The rumor came from social media. OMG! How? When? Where? Why? Then I remembered SooFlashy: When someone dies, what’s the essence of enquiries? The deceased reached the final bus stop and disembarked. How we manage our memories of the dear departed and prep for our own eventual exit is a better query.
It’s a rumor no more: Ayọgụta nwa Eze has left!
Our paths crossed at Enugu-USA Y2K convention in Newark, NJ. He arrived with Prof. Julius Onah on the Friday after I had left the hotel. They had cash, but a credit card was required. As the chairman, I resolved the matter with a phone call.
Senators Jim Nwobodo (Enugu East) and Fide Okolo (Enugu North) were in attendance and saturated the Saturday socialization sphere. (Hyde Ọnụagụlụchi and Ben Collins Ndụ were still dragging Enugu West in Nigerian courts.) Albeit a bee-busy day, Ayogu and I forged a relationship.
By 2001, some hoodlums abducted Ayogu and reportedly left him to die in a car trunk! He survived and stayed under the radar. Weeks later, my first question to Governor Chimaroke Nnamani in Houston, TX was how his Commissioner Ayogu Eze was doing. He was doing great. TGBTG!
By 2007, Ayogu became a senator, replacing Fide Okolo. He was the media face of NASS. His prime pivot of political power was fascinating. Like rays of the sun, he rose.
We met in Maryland, USA at the 2010 Ofuobi Enugu State Women event. We exchanged views across political and socio-cultural spectrums. One quote stuck: “Education is a great leveler.” He owed his successful status to formal education. He was preaching to the choir: We live the fact that education is the wheel of equity engine that churns the children of nonentities into big ballers.
In 2014, whispers of a gubernatorial pursuit emerged. It was a trying time for Ayogu in PDP. He stood his ground. His favorite Mandela’s quote popped up: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” He was committed to the course of service to society. He had the courage to fight and win—or lose.
He roped me into brainstorming for his 2019 gubernatorial race against the incumbent. I took his quote on education to push for free and compulsory education up to junior secondary. We crafted changes to sundry proposals. Someone wanted a stature of Jesus on Hilltop overlooking Coal City, a copy of the colossal statue of Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) at Mount Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s principal port. I deleted it. Jesus will understand: Water is better!
Early 2024, Ayogu invited me to his daughter’s wedding rites in Abuja and Lagos. His happiness oozed openly. Mid-April, I sent him a WhatsApp chat asking after his “recovery” from the fiscal and physical drain and wishing the couple marital bliss.
No response. Unusual. I let it slide: You never know with politicians! The chat remained unread until the news. Now I know why.
Ebubedike: Jee nke ọma!
MOEne, June.11.2024
@aladimma
aladimma.net 