The Anambra State government has condoled with the family of Dr Arthur
\nAgwuncha Nwankwo over the death of their patriarch.<\/p>\n
Dr Nwankwo, 77, died on Saturday at the University of Nigeria Teaching
\nHospital, Ituku Ozala, Enugu State, after a brief illness.<\/p>\n
In a statement in Awka on Sunday, the Anambra State Commissioner for
\nInformation, Mr C. Don Adinuba, described Dr Nwankwo’s passage as at
\nonce painful and glorious.<\/p>\n
“Painful because Nwankwo was one of the few people in the world who
\nshould never die”, Commissioner Adinuba stated.<\/p>\n
“Glorious because he was able to achieve so much for not just his
\ncountry but also humanity.<\/p>\n
“He was a most accomplished publisher, poet, novelist, historian,
\npolitical scientist, pan Africanist, activist and fighter for justice.<\/p>\n
“Worried about the dearth of indigenous publishing firms in Africa in
\nthe early 1970s, Dr Nwankwo, together with Dr\u00a0 Sam Ifejika, with whom he
\nco-authored a popular book on the Nigerian Civil War in 1969,
\nestablished a firm named Nwamife Publishers Ltd in Enugu, which
\npublished not only books on the war but also works by such scintillating
\nscholars as Professor Ben Nwabueze, Africa’s most influential scholar of
\nconstitutional law.<\/p>\n
“With Dr Ifejika’s relocation to Canada, Dr Nwankwo started his own
\npersonal firm, Fourth Dimension Publishers, also in Enugu, in the late
\n1980s.<\/p>\n
“Fourth Dimension published almost two thousand highly respected books
\nin various genres, ranging from fiction to literary criticism to history
\nto religion to philosophy to political science to sociology to poetry to
\nphysical and biological sciences to autobiography to law and so on.<\/p>\n
“It was, indeed, a thing of honour for scholars around Africa to be
\npublished by Fourth Dimension. And through Fourth Dimension, many
\nacademics attained the professorial rank in the universities.<\/p>\n
“The Anambra State government recognizes Dr Nwankwo as a foremost
\nfighter for social justice.<\/p>\n
He returned to Nigeria from the United States after studies at Eastern
\nMennonite College in West Virginia and Duquesne University in
\nPittsburgh, as the Nigerian political crisis was starting in the late
\n1960s. He could have returned to America or travelled elsewhere, but he
\nchose to stay with his people with all the sufferings and deprivations
\nand deaths of that era.<\/p>\n
“He was at loggerheads with different governments which saw him
\nincarcerated more than once. He was a natural member of the National
\nDemocratic Coalition (NADECO) which saw him address critical audiences
\naround the world on the Nigerian condition under the military
\ndictatorship. He was to pay a price for all this.<\/p>\n
“Dr Nwankwo was a statesman through and through.<\/p>\n
“Governor Willie Obiano thanks the Nwankwo family for keeping in touch
\nwith his government in the last few weeks of their leader.<\/p>\n
“We condole with the Nwankwo family of Ajalli in Orumba North Local
\nGovernment Area of Anambra State on the passage of this remarkable
\nwriter, publisher, social crusader and pan Africanist. May the Lord
\nreceive his soul”.<\/p>\n
Reacting also to his demise, the President, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Anambra
\nState Chapter, Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene, described Nwankwo as a brave
\nman who in his lifetime stood firm for the Igbo nation.<\/p>\n
He said: “It is a great loss to the Igbo nation. He was courageous. He
\nwas a man who stood up for whatever that is Igbo, highly principled and
\na courageous patriot.<\/p>\n
“It is very unfortunate that we should lose such a man at a time the
\nIgbo nation is looking for elders that will put Igbo in the right
\nperspective.<\/p>\n
“Arthur was a fighter, a very brave man in the likes of Gani Fawehinmi.
\nA man that did not care whose ox is gored when he is pushing a just
\ncause. Irrespective of his relationship even with the military, Arthur
\nalways stood out. He established a newspaper called ‘Outlook’… The
\npaper stood out as the voice of the Igbo nation. Is a pity we lost him.”<\/p>\n
The Anambra State government has condoled with the family of Dr Arthur Agwuncha Nwankwo over the death of their patriarch. Dr Nwankwo, 77, died on Saturday at the University of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":71571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n