IBRAHIM QUADRI
Born on 4th September 1942, Chief Dr. Engr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Iwuanyanwu to Pa Bernard and Madam Hulder Iwuanyanwu in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State, the Ahaejagamba of Igbo land has made indelible marks on the sand of time. His sojourn on this mother earth was remarkable cutting across all spheres of human endeavours.
Though the colossus died on Thursday, July 25, 2024, after a brief illness, Ahaejiagamba which, in a journey, takes you through towns and communities unhindered, has made impressive impacts which continue to reverberate among his family members, associates, friends and allies.
The astute business mogul studied civil engineering at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and became a successful engineer, businessman, politician and went ahead to establish a conglomerate of businesses and political empire.
In demonstration of his resilience and candour in the vagaries of life, the first daughter of the celebrated icon and Group Managing Director of Champion Newspapers, Dr. Mrs Nwadiuto Iheakanwa during a service of songs and night of tributes in Lagos narrated how she was her father’s only child for nine years before the arrival of other siblings.
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.
Exceptionally serving as the 11th President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the position he assumed on April 30, 2023 which was Chief Iwuanyanwu’s final act of service to the Ndigbo people, Nigeria, and mankind, where he inspired and repositioned the Igbo people in Nigeria and global context.
Narrating Iwuanyawu’s life would not be complete without delving into his political machinations which also played significant role in his influence across the country.
He ran for the presidency three times under different parties: the Nigerian National Congress (NNC) which later evolved into the National Republican Convention (NRC) the All People’s Party (APP) and the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP).
An Abuja-based forensic and social psychologist who had an encounter with Chief Iwuanyawu, Dr Law Mefor described him as a model and premier Igbo-Nigerian leader, patriot, and Igboist. Mefor noted being an Igboist and a Nigerian defender at the same time is an extremely difficult combination to maintain. He had affection for both of them, but argued Ndigbo was his priority.
In his biography on Chief Iwuanyawu’s life, Mefor disclosed how the two-party system for Nigeria was being experimented with by General Ibrahim Babangida who established the National Republican Convention (NRC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP). Iwuanyanwu was a presidential aspirant under the banner of the NRC. At this time, Mefor who was a student at the University of Jos gave a vivid personality of Chief Iwuanyawu as not just a business guru but a political icon who managed both with human kindness.
Mefor recalled, “When IBB announced the two parties and political gladiators like Iwuanyanwu fought to carry the flag of their respective parties as their presidential candidates. Thus, my clique and I prepared a plan and laid ambush when we learnt that the Iwuanyanwu campaign train, headed by Dr. Josiah Odunna, was coming to Jos. He was happy to meet with us with the full complement of his campaign team. I was really in my element that day, speaking for the group like a self-assured prophet.
“Iwuanyanwu was definitely impressed, but when I was done, he looked both amused and perplexed. My presentation was overly ambitious in its audacity. I had made an effort to persuade Iwuanyanwu and his elite campaign team that we could mobilize Nigeria’s whole student body. His scepticism was reasonable given that, at the time, there was no social media as we know it today to link all the campuses, despite the fact that Barristers Gabriel Egbule and Mike Nnalue (may the good Lord rest his soul) and I were publishing the Campus Flash newspaper and could be considered campus journalists. It implied that manual campus visits were required throughout Nigeria. Iwuanyanwu concurred with us that all Nigerian universities needed to be mobilized, but he begged me and my colleagues to focus only on the University of Jos and maybe one or two others nearby.”
Continuing he stated, “Iwuanyanwu gave fatherly advice, saying: ‘You still have your books to read and exams to pass and pass excellently.’ He was against our education suffering in favour of politics. Surely, everything has its time.
“I continued to have friendly encounters with Iwuanyanwu, but nothing really noteworthy until the Igbo Leadership Development Foundation (ILDF), an organisation I served as spokesperson, started planning the campaign for the election of an Igbo (south-east) as president for Nigeria. Around the same time also was when I buried my dear mother and Iwuanyanwu and some other elders banded together to help me and lessen the burden of my mother’s funeral.
“Iwuanyanwu gave his significant support and blessing to the campaign of the ILDF for the Igbo Nigerian president project. The group paid him visits to convey the guiding ideas and philosophy behind the main programme we had in the works as well as the self-imposed effort to rescue Ndigbo from Nigeria’s political obscurity.
“Pursuant to this, the Igbo Leadership Development Foundation (ILDF) organized a national dialogue in Abuja with Gregory University Uturu in 2021. Iwuanyanwu gave us his whole support and participated in the event. Leaders from all over Nigeria as well as representatives of the country’s major cultural blocs attended the national discourse, which took place at the Sheraton Hotel Abuja. Chief Nnia Nwodo, the then president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, was present, as was Iwuanyanwu,” the psychologist gave a historical antecedent of Iwuanyawu in Nigerian politics.
Nonetheless, in recognition of his contribution to the development of communities and impactful life, Chief Iwuanyanwu received several prestigious honours, including the Chief Executive of the Year award from the Business Education Executive Council in 1985, the Business Person of the Year award in 1999, and was conferred with the Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR), Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR), and Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR). He was also recognized as a Knight of the Order of St. Christopher.
Furthermore, Iwuanyanwu, a civil engineer and a private practitioner would have undoubtedly had his business ventures, some of which depended on government patronage, suffer as a result of his firm stance against the marginalisation of his Igbo people in Nigeria but stood tall because of doggedness and strong desire for uprightness.
Iwuanyanwu, like his compatriots and great Igbo leaders, Comrade Uche Chukwumerije and Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, did not give much thought to his own safety or business when he championed the rights of Ndigbo, a practice that began with his participation in the Biafra war as an army captain. The life of the Ikeduru Imo state-born Iwuanyanwu resembled a colossus. It spread and had an impact on nearly everything important, including politics, sociocultural issues, business, construction, sports, the media, and even banking. You dare call him a jack of all trades and master of all!
Aside other political parties mentioned earlier, Iwuanyanwu was a leading member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He was a statesman par excellence. He left his footprints on every one of these great endeavours. His legacy will live on for future generations, providing a clear pathway for those who genuinely want to succeed and make their life meaningful through perseverance, hard work, and self-belief, so they too can leave their mark on the sands of time.
The areas where Iwuanyanwu made profound contributions include the following: sports (Iwuanyanwu Nationale), aviation (Oriental Airlines), media (Champion Newspapers), road construction (Hardel & Enic), health (Iwuanyanwu Ambulance), banking (ABC Merchant Bank), education (Iwuanyanwu Foundation), philanthropy, food security (Magil Bread, etc.), and housing (he owned several estates across the country) among others.
The pioneer editor of Champion Newspapers, Mr. Emma Agu described the late business icon as a great politician who believed in one Nigeria, saying though he fought during the civil war but immediately after the gory tale at that time, he stood for a united Nigeria. He considered people as the fulcrum of what he tried to do. Be it in empowerment of people, he believed in fairness, justice and equity. He promoted enterprise.
Agu who is also a former Managing Director of the Champion Newspapers gave an insight on why he kept running for the presidency for a number of times. According to him, Chief Iwuanyawu believed it is when you are the president that you can really make much impacts on the people.
According to Agu, Iwuanyawu can best be described as a man with a midas touch whose every business he ventured into turned out to be a success. Thus, his active years yielded the conglomeration of businesses and companies.
In a nutshell, Chief Iwuanyawu’s sojourn on earth was a life full of wisdom, endurance, upliftment and laying sound footing for generation yet unborn. It calls to mind a dependable character whose legacy remains fresh in the minds of the people despite his demise. A colossus indeed lost. Adieu!
