OGUGUA CHIOKE AND THE LION

Sonnie Ekwowusi pays tribute to Chioke, a friend and professional colleague

The sudden death of Ogugua Austine Chioke hits us hard. What came flooding my memory when the sad new broke was the image of a lion and the meaning it denotes in the Bible. “Do not weep; behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath conquered to open the scroll and its seven seals” (Apocalypse 5:5). In this passage the omnipotence of Divine Good is compared to a lion. God is called a lion from the omnipotence belonging to His Divine love and the Divine truth. In other passages of the Bible, the Lord is also compared to a lion. In Hosea, it is written “they shall go after the Lord, he will roar like a lion; yea, he will roar, and the sons shall come trembling from the West....” (Hosea 11:10)

The Biblical lion, for me, is a metaphor fitting for Chioke. He was leonine in heart. He was a man of astonishing energy. It was uncommon to see a stationary Chioke. The last time I met him was about two years ago or so. No sooner had he firmly shook my hands and said, dianyi kedu, than he started blowing up my mind with a business idea that had at that time would soon blossom out into a money-spinning empire. If you were in front of Chioke, even for a second, and heard his roaring voice like the conquering lion of Judah, all fears, all timidity, all cowardice in you would have vanished. I do not think the word failure ever existed in Chioke’s dictionary. He was a big man, both in stature and in ideas. He walked big. He talked big. He dreamt big. Although he sometimes felt quiet, seemingly in recollection - only to wake up faster and roar once again like a lion pouncing upon ideas. Ogugua, unarguably, easily fits in the estimation of many as a renaissance man. There is, first and foremost, the sheer scope of Chioke’s kingdom as an intellectual. Law, Politics, Theology, Philosophy, Telecommunication, Government, Community building: Chioke roamed with confidence and authority through all territories and trajectories.

How to capture the essence of Chioke and his impact on others? I think Chioke was capable of multiplying himself. He was capable of building dens that could accommodate not only his thoughts but the thoughts of others. He was a consummate wag. He possessed a good sense of humour. He was a good story teller too; a conversationalist to the core. He had a knack for spicing up his conversations with nimble-wits and jokes that provoked laughter. Ogugua had a contagious smile capable of instilling hope in the hopeless and succour in the suffering. He was always brimming over with the sanguinity of a self-made man. He was generous, not only with his money but with his time as well. We live in an age in which unbridled hubris has been arrogated to statecraft. Anybody who by any chance feels that he or she has climbed up the professional ladder looks down on other “inferior mortals” or may even stop mingling with them. This was not the case with Chioke. Chioke cultivated friendship across the different divides. He maintained an unbroken link with his own friends. Ugo Njere recalls an incident that occurred one evening last year. He was on his way back home from office. Suddenly his phone rang. A powerful, resonant baritone voice introduced the caller as Chioke. He was calling to invite Ugo to one “joint” (not an isi-ewu “joint”) where he and his old friends had gathered to celebrate his 60th birthday. What further edified Ugo was that on sighting him departing the joint after the lavish entertainment, Chioke called him aside and insisted that he must take some snacks home for his kids.

Chioke was never inhibited by difficulties and seemingly impossible tasks. He was an optimist. He relished seeing only the positive side of things. He exuded the overweening confidence of a fulfilled man. Once in a gathering of lawyers Chioke narrated his first appearance in court. At that time he was a junior lawyer at the law firm of Chief Debo Akande (SAN) & Co., then situate at Western House, Lagos. One day Chief Akande SAN, of the blessed memory, called Chioke aside and inquired from him whether he would be capable of appearing at the Lagos High Court the next day to move a motion in an important case being handled by the law firm. Even though Chioke had never moved a motion since he was called to the bar he took up the challenge to appear in court the next day to move the motion. Seeing the confidence in his face, Chief Akande surrendered the case file to him and wished him good luck. Thereafter Ogugua sat down in chambers that evening and meticulously read up the case file. The next day he swaggered into the court room in his wig and gown. Not only did he successfully move the motion but he was able to convince the court to grant him all the prayers sought. That was quintessential Chioke, a man never inhibited by any difficulty.

I first met Chioke at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC). My vivid recollections of Chioke are of him presiding over an argument between him and his fellow students on variegated issues. He was always seen in an old Peugeot saloon car (“404”) which presumably he inherited from his Dad. During my law school attachment at the chambers of Chief A.C. Tagbo (Oil Mill Street, Lagos), Chioke was a visiting lawyer to the chambers. Austine Tagbo held Austine Chioke in high esteem. As fate would have it, I crossed the path of Chioke again at Simon Ugwu & Co. (Barristers & Solicitors, Hawley Street, Lagos). Simon Ugwu was Chioke’s classmate at UNEC as well as his bosom friend. Years afterwards Simon Ugwu perceived a higher calling and handed over his law practice to me in order to travel to Rome to study to become a Catholic Priest. Nevertheless I did not shrink from maintaining an unbroken contact with Chioke. When eventually Simon Ugwu returned to Nigeria as Rev. Fr. Simon Ugwu, our association and friendship with Chioke not only strengthened but reached its crescendo.

Undoubtedly in the death of Chioke we have lost a good man. Chioke’s eloquence on behalf of law, faith and reason will be missed. We pray that all those who loved and admired and were inspired by Chioke especially his wife, children, brothers and sisters and all his colleagues and friends may find consolation in and be strengthened by our Christian faith in our Lord’s Resurrection by virtue of which our brother will resurrect from death on the last day. Already yesterday a Service of Songs was held in honour of Ogugua at the Church of Divine Mercy, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos amidst tears. On Friday 10th August 2018 his remains will be committed to mother earth after a requiem Mass at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Obioma, Udi Local Council, Enugu State. Surely, when the remains of Chioke would be wheeled out for burial on Friday, torrents of tears shall roll down the cheeks of many upon remembering that Chioke lived a useful life. Like an inviting hearth, Chioke gathered different people into different dens of warmth, friendship, laughter, conversation and fellowship. And now, we trust and pray that he has been drawn into that great convivium; into that great bosom of Abraham where fellowship, laughter and conversation will never end.