Dr Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia, the National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has expressed the group’s felicitation with its President-General, Chief (Dr.) Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu as he turns 81 on Monday, September 4 describing him as father of the fatherless and a leader who places the interest of the Igbo above self.
He prayed God for many happy returns.
In a statement signed by Dr Ogbonnia, Ohanaeze celebrated the inimitable and very productive life of Chief Iwuanyanwu, counting his great records as the President General of Ohanaeze and prayed God to give him more years to complete his great agenda for Ohanaeze.
The statement reads: “The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide joins millions of admirers both at home and in the Diaspora to felicitate one of the finest amongst the Igbo, an outstanding Nigerian businessman, philanthropist par excellence, robust creative thinker, a broad-minded charismatic personality of impeccable pedigree, a foremost Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, a Nigerian patriot and a man who has devoted all his life in the service of the Igbo, His Excellency, Chief Engr. Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Iwuanyanwu, MFR, OFR, CFR, FNICE, FNSE,KSC (Ahaejiagamba Ndigbo) as he clocks 81 on Monday, September 4, 2023.
“Chief Iwuanyanwu’s life trajectory is dotted with a distinctive stardom beginning from his primary school to the present day. There has never been an idle moment in his life as a school prefect, college sports captain, brave Biafran Army captain who was among the engineers that invented the multi-purpose Biafran bomb called the Ogbunigwe, an accomplished engineer with legacies in road construction and aviation industry; air and sea transport, real estate, football, publishing, agriculture, research and development, Chairman, Federal Boards; Chairman, Board of Trustees of formidable political parties; contest for Nigerian presidency, Ohanaeze leadership, among others.
“There was a time in history when Iwuanyanwu was the highest employer of labour, at least in the entire East of the Niger. One of the most endearing is the Iwuanyanwu Foundation which has offered scholarships to over ten thousand indigent students across the country. He has donated to universities to create conducive environments for learning; built churches and other community facilities.
“Over forty years ago, Chief Sam Mbakwe, the former governor of old Imo State, conceived the idea of an International Cargo Airport at Owerri. It was Iwuanyanwu who made the highest donation of two million dollars. The Iwuanyanwu success story is a veritable and inspiring tribute to the virtues of hard work, audacity, intellect, sincerity, heroism, sacrifice, ingenuity, resilience and philanthropy.
“Chief Iwuanyanwu was sworn in as the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo on Sunday, May 30, 2023 and he hit the ground running. Within the four months of his incumbency, the Ahaejiagamba Midas touch has neutralized the inauspicious frosty relationship that existed between Ohanaeze on one hand and the Igbo Archbishops and Bishops, Anya Ndigbo, Ala Igbo Development Foundation, Aka Ikenga, Nzuko Ummunna, Igbo Leaders of Thought, Global Igbo Leaders, World Igbo Congress, Association of Igbo Town Unions, Lagos State Market Traders on the other; restored a cordial relationship with the Ohanaeze Governors; mainstreamed the Igbo Captains of Industry into the Ohanaeze activities ; resolved the leadership crisis in the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, UK and Ireland; admitted the African Americans with authentic Igbo ancestry into the Igbo cosmology; created a strategic organizational structure for global administration of Ohanaeze Ndigbo; responded rapidly to the Igbo calamity at the Alaba International Market, Lagos; reactivated the Youth and Women Wings of Ohanaeze Ndigbo; convened a meeting of the Igbo political office holders to address the insecurity in the South East; re-commenced the monthly National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings of Ohanaeze; has set a machinery in motion for the 2023 Igbo Day on September 29, 2023; constituted vital Ohanaeze committees, appointed Presidential Advisory Council; lifted Ohanaeze from its mired habitat to an enviable pedestal and most importantly, he stoutly renewed the call on the Presidency for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, among several others.
“The Igbo all over the world, shall on Monday September 4, 2023, clink glasses to a toast for their awesome Leader with an incredible physical prowess, an extra-ordinary visionary, transformative imaginative visionary, moral edifice with an enviable character comeliness, sagacious politician, a giant with an elephantine retentive memory, the father of the fatherless and the leader who places the interest of the Igbo above self.
“On behalf of the Igbo nation and all the organs of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, we express immense gratitude to God that the Igbo Leader is as fit as a fiddle at 81. We ask the Almighty to grant him many more fruitful years to enable him realize the lofty programmes he has espoused for the Igbo. Happy birthday, Ahaejiagamba Ndigbo.”
