On Thursday April 11, 2024, Nigeria lost one of its finest, a statesman, first class brain, technocrat par excellence and a man of impeccable character, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, the first civilian governor of Old Abia State and a presidential material if Nigeria is a country that believes in capacity, fairness, justice and equity.
Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, was a brilliant, self-effacing, and consummate academic. He was born on 1st December, 1951, to the family of His Royal Highness Late Eze David Aba Onu, Eze Adu of Uburu in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Nigeria.
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The academic brilliance of Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu manifested very early when he obtained Grade One with Distinction in his West African School Certificate Examination at Izzi High School, Izzi, Ebonyi State. He went further to obtain distinctions in Physics and Chemistry at the Higher School Certificate Examination at the College of Immaculate Conception (CIC), Enugu graduating as the best overall student.
In 1976, Dr. Onu graduated with a First Class Honors Degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Lagos (UNILAG). He later obtained his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Chemical Engineering (without passing through a Masters degree program) at the prestigious University of California, Berkeley, California, USA, in 1980.
On returning to Nigeria, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu taught at the University of Port Harcourt as the pioneer Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering. On several occasions, he served as the acting Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Port Harcourt. Dr. Onu was also elected as a member of the Governing Council of the University. Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu did not limit himself to acquiring high-grade certificates in academic institutions. He had time for extra-curricular activities where he excelled. His capabilities as a leader of his peers and others shone like a thousand stars. A few examples will suffice. While in the University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Onu was president of the Nigerian Association of Northern California incorporated (Inc.).
Back in Nigeria, Dr. Onu served as the President General of the Old Boys Association of his Alma Matar, Izzi High School, Izzi, Ebonyi State.
While in Port Harcourt, he became the President of the Rotary Club of Port Harcourt. He was also the Chairman of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers of old Rivers, Cross River and Akwa Ibom States’ Chapter. Dr. Onu was a pioneer National President of Raw Materials Society of Nigeria, which metamorphosed into the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) and Dr. Onu served as a member of the first Board of Governors of the Council.
Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu was the author of many books and garnered so many awards and Chieftaincy titles. Dr. Onu was an exemplary family man.
According to his friends Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu was a quintessential gentleman, whose word was his bond. Any understanding reached with him was bankable. There was no difference between written and unwritten agreement as far as Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu was concerned. Dr. Onu’s integrity, sincerity and honesty were incomparable. His humility was disarming. Betrayal and inordinate ambition were vices that were alien to Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu’s persona.
He left behind an interesting political legacy that should guide politicians and aspiring politicians. He was never ‘anywhere belle face’ politician. He was so principled that he was for so long in opposition politics when Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999. He did not join the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which was in power for 16 years in the country and in the South East in particular. If he was an unprincipled politician he would have been more convenient for him to join the PDP where they are sharing the money. He stuck to his principles and politics.
Onu came to national prominence when in 1999, against all odds he emerged the presidential candidate of the All Peoples Party (APP) one of the two biggest parties in Nigeria then, the other was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the last party was the Alliance for Democracy (AD) a largely Yoruba party without national spread.
Ahead of the 1999 presidential election, Dr Onu was the presidential candidate of APP, General Olusegun Obasanjo for the PDP and Chief Olu Falae for the AD, and the country was set for a battle royale. But the military administration of General Abdulsalami Abubakar and other power brokers had other ideas. There was fear that Ogbonnya Onu could cause an upset and win. To avert that and to ensure that the presidential candidates are all Yoruba, Onu following the formation of alliance between AD and APP, stepped down for Chief Olu Falae as a sacrifice to ensure that a Yoruba emerges the president of Nigeria to assuage the anger of the Yoruba following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election by the military, in which a Yoruba man, Chief MKO Abiola was poised to win. It was a sacrifice that Onu reminded the APC delegates at the APC presidential primaries at the Eagles Square in 2022 where he expressed in anguish that the APC should have zone the presidential ticket to South East for the 2023 presidential election, as happened in 1999 when the presidency was zoned to the South West to assuage their anger and ensure inclusivity.
Hear him, “Where is the Justice” he questioned APC for not zoning presidential ticket to South-east.
Onu, a former Minister for Science and Technology questioned the All Progressives Congress (APC) over its failure to zone the 2023 presidency to the South-East. He spoke at the Eagles Square while delivering his agenda to party delegates just before the commencement of voting at the presidential primary.
He asked, “where is the justice,” adding that he sacrificed his presidential ambition in the past just so that two candidates from the South West could run.
“What is very, very important, exceptionally important, is that we must ensure that justice is upheld,” Onu said in his address.
“Naturally, it should be somebody from the South East that will replace (Buhari), and that will give the opposite South versus North and Christian versus Muslim a balance, and it will bring stability to the nation; it will strengthen Nigeria.
“The South West had eight years as president, eight years as vice president; the South South had eight years as president and vice president; where is the justice? Where is the justice?” Dr Onu asked in anguish.
“I held the presidential ticket for one of the three parties then, but I had to let it go in order to solve a problem with the South West, to make sure that two Olus contested for the presidency, that head or tail, one will become the president and that brought down tension within the country. “This is what would have happened if we allowed the South East at this time,” Onu bitterly explained.
He was betrayed by APC and Nigeria and that could have accelerated his demise. That was also how in 2015 when the APC in which he was a founding member for the first time defeated a ruling party the PDP after 16 years in power, many had expected that he would emerge the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), a very senior position in which he was ably qualified, again President Muhammadu Buhari and co disappointed him and instead was made the minister of Science and Technology. Not a few Nigerians were shocked, but it was the earliest indication of President Muhammadu Buhari’s nepotistic tendency that eventually characterized his administration for eight years in which the people of South East were thoroughly marginalized.
Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, may have joined his ancestors, going the way of all mortals, the good news is that he had lived a life of purpose, integrity, probity and accountability with a track record of cleanness like his usual white traditional wear that marks him out in a crowd. After several decades in politics where he rose to become governor, national party chairman of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), presidential candidate of a major political party, and minister of Science and Technology for eight years, there had never been any scandal linked to him, neither has the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) nor the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) questioned his squeaky clean image. That is a legacy worthy of emulation by Nigerians and humanity in general.