MY HEARTFELT TRIBUTE TO SEN. PATRICK IFEANYI UBA, CON (EBUBECHUKWUZO NNEWI)

.....How I met Senator Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah physically just once and how he called me for the very first and last time from London a day to his transition to glory, to commend me for speaking the truth about his grouse against APGA, in my series ‘Who Wants APGA Dead?’

By Nnanna Nzewi 

Senator Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah hails from Umuanuka, Otolo Nnewi, where my mother’s younger sister,  Aunty Amaka Onyejegbu (Née NwokedikeAbubor Nnewichi) married into.

 Again, my grandfather's maternal home is in Otolo and the Otolo people stood with their sister(my grandfather's mother) and sent hefty men to guide her until my grandfather, Nzewi Ebunie was born in 1910, because his father died before his birth without any child before him and his cousin brother already wanted to take his inheritance. These and more were why any Otolo man or woman is deemed special in my immediate and extended Nzewi family, Umuogboo, Obiofia,  N̈newi-Ichi, Nnewi. We are also known as Obele nwa Nnewi and Obiofia Obi na mmiri agụ.

 Time won't permit me to talk about the roles Ekenedilichukwu, Izuchukwu and other Otolo Nnewi wealthy men based in Onitsha in the 80s played in supporting my Dad emergence as the President of Nnewi improvement union, Onitsha branch in the 80s.

I met Senator Ifeanyi Uba once in his Abuja residence when I visited the National Assembly to hustle for rice contracts for our rice mill in June 2024. This meeting was facilitated by a Priest that has been buying rice and beans in bulk from us  since 2021, and Sen Ubah quickly saved my name with Nnanna nwannem, even though we never agreed politically nor have ever been in the same political party.

I remembered vividly, his first word when he met me saying, "Nnanna nwannem, you're from Nnewi yet you join others to cast political aspersions on me in the media, odughụ wụ mma nwannem", he concluded.

Ebubechukwuzo now summoned his special advier on strategic communication, Kamen, Owelle Mbaso, and Dr Justin Nwankwo to the table and turned to Kamen and declared, ‘Kamen ụnụ wụ  Ndi media and ụnụ ma onwe ụnụ. I don’t want to encroach into your territory, but what do you know about Nnanna Nwannem?’  Kamen, in all fairness, said that Nnanna writes with tact and wisdom and that I was instrumental to calling him and elder Chris McCool to order during Ubah and Azubogu Senatorial contest. 

I was the one who insisted on free and fair primary, which led to the emergence of Rep Chris Azubogu as APGA, Anambra South senatorial candidate in the last election. Kamen also quips that I'm Chief Victor Oye's media aide and founder of APGA new media.

Of course Owelle Mbaso, the first APGA chieftain i served when i was given political appointment by former Governor Willie Obiano,  an honour that was facilitated by the duo of Hon Benjamin Obidigwe and Ochiagha Ifeanyi Ibezi in 2014.

However, I have not been in talking terms with Owelle,  the political spin doctor since he started APGA aggrieved, surprisingly gave a wonderful review about my person, according to Hon Mbaso, Nnanna is a good guy, "it was i, Owelle Mbaso who introduced Nnanna to Chief Victor Oye, the national chairman of APGA and also to ABC transport boss, whom Nnanna worked for during 2018 imo governorship primaries, and I recommended him to Abc boss to use Nzewi  to set up his grassroots media propagation which turned out the best in Imo state ,and finally Nnanna was appointed as head of Abc transport boss  media campaign, when Mr Frank Nneji, the MD of Abc transport contested for Governorship in Imo where him and other aspirants were duped without APGA conducting genuine primary election, Owelle enthused,  though Nnanna has remained committed to APGA"

In his own assessment of my activities on social media , Dr Justin Nwankwo, who a legislative aide to the Senator said that I am his fraternal brother having met me as a social crusader in socialmedia, that i lent my voice strongly when Bonaventure Mokwe-Dikeh hotel and his image were framed up and Upper Class Hotel where himself Justin was the manager as a PhD student then,  was erroneously destroyed and detained illegally in SARS dungeon during the Peter Obi administration, they were later discharged and acquitted and the land restored back though without  compensation, after Fmr Governor Peter Obi found out the truth  about the human skull that was supposedly found in the hotel was actually planted by some Onitsha natives who where having land issues with Obiridike aka na ana na Umuchu at Mokwe park , Ose that was duly purchased by Chief Mokwes Father from old Onitsha natives about 50 years ago or thereabout. 

