Iwuanyanwu, a Colossus at 80

Kashim Ibrahim-Imam

It is extremely difficult to find words suitable enough to describe some men, just as it is equally arduous to pay them a deserved tribute on a single page of a newspaper. Their accomplishments and impacts on humanity are vast. They are like a sprawling road: the more you travel, the more they extend. They are like the elephant explored by blind men, with each forming an impression and describing the massive beast based on the part of it he experienced.

Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Aha eji eje mba Ndigbo (a name that opens doors), is certainly one of them. Dr. Kingsley Ozumba  Mbadiwe must have had him in mind when he coined terms like “Men of timber and calibre”, “The caterpillar”, and “The political juggernaut”, for he has etched his name in gold with profound impacts on the nation in very many respects. It will not be wrong to describe him as a jack-of-all-trades and master of all.

The story of Chief Iwuanyanwu is that of resilience and doggedness, and can-do spirit. Although he was not born into a rich family, Iwuanyanwu, by dint of intellect, hard work, entrepreneurship, patriotism, and public-spiritedness, has worked his way through the rungs to occupy a pride of place on the pages of Nigerian history.

By sheer brilliance and character, Aha eji eje mba earned federal and international scholarships that saw him through the University of Nigeria Nsukka where he studied Civil Engineering, emerging the best graduating student.

He went on to demonstrate his exceptional brilliance through his cutting edge researches in flexible placements and hydraulics, resulting in his invention of flexible pavement made of asphaltic concrete, introduction of a new bridge design that did away pile foundations, and the design of an Ocean Berge with composite section of empty drums.

Meanwhile, Chief Iwuanyanwu demonstrated his business acumen and ingenuity early in life when he rose from an employee of Hardel and Eric Construction Company, a civil engineering firm where he worked after graduation, to becoming an employer and entrepreneur by acquiring the firm from its foreign owners. Once his hands were on the plough, there was no looking back and no stopping him. Beside construction and engineering business, he soon spread his business tentacles to aviation, shipping, real estate, medical equipment, furniture production, plastic production, banking, agriculture, publishing, insurance, among others, to join the ranks of wealthiest Nigerians at a time.

In the field of journalism, Chief Iwuanyanwu founded the Champion Newspaper, which was one of Nigeria’s leading and most influential national dailies at a time. So influential was it that a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar once described it as “the major paper we have east of the Niger, a paper that is indigenous to our people, that is the voice of people, this part of the country”. Many leading lights and editors in the Nigerian media industry today cut their teeth in Champion Newspaper and owe gratitude to Chief Iwuanyanwu for giving them the pedestal to rise on.

There is something that stands Chief Iwuanyanwu out among his peers: he gave freely of not just his resources, but also of himself to his people, nation, and humanity. The more he prospered, the more he expanded his spheres of philanthropy – sports philanthropy, health philanthropy, educational philanthropy, etc.

Whether it is by way of scholarships to thousands of indigent students; making millionaires through his mentorship and many enterprises; building and donating hospitals, schools, churches, roads, and a blood bank; his unspoken charity to orphanages; and by his many other giant strides in philanthropy through the Iwuanyanwu Ambulance Foundation where I am a trustee or the Iwuanyanwu Foundation, he has continued to save and lift lives.

The Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport Owerri, Imo State is yet another symbol of the Igbo tenacity and self-help development model, as it was built through community fundraising. And Chief Iwuanyanwu’s contributions to the actualisation of that dream will never stop echoing among his people and in the aviation industry. He accepted the responsibility of chairing the committee on the airport set up by General Ike Nwachukwu as military governor of Imo State. When the project appeared to have stuck, Chief Iwuanyanwu, in his characteristic benevolence, rose to the occasion by raising and loaning the money to the state. But he later rejected a refund.

When the initial non-commissioning of the completed airport by the Federal Government was surmounted, but the Nigeria Airways would not fly to Owerri, Chief Iwuanyanwu deployed his private jet to service the new airport. He also acquired more aircrafts to service the airport. That was how the Oriental Airlines was born. Not long after, the Sam Mbakwe Airport picked up and has remained one of the busiest airports in Nigeria. In fact, surveys in recent years place it among the three busiest airports in the country. That is the power of vision and determination by a people and their public-spirited daughters and sons like Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu.

