Who is this man, Chike Ikeotuonye Nwizu?
Chike
Wilson Nwizu as he then was, was born at Nbawsi in Abia State on October 31st
1933. His father, Samson Ikeotuonye Nwizu was a Palm Produce trader from
Ndiakwu, Otolo Nnewi and his mother Christiana Nwizu nee Moghalu who hailed from Ozubulu was a successful
trader and big time baker until her death. So you can see that Chike’s business
acumen did not fall from the sky but was rather embedded in his genes.
Unfortunately both parents died young at 1959 and 1962 respectively.
Chike started his primary education
at Faith Tabernacle School Nbawsi and finshed at St. Michael’s School Aba. He
later attended Government Secondary School Owerri and on graduation in 1955, he
worked briefly with the Produce Inspection Department of the Ministry of
Agriculture of Eastern Nigeria. He worked at Onitsha and Oguta and would later
on cite this period as one of his worst because of the level of corruption
practiced there. (sadly it’s not today that bribery and corruption started in Nigeria!)
Young Wilson would often weep at work as he was threatened and intimated into
doing things against hhis conscience and faith. He was therefore filled with
gratitude to God when he able to resign and enter the Nigerian College of Arts,
Science and Technology, Ibadan (now University of Ibadan) in 1957.
He initially wanted to study
accountancy but was prevented from doing so because the practice at the time was
that you had to have some work experience in that field before you could be
admitted into the university. On the advice and recommendation of his then
principal, Mr. M. C. English, he sat for the examination of the Chartered
institute of Secretaries and Administrators. Fortunately for Chike, he obtained
the scholarship of Shell BP Company Ltd for this course and on completion of
his course in 1960, he joined Shell BP Port Harcourt as an Accountant. He later
resigned in March 1962 in protest against how Nigerians were being treated in
the company.
Chike attended London City College
where he studied Insurance and passed the final examination of the Chartered
Insurance Institute. He subsequently worked with a firm of London City Brokers
and later joined the Universal Insurance Company as Company Secretary and
Investment Manager, a post he held until 1971.
Chike has always been a crusader and
has always occupied positions of leadership and authority. In primary school he
was the class monitor, at Government College Owerri, he was Senior School
Prefect and House Captain. Also in the Nigerian College of arts, Science and
Technology, he was the President of the Students Union and Vice President of
the National Union of Nigerian Students. Perhaps if the good Lord had not
called him into ministry, he might very well have been a politician today.
On leaving Universal Insurance
Company, Chike went on to become a highly successful businessman. He
incorporated Zuloh Services Nigeria ltd and later Wemeck Building Products ltd
and Kuchen Industries ltd.
He served for several years in All
Saints Church G.R.A as Parish Treasurer, Lay Reader, People’s Warden and
Pastor’s warden. He was made a deacon in the Anglican Dicese of Enugu in 1981
and priested two years later. In January 1991, he was transferred to the
Cathedral Church of the Good Shepherd to start off the Cathedral and later that
year was made a Canon of the Cathedral. On Christmas day in 1993, he was
collated the Provost of the Cathedral, a position he held until his retirement
in October 2004. He remains thus far, the only provost of the Cathedral Church
of the Good Shepherd.
Chike always wanted to be a lawyer
but was dissuaded from studying law by his father, so in 1989, he enrolled to
study Law at the University of Nigeria Enugu Campus, which he successfully
completed with honours in 1994. Subsequently he went to the Law School in Lagos and having passed the Bar finals with
honours, was called to Bar in January 1996. All of these, while still working
as Provost of the Cathedral and President of ECCIMA! On retirement, he opened
up a law practice - Chike Nwizu and
Associates and remained active till he passed away.
As earlier mentioned, this is a brief
introduction of the man Chike Nwizu so we will not be talking about his work
with Rotary International, the Chamber of Commerce, the Church nor the many
other organizations that he has actively participated in or chaired.
Chike met the love of his life
Chiemeka Christy Odogbo in 1956 at Aba and after almost seven years of
courtship, they were married on 22nd June 1963. The marriage is
blessed with five children - Uchenna, Chidi, Kanene, Emeka and Nneka,
Unfortunately Kanene and Chukwuemeka were called home in 1993 and 1996
respectively. To borrow some lines from the tribute written by Chiemeka in 2004
during Chike’s 70th birthday/retirement thanksgiving celebration:
“Like all
couples, we had our “good times” and “bad times”, our ups and downs, our hills
and valleys. We have shared some sorrows………. However, by God’s grace, these
situations merely brought us closer to God and to each other……. And because we
have Him, He has always been at our side and been our “balm in sorrow”.
Besides, the blessings we have enjoyed have been so much that they have
mutually eclipsed the hard times. Our greatest blessing is the love God gave
us. Yes, true love goes on and on, our love will be ever new”
Chike passed away at 12:20pm on the 31st of March after a lifetime of service, tremendous faith, boundless generousity, leadership and hard work. Since his passing, we have been inundated with calls, visits and testimonies from the countless lives he touched.
Daddy you were truly larger than life and the vacuum you have left will be next to impossible to fill. You will forever be missed.