I left his residence that day with a N500,000 dinner stipend as he called it, because his house was filled with all manner of personalities of  ndi Anambra and other Nigerians from all works of  life sitting differently in the about six different sitting rooms in his palatial mansion in Abuja,  some where political players from diverse political parties,  you can think about, others are professionals who cam with bulky cvs seeking for his intervention to get one federal appointment or another.  There are  also contractors,  infact I became friends with one of Lebanese contractors who came seeking for his help to land contracts in FCT and by extension in Anambra state, another set of people with hefty security convoys were  Nigerians based in the USA who wanted to play big in the Nigerian downsteam sector of the economy. These he told me was how he has been living in the past 20 years of his involvement in Nigerian politics and business.

Ebubechukwuzo talked about Ikechukwu Emeka Onyia whom he described as the young man who exposed him to social by mobilising over 500 social media influencers to write for Sen Ubah and also gave him massive visibility on social media.

Again, he told me my colleague and SSA Media to Governor Soludo, who is still his boy, who now writes ills against him and yet do come back to ask for financial help from him and he usually gladly gifts him because he sees him as his son. 

He also pleaded that i arrange a reconcilatory meeting between him and  Hon Chris Chris Emeka Azubogu, his Nnewi brother and former political ally whom he contested against in the last senatorial election, and I went further to quip that he needed to make enduring peace with our  Nnewi other big men like Cletus Ibeto and Ifediaso innoson and his senior brother, Gabros which he concured to.

He invited me to the National Assembly the next day for us to acclimatise as he put it  and he took me round the National Assembly and obliged me to rode in his car with him together at the owners seat , he also insisted i join him in his downstream committee meeting which he chairs in observer status and he took pictures with me. I met Sen Tony Nwoye in his office, the Senate President and also HE Nyesom Wike, where we joined them to commission roads in FCT among so many other Senators from North, West and East , including Senator Chukwu of Labour party. 

 Earlier on our flight to Abuja  I met Hon Paschal Agbodike, representing Ihiala Federal Constituency, who quickly made a transfer of N200,000 for my hotel reservation, thanking me for insisting on free and fair election during his primaries, without demanding for bribe from him before and after the primary elections as the manner of some are in our great party, APGA. 

That was why when I released the series on ‘Who wants APGA Dead’ (see links below to the last two editions here”  

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/ebLzMFsDME5Z8pDc/?mibextid=oFDknk

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/q6RnFePnB8CZVPg4/?mibextid=oFDknk

Senator Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah  media aide Kamen drew his attention to it on Thursday before he died on Saturday, and on Friday while I was buying Fidelity Bank shares,  he called me around 3pm on WhatsApp call and that was the first and last conversation I ever had with him on phone.  Over the phone, Senator Uba thanked me for bodly speaking the truth about what APGA did to him, he also told me that ndi Nnewi whose son, Ikemba Ojukwu was the eternal image of APGA had never  been treated fairly by APGA save during the time of Peter Obi, with an emphasis that if they don't call for general reconcilatory meeting as i proposed in my articles, then, “na agam na-agbanyere ụnụ film steadily na APGA”, and that he will be  contesting governorship election again to prove a point to ndi APGA that they  can not stop his shine politically. 

Ebubechukwuzo inquired about my mini rice mill, promising to patronise me massively going forward and also asked that I send my account details to support my share buying.   Instantly, I received 1m naira from him and I shouted at the banking hall and Odegba, President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Anambra State who was also buying shares with me saw the alert and I quickly converted the #50,000 unit I was buying to 100,000 units amounting to N975,000, and then gifted all bankers around and people around 10k each amounting to about 100k.