After the civil war, football became more than a game for the Igbo, who put in their whole being into Rangers International Football Club of Enugu to re-launch themselves into national and international reckoning. Upon the creation of Imo State in 1976, the state government founded the Spartans Football Club of Owerri. But it was not as successful as envisaged. As a sports enthusiast, who sees football as another philanthropic channel to empower the youths, Chief Iwuanyanwu took over Spartans in 1985, rebranded and rebuilt it into a national and international contender known as Iwuanyanwu Nationale Football Club of Owerri. In 1988, Nationale came close to lifting the African Cup of Champions Clubs (now CAF Champions League trophy), but for their loss to Algeria’s Entente de Setif, which many blamed on poor officiating.

The club churned out players that made the country and Africa proud. Former African Footballer of the Year, World Under 17 Championship winner, EUFA Champions League winner, and Olympic gold medalist, Kanu Nwankwo, grew from the ranks of Nationale, starting from the feeder academy – Iwuanyanwu Comets. Also, Nigeria’s heroic USA ’94 team comprised about seven Nationale players. The club reverted to Imo State government around 2006 and became Heartland Football Club. That is the profoundness of Chief Iwuanyanwu’s contributions to Nigerian football.

An Igbo champion, Chief Iwuanyanwu is unapologetic in fighting the cause of his people whether in peacetime or wartime. During what he describes as the defunct Eastern Region’s war of survival, Iwuanyanwu not only led from the front at the war fronts as an infantry solider, he equally brought his intellectual depth to bear. He was drafted into the Biafra Research and Production Unit headed by Professor Gordian Ezekwe. With little access to armaments from the outside world, this group of researchers put on their thinking caps, producing armaments, including the dreaded Ogbunigwe. Such was their ingenuity and many still wonder why Nigeria is still overwhelmingly dependent on arms importation when the country should be a major exporter.

But Chief Iwuanyanwu is also an epitome of love for one’s country. Amidst some separatist agitations in recent years, the elder statesman, who is the Chairman of the Ohanaeze Elders Council, remains one of the tempering voices of wisdom from the East and an ardent champion of a united, but restructured Nigeria. He stated emphatically in a 2017 interview that the ‘‘Igbo have never mandated anybody to go and talk about secession”. Instead, he believes that returning Nigeria to her post-military rule structure, enshrining rotational presidency and state police etc. in the constitution would release the potentials of every part of Nigeria, cure the complaints of marginalisation, stave off the rising threats of insecurity, and bring out the best in the country.

It suffices to add that there is no local government area in Nigeria that Chief Iwuanyanwu does not have a close friend where he could pass the night or stay as long as he wants. He is a patron of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youths, Arewa Youths, and O’odua Youths.

His patriotism is also well reflected in his brand of politics. He is not only a civil engineer, he is equally a political engineer, who has been at the heart and founding of several political movements and parties in Nigeria. He was at the centre of the National Republican Convention, which started as the Liberal Convention and played a prominent role in the formation of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) and aspired to the presidency of Nigeria three times.

Yet, despite his accomplishments and the heights attained, Chief Iwuanyanwu remains very simple, unbelievably approachable and unassuming. He is a man I have known and related closely with for decades. And in all these years, he remains a forthright, trustworthy, firm, and principled man.

Therefore, as this exceptional elder statesman clocks 80, he deserves all the accolades and encomiums coming his way. I join his family, friends, associates, and the nation in celebrating and wishing him well. May God grant him many more years in good health and happiness so that the nation can continue to drink from his brimming well of knowledge, experience, benevolence and intellect.

Happy birthday, Aha eji eje mba, FNSE, MFR, OFR, CFR, the colossus of our time, and an unapologetic patriot.

* Ibrahim-Imam is President, King’s College Old Boys Association and Director and member of the Editorial Board, THISDAY Newspaper.