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THE MAN CALLED AMBROSE

The Man Called Ambrose: Hon. A.C.Mezu (1935- 2008)

Dr. Rose Ure Mezu

At 12.30 a.m. on Sunday, January 6, 2008, Feast of the Epiphany, barely into the New Year, Hon. Ambrose Chukwudi Mezu passed away. It was not just the shock that Ambu (as family members and friends called him) is no more but it was the crystal clear, irrevocable finality of death that struck an unmistakable chord in my heart and brain.

So many memories abound of the man called Ambrose – flamboyant, fun-loving, classily fashionable, grandiloquent, loquacious even, but intrepidly courageous and brutally honest.

Every time death of a loved one occurs, you think you have learnt something, that somehow through the frequent commonality of death, you are immune from the shock of it, but each time, the startling surprise persists. Truly, as we swagger and bluster through our earthly odyssey, when will we learn to take most seriously the words of our dear the Lord and Savior Jesus: “you neither know the time nor the place!” His physical self, the breathing, living Hon. A. C. Mezu had ceased to bestride the Earth like the colossus he was. From now on, this fallen Iroko would only live through his achievements, his acts and through the children and progeny he left behind. From now on, flashes of the man called Ambrose, his gait when he was hale and hearty, his boisterous laugh, his gestures would come alive only through our rememories – imaginatively recalled memories. And what a complex man he was! So many memories abound of the man called Ambrose – flamboyant, fun-loving, classily fashionable, grandiloquent, loquacious even, but intrepidly courageous and brutally honest. No doubt, others will write and speak volumes about him for sometime to come; other aspects of his multi-faceted life will come to light, no doubt, but I wish to dwell on some vital qualities of this brother-in-law of mine called Ambrose, aspects of his life involving acts, gestures, and words significant to me, more especially in those last weeks of his life on earth.

To God and Ambu, I owe the gift of Sebastian, my chum and partner in life. Ambu often visited my home in Port Harcourt and wrote back to Sebastian most positive recommendation to proceed and thus the unexpected congratulatory telegram. Over the years, through the quiet rhythm, excitement and sometimes turbulence of settling into my newly acquired family, Ambu and I became friends. I found him impetuous, but very fair-minded, bombastic, even but truthful in his judgments. He could be passionately infuriating, for instance, I always had issues with him for what I perceived to be a misogynist attitude towards women, yet we could disagree without lingering rancor, and still remain good friends because he had that quality which is most desirable in human relational skills – a good sense of humor; he could laugh uproariously, crack jokes and tell stories, even if at times he stretched the truth a little.

Hon. A.C. Mezu was given to grand gestures. He was magnificently generous in matters of the heart, at least, to the public at large. When my first-born son Obinna Julian, three months old and brought home from America, was dying of meningitis at Aba General Hospital under the care of the beloved, late Dr. Ochia Nwankwo of Umuahia, and Sebastian was no match for his son, Ambu willingly volunteered, was tested and found to be a match, Ambrose donated his blood and my son was saved. We were later to lose Obinna at 17 months but for always, I would be grateful for that saving gesture. Truly, he had a human (e) heart. He wept inconsolably when his father, Papa Clement and junior brother Cosmas died. Tears did not make him less a man but rather re-affirmed the humaneness of the man. Thus, it is easy to believe that Ambrose could put himself in harm’s way for the sake of those he loved. And so he could never understand, nor tolerate stinginess, or what I call “chikpoedness” in others. As St. Paul said, “charity covers a multitude of sins” and so for his many sins, I know that this God we serve, who through the Lord Jesus proclaimed to St. Faustina that He is the Divine Mercy would consider the great generosity of Ambrose, his love and compassion for kith and kin and for others not his kin, and have mercy on his soul. Perhaps, it was for such acts as these that through Sebastian for whose son Obinna, Ambu was willing to shed his blood, that God showed him mercy and gave him the great gift of a prepared Catholic Christian death through the reception of the sacrament of Final Anointing – Extreme unction. Once admitted to Holy Rosary Hospital Emekuku on the evening of January 4^th, I telephoned to have a priest sent to him while Ambu still lingered on, but Sebastian already had the prescience to call a priest who prayed over, and anointed him. It is my belief that divine light already shines on him because in life Ambrose loved others, championed the cause of the oppressed poor, visited the sick and dying, and willingly gave to others in need: “Lord, when did I see you hungry and not feed you, naked and not clothe you, or sick and not visit you?” And the Divine Master’s reply will always be: “as often as you do this to the least of my brethren, that you do unto Me.”

