By SAM EKPE –
The President of the less privileged, the one man riot squad, Dikde na Ogbo ogu, Odogwu nwoke, Mgborogwu Oji, Ogba Ogu nwanne, Onyiri Dike na Mba, Omepuru Onyeodiiri. These are few of the fond titles and names associated with the late Eze Maxwell Omeire Kanu, the traditional ruler of Ejezie Autonomous Community, Arondizuogu in Imo State and Chairman of Agura Hotel Abuja, whose final rites of passage have been announced by the family.
Since the announcement, tributes in his memory have been pouring in from personalities from all over the country. This man of great wisdom, intelligence, extensive business prowess and contacts, warmth and hospitality, a great lover of the Igbo nation and above all a most patriotic Nigerian affected thousands of lives in Nigeria in several ways. Maxwell Okoli Kanu, aka Okoli Ahumaku was born into the family of Kanu Onwubiko of the larger Okoronkwo Clan of Umuejezie Autonomous Community, Arondizuogu, Ideato LGA Imo State on 12th April, 1932.
His mother Ahumaku hailed from Umuezeaga village in Akokwa, a neighbouring community to Arondizuogu. Ahumaku was the 12th of the 16 wives of Mazi Kanu Okoronkwo, aka Kanu Ogaranya, a very wealthy farmer in those days with large yam barns. Because Western Education was not in vogue in those days, young Okoli lived with his father in the farm for well over school age. He later enrolled in Ikpoku Primary School, Arondizuogu where at a stage he became classmates with Mazi Frederick Kanu, another Kanu from a different mother, who was three years younger than him. Even in his primary school days Okoli displayed spectacular courage and boldness, feats that would characterize his life pattern in future.
One day he came back from school and met some policemen in the house of his elder brother, Mazi G.N Kanu, aka Omerekokwuru. The policemen were on a mission to arrest his brother for being in possession of unlicensed gun and illicit drugs. As young as he was then, he maneuvered the police and escaped with the guns and drugs thereby freeing Omerekokwuru from problems. He had since then been remarked as a unique character, whose life would affect humanity positively, an assessment that turned prophetic.
On completion of his primary school, the young boy veered off the schooling line and went into private business. He had an only sister from his mother Justina Udeona, his other brother Nwabueze having died early. On the marriage of Justina to Mazi Anthony Nnadi Okonkwo, £10, proceeds of the dowry paid on his sister while living with her and her husband. He started with buying oranges at Ibura and travelling to Aba to sell them. The petty trader later traded in different merchandise from buying and selling bicycle parts, spokes and tyres, grinding tomatoes and pepper until fortune came his way.
While trading on grease on a particular rainy day, young Maxwell, in his nature of compassion and concern for humanity neatly packed the wares of Ibukun Oluwa, his neighbor in the market, who was trading in iron tonic tablets in his own store, to prevent the wares from the effects of rain . This action marked a turning point in Maxwell’s life as Ibukun Oluwa’s apprentices reported his kind gesture to their boss who instructed that the Good Samaritan should visit him in his Lagos base. On arrival in Lagos, he stayed with Ibukun Oluwa for some time and joined in the marketing of Ibukun Oluwa’s iron tonic tablets and Aboki balm both in Lagos and Ibadan.
He stayed in this business for some years in Ibadan and was blessed and later disengaged from his Principal to start his own. Having now become his own master in the iron tonic and balm wholesale business, he returned to Aba and developed his own brand Omeire Iron tonic tablet, and Omeire Balm. The business boomed and he started importing his own brand of the goods in containers. The petty trader in bicycle spokes and other minor articles of trade of yester years later became a major importer and an established business man in Aba. Before the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War in 1967, he had built houses- Nos 119 and 142 Cameroon Road and 120 Obohia Road Aba as well as become a proud owner of a Chevrolet car, the status symbol of the very wealthy men in those days.
The Nigerian Civil War also saw Chief Kanu playing a very supportive role as he was one of the business men engaged by the Biafran Government to mobilize food items and other forms of support for solders and refugees in the Aba Sector of the war. Luck also smiled at Omeire immediately after the Civil war as one of his 4 Containers arrived Apapa Wharf during the hostilities and his friend and benefactor Ibukun Oluwa sold the goods and kept the proceeds for him. Two weeks after the war ended in 1970, Ibukun Oluwa utilized the money realized from the sale of the goods to buy bales of stockfish, salt, tyre and bicycle tubes and dispatched them to the East through PortHarcourt Wharf.
While several other businessmen and colleagues of Omeire were still managing to survive the hunger and penury of the Civil War and the economic down turn of the paltry €20 paid to every bank depositor, no matter how much he had in the bank, Chief Kanu had become a very wealthy man. He then veered into other businesses, becoming a major stockfish importer in Aba. His stockfish importation business developed so rapidly that he later became President of the Stockfish Importers Association of Nigeria.
On the social scene, Omeire became one of the best known names as he also became Chairman of Aba City Fathers, an elite club of the very wealthy men in Aba. He built Ochiriozuo House located at no 62/64 Ehi Road by Asa Road Aba, a seven storey edifice, a major land mark in the commercial city. He was so entrenched in the business community in Aba, adding to the development of the town’s economy that his longtime friend His Royal Highness Eze I.A Ikonne Enyi 1 of Aba honoured him with a chieftaincy title Ochiriozuo of Ngwaland in the early 1970s, a title also conferred on him in his native Arondizuogu in 1987 by his Royal Majesty Eze J.A Dike Ezediohamma II of Arondizuogu.
