By Onwuasoanya FCC Jones, PhD
Imo’s reputation as the intellectual capital of Nigeria might have preceded its official creation as a State, because, long before the proclamation that gave life to the idea of what is today, the heartland of Nigeria’s Southeast, the areas that would become Imo had given birth to, and nurtured some of the most fecund brains in West Africa. John Munonye was one of them. Dr. Ezekiel Izuogu was another. There are many others.
Someone taunted me that it would have taken a little shift of the pencil and those who drew the map of Imo State would have put Akokwa, the homeland I am proud to share with John Munonye and Dr. Ezekiel Izuogu, in Anambra State, but I told him that God does not make mistakes. It is not merely the design of geographers that we are part of Imo State, but it is God’s design that Akokwa would be the salt of Imo State, because that town has produced some of the greatest men and women that have boosted the place of Imo in Nigeria and the world, such that if I decide to delve into discussing all the great men, living and dead, from Akokwa whose place in the history of Imo State cannot be disregarded, I might have given myself a full time job, that would take many months to serialise into one voluminous book that could fill a shelf in a library.
But, among these great men, I choose to remind us of John Munonye and Ezekiel Izuogu, because their impacts stretch beyond the Niger River and their legacies will not be erased by either politics or amnesia. This is mostly because, they invested in works that last the test of time.
John Munonye is renowned for writing good stories, and mostly remembered for his magnum opus, The Only Son, but he gave the world more than that story which is centred on Nnanna and his beloved widow mother. That timeless classic piece of art, has been read by millions of literature lovers in the world since 1966, when it was first published as part of the Heinemann African Writers Series.
John Munonye might not have gotten as much acclaim as the late Chinua Achebe, but I think that Chinua would be glad and even proud to be compared to him, in style, but definitely not in prolificity or glory, because the latter is arguably, “the father of modern African literature”.
Like John Munonye, Dr. Ezekiel Izuogu was also a key part of Imo’s pride of place in education and inventions, having spent a good part of his life lecturing at the premier Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri, where his numerous inventions and scientific breakthroughs brought so much attention to Imo State. Among his numerous inventions, the man who was popularly known as “Zee Izuogu” in the political arena, holds the special record of manufacturing what is regarded as “Africa’s First Indigenous Automobile”, the eponymous Izuogu Zee-600. He is also credited with developing “a machine referred to as a “self‑sustaining Emagnetodynamics” generator, designed to extract atomic magnetic energy for power generation without conventional fuel input.”
Besides blessing us with some didactic and interesting novels, which have been described as possessing the powers to heal and teach, John Munonye was also an ‘educational formator’ who helped to design the teaching methodologies adopted, not just by schools in the present day Imo State but by Nigeria’s educational sector, generally, as the head of the Advanced Teachers Training College, Owerri, where he brought his wealth of experience and skills as an educationist to groom the teachers who groomed the other teachers. His legacies stand tall and indelible.
As a patriot with the burning zeal to make Nigeria better, Dr. Ezekiel Izuogu was one of the few intellectuals who dared to get involved in the murky waters of Nigerian politics, attempting, without success on many occasions to redirect Imo’s fortunes to brighter paths with his vision of creating a technology and science Wonderland of West Africa in Imo State. It is believed that he was robbed of his victory in at least, two of the governorship contests he participated in.
It is instructive to note that that Dr. Ezekiel Izuogu’s failed attempts at becoming the governor of Imo State did not make him less patriotic or slow his motivation to continue to support Nigeria’s democratic growth. The history of the liberalisation of the Nigerian democratic space would not be complete without mentioning Ezekiel Izuogu’s struggle up to the Supreme Court of Nigeria which ensured the registration of the People’s Liberation Party (PLP).
Long after the curtains might have fallen on the weeklong event lined up for the celebration of Imo’s golden jubilee, the legacies of John Munonye, whose other novels include; The Oil Man of Obange, Obi, A Dancer for Fortune, A Wreath for the Maidens, etc, and Dr. Ezekiel Izuogu, among other notable Imo sons and daughters, whose contributions in talents and otherwise are the bases for Imo’s enviable reputation among other States in Nigeria.
IMO IS GREAT!