Our Christ walks the earth wearing the many faces of poverty, oppression and wretchedness. At such a time as this, perhaps, we who have been given a little more time should do well to remember that kindness and compassion may perhaps count more with Our Lord than daily, mechanical Church attendance. It is not the ritual but the heart. A personal responsibility towards the needy and suffering around us rests with each individual – in our homes, in our community, and in Church programs. Abu Bakir – a non-believer but a great humanist – one night, saw in his dream an angel writing on the wall. “What are you writing?” Abu Bakir asked. “The names of those who love God,” the angel replied. Abu Bakir asked, “Please, see if my name is among those.” “No,” replied the angel. The next night, Abu Bakir had the same dream, and again asked the angel the same question, “What is it you are writing this time?” he asked. This time, replied the angel, “the names of those whom God loves.” “Please angel, see if my name is there?” Abu Bakir humbly asked. And lo! the angel replied, “Yours is the first name on the list.” Abu Bakir loved and helped his fellow human beings. The saintly John Paul II wrote about the Love and Responsibility (1960) to which each of us owes the other. Hon. Ambrose C. Mezu personally fulfilled his own evangelizing ministry to the poor, sick and oppressed. In the last six years, even though sick and partially disabled, he visited those sicker than he was. By all accounts, he is universally acclaimed as a peoples’ man. He had love for others, and that has got to count with our divine and merciful Lord.

A great Socratic maxim says, “count no man fortunate until you see his end.” Indeed, Ambu’s end is fortunate. He knew that Sebastian and I were going away and within three days before our travel, he died, which we interpreted as a mandate to stay and see him buried honorably. He died surrounded by family and many in his larger family. He did not have to bury his own children. He discharged his familial responsibilities and his children are all grown. He reached to the height of his professional career in M.D.S. of U.A.C. Dr. Sebastian Okechukwu Mezu brought Ambrose into politics and thereafter, Ambu became a masterful and astute politician who never lost an electoral fight. Contemporaneously, while I was serving as the Hon. Commissioner for Social Welfare, the first woman to do so for the greater Imo State under Mbakwe’s civilian administration (1979-83), Ambrose was the first Hon. Member in the old Imo House of Assembly, representing creditably the Owerri North East Constituency. All of us worked smoothly together to ensure amenities and government patronage for the people. Years later, as Special Adviser on Chieftaincy and Local Government in Gov. Udenwa’s first Administration, Ambu restructured the political map of many communities, including his own. . Until his death, at all levels, he was a political force to be reckoned with. If as St. Paul and the great St. Augustine declare, we are to be saved only by grace “because we are not under the law, but under grace (Romans 6:14), then Ambrose C. Mezu stands a good chance. Sometimes, we misguidedly seek love and security in earthly beings and things, whereas our journey through life is only a search for God, who is the sum total of the Highest Good, who is most Excellent, most Radiant and Resplendent. Towards the end of his life, frustrated by the inadequacy and stinginess of human love which in life he desired so ardently, Ambu, at the end must have realized, as we also before the end must come to understand, just as the erstwhile great sinner St. Augustine had understood and therefore declared, “I sought for You [God] outside, while all the time YOU were within me. . . Late have I loved You, O beauty, so Ancient yet so New!. . . You have made us for Yourself, Oh, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You!” (The Confessions 1). Only the God of grace and mercy can satisfy our restless hearts at the end of our earthly odyssey, “the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were” (Romans 4: 17).

On a personal note, it gives me unbounded joy to know that my husband Sebastian, our first son and I were around during the last few weeks of Ambu’s life. He spent a lot of time with us. For some inexplicable reason, moved with tenderness because of his many frustrations, wanting to do something to make him happy, I told him I wanted to cook for him; and to the question as to what he would like, he replied, “Vegetable soup.” So it was that on the eve of Christmas, I prepared what my father-in-law, Papa Clement would normally called “Ntagbu Agbishi. – a delicious soup with all the accoutrements and brought to him. No doubt, Ambu had enjoyed it for he was said to have remarked that this was his Last Supper. Our presence this Christmas period brought a lot of joy into his life. Driving himself, Ambu visited often, and in his characteristic style, spoke openly about many things. Perhaps, had I been in a more mystical mode, I would have read more meaning into the manner of burial he told me to remember that he wanted. Unwilling to dwell on the morbid, I brushed aside his words about death and burial with jokes about new technologies that would enable people to live forever. Was he aware that his crossing over was imminent? Who knows! But certainly, from his spirit-being, there must have been a consciousness of approaching death which his physical consciousness did not grasp, although his random words proclaimed that death was at hand. But who can decipher the workings of the Spirit? Who knows the inscrutable mind of our God?