Ochiriozuo was a firm believer in and an advocate for the unity of Nigeria. Hence as a detribalized Nigerian, he never played local or regional politics but only associated with political parties that preached and enhanced national unity. In the Second Republic, he was a strong pillar of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in Imo State and provided the resources that ensured the emergence of Sir Onyeso Nwachukwu as the Chairman of the NPN in Imo State, succeeding the late Chief Nnanna Kalu. In fact he, along with the late Sir Joe Nwankwu pledged five personal properties as security to enable the NPN obtain bank loan to prosecute the 1983 gubernatorial elections in the Old Imo and Anambra States.
The military coup of December 31, 1983 was historic in the family of the late icon. That was the very day that his son Geofrey was to wed his wife in church and the reception was to hold in his residence at Arondizuogu. The National Chairman of the NPN Chief A.M.A Akinloye was to be the Chairman of the Wedding Reception. All was set for the D-day before the Military struck in the early hours of the morning of that day. Ochiriozuo went to the residence of his political leader the late Dr. K.O Mbadiwe (Agadagbachiriuzo) in Arondiuzuogu to brief him on the arrangements for the wedding. He was with K.O when some soldiers arrived Mbadiwe’s Palace of the People to arrest him as they did other top politicians of the Second Republic.
Ochiriozuo had a lucky escape from the scene. If there had been any untoward development then, Chief Kanu may also have been affected.
Having seen it all in business in Aba, Chief Kanu felt that it was time to arrive at the National scene to also play some role in the development of the new Federal Capital. In the early 1980s, when businessmen were still reluctant to invest in the Abuja Federal Capital project, Chief Kanu sunk hundreds of millions of naira of his personal funds into the first hospitality industry in Abuja, Agura Hotel. This project, which is the manifestation of Chief Kanu’s belief in One Nigeria, is located in a prime area of Abuja Central Business District, directly opposite the Defence Headquarters and the Headquarters of the Nigerian Army, Police, Navy and Air Force.
Arondizuogu Clan in Imo State is a community which traces its origin to Amankwu village in Arochukwu in Abia State. It has many other communities living in and around it. One of such communities is Ejezie whose ancestor also hailed from Amankwu village in Arochukwu. A number of communities within the Arondizuogu Clan including Iheme, Awa Izuogu, Uche Izuogu, Akaeme and Akunwanta have all become autonomous communities, having their own traditional rulers installed and issued Certificates of Recognition by the Imo State Government. EJezie Autonomous Community achieved same status in 2003 and Ochiriozuo was crowned and recognized by the Imo State Government as the Traditional Ruler of the community in the same year.
The community benefitted immensely from the tremendous and pioneering development efforts of Ochiriozuo and his son Prince Daniel Kanu. They include the Beatrice Kanu Primary School and the Ultra-modern Civic Center both built and donated by Prince Daniel and the Ejezie Police post built by His Royal Highness, and also recently refurbished by Prince Daniel Kanu. One expects the members of this community to embrace peace and appreciate the substantial contributions of this icon of theirs to their development and that of the larger Arondizuogu community.
Late Kanu achieved fame and honour in his life time. His grass to riches story will fill over 100 pages of a book. One cannot but assert that this great man has in his 86 and half years of life on earth impacted on the lives of millions of people, lifting many out of poverty, and also impacted on the social and economic life of Ndigbo in particular and Nigerians generally.
Eze Kanu’s first love and most cherished hobby was keeping fit and being in good health 24 hours of every day. Members and visitors to Agura hotel Abuja gymnasium always trained with him as he embarked on very strenuous physical exercises. He was virtually an instructor or coach at the Gym and it was always a delight watching an over 86 years old man engaging much younger men and women and and doing many more exercises than much younger people. Ochiriozuo’s vital health statistics until he had his last breath were what medical doctors accessed as quite good. Indeed death is a thief in the night and no one no matter how healthy knows when or how it will come.
Late Kanu got married to Lady Beatrice Nwamanna in 1957 and the marriage lasted for 59 years until his better half, whom he proudly referred to as Mama Ayi, died some years ago and was buried on November 30, 2018. He described her as his “wife, mother, sister, friend, companion and adviser all rolled into one”. Lady Kanu played significant roles in the profound successes of Ochiliozuo’s businesses as she kept the home front peaceful and comfortable for him as well as also assisting and collaborating in some of his business investments. Our man of the moment is survived by many children and grandchildren.
According to the funeral programme, a Night of Tributes will be held in his honour on Tuesday, 16th November 2021at St. James Anglican Church, Asokoro Abuja by 5pm. Other activities include; flagstop at M.O Kanu blood bank at General hospital Aba, Commendation Service at St. Michael’s Anglican Cathedral Aba and Reception at his GRA Aba residence, all on November 24, 2021.
A funeral service will be held for him at Cathedral Church of St. Peter Arondizuogu on November 26, 2021 followed by interment. As we bid goodbye to this epitome of humanity, this humane and humble personality whose personal happiness derives from the happiness and wellbeing of others, let us thank Almighty God for his life and pray that He receives his generous and kind soul in perfect peace until we all meet to part no more. It was Chuck Palahniuk who said, “We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.” Eze M.O Kanu created many things that will stand in his everlasting memory.
Sam Ekpe is a Media and Public Relations Consultant.
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The OPINION / COLUMN is authored by independent contributors to the National Accord Newspaper. While contributors adhere to our editorial guidelines, they are not employed by the National Accord Newspaper. The perspectives and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of the National Accord Newspaper or its staff.
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