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For Issele Uku People, Life Goes On After Monarch, Ofili's Death
[August 18, 2014]

For Issele Uku People, Life Goes On After Monarch, Ofili's Death


(AllAfrica Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The wailing in Issele Uku, headquarters of Aniocha North Local Government Area, Delta State over the demise of their monarch, HRM Obi Henry Ezeagwuna 1 who died in an auto crash have subsided as the residents of the community now go about their normal daily activities.



The monarch and Mr. Sunny Ofili were involved in a fatal motor accident along Benin-Asaba Expressway on Saturday, August 9, 2014.

The only noticeable evidence of the demise of the Monarch is the community main market which is under lock, except on the market days and which is being done along the road. Others traders, mechanics, motorcycle riders and others have returned to their businesses.


At the entrance of the community palace, a condolence register has been opened for sympathizers except that Saturday Independentwas disallowed from finding out the personalities that have come to register their condolence by the attendants who insisted that only the palace elders can give instruction.

Findings by the paper confirms that the attendants were not totally receptive not only as a result of the loss but that the incident occurred at the time the Issele Uku Kingdom was preparing for the declaration for the community's 2014 Annual New Year Festival (INE) slated for the third week of August and the Obi's 60th birthday.

Though not emotionally strong to volunteer formal comment, a groundnut seller in the community said the demise was a rude shock to her since she was the last person that the monarch bought groundnut from on the sad day before he set out on sthe journey to Asaba.

A title holder in the town who refused his name in print said the loss was a monumental set back to the area as he said the late monarch was a major motivator of development in the kingdom wondering why the monarch drove on that day even if it was his hobby to drive himself.

The case of Mr. Sunny Ofili, member of the state executive council, and until his death the Special Adviser to the Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as well as the Head of the Directorate of Science and Technology, was pathetic.

According to Barr Chike Ogeah, Commissioner for Information, Delta State, his death came at a time that the ICT Park project in Asaba which he initiated has revved into gear with many investors already setting up shop. "Ofili was an accomplished journalist and ICT expert, an amiable, soft spoken gentleman and an avid family man with malice to no one. His cerebral contributions and passion for innovation will be sorely missed at the State Executive Council," he said.

Obi of Iselle Asagba Kingdom, HRM Obi Francis Jideuwa Ijeh, where Ofili hails from, said Ofili died without fulfilling his developmental obligations to the people and Deltans as a whole just as he said his sudden death has killed the dreams of the people.

Corroborating, Prince Francis Obi, a member of Issele Asagba Royal Family described the death of Ofili as a calculated blow by death to reduce Issele Azagba community to almost nothing while the Permanent Secretary, Directorate of Science and Technology, Mr Stephen Shoka, is still lamenting the loss just as condolence register has been opened at the secretariat.

Ofili worked in African Guardian magazine, a stable of Guardian Newspapers Limited, was a fellow of the US-based Centre for Foreign Journalists and publisher of The Times of Nigeria journal and was the publisher of Delta Herald, a newspaper based in Asaba.

As an accomplished ICT expert, he worked for blue chip companies such as Lockheed Martin, Bechtel and Symantec, an Internet software giant.

Copyright Daily Independent. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

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