to invest in home, to build, to believe. To the youth, he offers a timeless message: work hard, maintain your integrity, exercise patience, and resist the temptation of shortcuts. In a world that constantly offers false promises of quick success, this message is revolutionary. It is also deeply spiritual, a recognition that a life built on solid ground will weather any storm.
God’s Purpose, Made Visible
My wife and I often speak about the ways God works through people. We see it clearly in the King. He is evidence of what happens when a person says “yes” to God’s calling, when gratitude becomes not just a feeling but a way of life, when success is measured not in personal gain but in lives transformed and communities strengthened.
We are grateful for his example. We are grateful for his leadership. We are grateful for the way he has shown us, and continues to show us, what it means to live with purpose, integrity, and faith.
In Closing
To the Chairman of the Traditional Rulers Council in Nigeria, we say simply this: Thank you.
Thank you for answering the call. Thank you for remembering where you came from. Thank you for giving so generously to those in need. Thank you for modeling what true leadership looks like.
Most of all, we thank God for you, for placing you where you are, for guiding your path, and for allowing our lives to intersect with yours. We are blessed to have you as a Destination Peace Ambassador. We pray God’s continued blessings over you, your family, and all the work you do.
His Royal Majesty Igwe Samuel Ikechukwu Asadu is honored as a Destination Peace Ambassador for his lifetime of service, from thirty years as a nurse in America, to founding a free hospital and food bank in Edem-Ani, to his leadership as Chairman of the Traditional Rulers Council in Nigeria.
