When I was 20, I viewed as very old, those at 60 & 70. Sometimes, I would think that seventy is unattainable for the adventurous, such as myself. But, yet another 5th of May, here I am. This is indeed a turning point in my life, and I am very grateful to God..
Psalm 90:10 states that “the days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they are fourscore years, yet is their strength, labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away”. The foregoing Biblical verse is a poignant reflection on the fragility, transience and inevitable reality of the human life cycle. Furthermore, for the Igbo, 70 years often signifies a complete or rather a standard human lifespan; age of wisdom, purity, spirituality, and ancestor-ship.
Looking back, I recall with nostalgia when I was elected a Member of the Old Enugu State House of Assembly on December 14, 1991. While in the House of Assembly, Hon. Ichie P. C. Okeke, the State Chairman and the Leadership of National Republican Convention (NRC), Enugu State Chapter, conferred on me the Leader of the 19 Republicans in the House. I was also to serve as the Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations, Monitoring & Implementations, amongst others.
At various times, people have reposed confidence in me, especially when I served as the Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu; Special Adviser to the Deputy President of the Senate; Special Adviser to the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament; Director, Anambra Imo River Basin Development Authority, Owerri; National President, Alumni Association of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology; President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Enugu State Chapter; the National Publicity Secretary, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide; Chairman, Former Lawmakers of Enugu State, Group Leader in my local Church, etc.
In the areas of human capacity empowerment, I served as a lecturer in the Institute of Management & Technology, (IMT) Enugu; Institute of Ecumenical Education, Enugu; Imo State University, IMSU, Owerri, Godfrey Okoye University, GOU, Enugu; Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, Enugu. I am proud to add that at every corner, I take cheers from my students as I drive through the streets of Enugu.
I have further added to scholarship as an author of ten scholarly books, journals and Newspaper publications most of which can be accessed on the Internet. Some of the books include: Ugbo in History; The Banana Peel, the Burden of Legislature in Nigeria; Nigerian Peoples and Politics; Local Government Administration and Rural Development, etc.
I am delighted to have added values to the structural beauty of my town, Ugbo; Enugu metropolis and elsewhere. Of all the inputs in my town, I recall, with intense freshness, organizing a grand reception for Sen. Prof. Ike Ekweremadu, CFR (Ikeoha) with a chieftaincy title of Onwa Ugbo. In reciprocity to the Ugbo community, Ikeoha pledged the construction of Ugbo-Achi Road. I am deeply thankful for the grace and capacity God gave me to contribute, in whatever small way, to helping some fellow Ugbo indigenes find opportunities to support their families and educate their children.
When I reflect on how I started as the son of a farmer; at the Anglican Grammar School, Achi in 1971 and the role I played to bring my immediate younger brother to the same school in 1972; and how both of us have acquired PhD in our fields of study – it is simply amazing. This is but a summary of what both of us went through to become accomplished. But far more important is that I put all my younger ones and some others on the path of knowledge and the outcome is highly rewarding.
I must at this point admit that I have lived a fulfilled life. I have slept in the best of hotels, took the best of food, the best of wines and the best of everything that money can afford. By the grace of God, my wife and children have never gone to bed hungry, nor have we ever lacked the means to meet their educational needs. I have been blessed to support my children through their full education and to assist relatives where possible. God has raised me up as a source of blessing to some as each Christmas, I try to share what little I have—wrappers, rice, and money—with those in need. I am also thankful to have supported the training of many through higher education, including a priest, amongst others. And it is purely by God’s grace that I now enjoy the gift of being a grandfather to promising children.
It is also by the grace of God that I have spent holidays in many beautiful cities and states in the United States of America; the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Poland, Israel, Ethiopia; and almost all the countries in West Africa. Most of the accomplishments are with the incredible support of an awesome woman, my heartthrob of 35 years, Princess Stella Ifeyinwa Ogbonnia, a College Principal.
At 70, the only regret I have is that I have struggled all my life to become a better Christian. My priests acknowledge that as hard as I tried, the contemporary human forces and the inevitable Nigerian factors would pull me back. This is one of my prayers that, it seems, God has withheld.
Be that as it may, I am deeply grateful to God for preserving my life and health to this day. No doubt, there were various challenges, and vicissitudes of life—including the global pandemic, amongst others—His grace has kept me. I do not take this for granted, and I remain thankful for each new day. I must mention that there is a sickness I survived; a sickness more dangerous and deadly than COVID. That sickness is the rough edges of Nigerian politics. In politics, I fought many battles; most of which were for others who, it seems, have forgotten. It is common knowledge that a lot of my age mates, class and school mates are long dead. But behold, I’ve never slept in any hospital on account of a sickness of any kind.
It is in appreciation to the Almighty that I went to my Church on Sunday, May 4 and presented myself to the altar of God.
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I don’t know the number of years more that God will grant me, but any time He calls on me, I am ready to embrace Him with gratitude. It is important to add that only the people of Ugbo rejoiced at my birth, but without sounding immodest, the Enugu constituency and beyond will celebrate Ozowaluona at death.
I had intended to organize an elaborate ceremony to mark my Platinum Jubilee, but I’ve just buried my mother, Deaconess Esther Oligwe Ogbonnia about two weeks ago. At the ceremony, I would have informed the general public, especially the youths: that Hard Work, Courage, Innovativeness & Prayer are Key; that Truth Attracts Friendship while Falsehood Repels; that Greater Wealth is in a Network of Trusted Friends; that Sin Destroys & That God is Real; and that with the right conduct, the much talked Paradise begins on Earth.
