The Passing Of A Mighty Rainbow Over Green Meadow:  A Eulogy to Chief (Dr.) Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Iwuanyanwu

The Passing Of A Mighty Rainbow Over Green Meadow:  A Eulogy to Chief (Dr.) Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Iwuanyanwu (Ahaejiagamba Ndigbo)

by Jeff Unaegbu

“Chief Iwuanyanwu can be described as a mighty bridge upon which many power apprentices, seeking support and succor from yawning and thrashing waves, walk gingerly but to safety in political and economic cornucopia. Quite often, these walkers give a reverent nod at the bridge as they get ensconced in the siren-wailing aura of lordly power; they do this out of respect for that bridge without which there would have been no ambrosia, nor sugar candy. The waves roar under the bridge as the seasons come one way and go the other way. This is the bridge’s destiny, the bridge’s destiny….”

I wrote the above words on a flowery day in June 2018, in a moment of complete realization of the trajectory of Chief Iwuanyanwu’s life. This was only possible because for four years before then, I had been researching deeply to complete his biography which was eventually published in August 2022 as a tome of 940 pages marking his massively-celebrated eightieth birthday. With the passing of Chief Iwuanyanwu on July 25, 2024, it dawned on me that the attentive biographer is allowed to see the destination point of the moving pencil of the divine artist before that pencil reaches that destination point, only because the biographer has seen previous repeated patterns of that pencil as it draws the image of a life.

Born in 1942 as the first child and first son amongst nine children to God-fearing parents (Pa Bernard Okoro Iwuanyanwu and Mrs. Hulder Nmekamuegbulem Iwuanyanwu) in a humble home at Umuohii village in Atta town of Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State, a focused and determined Chukwuemeka Iwuanyanwu speedily rose to dizzying greatness long before any of his peers began their gradual rise to fame. During the Nigerian Civil war, Iwuanyanwu learnt the ropes at the Rocket group of the Biafran Research and Production Directorate under the great Professor Gordian Ezekwe, then he trained at the Biafran School of Infantry before fighting at Ikom area, including Mkpani junction, Benta, Tse-Agberagba, Okuni, Iyamayang, Obubra etc. He rose from the rank of Second lieutenant to Captain and then, a field rank of Lieutenant Colonel and commanding officer in defence of Cross River Beach around Oziza, Ndibe and Ofonbua. At a time, his helmet was blown off by a bullet and, at another time, he sustained a leg injury. After his recovery from the injury, he headed the Combat Engineering Military Intelligence of the Combat Engineering Unit. By the end of that war in 1970, Iwuanyanwu was not yet twenty-eight years old, yet his experiences were a far cry from those of a regular fifty years old man, much less a twenty-seven years old lad of today. A kind young man at heart, he volunteered to sweep the war-time mines for the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Graduating from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1971, with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Engineer Iwuanyanwu ventured into the field of practice as a trainee pupil engineer and quickly created a unique design for a barge that could successfully carry pile drivers during bridge constructions. He also created a mixed design for asphaltic concrete which became commonly used for airport runways and highways in Nigeria. It was later accepted and approved for use by the Nigerian Ministry of Works. In 1976, he bravely founded his famous construction company, Hardel and Enic. He began humbly looking for contracts while his wife, Mrs. Eudora Iwuanyanwu, sustained the home from her take-home pay as a graduate teacher in the East Central State Ministry of Education. Luckily, Iwuanyanwu got a contract from an Engineer Ugwu, whose wife was a roommate to Iwuanyanwu’s wife back in the University of Nigeria. This was contract for the construction of masts around the Ninth-mile corner, Ngwo, for the National Television Authority, Enugu. From the seed money raised from profits of that first contract, his company took off and soon exploded into a conglomerate of many companies.

By 1979, Chief Iwuanyanwu had bought a house in London and two years later, he had received the national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) from Alhaji Shehu Shagari, the then president of Nigeria. He was only thirty-nine years old at the time. By the mid-nineties, he had over 30 to 40 housing units in America which he bought for about ten million Dollars.

Over the years, aside from becoming well-known in engineering and big business, Iwuanyanwu also became famous in politics, journalism, philanthropy, the promotion of sports, and within his Christian religion. He was a man who had made many people successful in his society and his alliances with heads of states and presidents within Nigeria and outside the country blow the minds of everyone.  Chief Iwuanyanwu recommended other people into federal appointments and they later became very great in politics too. His love of football led to his resuscitation of a football club, renaming it Iwuanyanwu Nationale. Its track records are too many to mention. His love for journalism and desire for his people of eastern Nigeria to be further represented in national affairs led to his founding of the Champion newspapers. His desire for a better Nigeria led him to run for the post of president three times in different political dispensations in Nigerian history, reaching out to all crannies of Nigeria.

I traveled to the far north and west of Nigeria in preparation for a documentary film for his eightieth birthday in 2022, only to discover that his footprints were everywhere. People kept testifying of his magnanimity and detribalized mindset.

Despite the fact that he had received death threats and actual assassination attempts and had been persecuted and pilloried by people who unfortunately did not understand how a man could be so kind, he still emerged as one of the greatest philanthropists in Nigerian history. It is not possible to compile the entire donations made by Chief Iwuanyanwu to many individuals, bodies and organizations.  It is simply not possible because no written financial record had been kept for this. After several consultations in which I gathered information from his aides of many years, I was able to make a rough estimate of about ten billion Naira already spent from the mid 1980’s up to 2024 (including the funds spent during political campaigns) by Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu. This staggering amount of money had helped thousands of Nigerians and is still helping thousands of Nigerians to have better lives in the society. As people throng everyday to his offices, he kept dipping his hands into his pockets to bring out staggering amounts which kept bringing smiles to the faces of countless thousands who could come from any of the ethnic groups in Nigeria. There was neither discrimination nor tribalism with Chief Iwuanyanwu in his philanthropy and employment of people. Once, the first indigenous president of Nigeria, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, looked at Chief Iwuanyanwu and said calmly, “I have a soft spot for you because of your humility and kind disposition towards the less-privileged”.

Chief Iwuanyanwu generously donated two million Naira to the state government for the Imo State airport’s construction in 1985, when the Naira was stronger than the Dollar. He also founded the Oriental Airline, purchased six aircrafts, and facilitated business flights in the southeast. Additionally, he contributed funds and resources to various educational and charitable initiatives, including building the Hulder Iwuanyanwu Children Centre in the University of Nigeria, a Blood Transfusion Center, and supporting students through scholarships. He built and furnished a One Billion Naira Cathedral of St. Matthew Atta, Anglican Communion, in Ikeduru. He also built and gave over all the internal roads leading to the Cathedral of Transfiguration of Our Lord (CATOL), in Owerri. His Iwuanyanwu Foundation, established in 1988, has since made significant contributions to education and infrastructure development, and has provided thousands of scholarships to students across Nigeria. His Iwuanyanwu National Ambulance had rescued accident victims and helped to save many lives. Chief Iwuanyanwu’s dedication to human development and philanthropy has made a positive impact on the lives of many.

From my base in Nsukka, I traveled to Owerri more than twenty times while writing his biography and in each visit, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu’s voice intoned images of ancient days when men were men; of the times and opportunities he utilized and how and when he met his fortune…. For many moons and in many interviews, I scribbled. I replayed recordings. I listened again and again for codes and clues, for oversights and missed tons of wisdom until I became used to a pattern just like a subtle motif in a long, long golden tapestry. This pattern formed an image of the constant comings and goings of an intangible helper barge. Many freights and walkers have sailed past the Rubicon stream on this barge. I saw their figures, hobbling purposefully onto the barge, and then floating by, strengthened and refreshed, fed by the fragrance of diverse flowers uphill….

Then, one day, Chief Iwuanyanwu leaned back on his heavy black chair and said, “I travel every month. Sometimes, I travel twice a month for recreation. I used to stay more often in my big house in London when my business was flourishing there. This big house is valued at 5 million pounds now. But my thoughts are beyond these material things. I wish to have something towards perpetually helping humanity, towards showing them the light so that they can find the way in formal education. My founding an Iwuanyanwu university won’t be a bad idea.”

And right there, is the next leap beyond my eulogy: its afterlife. It is the spoken word. A thought is a thing. A word is a life…. A university named after Chief Iwuanyanwu will not be a bad idea.  I am happy though that, on September 9, 2021, former President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the Egbeada bye-pass road, at Owerri, to be known as “Iwuanyanwu Way”, in respect of the contributions of Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu to Nigeria, and the world.

His passing on July 25, 2024 is a shock to thousands of people. His legacies will remain solidly firm for a very long time. My condolences go to his young wife, Lady Frances Iwuanyanwu; his daughter, Dr. Mrs. Nwadiuto Iwuanyanwu; his son, Jide Iwuanyanwu and other members of his family.

Adieu, Chief (Dr.) Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Iwuanyanwu, CFR, OFR, MFR, FNISE, FNSE, FNIST, KSC (Ahaejiagamba Ndigbo), Adieu.

© Jeff Unaegbu is a Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.