By Willie Amadi
I spoke to Prof a few weeks after he lost his house and library to the arson that kept him miserable till he passed away. During my conversations with him I condoled with him on the sad incident but with emphasis on his library and literary works. I simply reminded him of the book by Prof. Wole Soyinka, “The Man Died” and admonished him not to die too. He said “Willie my good friend. Am I still living with my life burnt and I replied yes because those knowledge are still in your brain, whole being and also in the public space and the internet. He replied “Good man but I can’t touch or see the knowledge again” I told him that if he has a spiritual eye he will see them and he laughed and finally said “All these acquisitions and struggles are really vanity but that it was good he enjoyed the vanity before it became vanity“ We laughed and I said Prof idi very correct and he replied “Good man. Thank you for inspiring me and I will not let you down “
But Prof, you let me down. You let Ohaneze down. You let your beloved brother, Hope Uzodinma your great ally down. You let the academia down. You let the Diplomatic world down. You let IMO people down and finally dealt a devastating blow to your encyclopaedia and uterine brother UCHE down !
Your immediate family are in shock and disbelief. Prof why didn’t you depart after your August 15th 2023 birthday if you must, to afford us the last opportunity to celebrate you and bid you farewell ?
To my good friend Uche, be strong and be more focused going forward. Stop thinking of what will make Prof. happy in death. He was a happy man and a jolly good fellow with incredible sense of humour and jokes while on earth. Age was never a barrier in sharing jokes. We shared a few and he always laugh from his heart. He was fond of me and loved me and I appreciated that privilege of friendship from a literary giant. Today Ugwumba Orlu has gone home with his pride after an eventful life. His legacies will surely speak for him as we allow him rest in peace profound.
May the soul of Prof. George Obiozor and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of GOD rest in peace, Amen.
Amadi, a lawyer and Chief Technical Advisor to the Governor on Environment.