Ultimately, there was a certain grace and honor that were part of the essence of the man called Ambrose. He was happy that my eldest son was doing his wine -carrying ceremonies. He accompanied us to the Mmi Ukwu ceremonies. He approved of Okechukwu Jr.’s choice of bride. Graciously, Ambu gave us time to complete the ceremonies without any distracting, tragic drama. For this, we are grateful to the inner spirit of the man called Ambrose. Because Ambu loved a good dramatic story, he laughed hilariously over the new Imo State Governor’s epic, legal fight with the Okada group of drivers, as told to me by a driver. Until then, he had not heard the story. At heart a story teller, Ambu laughed easily and he could also make you laugh. Whoever can tell humorous stories and is able to make people laugh has a good heart, and Ambrose Chukwudi Mezu had one. In passionate debates, he would thump his chest and loudly declare: “Ambrose Mezu, I am a Man! Indeed, by all standards, Ambu was a man’s man.

Our journey on earth is bound to come to an end one day. On January 6, 2008, for the Man called Ambrose, his time was up. As Pope Paul VI lay dying, he called the earth, “a magnificent but sad and tragic world.” Magnificent world, yes indeed! because it is the handiwork of our Good God; a sad and tragic world, yes! but we humans make it so because we refuse to be kind, to follow the principle of do unto others as we would like to have done unto us. Perhaps, with the passing of the Man called Ambrose, we here today will learn to have a heart that beats with care for others. That is the core of Christianity – love towards others:

“You ask me a method of attaining perfection. I know of Love – and only Love. Love can do all things . . . Love is repaid by Love alone and sacrifice.”

– St. Therese of Lisieux.

Dr. Rose Ure Mezu

Mezuville, Emekuku

Friday, January 11, 2008.

AMBROSE CHUKWUDI MEZU

HON. A. C. MEZU
(October 7, 1935 – January 5, 2008)
by
Dr. S. Okechukwu Mezu

             Hon. Ambrose Chukwudi Mezu (popularly known as AC) was born on October 7, 1935 by Clement Ugwuezuonu Mezu and Rose Nlemdiuwaoma Mezu nee Akuta who were married a year earlier and Mr Clement Mezu was then the headmaster at Imerienwe Central School. A precocious and brilliant student, Ambrose Chukwudi Mezu attended elementary school at Christ the King School (CKS) Amaimo in Ikeduru and later at Our Lady’s School, Emekuku, before proceeding to St. Patrick’s College, Ikot-Ansa, Calabar for his secondary education.

             He was the first of the eleven children of Rose Nlem and Clement Mezu (seven boys and four girls, namely Hon. Ambrose Mezu, Engr. Leo A. Mezu, Dr. S. Okechukwu Mezu, Mrs Patricia Ishiguzo, Mrs Christiana Okwu, Mrs Bibiana Chukwu, Miss Stella Mezu, Mr. Augustine Mezu, Mr. Onyewuchi Charles Mezu, Mr. Cosmas Chiaka Mezu, Mr. John Mezu. With his meager teaching income and her earnings from sewing our Pa Clement Mezu and his wife Rose Nlem Mezu virtually labored to give each one of their children the best of education.

             Unlike his school mates on graduation from St.Patrick’s College, Calabar, in 1955, he bluntly refused to go to a Teacher Training College and joined the Shell BP Development Company. He was later posted to Umumasi, Port-Harcourt. He would eventually work for the Nigerian Ports Authority. Restless and determined to make something of his life, he decided against family fears and worries to proceed to London, England in 1961 to study at the Institute of Transport, Univeristy of London with just enough money to cover his transportation and very little else. His younger brother, Engr. Leo Mezu sold his motor cycle to help complete the transport fair to London. The three eldest Clement Mezu children - Ambrose, Leo and Sebastian - worked together.

