The death of Chief Sunny Iwedike Odogwu, which occurred on Monday, November 5, 2018, has thrown the business community within and without Nigeria, including Asaba, his ancestral home, into mourning mood.
Like every other mortal, Odogwu’s death have left many hearts crestfallen as can be captured from a statement issued by the governor of his home State, Delta State, Sen. (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa, who among other things, told the people of the state, especially the indigenes of Asaba, to be comforted in the exemplary life of philanthropy which he lived.
Known as the Ideh Ahaba (pillar of Asaba), Odogwu was a thorough bread businessman who had his hands in so many pies.
An accomplished businessman and a philanthropist of no mean repute, he set out in business in 1952 when he establish Robert Dyson and Diket, an insurance brokerage firm; in addition, he established trading store as a side business in Lagos Island. Since then he never looked back until his candle burned out last Monday 5 November 2018.
Born and waned in Cross River State to parents from Delta State, Odogwu CMS Grammar School, Lagos Ilesha Grammar School, Ilesha in the present day Osun State, for his secondary school education and City University and London Chartered Institute of Insurance respectively where he bagged degrees in Insurance studies and business management from City University and London Chartered Institute of Insurance.
Aside his foray in the world of insurance and other businesses including but not limited to real estate, shipping and oil and gas, Odogwu once tried his hands in newspaper publishing when he set up Post Express Newspaper in the nineties with the brightest of brains in journalism, which Nigeria can boost of then. Though, due to bad management, which is the bane of most Nigerian businesses and even government at all levels, the newspaper collapsed under the weight of non payment of salary and allowances; it took him years, coupled with the intervention of the then leadership of Nigeria Union of Journalism (NUJ), to settle the salary arrears (such rarely happens now as the leadership of NUJ and the Nigerian Guild of Editors are now neck deep in the politics of project inspection politics at the expense of the welfare of their members); however, the intervention notwithstanding, the fact remains that the newspaper, which had state-of-the art printing press and which was also the first to introduce internet facility in Nigeria, opened the floodgate of non-payment of salary of journalists in Nigeria; a terrible history, which has now become a norm instead of aberration in today’s newspaper industry in Nigeria.
That, however, was not enough to diminish his towering contribution to the economy of Nigeria. He was also into the hospitality industry and his foot print can be seen in Asaba, his home town, where he bought over the defunct Bendel State owned famous Bendel Hotel situated by the bank of River Niger. He renovated it and upgraded it to a four star concern and renamed it Grand Hotel. Till date, the hotel remains one of the best and biggest in the state capital while his attempt at putting up a similar concern in Ikoyi, Lagos, was stoutly resisted by residents of the area where it was supposed to be sited on the grounds that the area is a residential and not business or industrial estate.
Odogwu was a lover of Asaba and there is no doubt that unlike his other peers from the town who are equally men of means and power, he contributed to the development of the town. Aside Grand Hotel, he was associated with a furniture company named Summit Furniture Company situated along Benin/Onitsha Expressway in Asaba, which provided jobs to many then. The company is so popular that the area is today known as Summit Junction. Such was his desire for the development of Asaba, that the Asagba in council, which is led today by Asagba of Asaba, Obi (Prof.) Chike Edozien, conferred him with the Ideh of Ababa chieftency title.
Odogwu who won so many awards including international recognitions but not limited to degrees from universities, associations and multilateral agencies, the World Bank Group, the IMF, the Zik leadership awards, LLD (Honoris Causa) Lincoln University Pennsylvania USA etc for his philanthropic deposition was the live wire of charity organisations and NGOs too many to list.
Asaba people and Anioma nation, if not the entire Delta State and Nigeria, will miss him.
Rest in peace, Ideh Ahaba!
By Charles Okogene
