THE DEPARTURE OF A RARE BREED: BARRISTER EMMANUEL UCHE, written by Adimchinobi Paul Onuoha
On Friday 1st May, 2020, the remains of Barrister Emmanuel Onyema Nhorom Uche who went to be with the Lord on 6/02/2020, will be laid to rest.
Barrister Uche’s death was such a loss to all who knew him that one of his mentors Barrister Patrick Abuka lamented, ‘Can there be another Emmanuel Uche?’ He was a special human being’.
Born to the Uche family in Nkpuke Village in Amakama Umuahia in Abia State in 1948, Barrister Emma Uche was indeed a rare gift who gave a piece of his life to all who knew him.
If reincarnation was a reality, on this occasion of his interment, the summary of his funeral oration would be that he should come back to this life the way he came.
If reincarnation was not a lie, we would say to him at this funeral ‘Barrister Emma Uche, if you lived a selfish life, we would ask you to come back a selfless man, but you were thoroughly selfless and gave of yourself to all who ever came in contact with you.
If you were heartless, we would have asked you to come back with a heart that cared for others, but you had a Godly heart of flesh and you were indeed a gift to all.
Barrister Emmanuel Uche, if you lacked wisdom, we would have asked you to come back a wise man, but you were the Socrates of our time.
You were the wise counselor whose counsel and advise broke deadlocks, resolved knotty issues and brought clarity and succour to many in diverse situations.
If you were stingy and bothered only about ‘you, yourself and yours’, we would have asked you to come back to this life a generous man, but you were a philanthropist per excellence. Your generosity knew no bounds. You were a giver who gave when you identified any lack.
You cried when others cried and rejoiced when someone else rejoiced. You visited the needy and sick and never failed to give an “envelope” at sick beds, burials, weddings, child dedications and on all occasions that involved anyone you knew.
Ever smiling, supremely witty and infectiously humorous, your presence and utterances brought joy wherever you were.
As a seasoned legal practitioner, your voice rang out in court rooms free of charge, in defence of those who were hounded and oppressed. Those included widows and the deprived. Emma, you did not believe in accumulating wealth for self-aggrandizement, but you believed in ‘wealth for assistance’.
You would have made a fortune in life, but your philosophy of assisting people made you a man of modest means. And even at that, you paid the school fees of orphans, assisted the children of widows, supported indigent pastors e.t.c.
From your modest means, you built churches in various locations across our country Nigeria.
You took in, nurtured and supported needy ones from various tribes especially youths from Taraba, Kaduna, Plateau States and other places.
Even on your death bed, Barrister Uche you gave out to those who needed help. Everyone you knew benefitted from your largeness of heart.
If reincarnation was a reality, at his grave side we would further say to him, ‘Barrister Emmanuel Uche, if you were a proud man, we would have asked you to come back in the next life a humble man, but in spite of your great learning and prodigious intellect, you were a humble man who made room for anyone you came in contact with, no matter the person’s status in life’.
‘If you were not a great family man, father, husband, in-law, uncle, brother e.t.c, we would have asked you to come back a different person, but you were a wonderful family man who touched the lives of members of the Uche family, your in-laws and cousins in ways that were decisive and profound. You were a dotting husband and a caring father’.
If reincarnation was not an empty myth, part of his funeral oration would also read, ‘Barrister Uche, if you were intellectually shallow, we would have asked you to come back with deep intellect, but you were a thorough-bred intellectual, a brilliant Federal Government Scholar who attended the University of Ibadan where you bagged your B.Sc degree as the best graduating student in the Department of Sociology in 1974, a Master’s degree in 1976 and a Law degree from the University of Lagos in 1983’.
You later had a fulfilled working life where you rose to the position of Deputy Chief Registrar, Industrial Arbitration Panel.
Most importantly Barrister Uche, if you were not a child of God, we would have asked you to come back in your next life and serve God, but you were a transparent child of God who served God with your whole being, an awardee of the ‘Ambassador’ of the Kingdom by Assemblies of God Nigeria. You served on the Deacon Board of the Assemblies of God Church, 111 Cleg Street Surulere Lagos for over 20 years till your death on 6th February 2020.
You were indeed the man in whom there was no guile.
The conclusion therefore is that If we believed in reincarnation, we would say to you, ‘Come back in your next life the very same way you came in your first life’,
but we do not believe in reincarnation.
To us, reincarnation is a hoax and an empty myth.
The next time we will meet you Barrister Uche, you would be putting on a body cloaked in the splendor of immortality. When we will meet you in glory, our voices will blend with yours to tell the story of ‘How We Overcame’, to sing the ‘Amazing Grace’ song of the redeemed.
As the remains of this icon is lowered into the grave on 01/05/2020, we bid Barrister Emmanuel Onyema Nhorom Uche farewell.
May God console your dear wife Barrister Chijinkem Uche, your daughters Engineer (Mrs.) Chimezirim Iroeche and Barrister (Mrs.) Uloaku Nnoli and the entire Uche family, the Osisiogu family (your maternal home), the Nkpuke Community and the Assemblies of God Churches in Amakama and Lagos as well as the entire General Council, Assemblies of God, Nigeria and all those you have left behind.
May God console the innumerable number in whose mouths you have left a sweet alluring and unforgettable taste.
Adieu Barrister Emmanuel Onyema Nhorom Uche.