By JONATHAN LOIS
A member of the House of Representatives for the Oshodi/Isolo II Federal Constituency of Lagos State Federal Constituency of Lagos State, Hon (Barr) Okey-Joe Onuakalusi, has hailed former Abia State Governor and elder statesman, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, describing him as a man who ennobled politics with virtue.
The Labour Party lawmaker in a statement on Monday in Abuja said if there is any special trait readily noticeable in Onu, it is his calm composure and permanent exudation of sanguinity.
He said this this striking feature of Dr. Onu’s is so infectious that many have testified that hardly have they ever caught him in a state of unease or distress.
“Despite being a consummate politician, how Dr. Onu managed to navigate the murky waters of active politics without amassing enemies to himself is for many the mark of genius. Which is why observers say no-one ever spoke ill or unkind words about Dr. Onu – a man known for his Spartan discipline and high ethics,” he saidm
The lawmaker said Onu meant many positive things to different people.
“For not a few, he was the paragon of dependability and constancy. “His word was his bond,” further enthused Okorie. He was steady, unfazed, upbeat, and unyielding like the Rock of Gibraltar. He pitched his tent with the opposition at a time it appeared a political injudicious thing to do. All through the transmogrification of the opposition from the All Peoples Party (APP) to the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Onu happily rode the ebb and the flow,” he said.
The lawmaker said whilst his political peers easily jumped ship from the opposition to the ruling party and back to the opposition for their benefit, Dr. Onu remained focused and contented.
“Hence, in 2015, his constancy paid off, as his party, the APC swept the polls in a landslide. It trounced the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) beyond belief at the general election of that year, following which Dr. Onu was appointed the Minister for Science and Technology.
“Dr. Onu was a man of conviction. He was also a thoroughgoing detribalised Nigerian. He was seemingly guided by the principles of unity, equity, teamwork, bridge-building and compromise. Yet he was an incurable Igbo romantic, playing a major role in the Ohaneze Ndigbo as a unifying figure. His leadership within Ohanaeze Ndigbo was a testament to his profound commitment to the welfare of the Igbo people, advocating for their rights and spearheading their socio-economic growth.
“He was however not narrowly detained by his Igboness, which he rather saw and exploited as a spring-board for connection and friendship across Nigeria’s extensive ethnic bandwidth. Hence, during his first foray into politics in the Second Republic, Dr. Onu ran for Senatorial seat on the platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) instead of the more ethnically tilted Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe-led Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP). He won the governorship seat in Abia State not on the platform of the more popular Social Democratic Party (SDP), but on the National Republican Convention (NRC) ticket.
“Although he’d lived the greater part of his life as a career politician, he never lost touch with his roots as an academic, and lover of education and mentorship of the young. He remained a teacher at heart, and a scholar. Which explains why his spell as Abia State governor saw him establishing the Abia State Polytechnics in Aba; the College of Education at Arochukwu; while at the same time attracting the establishment of the Michael Okpara Federal University of Agriculture in Abia State, precisely at Umudike, near Umuahia.
“To be sure, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu was a graceful gentleman for whom the pacta sunt savanda principle was the lubricant of human relations. His disarming humility, integrity, humanity, sincerity and rectitude distinguished him as one who eschewed inordinate ambition, and also as one who was rather guided in his politics by patriotism and the ennobling need to serve humanity with the instrumentality of political office,” Onuakalusi said.
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