Ex-President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide, Prof Joe Irukwu, is dead. Born 20th July 1934, Prof. Irukwu, who hails from Abia State, died on Friday, July 7, at the age of 88.
His death was announced in a statement by the President General of Amaokwe Item Welfare Union, Prince Harrison Eze Okorie.
The statement reads in part: “The Amaokwe Item Welfare Union, on behalf of the entire Amaba Ukwu kindred and the immediate family, hereby announces the glorious but painful demise of our great patron, father, grandfather, son and brother, Prof. Joseph Ogbonnaya Irukwu, SAN, CFR.
Ex-Ohanaeze President-General Joe Irukwu Dead
“The Union, on behalf of the Amaokwe Community, commiserates with the family and prays to God to grant his soul peaceful rest. “The Union enjoins all Amaokwe sons and daughters to mourn the exit of this giant as we also remember to uphold his family in prayers in this moment of grief.”
Elected the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in 2003, Prof. Irukwu served meritoriously and bowed out in 2007. Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, in a statement issued on Sunday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Dr Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia, described late Irukwu as one of its brightest leaders and enjoined his immediate family and people of Abia State to bear the great loss.
The statement reads: “The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has received with rude shock the sad news on the passing of one of our brightest, an accomplished legal luminary, moral edifice, insurance and risk management wizard, an erudite scholar of world renown, Igbo leader and former President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Professor Joe Ogbonna Irukwu, SAN, CFR.
“Joe Irukwu was elected the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in 2003 and he served meritoriously and bowed out in 2007. During his incumbency, Irukwu added colour, glamour, zest, robust intellect and panache to the Igbo umbrella socio-cultural organisation.
“One recalls with nostalgia and immense delight, the social skill, wisdom and organisational acumen that Joe Irukwu displayed in the face of the turbulence, which was occasioned by the political intrigues that confronted his tenure as the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
“Professor Joe Irukwu was called to the English Bar in 1962 and enrolled as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the same year. He has held many top positions in both the private and public sectors of the Nigerian economy. “Joe Irukwu resisted the lure by Dr. M. I Okpara, the then Premier of the Eastern Region, to join partisan politics, instead, he chose to pursue his dream of applying his knowledge in law to build an enviable insurance industry in Nigeria.
“Irukwu painstakingly achieved his set goals and became a foremost risk management expert, Professor of Insurance, educationist, award-winning author and holder of many distinguished fellowships and academic awards.
”Irukwu, a lawyer, lecturer, author and insurance guru, was the founding Managing Director of Nigerian Reinsurance Corporation. He founded the African Development Insurance Company, thereafter, which was later sold to Diamond Bank.
Joe Irukwu
Joe Irukwu obtained a degree in Law and Insurance from a British university in 1962. He was one of the leading lights in the African insurance landscape and was instrumental in the formation of bodies such as the African Insurance Organisation (AIO), the West African Insurance Association (WAICA) and more.
In Nigeria, he was a former Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) amongst others.
Responding to the sad development, the President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Edwin Igbiti, said a hero had gone and his contributions would be greatly missed.
He noted that Irukwu was the only professor the institute had and that he greatly contributed to the growth and development of the institute.
