By Juliet Umeh

Political Economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, on Saturday, described the death of Ohaeneze Ndigbo President-General, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, as a great loss to his community, the Igbo nation and Nigeria, stating that he was a remarkable bridge builder.

Utomi said: “Iwuanyanwu was an active citizen who bestrode several areas of human endeavor like a colossus.

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“Our paths crossed repeatedly as businessmen, alumni of the University of Nigeria and in the public sphere.

“He was a remarkable bridge builder who frequently found a path to consensus when issues widened the crack in the politics of expanding the cracks between us and them.

“As part of a small group of alumni honored as ‘ a Lion of High Achievement (ALOHA) and an even smaller group of UNN alumni celebrated by the university with Honoris Causa Doctorate degrees Chief Iwuanyanwu and I interacted frequently on issues advancing the cause of UNN.

“In business I was a consultant to ABC Merchant Bank when he was Chairman of the Board in the 1980s and helped shape his entry into Newspaper publishing.

“When Ohanaeze PG Prof George Obiozor passed on, Dr Tim Menakanya, former Health Minister called Chief John Nnia Nwodo and I to remind us that we were the youngest at the table when Ohaneze was founded in the early 1980s and we had a duty to ensure the boat stayed steady.

“We did the needful to ensure a transition through an Iwuanyanwu presidency of Ohaneze.”

Prof Utomi added: “I, therefore, had a ringside seat in observing the long impactful play of the astute engineer in public life. May his Soul rest in peace.”

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