|
N. D. Ukachi Onyewu (1929 - 2007): Africanist Scholar and Political Theorist by Dr. S. Okechukwu Mezu "His casual, jovial, forever cheerful and relaxed demeanor however belied a strong and determined mind, unwilling to follow the crowd or compromise principles for the sake of personal aggrandizement. He had no complexes." Born in Umudulu, Emii, in Owerri North Local Government seventy-eight years ago, Dr. N. D. Ukachi Onyewu was one of the very few enterprising individuals who went to study outside Nigeria in the 1950s. Some (like Bridget Ogbonna and Zita Dozie of Ezeogba, Emekuku) were sent by missionaries to Great Britain, others like Dr. Onyewu, with some Emii communal effort, made it to Washington D.C. (USA) arriving by boat in January of 1955. In this group were the likes of Dr. Osuji of Ezedibia, Dr. B. C. Njoku of Azaraowalla and Fred Konyeaso of Ezeogba (who studied in Canada) all from Emekuku. These pioneers opened the gates to education and overseas studies to a new generation of indigenes (friends and extended relations) from these areas. Whether or not the beneficiaries of their efforts appreciated their sacrifice, history must remember them as some of the pioneers that changed the educational landscape of Owerri North Local Government in Imo State, Nigeria.
When I arrived in Washington, D.C. in 1961 from Nigeria to attend Georgetown University as an ASPAU (USA) scholar, I met Dr. Onyewu, who would before long marry Ms Angelina Offurum from Ezeogba, Emekuku, a lady from a well-known and established family and one of the very few overseas trained Nigerian professionals that took over administrative duties on the eve of Nigeria’s independence in 1960. Ms Angelina Offurum, whom Dr. Onyewu married, was in fact the Secretary to the first Nigerian Federal Minister of Finance, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh. Dr. N. D. Ukachi Onyewu attended Howard University where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts and also his Master of Arts degree in Government in 1964. His Masters thesis was on "Constitutional Government in Nigeria, 1900-1960." He would eventually earn a PhD in International Relations from the American University, Washington DC . He presented numerous papers on the teaching of African politics at various national and international conferences. Dr. N. D. Ukachi Onyewu studied political science and practiced it uncompromisingly whether as a graduate student at The American University, an Associate Professor at Southern University, Howard University, The University of the District of Columbia, Bowie College, the University of Maryland and Hofstra University or as a Professor at the State University of New York at Albany. His opinions were strong, and sound theoretically, and he was forever unwilling to bend, like Okonkwo in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, to the whims and caprices of individuals and politicians in power. Dr. Onyewu had easy access to the corridors of power in Nigeria, from General Gowon to President Ibrahim Babangida. The one appointed him to the College of Education in Pankshin, Plateau State, the other sent him to Liberia to help set up the Department of Political His opinions were strong, and sound theoretically, and he was forever unwilling to bend, like Okonkwo in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, to the whims and caprices of individuals and politicians in power Science at the University of Liberia, Monrovia. He would leave jobs as quickly as he got them because of his unwillingness to compromise principles he held dearly. Unlike the acquisitive Nigerian politician, N. D. Ukachi Onyewu had total disdain for material acquisitions and despite his easy ingress into and egress from the corridors of power, he was never tainted by corruption. He was forever content with what he had which could be disconcerting for those with acquisitive personalities. His casual, jovial, forever cheerful and relaxed demeanor however belied a strong and determined mind, unwilling to follow the crowd or compromise principles for the sake of personal aggrandizement. He had no complexes. He would walk, hitch a ride, or very late at night when we all went back to Nigeria in the early seventies wake me up in the middle of the night to give him a ride back to his village in Umudulu, Emii. A strong and convinced Pan-Africanist, he contributed a chapter, "Pan-Africanism - A Relevant Utopia," to my book, The Philosophy of Pan-Africanism (Georgetown University Press, 1965). Dr, Onyewu parallels African unity to that of a machine. The union "would be whole not total. By wholeness, we mean an assembly of parts - diversified parts - that enter into fruitful association. In other words, wholeness emphasizes a sound organic progressive mutuality between diversified functions and parts within an entirety, the boundaries of which are open and fluent .... To whom would the African nations turn (he questioned), given the present conditions of ‘politics among nations’? Only to themselves. In unity there is strength. The heart of their political power would lie in their ability to achieve this unity." Hence Dr. Onyewu was willing to head to Liberia in pursuit of these ideals despite the pending Liberian civil war. Together with many other Africans, Dr. Onyewu, a regular contributor and contributing editor to Black Academy Review, fought in the 1960s for the enthronement of Africana Studies in American Universities. We all challenged the then current eurocentric interpretation of African culture. In his article, "European Scholars and the Teaching of African Politics," Black Academy Review, Fall, 1970, Dr. Onyewu wrote: "Many western political scientists have hitherto studied and taught Euro-Africa. This has tended to make it difficult for the average westerner to appreciate Africa - its political culture, its organizations and its uniqueness. In fact many western scholars insist that Africa offers no theoretical problems since human beings are the same and the problems similar the world over. This is false for two reasons. In the first place, man is a direct product of his environment .....In the second place, environmental and procedural conditions in Africa differ significantly from those of Europe... Social processes do not in Africa, as they do in Europe, represent static, readily identifiable forces and interests. They rather tend to defy neat and convenient type-casting and classification." N. D. Ukachi Onyewu, together with Julian Bond, Dudley Randall and Carolyn Gerald contributed in August 1970 to the special edition of Black World Magazine, on The Teaching of African Politics. Gradually the first generation of African post-independence Africanists is passing away. We thank God for his life, his works and the many children he left behind among whom are Dr. Emeka Onyewu, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon based in Maryland, Adanna, Ulunma, Olachi Onyewu among others. Our condolences go to his wife Angelina and to the entire Onyewu and Offurum families. Dr. S. Okechukwu Mezu copyright 2007 black academy press, inc. |
News 
