By Adesina Soyooye
President Bola Tinubu spared no word in mourning Professor Joy Ogwu, and hailed her contributions to Nigeria both at home and abroad.
Professor Ogwu, an accomplished diplomat, polished, passed on in a New York, United States of America Hospital, on Monday due to, allegedly, cancer-related ill-health. She was surrounded by family when she passed.
Ogwu, from Delta State, very patriotic, accomplished academic, had held a couple of high profile positions on behalf of her beloved Country, Nigeria, including, but not limited to: Director General, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, NIAA, Nigeria’ s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister. She succeeded Dr. Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala as the Minister for Foreign Affairs under President Olusegun Obasanjo when Okonjo-Iweala resigned from the office in protest after Obasanjo, surprisingly, reassigned her from the Ministry of Finance to the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Expressing pain and sadness over the passing of Ambassador Ogwu, Tinubu, in a statement Tuesday, signed by Bayo Onanuga, Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, described her as a trailblazer and a diplomat who projected Nigeria’s voice with clarity. He praised Ogwu for her tireless work towards global peace, disarmament and the advancement of women’s rights.
He added that by her passing, “Nigeria has lost a trailblazer who rose to the highest level of her vocation through excellence and hard work.” The President condoled with her family and wished her a peaceful rest.
A former Nigerian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Usman Sarki, remarked: “Today, we received the sad news of the passing of former Permanent Representative Professor Joy Ogwu.
“It is very sad. She was a fine woman who represented Nigeria to the best of her ability under very difficult circumstances.
“She was a very decent human being. It is very sad and very unfortunate.”
Professor Joy Uche Angela Ogwu, as pretty as a rose, was married to Dr. Alloy Ogwu, a Medical Doctor who was based in the United States most of the time. The two were so much into each other that until her husband passed a few years ago, they renewed their wedding vows, every year, in the same Church where they first wedded.
She passed at the age of 79 years.
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