His childhood was full of adventure and good memories. The family lived in several cities in the Northern part of Nigeria where his father worked with the Nigerian Railway Corporation. In 1942, he lived in Kafanchan; moving to Minna in 1943 and then to Kurra in 1944, where he began his kindergarten education in nearby Jos. He had lovely memories of life as a child in Northern Nigeria, in those days. He used to tell the story with a grin.
The family moved to Nnewi from the north and in 1945 he began his primary school education at the Elementary Central School, Nkwo. He attended this school between 1945 and 1956 where he played a prominent role in the choir which sang regularly at St Stephens Anglican Church Nnewi, showing an early special interest in the things of God as a child.
In 1956 he began his secondary school education at the famous Okongwu Memorial Grammar School where he continued till 1958. In 1959, discovering a talent and skill for cars and vehicles; he opted for a technical training education and completed this in 1962.
He then set up his own automobile repair business upon completion in 1962 in the bustling city of Port Harcourt whilst managing his father’s property estate.
In 1968, the young family returned to Nnewi because of the civil war where he joined the Research and Production (RAP) unit Ozubulu; which was then stationed at Zikson Grammar School, working in the car production division.
With the war’s end in 1970, he moved to Enugu with his young family (now blessed with 2 daughters) and began a new business in the transport industry. He had a fleet of taxis providing useful needed commuting services. He also continued business in the car workshop as a technician and employer until 1977.
1977 marked a turning point in his life, when he gave up his job and business as a motor vehicle technician on medical advice and moved into a new business environment, within the Airport Industry. He began a car hire service at the Enugu Airport, an occupation which he enjoyed till he retired. He was blessed and due to his hard work and need to help others, he grew in the business and became an employer while also involved in management within the workforce.
While at the Airport, he held several positions within the union, most notably as Chairman and Assistant Chairman for several years.
He semi-retired at the age of 70 retaining his drivers and vehicles before fully retiring a couple of years after that. He settled down in Enugu attending various community meetings to contribute to community development and enjoyed his early morning Sunday devotion at the Cathedral of Good shepherd.
Having been a very active, very busy and hardworking man juggling work, family and various community activities, he found retirement difficult to handle after a few years while remaining in the same environment and he started yearning to return to his hometown where he could be with his siblings and kindred to make further useful contributions.
He was very happy to return to the village and he shared this with everyone who cared to listen - we know it lived up to his expectation. His desire had always been to return to the village after his 70th birthday. He used to say that 70 was a good landmark which he really wanted to celebrate, and every year afterward was extra blessing.
It was great to have celebrated your 70th birthday.