CHIEF C. C. ONOH, DEAD AT 82!

"Controversy is a factor of fame" is one of Icheoku's most favorite saying of the departed legend and hero of Wawa (Enugu State) people of Nigeria. And he was controversial and famous indeed! Aninefungwu Okaa Omee 1 of Ngwo, barrister/attorney at law, civil-servant, administrator, businessman, politician, great philanthropist, one time member of House of Representatives, former governor of then Anambra State Nigeria, husband, father, grandfather, community organiser and leader, author, influential, wealthy, war hero and activist, Chief Christian Chukwuma Onoh aka CC is dead! CC was 82 years old; and passed on peacefully at his country home in Ngwo, Enugu State Nigeria on May 4, 2009.

A native of Ngwo, Enugu State, Nigeria, CC was born at Ovim in present day Abia State on April 27, 1927 to late Mr. Gabriel Okwo Onoh and Mrs. Esther Nude Onoh. CC succeeded in all he did as a lawyer, politician and businessman; but he is chiefly reputed as a land owner and speculator, who was the Lagos State's Oloto land owning family man of the South-east? CC was guesstimated to own 510 undeveloped plots in Enugu as well as 1,187 fully developed properties in the city of Enugu? Icheoku asks, what then is left for others in a city as small as Enugu? An avid and convinced one man riot-squad/fighter, CC never shies away from the good fight; in a memorable one liner, the late Chief while commenting on his ordeals through his struggles, said, “Twice, I escaped assassination. My jeep was taken away from me. My people were intimidated by government agents, but these acts were not enough to cow me because I believe in the Wawa struggle of truth. Icheoku says, an "Iroko" tree has fallen and politics in Enugu State will never be the same again, with the exit of this indefatigable leader of the people. CC was survived by his children Gabriel, Bianca, Ken, Sandra, Stella and Lilian; numerous grandchildren and his people of Enugu State. His father Gabriel Okwo Onoh and mother Esther Nude Onoh as well as one of his daughter Josephine, had all since predeceased him.

Some of CC's obituaries read as follows:- 1. He will be remembered for his consistent and dogged fight for the emancipation of the Wawa stock of the Igbo race, which led to the creation of Wawa State which is today known as the new Enugu State! 2. He will remain one of the most consistent Igbo men that ever lived! 3. He was a hero who died fighting for the betterment of his people! 4. He should be praised for his doggedness and courageous spirit! 5. His life ran on a vortex of struggles! 6. He was a philanthropist extraordinaire, an iconoclast and controversial figure! 7. He was the light of Wawa people! 8. He was a strong and fearless man! 9. With CC you know where he stood, no man intimidated him! 10. He criss-crossed the political firmament like a colossus; Ndi-Igbo and Nigeria have lost a great man! 11. He was a moving history of Enugu, the city, the people, their culture and their lives! 12. He lived and died for Enugu, and it was something he could never have been ashamed of or pretend it was an unworthy cause! 13. He was a man whose unique politics was about the protection of his people! 14. Love him or hate him, but there was never any doubt about where this man stood on any issue! 15. His demise further depreciates the number of those who fought for Nigeria's independence and lived through today's rot and decline from their then high hopes to today’s wishes for yet another set of good leaders who can dream and have thoughts for the good of their people! 16. He was the father of Enugu State and the most prominent politician to ever come out of Enugu State! 17. He was an astute and fearless politician who genuinely criticised the government of the day without rancour! 18. One admirer surmised that Onoh was the greatest politician that ever emerged from the entire Enugu State and Icheoku concurs that you cannot talk about the Wawa people or Enugu State without C.C Onoh! Icheoku calls CC, the father of Enugu State and the man who led the effort to make that state a reality!

A man who always spoke his mind irrespective of whose ox is gored, and who once blamed the numerous problems facing Nigeria today on an existing structural imbalance in her 48 years of existence. It was his believe that Britain is the root cause of Nigeria's problems as not only did they unwillingly grant Nigeria Independence in 1960, but went on to rig the 1962 election to produce a Northerner as Prime Minister, when the Sardauna of Sokoto Ahmadu Bello, leader of the North then, never wanted one Nigeria! This, according to him, began Nigeria's problems with an unwilling leader leading a reluctant people.

With his exit, Nigeria, South-East, Igboland and Enugu State in particular have lost a real patriot! Icheoku agrees that the ranks of the country's elder statesmen has further been depleted with the passage of this great man, Chief Christian Chukwuma Onoh. We pray that the Almighty God rewards him according to his good deeds and for his tireless effort to make the Wawa person walk erect with his head high in Igboland. CC made Wawa people "real" persons in Igboland and for this, every Wawa son and daughter owes him a debt of gratitude and prayer for the repose of his soul. May his family and the good people of Enugu State find the fortitude to bear the great loss; and his shoes like that left by Obafemi Awolowo in Yoruba land, might be too big for any one feet to fill, just yet! Adieu CC !