…As Dr Ifedi Okwenna recounts his valedictory encounter with the late icon of good governance
By Okey Maduforo and Tony Ezike
Shortly before his demise, former governor of Anambra state late Dr Chukwuemaka Ezeife (Okwadike Igbo-Ukwu) constituted a funeral committee to oversee his befitting transition to eternal glory.
Information available to Citypost revealed that the late sage had already foresaw his death, hence his swift move to assign the responsibility of assembling members of the committee on the former Anambra State Commissioner for Environment Dr Ifedi Okwenna who consequently became the Secretary of that committee.
Making this revelation last Saturday during the funeral ceremony at Okwadike”s country home Igbo-Ukwu, Dr Ifedi Okwenna who was with Ezeife at his sick bed recalled that;
“It was like when you were given an assignment which Okwadike (Ezeife) gave me before he died and as if he knew that he was going to die and he called me inside his room and said if anything happens this is on your head and said call this person, that person they will help you “
“So I had no other option immediately he was pronounced dead, than to put the machinery in motion and eventually we were able to get this set and so it was an assignment that I knew when it came and I never got tired “
“It was a hectic assignment no doubt putting things together. So a National burial of this magnitude wasn’t that easy especially when the resources were not there to lay your hands on and I had to look for funds to get it done “
Continuing Okwenna said that Ezeife was a man acceptable all over Nigeria and every other tribe in Nigeria accepted him as a Nationalist, so the response was very wonderful and everyone that you approached to support wanted to contribute and we give gratitude to God that we gave him a befitting burial “
One year after his death Okwenna announced that the second phase of the committee’s function is what should be done to immortalize the late statesman.
“The next level is to make his name sustainable and we are about to set up Okwadike Leadership Lecture Series as well as Award Presentation and we have commenced the process of engaging both the State and Federal government to name an institution after him”, he said.
“Ezeife belonged to several Pan Igbo organizations including the Ohanaeze Ndigbo world, Ime-obi Ohanaeze, Igbo Elders Forum and also a co-founder of the Southern and Middlebelt Forum that united the South and parts of Northern Nigeria”.
