Uzu Okagbue: Commemorating the Birthday of A Man of Value

Born into affluence to the family of Chief Chike Okagbue, a successful oil magnet, Uzu Okagbue has maintained a level of focus and discipline that has distinguished him.

In one of our conversations a while ago, Uzu recalled how his father, Chief Chike Okagbue, insisted that he maintained a strong work ethic, discipline, a sense of merit, respect for authority, and a high regard for family and friends. He also revealed that it was his relationship with his father that enhanced his curiosity, as well as exposed him to certain realities of human nature.

Equipped with those critical elements for a successful life at a young age, Uzu set out like anyone else. Over the years, those have shaped his life, outlook, and priorities. The first test was in his studies. At the time, his commitment to his study was total, enabling him to graduate with flying colours without any difficulties, after he chose to study in Nigeria rather than abroad when the option was offered to him. The usual experience is that people of privileged backgrounds had things work for them without necessarily their input. They attend universities of their choice without necessarily meeting all the requirements, but most times, they end up not exactly prepared for real life. For Uzu, it is different. He was exposed to real-life experiences that prepared him for life. At this point, it bears mentioning that Uzu Okagbue’s late father was not just a successful businessman. He was a man with national contacts and he was a known quantity around Nigeria’s ruling class. So that wasn’t a man who only had money, he also knew his way around at a national scale.
Uzu was the last son of his parents and shared a special relationship with his father while he lived. The sudden exit of his father in his final year at the university would have signaled some sort of an era’s end.

However, having imparted his success principles to the young Uzu, Chief Okagbue raised a man of value capable of creating success on his own terms. Wealth left behind might be helpful, but if any legacy left were not backed with internalized principles that gave impetus to such legacies, even what was supposed to be an advantage might turn out to become a major setback.

To date, Uzu prides in some of his father’s friendships which he has watered and maintained after his father’s exit, over two decades ago. He has continued to host his father’s age grade in Umunnachi his village for the longest time. His commitment to communal peace and progress is total, just like his father. In consequence, he was instrumental in resolving an over 100-year-old land dispute between Umunnachi and Ogidi, a neighbouring village. Uzu goes the extra mile to ensure that justice is served to the victimized and underprivileged. So many of his charity works go without notice as he wants them to be. Over the years, he has distinguished himself as an iconic community leader who stands on the truth. Cognizance of this, on many occasions, when it really mattered, his community had sorted his intervention and he always approached such occasions with utmost humility and diligence to the admiration of all. Uzu simply just wants to get things done and quietly walks away without notice.

When he served in government under Chief Willie Obiano, his commitment to values remained stronger. Uzu’s closeness to the governor never transcribed to any form of suspicion of any personal advantage. For context, Uzu effectively interfaced with several stakeholders in many elections in Anambra State, and for those who knew, elections are an important season of financial transactions. For someone like Uzu who interfaced with people donating to the governor and also people who the governor required their services; all involving large sums of money, he was never distracted by extracting personal benefits from these privileged activities. All who interfaced with Uzu at this level confessed to this. He is not mentioned in any revenue racketeering or any other sort of exploitation of fortunate positions for personal benefit. Yet, his role in the government was remarkable in that government’s many recorded breakthroughs. As the governor’s minder for 8 years, never was he, as much as seen captured with the governor on any occasion or shared table with the governor except once in Austria when the governor, Chief Willie Obiano, asked him to sit down and insisted that he must sit on that table. When the then governor introduced him to their host in Austria at that event, he referred to him as a go-getter and a highly motivated individual and in fact a magician. Such is the extent to which an employer described his employee, thereby attesting to the credibility of Uzu Okagbue’s services to the Government of Anambra State.

Learning, for Uzu, is a lifelong process and he has demonstrated this to a telling point throughout. Since he left the services of Anambra State Government about two and half years ago, he has gone on about three leadership trainings at Harvard University.

No flattery intended but Uzu is one of the few men in Nigeria’s public space who has overcome the overbearing burden of greed in public service. Indeed, Uzu’s life encapsulates Albert Einstein’s admonition that one should “try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” Success without value is like a house without a foundation. No matter its initial enticement, it remains a dangerous risk. True greatness is indeed founded on value.
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