Dear Amb Okey Emuchay, MFR;
and the Igbo Nation,
“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.”
Unknown
George was part of us and fitted in perfectly well.
His jokes, wit, intellect and courage were awesome. Always mesmerising.
With him there were no dull moments. He was full and fulfilling. His presence was wholesome. He rode the storm with smiles, the counter-current with a godlike ease and managed adversity with exceptional diplomatic Finesse: adroit and artful. He “turns every difficulty into opportunity.”
I feel the pain and sudden loneliness of all close to him.
His last one or two years were most challenging yet he managed them with heroic zeal, undaunted.
When I heard of his ultimate call to eternal glory, my mind ran amok of imaginations.
Losing Prof George Obiozor is as bad as losing a war.
Only good generals can win a great war.
George was the best of them all.
Passed through Columbia, was DG NIIA, became Nigeria’s Ambassador to Israel, High Commissioner to Cyprus and capped his public service career as Nigeria’s Ambassador to the USA.
For the Igbo Nation the crucial role he played in negotiating the return of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu from exile back to Nigeria will be remembered for all eternity.
The credit goes to him, the Oyi of Oyi, Distinguished Sen Chuba Okadigbo, PhD and of course Alhaji Shehu Shagari whose empathy and compassion in this regard has no comparison in history.
Prof George Obiozor was a trailblazer, and always believed that the “present reality is a future possibility” and so endeavored to embrace eschatological virtues of Faith, Hope and Love without pretence.
He had left the way he lived: with the smiles of a conqueror, with clean hands and pure heart, left no debt unpaid.
The devastation that this timeless withdrawal causes is as profound as the lingering distress in facing up to our mortality.
We all know he fought a good fight, and like I said earlier, Prof George Obiozor fully paid his dues. Thank God, he triumphed and has reached for the Medals and the Crown of Glory in a state overflowing with unbonded ecstasy and eternal jubilation.
May the good Lord forgive his shortcomings and admit him into Paradise.
May He also grant his family, friends and all of us the strength, courage and fortitude to accept his call to eternal glory in Jesus Mighty Name.🙏🙏🙏
Ozichukwu Chukwu
29th Dec, 2022
