Joseph Ogbonnaya Irukwu was born on 20th July 1933 in Item, to Sophine Nneke Irukwu (née Ekechukwu) of Okoko Item and Josiah Ekerearua Irukwu Ogbummam from Ndiawele, Amabaukwu, Amaokwe Item in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State, Southeastern Nigeria.  He was the first child of the family. His father was an affluent businessman and haulage contractor who was engaged in produce trade with European merchants. As his business expanded, the senior Irukwu moved the family away from Item to Zonkwa, Zangon Kataf LGA of Kaduna State, in Northern Nigeria when Ogbonnaya was about 5 years old.  There he imbibed the northern culture so well that the only languages that he could speak as a young boy were Hausa and a broken and simplified version of English adopted as a means of communication between people of different cultures and languages. 

Ogbonnaya’s childhood course was charted by movements from location to location, guided by the quest for academic success. He had his early education in Northern Nigeria (Kaduna and Plateau States), in Otukpo, Benue State; and Abia State (Item, Umuahia and Aba) in the East. These frequent moves instilled in him a love for different cultures, expressed in a deep appreciation of the rich diversity of the nation. Very early on he settled on law as a career choice. The few universities in West Africa did not offer law as a course and so he set his sights on the United Kingdom in pursuit of his dream to become a lawyer. Upon arrival, he enrolled at Holborn College, London and the Council of Legal Education, Lincoln’s Inn. As he approached the end of his legal studies, he discovered an interest in insurance and registered with the Chartered Institute of Insurance. He was subsequently called to the English Bar in 1962 and enrolled as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the same year. In 1964 he achieved all the qualifications of the Chartered Institute of Insurance.  

Soon after returning to Nigeria in 1962, he was introduced to Eno Maria Etuk, an up-and-coming broadcast executive at the state-owned broadcast station, Radio Nigeria, who was the third child of Mrs Grace and Chief Sampson Udo Etuk of Etinan, in the present Akwa Ibom State. Her father was an educator and the first national President of the Ibibio Union. They got married the following year and had five children: Agu, Ikechi, Chizor, Chioma and Ola. He had his sixth child, Tochi, in 1997. 

His first employment in Nigeria was with the West African Provincial Insurance Company, which was a branch of the British Provincial Insurance Company in London. Initially appointed to the position of legal adviser, he quickly rose within the ranks to the position of Deputy General Manager in 1965. Notwithstanding the disruption caused by the civil war (between May 1967 and January 1970), his future was unfurling at what seemed to be an accelerated pace with a series of appointments in various organisations.  In 1970 he was headhunted by the Swiss Directors of Unity Life and Fire Insurance Company to come on board as Chief Executive Officer. This was followed two years later with a government appointment to oversee the Students Loans Board, (now Education Bank), with a remit to provide loans to Nigerian students to enable them study at undergraduate or postgraduate level in Nigeria or abroad.  

In 1977, he became the pioneer chief executive of the Nigerian Reinsurance Corporation, a government owned business established to increase the local share of reinsurance premium income. By 1985 it was universally recognised as the most successful Federal government agency in financial and economic terms. After a decade in the post, he began to feel a stirring, recognising it to be the time to move towards his dream to establish a model private insurance company of his own. On 29th April 1989, the African Development Insurance Company was incorporated. In its first 10 years, and notwithstanding challenging times, the company was established as a leading voice in the insurance industry.  

Throughout a career which spanned several decades, Professor Irukwu held top positions in both the private and public sector of the Nigerian economy. Instrumental to the establishment of the insurance industry in Nigeria, his influence in his chosen field extended to the African continent and globally. He authored several landmark books on insurance and commentaries on Nigeria, including Insurance Law and Practice In Nigeria,1967; Accident and Motor Insurance in West Africa: Law and Practice, 1974; Reinsurance In the Third World,1980; Insurance Law In Africa: Cases, Statutes and Principles, 1987; Nigeria at the Crossroads: A nation in transition. London: Witherby, 1983; Nigeria – The Case for a Better Society, 1989; Insurance Law and Practice in Nigeria,1991; Nation building and Ethnic Organisations: The Case for Ohaneze in Nigeria, 2007; Nigeria at 100: What Next? 2014. He was Nigeria’s first Professor of Insurance and Insurance Law and a leading African authority on Corporate Governance, Insurance and Risk Management. His appointments, too many to mention, included the following: He was a past president of the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA), founding president of the Professional Reinsurers’ Association, past president of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, past Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association, 1981 to 1983, former Chairman, African Continental Bank Plc and former Chairman Co-operative & Commerce Bank Plc, President of the Nigerian Insurance Law Association,  Chairman, Inter-Ministerial Committee on Review of Insurance Laws in Nigeria, 2009 and chair of the Cargo Defence Fund of the Nigerian Shippers Council. He was a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and holder of the National Productivity Order of Merit and Officer of the Order of the Niger. He was the first African to receive the John S. Bickley Gold Medal for Excellence, which is the highest award for an individual in the world of Insurance and Risk Management.   

Professor Irukwu enjoyed a well-established, multi-pronged career as a lawyer, educator, author, chartered insurer, and philanthropist. He was a former President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, the socio-cultural organisation representing the interests of the Igbos, and as an elder statesman, his was a unifying voice and a stabilising influence in his local community and nationally. He was conferred with the title of Omezioha of Item in recognition of his contributions to the development of the nation in the areas of business, finance, insurance and education.  

As we reflect on a life hallmarked by duty and service, it is worthy of note that Professor Irukwu always acknowledged His merciful Heavenly Father Who gave him the grace to serve in such an exemplary manner. Often speaking of the Invisible Hand that guided the course of his life, he attributed his success in its entirety to our Lord, God Almighty.

After all is said and done, and in the reality of the fading music of life, he came to realise that what is truly of worth is one’s relationship with their Creator and the family that He gave you. And so, with this awareness, He sought to make his peace with his Lord and Master.