Senator Ubah promised to come back on Sunday from Uk after his son's celebration and that he will also like to meet my father, who I mentioned in my essay, that he was a foundational member of APGA who came into APGA with Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Senator Victor Umeh, Peter Obi, at the behest of Chief  Chekwas Okorie, the founding chairman of APGA and Chief Edozie Njoku, the first southeast national vice chairman of APGA,  amongst others.

 That's how I put a call to my Dad and narrated Ubah’s benevolence even when we are APGA through and through and his promised visit to him when he comes back from the Uk.

Ụmụnnem, You can now all see why my Dad cried the next day with me, when the news of his death was confirmed and placed the embargo on me from contesting elections, except it was by consensus and appointment. According to him, 'ndokasi na betrayals politics killed our Nnewi finest political export.'

In my honest assessment, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah lived for the people who loved and identified with him and gifted billions of naira to friends and foes alike who are contesting for one position or another.

 Again, he has grace for presidential favour because right from Congo Zaire to his coming back to Nigeria, he has been a close ally to all  presidents, includingthe incumbent,  Den Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, a rare and uncommon favour bestowed upon him by divinity. He also lives in social media and enjoins trending, whether it be  for good and bad news.  He is also passionate about Nnewi North, Nnewi South and Ekwusigo, Ihiala, as well as Orumba North and South, which he believed are his people. 

The one hour I stayed with him in house that fateful day made me realise that most Igbo big businessmen and politicians alike that matters had either business or political dealings with him at some point, irrespective of political lining. 

He also confessed to me that some elements within APC from the Southeast dislike him, being jealous of his closeness to the presidency more than them all put together. He also revealed to me that a prominent female ally of his, whom I met that same day in his house, seems to be playing a double role and working for his opponents within Southeast APC, but that they will iron it out that day. According to him, ‘anyi kọcha ọnụ fụndụ a, na abania, anyi erie nni ma dozie, mana anyi ga agwa onwe anyi eziokwu, he concluded’.

Ebubechukwuzo Nnewi,  my mum died at 53, but she lived an impactful life. Jesus, our Lord died at 33, and we are still worshipping him to date! Alexander the Great died in his 30s after conquering his world then.

That you passed on at 52 means you have fought a good fight and has finished your assignment on earth and in the consoling  words of my political leader, Chief Victor Ike Oye, immediate past national chairman of APGA over your death to me few nights ago, he said and i quote, “even though that death is inevitable and life is ephemeral, quite all right, but God created us out of his propitious love to enjoy life to the full. And at the end of it all, we go back to him in a blaze of glory. Truly, it amuses me when people cry over the passage of a close relation - something that is inevitable. That's why we are demanded to lead life with dignity, altruism, and candour so that when the bell tolls, we shall not be found wanting. I lost my mother on October 3, 1975; my father, December 18, 1976; my elder sister, October 21, 1988; another elder sister, June 28, 1999; yet another sister, September 8, 2001; a younger brother, May 25, 2009; and my daughter, July 12, 2019. Did these deaths make the world not to go round? Rather, it seems as if it rotates faster than usual. Take life easy, my brother. Bear no grudges or plan evil against anybody. After all, all the struggles of life are nothing but vanity. I urge you to remain focused, equitable, and just in your dealings with people. Above all, fear God and love your neighbour as yourself. Stick to these principles and observance, and you will have nothing to fear. As for your dad's advice: Leave everything for God to decide because "A gaghi eji mgbagbu ghara ogu." Ndewo" ~  Victor Oye  

I am fine now and won't mourn again. Rather, I will celebrate your life well-spent as a political colossus and a lifter of many men from obscurity to limelight. 

Jee Nkeoma,  Ebubechukwuzo Nnewi,  Ikemba Igbo niine , ara na azụ ụmụ, Karisia karisia.

Your Nnewi younger brother, 

Nnanna Nzewi (Otabili-Onyenwanneya na Ifitedunu)

Special assistant on media to Governor Chukwuma Soludo.

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