Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia
Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, first elected governor of Abia State, is dead. He was aged 72.
Though his death is yet to be officially confirmed by either his family or Abia State government, reports quoted the BBC Igbo Service to have broken the news of his demise, saying that he passed way on Thursday morning at an Abuja hospital.
Onu was a thoroughbred academician and politician, who was not in the mould of the typical Nigerian politician. He was a gentleman politician and among the very few highly principled politicians in this clime.
All through his political career Onu never changed political party by way of defection and always maintained his conservative ideological leaning.
Dr Onu was a chemical engineer by professional calling before his foray into politics. He was trained at the University of Lagos and the University of California, Berkley where he got his doctorate degree.
He was a lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt before he entered into politics.
Onu started his political career in the Second Republic as an aspirant for a senatorial seat in the old Imo State on the platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). He was not successful.
But the chemical engineer cum politician made a headway in the Third republic which was midwifed by the military administration of Gen Ibrahim Babangida. He joined the National Republican Convention(NRC) and was elected governor of the old Abia State in January 1992.
However, his tenure was shortlived as the Third Republic collapsed in November 1992 following the Gen Sani Abacha led coup.
In 1999, Onu emerged the presidential candidate of the All Peoples Party(APP) but he was compelled to relinquish his ticket to Chief Olu Falae of the Alliance for Democracy(AD) following a merger of several political parties. Onu relinquished his presidential ticket due to an understanding among the parties to field all Yoruba candidates to compensate the South West for the June 12 fiasco that led to the death of the presumed winner of the 1993 presidential poll, Chief Moshood Abiola. Falae eventually lost to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
After serving as the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation of Muhammadu Buhari from November 2015 until his resignation in 2022, Onu went into a quiet life, away from the political turf.
Born on December 1, 1951 into the Royal family of Eze David Aba Onu in Amata, Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government, now in Ebonyi State. His secondary education started at Izzi High School in Abakaliki, now the Ebonyi State capital. Onu came out with distinction in his West African School Certificate Examination result.
He further obtained his Advanced Level Cetificate at the famous College of Immaculate Conception (C.I.C) Enugu. He emerged the overall best graduating student. He then proceeded to the University of Lagos and obtained a first class degree in chemical engineering in 1976. He went for his doctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree in chemical engineering in 1980. On return he was engaged as a lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
