As Chief David Umahi, the immediate past governor of Ebonyi State and current minister of works, mourns the death of Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, first civilian governor of Abia state and immediate past minister of Science and technology in Nigeria, he said, “Uburu, his home town, will miss a very peaceful man, Ebonyi, his state, will miss a very intelligent man and Nigeria his country will miss a very courageous man who was ambitious to contribute his quota to the development of the country.” Recall that both Onu and Umahi are from the same community, Uburu in Ohaozara local government of Ebonyi state.
Fielding questions from journalists on October, 11, 2024 in his ministry’s office, Mabuchi, Abuja, on Onu’s burial which comes up on November, 8, Umahi stated that Onu exhibited qualities that made the young ones like him to admire him. According to him, “I came very close to Onu when he was contesting the governor of Abia State and I came to see him as a man that was very peaceful and very intelligent.”
Umahi maintained that Onu’s qualities drew people like him close saying, “we became his followers because of the kind of qualities he possessed at a very high level of content that young ones like us could emulate. We followed him and campaigned for him for his election,” he stated.
Describing Onu as a man of very good moral, Umahi said, “he was a sound Christian with deep religious virtues and very serious attributes of a good Christian, a good father and a good husband, above all, he said, he was a national leader.” Umahi observed that Onu rose to the pinnacle of his political career from being the national chairman of the All Nigerian Peoples Party, ANPP to occupying ministerial position apart from other national attainments, he posited.
Umahi admitted that he and Onu had a very cordial political relationship at the beginning. According to him, “we were his boys, serving him as we all supported him in his first election.” He insisted that they supported him whole heartedly saying, “we were even with him during his second election against Dr. Sam Egwu, the first civilian governor of Ebonyi State.”
He however stated that he parted ways with Onu politically during the process of court litigation against Egwu as he said, “I objected to that because I saw Dr. Sam Egwu emergence as divine intervention and I saw the hand of God in his victory as the governor of Ebonyi state, I was not in support of contesting his election in court,” he stressed.
However, the political gulf with Onu widened, Umahi maintained, when it was the turn of governor Martin Elechi to take over from governor Egwu. At that point, he explained, “we moved over to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP while Onu still remained in All Peoples Party, APP.” The divergent political situation remained like that, he said, “until I became a governor of Ebonyi State but when I moved over to All Progressive Congress, APC, in 2022, Onu’s party and we became one party and began to attend meetings together, that separated union became united,” he narrated.
Whether Onu’s exit has placed a heavy burden of leadership on his shoulder particularly in his home town, Uburu and his senatorial zone at large, Umahi responded, “I believe that God who gave him to us and who equipped him with all the wisdom and grace is going to bring a replacement who will assist me to lessen the burden as one hand cannot clap.” He noted that Uburu his community will miss Onu, saying, “when I was a governor, he was a minister and it was very rare for a community to have a governor and a minister at the same time.” In conclusion, he reiterated that Uburu and the immediate family would miss Onu immensely saying, “our people are very proud to have produced two governors in a life time.”