A. C. Mezu was scrupulously honest like his father, Clement Ugwuezuonu Mezu and like him disliked injustice. A. C. Mezu easily flares up in the face of injustice but his kind and generous spirit quickly dissipates this anger in minutes.

             Fortunately within a month of Hon. A. C. Mezu’s departure for London, Dr. S. Okechukwu Mezu obtained a fully paid US Government Scholarship to Georgetown University, Washington D.C. and shared his monthly stipend with his brother in London. Together, they worked hard and brought their brother Engr. Leo Mezu to London to study Telecomms Engineering.

             A. C. Mezu was scrupulously honest like his father, Clement Ugwuezuonu Mezu and like him disliked injustice. A. C. Mezu easily flares up in the face of injustice but his kind and generous spirit quickly dissipates this anger in minutes. A great instance of his honesty was in Ibadan, Nigeria before the 1967 civil war. He was the Manger of MDS ( Manufacturers Deliveries Services) a division of UAC (Nigeria) Limited. He was the only African Staff and Manager entrusted with the information by the expatriate management that within one week UAC would now require money deposits for beer and beverage empties. A simple columnar entry would have made him an instant multi-millionaire. He chose willingly to be honest. He was trusted and respected by all. There were millions of crates all over Nigeria under his control. He was scrupulous, he was meticulous, he was honest. He quietly received all the empties and crates into his various MDS depots all over Nigeria before the appointed Friday, inventoried and locked them up and by Monday, the Nigerian beer market was stunned with the news that there would from then be deposits for empties and crates and refunds for returns thereof. He was posted as regional manager wherever the company experienced losses and incessant fraud which A. C. Mezu fearlessly eradicated and straightened out with dispatch – Midwest Region, Northern Region and Eastern Nigeria.

             When the Nigeria-Biafra War broke out, the three eldest in the Clement Mezu family were abroad, Ambrose in London undergoing a UAC Senior Management Course, Leo in Nottingham, England as a Telecomms Engineer, and Sebastian Okechukwu at the Universite de la Sorbonne completing his Doctoral dissertation for a Ph.D from The Johns Hopkins University. Hon. Mezu’s wife, Beatrice nee Onwuemenyi, whom he married in 1964 was also a Nursing Sister in London. Nigeria blockaded Biafra. The family abroad discussed and Hon. Ambrose Mezu elected to travel back to Biafra via Paris and Douala, Cameroun. Then co-director of the Biafran Office in Paris, Dr. Okechukwu Mezu arranged his flight home in the company of six Nigerian fighter pilots of Biafra origin trained in Germany. From the Camerouns, he made the tortuous one week journey through the creeks of Bakassi to Calabar and home to Owerri. Hon. Ambrose Mezu was always courageous in the face of extreme difficulties. His presence at home during the Nigeria-Biafran war (1967 – 1970) meant a lot to the greater family and relations.

Prominent sons and daughters of Emekuku and beyond camped and were fed in his sprawling estate. Many slept on the floor of his living room. Hundreds were immediately given employment as managers, clerks, executive officers, drivers, plant, forklift and loader operators, cargo handlers, security officers and gate men in various UAC depots across the country. He helped rehabilitate as distributors most of the major beer marketers, supermarket operators in Aba, Owerri, Enugu, Umuahia, Benin and beyond.

             At the end of the civil war in 1970, UAC Nigeria Limited sought for him and rehabilitated him, brought him to Lagos immediately and quartered him at the Mainland Hotel and eventually posted him to Aba to revive the Company’s operations in the Eastern Nigeria and the Midwest and assigned to him immediately the luxurious Margaret Avenue extensive colonial estate which Hon. A. C. Mezu eventually bought. He would later build an additional storeyed Guest House on the property. Prominent sons and daughters of Emekuku and beyond camped and were fed in his sprawling estate. Many slept on the floor of his living room. Hundreds were immediately given employment as managers, clerks, executive officers, drivers, plant, forklift and loader operators, cargo handlers, security officers and gate men in various UAC depots across the country. He helped rehabilitate as distributors most of the major beer marketers, supermarket operators in Aba, Owerri, Enugu, Umuahia, Benin and beyond.

