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Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, has described the former President-General of Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo, Late Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, as an irreplaceable iroko who championed national unity, built bridges and stretched his arms of friendship across different communities in Nigeria regardless of creed and belief, particularly in troubled times.
Governor Mbah, who poured encomiums on the late Igbo leader during the Service of Songs and Tributes held in honour of his memory on Saturday in Enugu, said the grief evoked by his death would hardly be mitigated by time.
While insisting that despite being candid and unpretentious in his view about burning national issues, Chief Iwuanyanwu was a patriotic Nigerian who discouraged divisiveness, ethnic coloration and spoke for every Nigerian, he was always on the side of truth and justice.
He said, “Chief Iwuanyanwu was a quintessential statesman, an icon, pan-Nigerian, national colossus, and absolute patriot, who devoted his life to the pursuit of peace and progress of Ndi Igbo and Nigeria.
While sharing his personal encounter with the late sage, Governor Mbah, said the impression he was left with at the death of Dr. Iwuanyanwu was that he was a lover of the Igbo people with strong devotion for the Nigerian project.
Governor Mbah recalled how the late Ohanaeze leader visited him a number of occasions to seek his advice on the posthumous project of honouring past Igbo sons and daughters who had distinguished themselves and impacted on the development and transformation of the Igbo society.
He equally extolled him as a man ahead of his time and for embodying the true spirit of the Igbo people through his entrepreneurship legacies which laid the foundation for many Igbo youths to excel in their careers.
The governor, while calling for the immortalization of Dr. Iwuanyanwu for the meaningful life and uncommon legacies left behind by him, expressed optimism that by imbibing the values that defined his life, his memory will be preserved.
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