The body of Nigeria’s immediate past Minister of Science and Technology, who also served as the first civilian Governor of old Abia State, Dr. Ogbonnaya Christopher Onu, has been laid to rest in his country home, Uburu in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, South-East Nigeria.
Born on December 1 1951, the late Dr. Onu was known for his humility, peaceful disposition in both public and private life, as well as a crusader for a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction during his political career.
It was the final journey of a man whose records stand tall for contributing immeasurably to the infrastructural, intellectual and political development of the South-East region of Nigeria and indeed the entire country.
The calibre of people who came from across all parts of Nigeria and beyond to pay their last respects to the late Dr. Onu at his Uburu home, attest to the fact that the deceased was indeed, a bridge builder across political divides, race and religion.
As family members, other mourners and sympathisers converged on the Christ the King Catholic Church, Uburu for solemn mass, the message of humility, peace, and togetherness was at the centre of the homily delivered by the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri, His Grace, Lucius Ugorji.
President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Works, David Umahi described the late Dr. Onu as a true progressive in political ideology, a brilliant administrator and a politician who was passionate about the development of Nigeria and the South-East region of the country.
Speaking on behalf of Governors of the South-East Zone, Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State says Dr.Onu’s contributions to national and regional growth will remain an indelible mark in the annals of Nigeria and particularly his home state of Ebonyi.
Nwifuru singled out what he called Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu’s dedication to ideals of justice, development and unity, as exceptional qualities of the academic, politician and administrator.
Accompanied by close family members and other mourners, the body was moved to his compound where it was interred after brief religious rites at the grave site.
Top Nigerian leaders including National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Abdullahi Ganduje; 2023 Labour Party Presidential candidate, Peter Obi; Enugu Governor, Peter Mbah and his Abia State colleague, Alex Otti, as well as prominent Igbo political, economic and religious leaders attended the burial event.
Christopher Ogbonnaya Onu who would have marked his 73rd birthday on December 1, 2024, before death struck, held a Doctorate in Chemical Engineering.
He was teacher, author and politician who was elected as the first civilian Governor of the old Abia State, and later served for two terms as Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
