Meet Innocent Ukabam

Born to Mazi Sylvester and Madam Mary Ukabam in Lagos,  Innocent, as he was named at birth, spent his early years in Port Harcourt and Arondizuogu.  

After elementary school, he was sent to Aboh Mbaise for secondary education.  Secondary school was interrupted by the Biafra-Nigeria war.  Determined to be part of the history of the young nation, he sought out and welcomed opportunities for service.  

First as a Red Cross volunteer, he worked at a military hospital at Umunkwo, near Amaraku.  While there, whenever they could rest, he slept on the floor of an elementary school with his colleagues.  One of those colleagues, Okwesilieze Nwodo, went on to become the governor of Enugu State.  

After a stint in the militia, he enlisted in the Biafra Air Force as one of the thousands of underage young men who fibbed about how old they were in order to join the armed forces.

After basic training, he was selected for Air Traffic Control training.  He worked in the control tower at the Uli Airport until the end of the war.  This was one of the hottest theaters of the war and Biafra’s survival for three years was possible partly because of the gallantry and dedication of the airmen at Uli.

After the war, he returned to Mbaise to finish his secondary education, followed by a brief stay at Holy Ghost College, Owerri, playing soccer with the likes of Patrick Ekeji and Obed Ariri. He then proceeded to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka where he obtained his Bachelor’s degree.  

After that, he obtained a Masters and a Doctorate from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin.  He also did Executive Management training at both Columbia University (New York) and Washington University (St. Louis, MO).

In his professional career, he worked in and managed businesses in the USA, Central and South America and Asia.  He spent more than 20 years of his career in the global meat and food industries following which he got into Biotechnology, working with manufacturers in various industries including, food, pulp and paper, semiconductor/microchips, fabrics and home care, cosmetics and personal car, pharmaceuticals and others .  

His hobbies include reading, listening to music, watching sports on TV He and his family currently live in Marietta, outside Atlanta in Georgia, US.