By Ethelbert OkereWere Senator Francis Arthur Nzeribe still alive, he would have been eighty seven years, three months and seven days old on February 7, 2026, the day the government and people of Imo state conferred a posthumous award of Distinguished Star Of Imo State (DSI) on him. Senator Nzeribe was born on November 2, 1938 and passed unto glory on May 8, 2022.
On that day, Saturday February 7, 2026, the late elder statesman was among the fifty indigenes and friends of Imo state – both living and dead – that were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the growth and development of the state. In spite of the excitement of the celebrations, the mention of names like Arthur Nzeribe was a sobering moment for me personally. I worked so closely with him that I was able to gather enough materials to do a 250-page, sixteen-chapter book on him titled, ARTHUR BY AN EYE WITNESS, to mark his 80th birthday in 2018.
Senator Nzeribe was, of course, not the only iconic personality I wrote books on. In 2022, I also wrote a book on the late Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu under the title, “Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu: Another Angle To A Big Story” and in 2024, I did a 250-page, twenty two-chapter biography of the late Basil Nnanna Ukegbu, who was my mother’s kinsman.
Incidentally, all the three were recipients of the Imo Award albiet in different categories and it was indeed a moment that put me into deep thinking about the ephemerality of life. Beginning with Senator Nzeribe, I intend to do a four-part series to refresh the minds of Imolites and indeed Nigerians, generally, on whom these late stars were and touch briefly on the contributions they made to the growth and development of Imo in particular and Nigeria as a whole.
But unlike most of the other late icons, Senator Nzeribe was one fellow whose story or even mere mention of his name never fails to excite. His life was so full of myths that by the time of his death ,not a few were still very eager to learn about him, to discover who he really was despite his fame. In a sense, therefore, what the government and people of Imo state achieved through the posthumous award was to re-ignite an excitement over a departed fellow whose story many of his kinsmen in Imo state and even beyond were ever ready to listen to and will most probably still crave for in years to come.
Perhaps the biggest enigma over the late Senator Nzeribe was that he was at once a native politician, what some would prefer to describe as “grassroots” politician and acclaimed worldwide for his capacity to “unsit national governments”. How he was able to blend such extremities – of sitting at home with his kinsmen in Oguta today and jumping into an aircraft tomorrow to discuss how to topple a national government – as pundits claim — remains a mystery.
The next big enigma around Senator Nzeribe was his very reticent nature. He was a man of little words. Although this attribute conferred both advantages and disadvantages, it was what made him the maverick and master strategist that he was. On the flip side, however, was that he was not able to blow his own trumpets, unlike the typical Nigerian politician.
Arthur Nzeribe was a household name in Nigeria but few at home knew of the contributions he made towards the growth and development of Imo state. For example, not many know that he was the highest donor to the building of the Imo airport. Not many also know of the role he played in making Imo state get included as an NDDC (Niger Delta Development Commission) state, at a time when the initial proposal was to have only the core Niger Delta states involved.
In creating the Distinguished Star of Imo (DSI) category into which Senator Nzeribe fell, the government and people of the state noted that it was for indigenes who made “sustained impact in economic development, infrastructure, trade and investment” in the state. Nothing could be more apt in describing the life of the Oguta-born Chief. Arthur Nzeribe was a philanthropist who made a huge impact on people around him especially through his Authur Nzeribe Foundation. Although the Foundation operated nationwide, it was primarily active in Imo state. The Foundation ran a scholarship scheme that made it possible for children from indigent families in the state to obtain education. Most ot the beneficiaries are today great schorlars and professionals scattered all over the world.
Through the Foundation, Chief Nzeribe empowered many people particularly in Imo state by providing cash, skills sets and farming tools to boost agriculture. By this, he was able put many families on a sustainable income stream and by extension
contributed to the growth of the economy of the state. The Foundation also facilitated a free medical outreach for pregnant women, children and the elderly, who did not have to know him personally or have any ties with his family. Chief Nzeribe built churches for the Catholic, the Anglican and Pentecostal denominations in Imo state.
It would not be out of place to state that the recognition given to Chief Arthur Nzeribe by the government and people of Imo state was indeed on behalf of the people of the entire Southeast. One of the things that seemed to have preoccupied Nzeribe’s mind as a politician was that of the creation of an additional state for the Southeast, to redress the imbalance in the geo-politics of Nigeria. Chief Nzeribe did not believe in an endless cry over marginalization but instead, in a proactive move to end it. He started the Orashi State Movement that comprised areas in both the present day Anambra and Imo states and went ahead to move a motion for the creation of an additional state in the Southeast on the floor of the sixth senate.
Even though the dream for the creation of a sixth state in the Southeast is yet to be realized, it was that initiative by him that laid the foundation for the continuous agitation. Needless to say, the current optimism about the imminent creation of Anim state with a potential capital in Orlu in the present day Imo state, is a product of that initiative.
Even though he was a national colossus, Chief Nzeribe believed that to be a good Nigerian, one has to be a good Igbo man, a good Yoruba man, a good Efikman or a good Hausa-Fulani man as the case may be. He was not an ethnic bigot, but he stood for equity and fairness. Senator Nzeribe was not enamored by such things as “a detribalized Nigerian” because he believed that it is the reason same sections or parts of the country try to take others for granted.
Rather, he believed that it is only when Nigerians recognize that they are, first and fore most, different people but who have agreed to stay together, that they will respect the beliefs, fears and aspirations of each of the different peoples or nationalities that make up the country.
Once during a debate on the floor of the senate over award of contracts, he asked the then president of the senate, “Ole Ka Ndi Igbo Ketara (How Much Was The Share of the Igbo). Several years after, that question kept coming up at every occasion that had something to do with the protection of Igbo interest.
Of the fifty recipients of the Imo Awards – both living and dead – forty two are – or were – indigenes of the state. Of the forty two, Chief Nzeribe was the most controversial national figure. He was not the most brilliant or educated among the awardees but including his name in the list could certainly not have posed any difficulty.
Above all, the thought of the award itself is something that is deserving of commendation. For initiating it and superintending over the award ceremony, Governor Hope Uzodimma deserves accolades. He could as well have invited just a few of his friends for a lavish dinner to mark the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of Imo state. Rather, he drew up a week-long programme of activities that culminated in a grand finale where the 50 stars were honoured. It was an event that offered the good people of Imo state an opportunity to close ranks regardless of political differences.
