By Adadareporters
Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Thursday, described the death of its President General, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, as shocking. The pan-Igbo group also recollected his ingenuity during the Biafran War.
Chief Iwuanyanwu passed on Thursday, July 25, 2024 after a brief illness at the age of 82. He assumed office as the president general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo on April 30, 2023. He was the ninth leader of the Igbo group since its inception in 1976.
According to the national publicity secretary of Ohanaeze, Dr Alex Ogbonnia, “While other past leaders had limited their perspectives on Nigerian contemporary issues, Iwuanyanwu introduced strategic and visionary dimension to the modus operandi of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. He had a towering personality with an impressive record as one of the most successful business men in Nigeria.
“He deployed his political, administrative and invaluable contacts in the selfless service of Ndigbo. He lifted Ohanaeze Ndigbo far from its familiar habitat and provenance to an enviable pedestal.”
Ohanaeze hailed Chief Iwuanyanwu’s “brilliant initiatives, elephantine memory, oratory, including the frequency with which he enunciated robust ideas”.
Ogbonnia said Ndigbo worldwide were delighted that Chief Iwuanyanwu was at the helm of affairs as the president general of Ohanaeze, adding that, “It is therefore very painful that Chief Iwuanyanwu has passed on with all the ideas that were at his disposal.”
He continued, “It is indeed a sad denouement for the Igbo that both Professor George Obiozor and Chief Iwuanyanwu died in office. We are also worried at the rate we are losing the brightest of the brightest among the Igbo in a close sequence at a time their wise counsels are mostly needed.”
It was gathered that Iwuanyanwu was the chairman of the Iwuanyanwu Foundation which offered scholarships to over ten thousand indigent students across the country. He donated to universities to create conducive environments for learning; built churches and other community facilities.
Ogbonnia stated that, “The Iwuanyanwu trajectory is an admonition to the present day selfish and mundane leaders who perceive legacy as leaving enormous wealth behind for one’s offspring; rather, it’s about laying invaluable foundation among the populace, especially for younger generations. Iwuanyanwu’s life mission transcended self; rather he was devoted to charity, humanity and service to God.”
Iwuanyanwu, it was gathered, founded Hardel & Enic Construction Ltd; Champion Newspapers; Oriental Airlines; Oriental Shipping Lines Ltd; Iwuanyanwu Nationale Football Club of Owerri, which won several national and international championships (now Heartland F.C of Owerri); Enic Advertising and Marketing; Sunrise Insurance Brokers; Benhol Farms Limited; Magil Agricultural & Animal Health Products Limited, among others.
Iwuanyanwu held many public offices: Board Chairman, Federal Road Maintenance Agency; Board Chairman, Nigerian Investment Promotion; Founding Chairman, Raw Materials Research and Development Council of Nigeria; Chairman, National Productivity Merit Award; Chairman, Nigerian Sports Development Council; Founding Chairman, Nigerian National Lottery; Chairman, National Orthopedic Hospital Igbobi, Lagos; Pro-Chancellor, the University of Calabar, Cross River State.
He served as Chairman in the following Ohanaeze Committees: State Creation Committee, Planning and Strategy Committee, Political Committee, Constitution Drafting Committee and currently, the President General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.
He was among the engineers that invented the multi-purpose Biafran bomb, called the Ogbunigwe. His prodigious intellect, character comeliness, generosity, frontier spirit, perseverance and tenacity portray the infinite capacity of human beings to shape their own destinies; and a caution to the dangers of self-delusion, arrogance and get-rich-quick syndrome which have become the contemporary social variables amongst today youths.
