KAN as he was fondly called by all was a very reserved, disciplined, humble, peace-loving and unassuming man. A loving father and brother and uncle, kind, compassionate, generous person who was always willing to lend financial and moral assistance to those around him.

KAN was simple by nature, an avid reader and a lover of anything intellectual. He loved soccer with so much passion and was a die-hard fan of the great English club ARSENAL. He had the heart of a King and would never hurt anyone deliberaltely. 

Margaret Thatcher said and I quote” "No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he had only had good intentions."i.e. we remember the good Samaritan because he acted out his good intentions. The same goes for our beloved Father, KAN, we will always remember because he was a GOOD MAN, a BRAVE MAN and the legacy he has left behind is forever woven in our lives.

Kalu Agwu Nnanna came from a strong christian background with his father being a Warden of the Methodist Church in the 1940's in Umuahia and Port-Harcourt and later an Elder of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, St Andrew's Parish, Abiriba.


Towards the end of his days, he established a more intimate relationship with God which he pursued with his usual zeal, studying the word of God daily and building up strength that saw him through his brief stint with ill health.


A God-fearing man indeed, he had no doubts about his saviour Jesus even till he breathed his last.     

KAN belonged to the Ojighirindu Age Grade of Abiriba which retired from active service in December 2010 and was able to contribute immensely to the development and progress of the Abiriba Community. As an active member of the Ojighirindu Age Grade of Abiriba, he identified with and participated in the developmental projects embarked upon by the age grade, some of which include the donation of 3 Peugeot cars to the 3 paramount rulers in Abiriba in 1992 to mark their age grade’s Igwamang ceremony, the building of a Community Hall at Omaghuzo Amogudu and a block of lock up shops at Amamba.

Through his involvement with the Association for the Advancement of Amamba people (ASAP), an umbrella NGO committed to the development of the community, he made notable contributions towards the building of the road linking Amamba Village to Umuhu, a neighboring community.

Kalu Agwu Nnanna got married to the Late Rose Nnanna (nee Agbai Ikema) on December 30, 1979.

The marriage was blessed with two children, Ojiugo Nnanna (of blessed memory at age 9) and Agwu Chinemerem Nnanna. In March 2007, a little girl Onyekachi was born to Kalu Agwu Nnanna.

In December 1963, upon completion of his programme in Umudike, he was posted to the Agricultural Research station in Umudike as an Agricultural Assistant in Plant Breeding Unit where he worked from January 1964 to March 1965.

In April 1965, he was employed as a Library assistant by the Eastern Nigerian Library Board and served in Enugu before being transferred to Port-Harcourt where he worked at the Divisional Library while still entertaining thoughts of furthering his education. He wrote and passed the General Certificate of Education examination in January 1966. However, the advent of the Nigeria-Biafra war caused him to return to Abiriba in 1968 before joining the Biafra war effort like all Biafran youths as at that time. At the end of the war, he resumed his job with the East Central State Library Board but left shortly to assume a higher position with the Midwestern State Library Board in Benin City.

In August 1977 after he obtained a Bachelor’s in Banking and Finance, He landed a job with the Nigeria Customs Service as a Superintendent Collector Grande II. He underwent an initial senior officer’s course at the Customs Training School, Harvey Road, Yaba which equipped him for his distinguished career in the Nigeria Customs Service. His first posting was then to Rivers State Area Command in 1978 and eventually several other commands such as Gongola, Kaduna, Katsina, Federal Operations Unit, Bauchi and Cross River.

In 1993, He was promoted to the rank of Chief Superintendent of Customs and between 1996 and 1999, was an Instructor at the Customs Training College Ikeja. While serving as Instructor, he was named into a seven-men team of the ASYCUDA Implementation Committee which carried out the computerization of the Revenue Operations nationwide in the Nigeria Customs Service between 1997 and 2001.

January 1, 1999, he was promoted to Assistant Comptroller of Customs and made ASYCUDA Area Project Manager in Rivers Area III, Onne, Port-Harcourt. Another transfer took him to Tin Can Island Port in Lagos also as ASYCUDA Area Project Manager.

In March 2004, Kalu Agwu Nnanna was uplifted to Comptroller of Customs and appointed the Customs Area Controller, Tin Can Island Area Command. In September 2004, he was redeployed to Warri as the Customs Area Controller, Edo/Delta Command. He was redeployed again in September 2005 to NCS Headquarters as Comptroller (Finance& General Purpose Committee) of the Nigeria Customs Service Board.

After a distinguished career and meritorious service that spanned 29years in the Nigeria Customs Service, He retired with honour from the Federal Public Service having reached an enviable height as a Comptroller of Customs becoming the first Abiriba indigene to attain that status.

In January 1950, young Kalu was enrolled at the Church of Scotland Mission School(CSM), Afia Nkwo, for his junior primary education. Going down memory lane, he often recounted some of those enrolled on the same day with him-Nnnanna Kalu Nnanna, Ogbu Urum, Okpan Ukaegbu, Irolo Agwu and Onwuka Okenkpa(both of blessed memory).


In 1957, Kalu passed the First School Leaving Certificate examination as well as the entrance examination that secured his admission into Enuda College. It is worthy to note that his set was the fifth set of students of the great institution which was established in 1954. As he often stated,"ENUDA COLLEGE gave me the springboard and whatever I am today was shaped and developed at Enuda."


In 1962, Kalu Agwu Nnanna passed the West African School Certificate Examination and gained admission in January 1967 into the School of Agriculture, Umudike for a year's course as an Agricultural assistant.

After a few years of work, he sought for admission in the prestigious University of Lagos  where he obtained a B.Sc degree(2nd Class Upper Division) in Banking and Finance in June 1976. Between August 1976 and 1977, he completed the mandatory NYSC programme at the Ministry of Finance headquarters in Makurdi, Benue State.  


He went on further to obtain a Master's degree in Business Administration at the University of Nigeria Nsukka between 1981 and 1983.  

The Birth of Kalu Agwu Nnanna was part of the great mystery of God in creation, and a joyous, happy moment for the family of Late Elder Agwu Nnanna Agwu and his wife Late Mrs Ojiugo Agwu Nnanna.


Kalu Agwu Nnanna was born on a beautiful sunday morning, the Holy day of our Lord, on 6th of May in the year 1945 in his hometown, Abiriba a.k.a SMALL LONDON. 


The first child of his mother in a polygamous family of about twenty-three(23) children, Kalu always said it was fun growing up im a large family as was the norm in those days. He lived some of his early days at Umulogho, Obowo, with his maternal kindred before returning back to Abiriba in December 1949.