By Moses Odo
Chief Ikedi Ohakim, former Governor of Imo State, has described the death of Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife as ‘immensely sad’.
Dr Ezeife, former Governor of Anambra State, died last Thursday at 85. Ohakim regretted that the dream of a new Nigeria which the likes of Ezeife envisioned is yet to be realised.
According to him, “It is with immense sadness that I received the news of the death of an elder statesman and iconic patriot, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife. At 85, he relatively lived long but regrettably left the stage when the nation needed him most.
“Getting to the peak of his career in the civil service, Dr Ezeife strove to bequeath the public service with the qualities to face the challenges of the new millennium.”
He said that Ezeife, upon retirement, joined politics, and added a huge impetus to the system with his civil service and academic backgrounds.
Recalling that Ezeife served as governor during the time of former Governor of Imo State, Chief Evans Enwerem, Ohakim regretted that their era would have enthroned the transformation Nigeria needed had their tenures not been truncated.
In his words, “More than three decades after their tenure, the challenges that face the nation then still loom large, the result being that people like Ezeife, even in the twilight of their age, were compelled to remain activists in pursuit of a better Nigeria. We owe him no other honour than to uphold those ideals for which he lived.”
