By Ugorji Okechukwu Ugorji
One of the most important highlights of the opportunity Governor Hope Uzodimma, CON gave me to serve in his cabinet was the honour of meeting and working with Professor Placid Njoku. The former Deputy Governor of Imo State turns seventy-seven years old this month of February, 2024.
In his capacity as the then Deputy Governor of Imo State, Prof was in charge of boundary issues concerning the state, among other responsibilities. As the then Commissioner for Homeland Security and Vigilante Affairs, my experience was that boundary disputes almost always involved security challenges. Whenever parties to boundary disputes appeared before him, they knew they were before a dignified and serious-minded public administrator.
Professor Njoku's brilliance and intelligence have been well documented, as are manifest in his academic and professional careers. In Governor Uzodimma's cabinet where I met him for the first time, he was atypical in the cloth from which he was cut. His self-assuredness and his vast and deep experiences in life enabled him to navigate, with pride and humility, the rough waters of politics in our clime.
There is a unique kind of swagger that Prof has. The kind that equips him to be calm and collected even under provocation. I was with him at the funeral church service for the late mother of Rt. Honourable Emeka Ihedioha. When the bereaved politician said from the pulpit that he would not call him Deputy Governor, some of Prof's aides urged him to walk out of the church. The gentleman Deputy Governor sat with quiet dignity, refusing to descend to the level of his bereaved host. He had come as the governor's representative to pay respects for a departed, important citizen of the state. The man knew his stature and his status, and the title of Deputy Governor had little to do with either.
Positions give us status, but not necessarily stature. Stature comes from one's body of work and contributions to humanity. Stature comes from integrity and the blunt refusal to be compromised. Professor Placid Njoku has status by virtue of the positions he has held, including Deputy Governor of Imo State. He has stature from the many accomplishments he has had in several arenas.
On this 77th anniversary of Professor Placid Njoku's birthday, this little brother of his sends my best wishes to the gentleman statesman.
Godspeed Professor Placid Njoku. Thanks for all you did and all you still do. Thanks for honouring us at Lorji.
...Dr Ugorji Okechukwu Ugorji is the Odoziobodo Mbaise Nwaejiamatu of Aboh Mbaise. NNL.
