Agunaechemba, the majority of your friends and colleagues along with your family, are still processing your passing. To say it was premature is an understatement. But one cannot help but give God the glory for the life you led while submitting to His will and finding comfort in your extraordinary accomplishments throughout your comparatively brief stint on earth.
Someone once wrote: “Live your life (well) so the preacher won’t have to lie at your funeral”. Agunaechemba, your actions while you walked the surface of this earth demonstrated that you were aware of this timeless warning. Indeed, it is possible to provide security against everything, but against death, all men, mortals alike, dwell in an unfortified city. This reality leaves all humans with only one option: to prepare for that inevitable end, which will come when it will come.
From your most impactful life, we learned that it is not how long one lived that matters but how well. You indeed made your life sublime. You left huge footprints on the sands of time.
You dominated both the corporate and political worlds like a giant, bringing your Midas touch with you wherever you went. You rose to become a captain of industry and a global player at a very young age before you delved into politics and rose phenomenally to also become a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2007 – 2011).
At a very young age, you built a vast business empire that spanned telecommunications, oil and gas, manufacturing, banking, export, import, and real estate. You were a dominant player in all.
In politics, your brand was politics without bitterness or vendetta in your service to the people of Idemili South LGA, Anambra State, and Nigeria at large. One recalls with pride and nostalgia your sterling performance at the Senate while representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, the platform you used extensively to promote the development of Anambra State and national unity and development. More importantly, you empowered your constituents and beyond and escalated your inimitable philanthropic activities to write your name in gold.
Your empowerment programmes led to the employment of hundreds of your constituents into the Nigerian Police Force, Federal Ministry of Environment, Customs, and many other federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) among others.
You gave many communities light and gave out transformers to many communities too numerous to recount here to ensure the improvement of electricity.
It was you who brought the modern library/ internet centre at Okpuno, Awka, the modern library centre at Nkpor, and ICT facilities to many places. You constructed and renovated schools across the senatorial zone and sank boreholes and supplied free hospital equipment and pharmaceuticals. You gave your Ojoto community a Medical Centre and the PHCN power distribution sub-station, among others. These are just a few instances of your concrete efforts to make life more meaningful and happiness more abundant to your people, Anambra State, and Nigeria at large.
Agunaechmba, your impact at the Senate still reverberates through your works in the Committee on Environment, in which you served as vice-chairman, and in the other committees where you served as a key member namely, Upstream Petroleum Resources, Police Affairs, and Agriculture.
As Vice Chairman Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, you brought that Senate Committee severally to Anambra State to see for themselves the erosion and environmental degradations and disasters that the state experienced. That way, the Anambra ecological disasters were placed before the nation and attracted federal interventions.
As a political gladiator, the story of the PDP, APC, SDP, and Accord Party cannot be complete without acknowledging the role you played in their formation and growth.
Though you retired from active politics long before your passing unto glory, you ensured the successful transmission of the baton to your son Hon. Uchenna Harris Okonkwo Ebube Agu Ojoto who currently represents Idemili North/South Federal Constituency in the 10th National Assembly.
Even in death, you will continue to be a perfect example of a successful businessman and fulfilled politician, a leader par excellence, a patriot, and a statesman. Your life and times are indeed gratifying and edifying.
You were primarily a self-made individual who valued personal growth. Despite being famous and wealthy, you never neglected your personal growth. As a result, you submitted to the rigorous process of obtaining ever-higher education. Between 1994 and 1995, you earned an Advanced Diploma in Marketing from the University of Lagos, and between 1995 and 1997, you earned an Advanced Diploma in Commercial Law and Practice. Between 1997 and 1998, you also earned an Advanced Diploma in Management from Harvard University in the United States. As a result, you had a solid foundation in both theory and practice and could function effectively anyplace.
You were always humble and down to earth, comfortably mixing with everyone and eschewing class concerns; as a result, you became a mentor and role model for young and old people alike. You deliberately made yourself approachable and welcomed everyone, regardless of their position, into your social space. Both kings and the poor of the earth were at home with you.
You were a rare breed of Igboist and nnationalist who quietly advanced and fought for the rights of Ndigbo in Nigeria without making any noise about it. As a result, you gained the respect of both Ndigbo and non-Igbo people. You were recognised as an authentic and uncommon combination of an Igboist, a nationalist, and a statesman.
As a youth mentor, you didn’t so much opt for giving people fish as much as you preferred to give them a hook to fish. Because of your start-up financial assistance, hundreds of people are standing on their own today and becoming more financially independent and becoming employers of labour.
You were a brilliant example of Igbo potential and embodied the Ndigbo people’s tenacity and enterprise. You paved the road, and thousands have followed. Those who lived well like you did, do not die. They continue to live in their good deeds and the cherished memories they have left behind.
You strongly adhered to the major Igbo ideals, such as Igwe bu ike, Onye aghana nwanne ya, and Egbe belu ugo belu. You also believed in working hard and enjoying life. You were a devoted and knighted Catholic (KSJI) who trusted in God and his providence.
Your wife, Lady Chinyere (LSJI), on whose shoulders it now rests to continue where you left off, is someone you deeply loved and believed in as well as your six children and grandchildren. We trust God will give your family and friends the fortitude to bear your departure.
As Christians, we are not expected to mourn like people who have no hope. St. Paul admonished in 1 Thessalonians 4 v13; “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope”. Life eternal is real. You have therefore transited to a greater life, which is the destiny of mortals.
Adieu Agunaechemba Ojoto, Onwa of Oba, Dikedioranma of Aguluzoigbo, Okosisi of Nri, and Ojelu Igbo Ozi na Obosi. You lived your name to the fullest as a true defender and guardian of your people, state, and nation. Indeed you came and saw and conquered.
May the good Lord who gives rest after work grant you eternal rest. Amen.