MEET THE MD / CEO
A Man of Integrity
On Wednesday March 25, 1970, in Agbere, Sagbama local government area of Bayelsa State the world was blessed with the great man natively called Onyimiebi Bribena.
Pst. Dr. Arch. Miebi Bribena is a spiritually inclined man of God, whose scope of knowledge covers a broad spectrum of human endeavours. He is an accomplished father, a prolific Political figure, multi-faceted businessman with a genius mind made up of several compartments, each section being unique. These qualities are evident in his newly founded Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Baraza.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Right from his formative years, Pst. Dr. Arch. Miebi Bribena showed signs that he would not take his responsibilities in life lightly and so took his academics very seriously. Pst. Dr. Arch. Miebi Bribena attended Federal Government College, Warri, Delta State and from there, he gained admission to read Architecture at the University of Jos, Plateau State in 1988 and graduated with confident grades in 1992. During the persuit of his degree in Architecture, he also developed his political ambition through handling leadership responsibilities such as being the Spokesman and later the President of the Architecture Students’ Association of his Department at the University of Jos, Plateau State.
Soon after his undergraduate training, he decided forthwith to further pursue his passion to acquire a higher degree in the same discipline and in 1995, he emerged as the proud holder of a Masters degree in Architecture from the selfsame University of Jos, Plateau State.
From thence, he was entrusted with the role of project supervisor in the state capital, Lafia, Nasarawa Local Government area, he was relied upon to design many structures before the Civil Engineers’ works got underway. The experience he gained that year stayed with him through his next assignment as Site Supervisor and Project Manager at Tamief International Limited, Lagos. He also served as Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Institute of Architects, NIA, Bayelsa State chapter. He brought to his assignment the same concentration of all his mental faculties that always led to salutary results.
AFFILIATION/HONORARY AWARDS
In 2011, he became a member of the Architects Registration Council of Nigerian, ARCON, and later that same year an affiliate member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, ARIBA. In 2018, for his spirited efforts to improve the livelihood of the lowly in society, and his ability to spread the message of peace and harmony in a world of strife, he received recognition as an Ambassador of Peace with an award from the United Nations Positive Livelihood Award Centre.
VISION
Vision is a great driving force that can propel a man beyond what normal men deem impossible and Pst. Dr. Arch. Miebi Bribena is a man driven by an extraodinary vision. His vision is to improve the livelihood of all those that God brings into his world by influencing them with the gospel of Jesus Christ and showing them the way to true wealth; He believes it is his duty to work for the benefit of his neighbour, and that it is only fit and proper that a man should be of service to his world.
MISSION
Pst. Dr. Arch. Miebi Bribena has set out on a mission to eradicate poverty, ensure zero hunger, reduce inequality, provide affordable housing, offer scholarship to progressive minds by the year 2030 in agreement with the United Nations’ goals.
FAMILY
Pst. Dr. Arch. Miebi Bribena is a proud family man who treasures his family very much. He is married to an adorable wife, and they are the devoted parents of three children. He is also a father to many other children whom he fathers with no holdbacks. From the very mouth of his amiable wife, Pst. Dr. Arch. Beatrice Bribena, there are no dull moments with him and this is something even his brethren in church will attest to.
In his spare time, Pst. Dr. Arch. Miebi Bribena takes delight in playing chess, singing good old tunes, dancing to his heart’s content, and reaching out to new friends, always ready to preach the word of God and speak of the stability it offers. He lives with the assurance that not even corona virus can threaten his source of income or his sense of well-being.
PROFESSIONAL ROAD TO BARAZA
In 1999, having been outside his home state, Bayelsa, three years after it was created, he returned to his roots to establish his presence at the Yenagoa-based firm Eternity Consult Limited. In his capacity as chief executive officer and managing director, he saw to the day to day running of his own company until 2006 when he secured a place as Senior Architect in the Works and Services Department of the Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State.
He was well equipped for the task at hand and he discharged his duties so well that, two years later, he was moved to the Physical Planning Unit where he stayed till 2014, designing, planning, and supervising projects. The evidence is to be seen today at the permanent site of the Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island. Pst. Dr. Arch. Bribena’s credentials speak for themselves, without adornment, without garnishing. His competence as an architect is tried, tested and trusted, such that Pst. Dr. Arch. Miebi Bribena can provide a credible template if he comes under compulsion to design a low-cost housing estate in Jos metropolis, or build a high-rise residential building at Lekki peninsular.