             He set up Stonehard Construction Company, large scale poultry farm, and cold storage facilities for frozen chicken and fish to create employment for others. Around 1978, Hon. A. C. Mezu was invited to Lagos to head the operations of the entire MDS division of UAC. This also coincided with the advent of the Second Republic. As Secretary of NPP, his younger brother, Dr. S. Okechukwu Mezu, needed a strong candidate from around Emekuku for the Owerri Northeast Constituency seat in the Imo State House of Assembly seat. The only candidate from Egbu that showed up did not meet party requirements and expectations. Godwin Nwankwerre was the GNPP candidate, D. C. Opara was the NPN candidate and Mrs Oparannadi of Azaraegbelu was the Action Group candidate. It took some time to convince Hon. A. C. Mezu to resign from a lucrative career with UAC and to face the uncertainties of a tough fight for the Assembly seat. On the final day for the nomination which took place at the house of Mr. Oleru at Egbu, Hon. A C. Mezu finally made up his mind. There was a big sigh of relief when he arrived from Aba and offered himself as a candidate. A balloting followed and he overwhelmingly won the NPP (Nigerian Peoples Party) party endorsement as the Assembly candidate. And a very strong candidate he was.

With the same assiduity and dogged determination, Hon. A. C. Mezu set up a formidable grassroots organization that spanned Emii-Emekuku, Obibi Uratta, Alaenyi and Agbala, an organization that held sway for many years after. When the real votes were counted on election day, ALL the other candidates virtually “lost” their deposit as Hon. A. C. Mezu won over 90% of the real votes above the party average of 60%. He repeated this performance during the 1983 re-election.

The era 1978 to 1983 was the Golden age of politics in Emekuku, Dr. S. Okechukwu Mezu was State Secretary of the Party and in fact installed Governor Sam Mbakwe, Dr. Rose Ure Mezu was a Commissioner in the Government of Mbakwe and Hon. A. C. Mezu was a powerful member of the State House of Assembly..... This was the Golden Age of Emekuku and Hon. A. C. Mezu was a significant leg in the tripod that brought these amenities.

The era 1978 to 1983 was the Golden age of politics in Emekuku, Dr. S. Okechukwu Mezu was State Secretary of the Party and in fact installed Governor Sam Mbakwe, Dr. Rose Ure Mezu was a Commissioner in the Government of Mbakwe and Hon. A. C. Mezu was a powerful member of the State House of Assembly. Appointments flowed evenly and gracefully across the constituency. Mr. W. K. Anuforo from Emii was made Chairman of Owerri Local Goverment and when he was moved to the Board of Education, Mr Fidelis Okereafor of Emii replaced him. Sons of the soil werre appointed Chairmen of various government boards, Golden Guinea Breweries, Umuahia (Dr. S. Okechukwu Mezu), Glass Industry Aba (Ambrose Ejiogu), Dr. Nicholas Onyewu (Imo Newspapers), etc. For the first time in Emekuku several individuals were appointed distributors of Golden Guinea products. Amenities flowed. There was water everywhere, reticulated from Egbu to Azaraegbelu, from Ihitta Orgada to Emii and from Owalla Uratta to Naze. The Water Tower at Emekuku was commissioned, a booster surface tank and pump house was commissioned at Egbu to enhance water supply to Emekuku, Electricity was extended to Emii, Ihitte Orgada and Uratta as well as other parts of the constituency; sub-standard water pipes in Ezedibia were replaced with six-inch lines just as the low tension lines that supplied Ezedibia light were upgraded to High Tension lines. An airport road was designed and constructed by Mezu International Limited linking Orji, Owaellu Owalla, Ezedibia, Emii and Ulakwo; projects were started at Achara Ubo, a bridge was built across the Oramiriukwa River at Umuocham linking Umuocham and Uboegbelu, Emekuku, eletric transformers were supplied and upgraded at strategic points in Emekuku and other areas, schools were rehabilitated and the Emekuku Town Hall renovated, More roads and amenities were projected. Above all water flowed twenty-four hours a day from the central overhead reservoir at Emekuku mission. This was the Golden Age of Emekuku and Hon. A. C. Mezu was a significant leg in the tripod that brought these amenities.

