DUBEM ONYIA! GOD WHY NOW? - By Ikechukwu Ani

 

 

I stumbled on a social media report that faithful Monday afternoon of March 10, 2025 and before me was the shocking news break that my boss (will forever remain my boss), the debonair, industrious and effervescent Chief Hon. (Sir) Dubem Onyia, former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, two time Member of the Federal House of Representatives and former Member of the Constituent Assembly, has passed on. The news was not only sobering but was devastating. He bowed at the age of 73, too early for a man who still has a lot to offer his country.

He was a man of destiny, succeeded where many failed and also left indelible imprints in the sands of time. He touched many lives, including mine. He was generous, committed to nation building and built friendships across the globe. He was my boss of inestimable value. I am still in shock on the sudden turn of events.

Our parts crossed when I was a practising journalist in Enugu. He wanted to address the Media to announce his intention to run for the Governorship of our state and needed someone to organise the briefing. It was  Ozo Agu Gab Agu, a Professor of Law at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology that introduced me to him and I went ahead to package the Press Conference. And it was a huge success. He later didn't make it to the Enugu State Government House but was later appointed the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

He assumed office,  looked back and invited me to come and manage his media relations in Abuja. That was how I came close to the man who was later to shape my future. I became his Press Secretary and served him for the four years he was in office.

Within the four years, I came to know him as a strong-willed person, compassionate and driven by excellence. He has the capacity for work and was overtly result oriented. He was dynamic, multi talented and radiated love and affection, tools that saw him as one of the flying ministers in President Olusegun Obasanjo's first tenure in office. He was always having his way in most of the things he wanted done. When he invited me to join him as Press Secretary, the bureaucracy in the system became an obstacle, but he quickly dismantled it, he wanted results and would not take any half measure in the line of duty. I joined him and initially struggled to keep pace with his work schedule. It was obviously a trying period, but I did not hesitate in falling in line. He does not leave any file unattended to before close of work everyday. He attends to them with the required urgency. Atimes, we stayed in the office till 10pm, something not common in government offices.

Chief Dubem Onyia exposed me for the first time to government media management and with him I visited almost all the continents of the world. He loved journalists, and with that, made my job a lot easier. As Minister of State, he was virtually in charge of all the parastatals in the Ministry. And during pilgrimages, he would direct that I  shortlist journalists who will participate as part of the Federal Government Delegation. This is both for the Hajj and Christian pilgrimages. For joint Commission Meetings outside Nigeria, he accommodated some journalists. He was also always ready to speak to the media, grant them interviews, and attend to their welfare. I was really lucky in that direction. 

He enjoyed warm and cordial relationship with his colleague, Alhaji Sule Lamido, the senior Minister in the Ministry. They operated more like brothers and together had, in my estimation, the best tenure in the Foreign Ministry so far.

His job as the Minister of State in the Ministry of  Foreign Affairs was obviously demanding but he was on top of it. There was a day we flew to several Hajj camps in the country to address Muslim pilgrims travelling for the Hajj. We had stop overs in Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto and Maiduguri, and still returned to Abuja the same day with the attendant bad weather. It was obvious he loved his country and was ready to give his all to the service of his fatherland. He also loved his job and virtually had no time for any other past time. Sometimes, I will be in the office then at Wuse Zone 3 Abuja and he will call from the Presidential Villa and direct that I join him at the airport for an urgent Presidential assignment to one country or the other. In those trips, he would go as Nigeria's Presidential envoy to invite or mediate in disputes in some African Countries. He had attended to these assignments with dedication and commitment. 

Chief Dubem Onyia loved his people of Ngwo and Enugu State, although he was a detrabilized Nigerian who believed in one united and progressive Nigeria. He had a large heart, was accommodating and built bridges across the divide.I was at his Abuja residence on Wednesday and could not believe that my boss who insisted that I accompanied him to the United Nations General Assembly in New York in one of his several trips was no more. I have obviously lost a mentor, a benefactor and leader of men. May the gentle soul of this rare Nigerian find peace in the sight of his maker and may the Almighty give his immediate family the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss. May God bless his loving soul!

Ikechukwu Ani,  Head, Press and Public Relations/Spokesman Police Service Commission was Press Secretary to Hon. Dubem Onyia (1999 -2003) as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs