AN ACCOLADE TO DR.OBICEE OKONKWO
By Mcanthony Onuoha
Tribute is better paid when one is alive to go through the lines and do all the listening, that is when it is appreciated the most.
A writer says ,” no one can write the life of a man except those who have eaten and drunk and lived in social intercourse with him”.
Like him or hate him, he has continued to be relevant in all ramifications of life. A people’s man who with amazing ease mesmerises people of divers classes whenever there is need for either professional assemblage or social convergence with his oratory prowess. Mouthpiece of the people (Onu n’ekwuru oha), is a title befittingly ascribed to this Maritime guru and great industry player who has distinguished himself not only by professional knowledge or eminence but by being in a class by himself as a grand communicator, a motivator and organisational genius.
When you see Dr. Obicee Okonkwo, despite his age, you see a multi faceted personality with a perfect built of a real model. Each time you see him you see class and uncommon deportment; he reminds you of the saying,” the older the wine the better the taste”.
Dr. Obicee Okonkwo is a man of orchestrated abilities, with a special blend of celebrated maturity.
There is a saying that a local doctor is never regarded in his native home, he never shines,(Dibia ulo adighi eke uke), but Okwuru ora, Dr. Obicee Okonkwo is not in that class because he shines both at home and abroad; for a gold fish has no hiding place.
A chieftain of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents- ANLCA, and an outstanding member of Association of Igbo Maritime Practitioners in Nigeria-ASIMPIN, Dr. Okonkwo has remained consistent in the field he chose for himself,and has maintained very cordial relationships with professional colleagues and other relevant stakeholders, that is why he is celebrated everywhere he steps his feet, as doors are always open for him in all departments of the industry, not because he is a leader of any group or association but because of his ingenuity in oiling and strengthning relationships. Obicee Okonkwo is no doubt a special breed who has endeared himself to many.
A writer says, “each of us possesses a spark of individual brilliance, everyone of us is capable of accomplishing something in our own unique way that can not be accomplished by anyone else. Striving to discover what is our niche in this vast human market is part of our conquest of life”.
Dr. Obicee Okonkwo’s relevance is not because he has the financial muscle, neither is it because he is connected to those at the corridors of power, but like a good evangelist, he keeps encroaching on the hearts of many using neither the Bible nor works of charity, but the simple nuggets of fraternization and conviviality.
In appeasement and reconciliatory moves, Obicee Okonkwo is an undisputed champion; he is that personality that bares it all at every given time irrespective of whose ox is gored. He is a man with the guts, he has got the boldness, he has got the effrontery, where the audacity is lacking he invokes it to the advantage of others, and in a way that soothes the pains of every aggrieved party; that makes him unique !
Dr. Obicee Okonkwo, may God Almighty preserve you for those who cherish your existence and also preserve your specie . Longevity and happiness, may Heavens grant you.
From me to you Sir, as an acknowledgement of merits.