Never had Emekuku or the area witnessed such a fearless and consummate politician as Hon. A. C. Mezu since the death Mr. Bernard Njoku of Ezeogba and Chief Anii Ibegwam of Okwuemeke. Just as Barrister Raymond Njoku was the Minister and Bernard Njoku, the political strategist, Dr. S. Okechukwu Mezu was the political strategist and Hon. A. C. Mezu the master politician that held the sinews together. Hon. A. C. Mezu had great socializing abilities. Hon. A. C. Mezu had easy ingress into and egress out of the joints where the voters and common people resided. With equal ease, he could discuss and argue, when occasion demanded it, with queens and kings and leaders. He was exceptionally generous and good at maintaining friendships and contacts. He was ever helpful to the needy and ever willing to speak on behalf of the under-privileged. His door was physically and symbolically always open to all, especially those in need. And many a time did he come to the aid of the sick, the poor, the penniless, the unemployed and the suffering. Even after he had a stroke five years ago, he bounced back defying odds and drove his car to visit other stroke victims, visit poor and aging relatives, attend church services and important social functions from St. Patrick’s Old Boys Association meetings to Town Union functions. His opinion was always sought on issues involving Emekuku and when he could not attend such meetings, many a discussion centered on his particular stand on the matter in question.

He remained socially and politically relevant all his life. After two illustrious terms as the undefeated Honourable member representing Owerri North-East constituency, following end of the military regime, he bounced back into politics playing a pivotal role in the election of Chief Achike Udenwa during his first term as Governor of Imo State. He was appointed a member of the Imo State Executive Council first as Special Adviser on Chieftaincy and Local Government Affairs and later as Special Adviser on Legislative Matters. He worked very hard till the last few hours of his life and enjoyed every moment of it. The stream of condolence visitors to his home is a testimony of his all-encompassing life that embraced both Governors and the governed.

His loss is irreplaceable, yes but his eight children - all University graduates - constitute a testimony to his life just as his properties and investment underscore his managerial ability and business acumen. While mourning his passing away let us all thank God for granting him seventy-two successful years that touched the hearts of all that knew him. May the good Lord treat him with the kindness and love he showed to others during his life time.

Dr. S. Okechukwu Mezu
Mezuville, Emekuku, Owerri - January 15, 2008

        In Loving Memory of
      Hon. Ambrose C. Mezu
          October 7th, 1935 - January 6^th, 2008

Hon. A.C. Mezu is survived by his wife (Mrs Beatrice Mezu), 8 Children, several Grandchildren, Nieces, Nephews, and the following Brothers and Sisters: Engr. Leo A. Mezu, Dr. Sebastian Okechukwu Mezu, Mr. Charles O. Mezu, Mr. John Mezu, Mrs. Patricia Ishiguzo, Mrs Christy Okwu and Mrs Bibiana Chukwu

Hon. Ambrose Chukwudi (A.C.) Mezu,
(1935-2008): 72yrs

            With deep gratitude to God for a life well spent, we announce the passing away and calling to God of our beloved father, husband, grandfather, uncle, brother, Hon. Ambrose Chukwudi (A.C.) Mezu who was born on October 7^th, 1935 and died January 6th, 2008. He is survived by his wife Mrs. Beatrice Mezu, 8 Children all of who are accomplished graduates, brothers (Engr. Leo A. Mezu, Dr. Sebastian Okechukwu Mezu, Mr. Charles O. Mezu, Mr. John Mezu), Sisters, (Mrs. Patricia Ishiguzo, Mrs Christy Okwu and Mrs Bibiana Chukwu), many nephews and nieces both here in the United States and In Nigeria.
            Hon. A.C. Mezu was an accomplished business administrator, a graduate of the London Institute of Economics and a Member of the British Institute of Transportation. He reached the highest rank as National Operations Manager of MDS, a division of UAC Foods. (United African Company). Politically, he never lost an election and was elected by popular vote as a 2 time Honorable member (legislator) of the Imo State House of Assembly. During the Udenwa regime (Former Governor of Imo state), he was appointed as a Special Adviser on Legislative Matters as well as a Special Adviser of Chieftaincy and Local Government Affairs.
            A well known leader in Imo State, he was an entrepreneur, socialite and philanthropist. He was highly respected by the young and old alike, his love for humanity knowing no boundaries, whether you were accomplished or less privileged. People, who knew him, can attest fully to his warm and generous heart, as shown in the countless people (friends and family) he trained educationally, social amenities he brought to various communities such as good roads and water to economically disadvantaged populations.
            All his children are very successful in their respective fields. His death leaves a vacuum in our family, entire community and State. We truly thank God for a life of great accomplishment and time well spent on this earth.
            Our dearest uncle will always have a place in our hearts. It is truly hard to imagine life without his charm, charisma and love of family. He will be buried in his home estate in Ezeogba, Emekuku, Imo State of Nigeria on the 24th of January, 2008.       May his soul rest in peace and we ask for your prayers to God Almighty for his eternal rest. .
                              Signed by Dr. S. O. Mezu and Dr. Kelechi Mezu Nnabue for the Mezu Family

Tribute to Hon A.C. Mezu by Dr. Nina Mezu Nwaba

            My uncle Hon Ambrose Mezu, died a few hours ago after a brief illness. Despite all our efforts from the US nothing could be done.