In 2014, Pst. Dr. Arch. Miebi Bribena left the university setting to pursue a dream that had been teasing his imagination for so long. He saw himself at the head of a Non-Governmental Agency, Planning, Co-ordinating, Directing and Managing the affairs of a co-operative society that would bloom into a bazaar from which many indigent and dispossessed citizens in his homeland can receive succour and hope for a better future.
That dream has since materialized as Baraza Renaissance Network Initiative.
Pst. Dr. Arch. Mieni Bribena is the MD/CEO of Baraza Multi-purpose Co-operative Society, what he calls “A Confluence of Prosperity.” He is shocked by the fact that two thousand wealthy people on the face of the earth are holding in thrall the destinies of over four billion people. It’s a great imbalance he wants to correct, in his own small way.
A MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL
Pst. Dr. Arch. Miebi Bribena stands upon his chosen pulpit every Sunday morning in the Global Ministry of the Highly Esteemed Pst. Chris Oyakhilome called Christ Embassy to dispense the scriptures from the Holy Bible. He speaks about the most important command given by Adonai. Love thy neighbour as thy self. He maintains, in his sermon, that it is important to do good because Rabbi came along doing good all the time. Pst. Dr. Arch. Miebi Bribena has been in charge of the Christ Embassy Church in Odi, Kaiama, Amassoma and Opolo Yenagoa. He currently serves as the Pastor of Christ Embassy Kumasi 1, Christ Embassy Accra Ghana Zone; a church well known within the Ministry as an award-winning Church for their ardent commitment to soul winning and financial sponsorship of the gospel under the shepherding of Pst. Miebi Bribena. He is also the Group Pastor for many other churches within the Ashanti Region where he oversees the growth of all the branches under him.
PHILANTHROPY
Pst. Dr. Arch. Miebi Bribena’s acts of philanthropy, if they were to be reeled out, would rate as a catalogue of excessive kindness. Miebi holds to heart the very tenets upon which his beloved father, F.M. Bribena, brought up his children. “My father left two legacies for us to build upon,” he says, “His Integrity And Education”. These were his solid front and I have never veered from them. I believe that integrity is worth cultivating as a character trait and I have had a good education such as the Commonwealth can allow.
“With the conscious help of my father and the generous assistance of my elder brother, I was privileged to attend some of the best schools in the Commonwealth in my time. I have been trained to maintain peace, to fight against oppression and to detest corruption even if I may lose material gain for a moment.”
“My family and I live on forty percent of my income, the remaining sixty percent goes for the work of God and humanity,” he says.. “The desire to improve the life of the average Niger Deltan, and our Ijaw brethren in particular, has been paramount in his financial agenda, and I have lived the greater part of my adult life working for the benefit of our people.”
- Scholarships
His open heart of compassion and understanding manifests in the scholarship awards he granted sixty-five Ijaw students at Niger Delta University.
Three other sons of Ijaw land are also on his scholarship at the University of Ghana, Legon-Ghana. Two more are benefitting from his largesse in America, two others can testify to enjoying Bribena’s scholarship in various British Universities. He has also sent a number of promising sons and daughters of Bayelsa stock for Vocational Training in South Africa.
- Community Projects
In his community, Philanthropist Pst. Dr. Arch. Miebi Bribena deployed earth moving equipment and trucks to open an access road in Agbere. The chiefs saw the determination and the goodwill of their son to finish the project, they and in support they compelled the original contractor of the project to undertake and complete the work for which he had been previously paid. This is how the project was completed.
- Benevolence
Pst. Dr. Arch. Miebi Bribena’s giving spirit went on the look-out for someone else to help and encouraged by the new concrete roads in his neighbouring Odoni, he donated tricycles to five young men to ply the community.
He had given out welding machines, opened equipped barbering salons, laundry, a boutique, educational aids, cars, medical aids, and also gave unimaginable sums of money to many in need at home and abroad.
POLITICS
Building upon his childhood political ambitions, during the course of the years, Pst. Dr. Arch. Miebi Bribena has been involved with the fluctuating fortunes of politics, acting under the conviction that he is a critical stakeholder concerned about how the government of Bayelsa is run. In 2015, in fact, he was a local government coordinator for the All Progressives Congress (APC), gubernatorial elections. He has since returned to espouse the founding ideals of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with the emergence of Senator Douye Diri as Governor of Bayelsa State by a miraculous sleight of hand.
Pst. Dr. Arch. Miebi Bribena has currently taken leave off active politics to focus on growing Baraza into a global cooperative brand.