June 30, 2016
“He fell ill aboard a flight from Dubai and he was rushed to the hospital as
soon as the plane landed in Abuja, but he died before doctors could do much,” the
associate said.
He was not able to provide additional details on the death of the statesman as he was over-taken by his emotions and broke down crying on the phone.
Maduekwe was recently appointed to the PDP Board of Trustees as the secretary.
The PDP BoT Chairman, Alhaji Walid Jibrin who spoke to newsmen from Saudi Arabia said the late Maduekwe died when his services were needed most.
“I was waiting for him to come back from U.S. where he travelled to so that we can find a way of addressing the problems in the party. He was a good man and an intelligent person, who can always find a way out of situations”, he said.
“The party will mourn him. We have lost a great man. I would have loved to come back immediately, but we have started the process already, but I will devote my time here in Saudi Arabia to pray for his family,” he said.
Chief Ojo Maduekwe was born on May 6, 1945 and died on June 29, 2016.
Apart from being a former minister and a party chieftain, available information on his bio-data was sketchy at the time of this publication.
By Ijendu Iheaka
A popular Nigerian author, Capt. Elechi Amadi, died
on Wednesday, June 29, 2016 in his home town of Aluu in River State, Nigeria
where he had lived all his life.
Amadi died at the age of 82 years at about 3:15 pm
following a week’s illness.
A close confidant to the late author said that the
deceased had earlier been scheduled for Wednesday’s annual book reading
programme in Port Harcourt by Total Exploration and Production.
However, Amadi could not make it to the even at which
his wife, Preye represented him.
Newsmen in Port Harcourt heard that the state
government had made plans to move the sick Amadi overseas for better medical
treatment before his death.
Amadi was born on May 12, 1934 in Aluu, Ikwere Local
Government Area of Rivers State. He attended Government College, Umuahia from 1948
– 1952 and Survey School, Oyo from 1953- 1954.
He later attended University of Ibadan from 1955 –
1959 from which he obtained a degree in Physics and Mathematics.
He worked as a surveyor and later became a teacher,
a position which took him to several schools including the Nigerian Military School,
Zaria where he taught from 1963- 1966.
He later joined the Nigerian Army and served in the Army
all through the period of the Nigerian Civil war but later retired at the rank
of a captain.
Amadi in 1973 became a Permanent Secretary in Rivers
State from 1973 – 1983, a Commissioner for Education from 1987 – 1988 and a Commissioner
for Lands and Housing from 1989 – 1990.
His close associate said that Amadi’s remains had
been taken to the Ashes-to-Ashes Morgue in Port Harcourt.
The late literary icon authored famous books in the
category of novels, plays, poems and essays. His novels include The Concubine (1966),
The Great Ponds (1969), Sunset in Biafra (1973), The Slave (1978), and
Estrangement (1986).
His plays are Isiburu (1973), Peppersoup and The
road (1977), Dancer of Johannesburg (1978), The Woman of Calabar (2002), and Collected
Plays (2004)
Amadi essays and poems were published under the
titles, Ethics in Nigerian Culture (1982) and Speaking and Singing (2003).
Meanwhile, Chief Nyesom Wike, the Rivers State
governor has expressed sadness over the death of Captain Elechi Amadi, rtd.,
describing his passage as a great loss to Nigeria.
Wike in a condolence message to Amadi’s family,
Rivers State citizens and Nigerians said that Amadi’s contributions to the
nation’s development were outstanding.
He said that the late authors works promoted Rivers
State, the Niger Delta and the Country hence he would be celebrated by the
state and all lovers of literature nationwide.
The governor prayed to God to grant his family the strength
to bear the irreparable loss adding that his achievements in different spheres
of national life will always be remembered.
Later, same Wednesday, the death of a former
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Ojo
Maduekwe was announced.
Maduekwe who is from Asaga, Ohafia Local Government
Area of Abia State died at about 7 pm in a hospital in Abuja at age 71.
A close associate of the former minister told
newsmen that Maduekwe was returning to Nigeria from the United State of America
via Dubai when he became ill.
He was not able to provide additional details on the death of the statesman as he was over-taken by his emotions and broke down crying on the phone.
Maduekwe was recently appointed to the PDP Board of Trustees as the secretary.
The PDP BoT Chairman, Alhaji Walid Jibrin who spoke to newsmen from Saudi Arabia said the late Maduekwe died when his services were needed most.
“I was waiting for him to come back from U.S. where he travelled to so that we can find a way of addressing the problems in the party. He was a good man and an intelligent person, who can always find a way out of situations”, he said.
“The party will mourn him. We have lost a great man. I would have loved to come back immediately, but we have started the process already, but I will devote my time here in Saudi Arabia to pray for his family,” he said.
Chief Ojo Maduekwe was born on May 6, 1945 and died on June 29, 2016.
Apart from being a former minister and a party chieftain, available information on his bio-data was sketchy at the time of this publication.