            For those that knew him especially during the Mbakwe era of Politics, he was popularly known as "Honorable" (Hon A. C. Mezu), once an Honorable forever an Honorable" his friends would say. He was a man of fun, filled with kindness and empathy and never fought back tears when he was emotional, he also knew how to dress, and he knew how to impress. He was the first person I ever knew to build a white house in the village, a beautiful one I must say.

My fondest memories of him include the Mezu Guest House in Aba, his very own hotel. This was the most beautiful relaxing estate and hotel in those days, with beautiful trees and gardens such that you felt you were in Versailles, how old was I then between 6 and 10 years. He was very handsome and tall, whenever he had money you would know it because everyone of us would be given money as he came to visit. You didn't need to ask him, the money was just given to you. That was the kind of person uncle was. He had it, he spent it, a great politician I must say.

He came to visit me in Langtan, Plateau State, Nigeria where I went to Federal School at 9 years and I was the youngest in the school; very lonely and a cry baby. I was called to the principal's office and I knew it wasn't a visiting Sunday which was once a month when my parents always came. I was delighted to see my Uncle Ambrose there with provisions, etc.
The only sadness is that we enjoyed all these back home and we are here away from our loved ones and they are just slipping away one by one. Now, when you go home, very few familiar faces greet you as all you knew growing up are no more. Being torn between two countries, we don't have the time to show them how much we love them, or to be with them. They watched us grow up and they are part of what we are today, but where are we when they need us miles and miles away as they slip away to be with God. Wow, life is tough…. adulthood is tough.
At least, I cannot ask what happened, because my Dad called us immediately my uncle went to the hospital with chest pain and fever and we did all we could. But there was no light, no EKG, no CAT scan, and we requested that he be moved to a better hospital, but it was still same situation. Nothing could be done over the weekend till Monday. So, all we could do was to pray, and make sure the last sacrament was given and wait. I guess Monday was too far away for he died on Sunday. He couldn't fight anymore because I know the fighter in him kept him going as long as he could.

As the tears flow down, I know we all did what we could. The Mezu Medical team (Dr. Ure Mezu, sorry you were the most frustrated being in Cardiology you spoke to the doctors and all the tests you asked for, they didn't have the equipment to perform the tests}, Dr. Oby Obi, Dr. Emeka Onyewu, Dr Oketunji, thank you all for all your help, you all tried. I now believe that being sick in Nigeria is almost a death sentence. Once again, I say to my Dad and his siblings take heart. God give us the strength to get through this.
Uncle, you know we love you, my kids still remember the white chicken with which you welcomed them to Mezuville Emekuku, Nigeria. And I also, remember when they were saddened that the chicken they had for lunch was the same chicken they saw earlier on.

May his Soul rest in Peace, you will be greatly missed. Ezeogba, Emekuku will never be the same without you.

Dr. Nina Mezu Nwaba. January 6, 2008

                                                         To My Cousin Ugochukwu Mezu,
I am so sorry. I cannot imagine what you are going through right now. I am sure no amount of words can comfort you or ease your pain at this time. I only pray for God to give you the strength to keep going. Try and hold on to the loving memories with him. “Uncle” lived a full and accomplished life. I remember him as a fun, generous person who gave of whatever he had to make people around him happy. He would not have liked to be incapacitated by illness in any way. He was brave till the end.
Please Ugo, take heart. We are all devastated over here and wish we could all be together at this time with you and your siblings. Uncle Ambrose will surely be missed by all. The Mezu family will miss our patriarch. My regards to Nda Chiedu, Nda Uche, Nda Chizo, Nda Chioma, Nda Jane, Ugboaku, and Nnamdi.
May his gentle soul rest in peace and we shall keep you all in our prayers.
Take care,
Sincere thoughts from Dr. Olachi Mezu Ndubuisi

	Black Academy Press, Inc.					Saturday, July 19 2008
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