Member of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Presidential Advisory Council Prof Gregory Ibe has lamented the death of elder statesman Prof Ben Nwabueze.
Speaking through a press statement released in Umuahia on Tuesday, Prof Ibe described Prof Nwabueze as a leading light, pioneer educationist and prominent legal luminary whose legacies will remain evergreen.
According to Prof Ibe, “Having received the shocking news of the death of our very distinguished leader and icon of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide Prof Ben Nwabueze, I write to convey my deepest condolences first to the Nwabueze family of Atani and the entire people of Anambra state”.
Continuing he said, “Prof Ben Nwabueze was a leading light, pioneer educationist and prominent legal luminary whose legacies will remain evergreen within Nigeria and Africa”.
Recalling how the late education icon collaborated with other stalwarts to form the Ohanaeze Ndigbo socio-cultural organization, Prof Ibe praised the sterling pioneering spirit of Prof Nwabueze which according to him characterized his entire life tenure and endeared him to many.
He said, “Part of the lasting legacies of Prof Nwabueze include his pioneering role in the formation of Ohanaeze Ndigbo which he collaborated with such notable stalwarts as Dr Akanu Ibiam, Dr Michael Okpara, Chief Kingsley Mbadiwe and Prof Joe Irukwu to establish in 1976 as a pan-Igbo Organization. He would later serve as our pioneer Secretary General under the leadership of our late father Chief Jerome Udoji”.
Speaking on how Prof Nwabueze’s legacies impacted directly on him, Prof Ibe narrated how he was challenged by the late icon’s record of emerging the first academic Senior Advocate of Nigeria strictly on the basis of his published works.
In his words,” Prof Nwabueze was not just a role model who mentored me in the area of social entrepreneurship, but also a major source of inspiration. For instance when I read that he published his way to emerge the first academic Senior Advocate of Nigeria I was challenged to delve into the world of publishing. Now I have many titles on different subjects and themes”.
While calling for sustenance of the legacies of the late legal luminary, Prof Ibe promised to immortalize such fallen Igbo heroes as Raph Uwechue, Col. Joe Achuzie, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, Prof George Obiozor, Prof Joe Irukwu and Prof Ben Nwabueze through a colloquium that will climax with the symbolic etching of their names in the Igbo Hall of Fame at the Centre for Igbo Renaissance of Gregory University Uturu.
In conclusion, Prof Ibe prayed for peaceful repose of the soul of Prof Nwabueze while enjoining the public to bear the irreparable loss with soberity.
News on the death of Prof Nwabueze, one time Nigeria’s Minister of Education was announced on Monday by a spokesperson of the family, Eni Nwabueze, who confirmed that the elder statesman died on Sunday at the age of 94.
Sleek Ogwo,ANIPR
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