Chief Patrick Oluchukwu Egbue
Teacher, humanist, philanthropist, social organiser and community leader.
Narrating the life and times of the late sage-Patrick Egbue could be likened to the local folklore of the ten blind men that visited the elephant and were told to describe what the elephant looks like. Because each of them touched different parts of the elephant,they each described the elephant based on what they touched or felt.while the one that touched the ivory tusks said the elephant is like a smooth and polished wood, the one that touch it’s side said the elephant is like a bid wall. The ten blind men therefore reported different images of the elephant to their audience. Thus is the life of our late father and mentor Patrick Oluchukwu Egbue; a man though simple in his ways yet possessing many parts to his personality. Attempting therefore to capture a complete profile of this illustrious son of Igboland will be a near impossibility, so we’ll only share a brief of what we know of him.
My dad, late Chief Patrick Oluchukwu Egbue was born on 31st August,1931 in Umuoji town, about 6 kilometers from Onitsha in South east Nigeria. Being of Christian parentage (his father Henry Egbue was among the first five Umuoji sons to be converted to Christianity), young Patrick embraced western education early in life; attending our lady’s mission primary school and the prestigious Government college(Fisher High School) Umuoji. He distinguished himself as an outstanding sportsman especially in the 100 and 200 meters track events where he won several laurels for school and region. His education came under serious challenge with the death of his immediate elder brother Joseph who was already finalizing arrangements for him to proceed to Oxford university in England. He therefore had to go to the teacher training college where he qualified as a teacher in 1955 and later went to the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka, for his Bachelor’s degree in education. My dad began his illustrious career as a teacher in 1956 at St. Odilia’s school, Ojoto in south east Nigeria, from where he traversed the entire south east Nigeria teaching and mentoring thousands of young people who he inspired to become the best they could become. No wonder the Catholic Bishop of Nnewi diocese, His Lordship, Dr. Hilary Okeke, eulogized him as one that took teaching as a vocation and not just a job.
Late Patrick left several indelible marks everywhere he went and on everything he got involved in. from our earliest years, he taught us to be humble, diligent, compassionate, God fearing, and to always exhibit the highest level of integrity in all we do. These virtues we all learnt from him and our mother Mrs Veronica Egbue who remained his rock,lover,best friend, companion and confidant for about 55 years. His relationship with our mother is perhaps our biggest teacher as we learnt family values, filial love and bonding, love for neighbor and community service among several other virtues. They kept their doors open for all and used their resources to bring up several children apart from us their own children. I recall that never did we have less than five other children living with us during my growing up years and sometimes we had over 10 children living with us. Such was their magnanimity and willingness to burden themselves for the good of others.
As Church and Community leader, my Dad was honored and celebrated by everyone, church and communities alike. He was a Knight of St. Mulumba, belonged to several church associations and held several positions in the church such that the history of the church in Umuoji and surrounding towns will never be complete without the late Patrick. He held the prestigious ozo traditional title and was a community leader of note. He was well known for speaking the truth always and was a very fearless man.
The life of late Patrick Egbue impacted so much positive values not only on me and my five siblings but on the thousands that passed through his tutelage and the entire community at large and we remain indebted to him in life and in death for leaving us such illustrious heritage to lead us on all through our lives
Surely DAD, you are always alive in us and we continue to love you deeply. Continue to rest in the Lord
From your son
Ibodi Egbue
Submitted by Rev. Fr. Titus Ibodi Egbue
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Bashir Agoro
What is the measure of a good Dad? That is definitely a loaded question.
There are so many things that are needed for a father to be effective and relevant in a child’s life. My siblings and I have been blessed to have a REAL father in our lives, Mr. Bashir Agoro aka Pops. He is our friend, our confident and our teacher. He is present in our lives each and every day. He is strong and knowledgeable but also gentle and caring. He is funny and personable, while commanding respect. His personality and smile fill a room. He is the person who wants to keep you from harm but instead stands aside and waits in the wings to dust you off and provide words of encouragement to keep us motivated. He is the person that knows the benefit of allowing us to make your own mistakes but also takes time to share his journey as to help us chart a better course for ourselves. He is the person you run to when you need to cry, he will hold you and wipe away your tears.
He is the person who will not let us knowingly break the rules no matter how much he loves us. He ensures that we understand that our actions have repercussions. He punishes us with a heavy heart but knows it will build our character.
Our father is an amazing man and for that we thank him. We thank him for all the sacrifices he made so that we could have a good life. We thank him for all the nights at the dinner table helping us with our homework from Elementary to University. For the Saturdays at the music store buying new record/CDs for our weekend music appreciation sessions. We thank him for all the little things that have made timeless memories.
We love you Pops.
Shola and Moji
Submitted by Shola Agoro