Professor MC Muo(Diokpa-Umuezeamaluchi, Umeononenyi): He was once like us! - Ik Muo, PhD.

Sunday, March 30. 2025, the day that later became accursed, started like any other day. I woke up in good spirits, cleaned up my car  and laid out the cloth I would wear, to the  Mothers’ Day celebration at St Sebastian’s  Catholic Cathedral, Ijebu-Ode. I went to extend the Mothers’ Day goodwill to my landlady, whom with the support of the husband, has been exemplarily hospitable to me. I then went to my underutilised kitchen to prepare my breakfast:  a measure of quaker oats, two slices of bread (my doctor/dietician must not hear this!) and one boiled egg. It was then that my telephone, that major distraction or enabler of man (depending on how you use it) rang! On the other end was Professor PVC Okoye a brother, family friend and colleague to ‘Diokpa’.  Receiving a call from him at a time when he ought to be at Mass or preparing to attend one, was not so normal but I decided to ‘be calming down’. He told me that Umeononenyi was sick, and I said ‘umhuu’, that he was rushed to the hospital and I assured him that ‘I will contact the daughter immediately’. He wanted to say something else again when I requested him to ‘tell me the FULL & TRUE story’ and he responded that ‘the Doctor said that he is dead’. It was so unbelievable and so unreal. He was not sick and we had spoken about 48  hours earlier on how he would attend  the funeral  of Mr Anthony Onyebuchi at Igbo-Ukwu. A lot of unpalatable thoughts ‘ran around my head’ as I recalled our last physical contacts, discussions, agreements, proposals and projections: about the family, his retirement and the drudgery of filling retirements forms, how he would keep himself busy, my  experiences at OOU, how I would relocate down east, issues within the immediate and extended family…. Before long, two of his daughters called to confirm and relay the same dreadful message.

 At that time of the day, all the people I attempted to callat Awka were not reachable because  they were in Church. And so, I sent the same brief and toneless message to all of them ‘Ononenyi is dead and  Prof PVC   Okoye and one of his tenants are with him at the hospital’. I asked Prof Okoye to arrange and deposit his corpse (yes;  Diokpa Umeononenyi he has transitioned from ‘is’ to ‘was’; from a human being to a mere corpse) at Apex Embalmment facility, Igbo-Ukwu. Before long, a team of the willing and able assembled and within a few hours, the VIVACIOUS Professor MC Muo, Umeononenyi, the Diokpa of Ezeamaluchu dynasty, had taken an ‘apartment’ at the mortuary! Tell it not in Igbo-Ukwu! Tell it not in Awka!! My immeasurable gratitude goes to Prof PVC Okoye, Sir JBC Obikwelu, Sir Simon Chiekezie, Prof Uju Chiekezie and one of his tenants( who operated from the Awka end), and  to Chief JT Osude, John Muo( Ononenyi’s Personal Person), Chibuike Emeka and our sister, ‘Kati’ Ezeanyanaso (who operated at the Igbo-Ukwu end). They ensured that the initial steps were taken to perverse his remains.    What would I have done from far away Ijebuode?

That day I was receiving and making calls till around 12 midnight and the last call I received was from one of his longest standing bosom friends, Chief Maja Umeh, Okwoaka Amichi, who discussed preliminary funeral issues with me.  Incidentally, Maja  left for the great beyond a few days later, an indication that nobody knows the when, where and how of  this mysterious affair called death. Most of the calls I received that day and thereafter were preceded with ‘is it true that…’  and so, within next 24 hours, I had to issue a statement that ‘It is true that Prof MC MUO has gone to where we shall all go’. All the callers were in shock, relaying how they interacted with him  physically at various fora and through calls up to 29/3/25. Most of them recalled the 70^th Birthday and Retirement party which he hosted at  ASUU Complex, Awka on 27/12/24.. as if he knew he was on the departure lounge! When Professor Greg Nwakoby got in touch with me that day, he told me that his wife and himself were preparing to leave for Awka  to attend a function with  Ononenyi . He had picked his phone to  ask Ononeyi  to await for them when  he noticed that an unknown number had called and he decided to check out the number out and that  was  how I told him that Ononenyi had gone!  The shock was so palpable that I could feel it from my end. Of course, they cancelled the trip.

The JOLLY good fellow!

To cut the long story short, the reality of it is that as unbelievable as it is, Umeononenyi is dead! That vivacious and happening guy is gone to the land of no return. He was a jolly good fellow, very friendly to all irrespective of status,  and w as conscious of his social obligations to friends and relations  from far and wide. He could not pass without being noticed and he was at the center of all social gatherings that he attended. He went to the US in 1977 when going to US was not common but he kept touch with his root. That was why he took the Ozo title in 1992 and  took special pleasure in dancing the exclusive ‘uhie’ music, which he danced with a special panache  and personalised style. He was able to seamlessly fit into the   Igbo society, joined the academia where he became an Academic General. And irrespective of how long he stayed in the US, he never spoke ‘yea-men’’; he spoke the normal ‘ Nigerian English’.

It is OVER!

We performed our last obligation to him, the burial and funeral, which took place on Saturday, 10/5/25 at St Michael’s Catholic Church and Ezeamaluchi Muo ancestral home, Ihuowelle Igbo-Ukwu in the presence of the Church,  family ,other relations, colleagues. friends and well-wishers.

 It is difficult and painful to believe that I will NOT see Umeononenyi again.  Worst of all, he left ‘without notice’. Like joke. Like joke, he has gone irretrievably! I pray that the Good Lord will grant him eternal rest and console the Umuezeamaluchi dynasty, starting from his children and siblings. I also commiserate with the Umumenne and Umunwogu families who lost their ‘Ononobi’ as well as Umumennofor  kindred who lost their first Professor.

I request  Umeononenyi  to extend our greetings to  these Umummenne  compatriots who left before him: Amaka, Paul, Rebecca, Cyril, Sir ‘WO’  Celina and Thesea  Muo, as well as Sunday, Paulina, John, Patrick and Udoye Emeka

 UmeOnonenyi was one of us but he is GONE, only to be remembered by what he had done.  One of these days, we shall also be like him at a time, place and circumstances, we shall not know. By then, we shall also be remembered by what we have done!

With a heavy heart, I reluctantly say, Goodnight brother

- Ik Muo, PhD. FCIB. Department of Business Administration, OOU, Ago-Iwoye. 08033026624

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