Ex-Ohaneze leader Uwechue dies

The President-General, Ogwashi-Uku Development Union, Emmanuel Okafor, confirmed the death.
In his reaction, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Emeka Ihedioha described Uwechue’s passage as painful, unfortunate and regretful.
Ihedioha said the death left a big vacuum for the Ndigbo, noting that the deceased was a quintessential statesman and a rallying point for unity and progress of the Igbo race.
Uwechue was born at Ogwashi-Uku, Delta, in 1935. He attended St. John’s (Rimi) College, Kaduna from 1949 to 1954 and was retained as a teacher in the school for 18 months before he proceeded for further studies.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in history of the University College, Ibadan, 1960 and a Diploma in International Law and French language from the Geneva African Institute, Switzerland1964.
A career diplomat, Uwechue joined the Nigerian Foreign Service at its inception in 1960, and served in a number of countries, including Cameroun, Pakistan and Mali.
He was Nigeria’s first envoy to France and opened the Nigerian Embassy in Paris in1966.
Uwechue also served with UNESCO in Paris as Consultant on “General History of Africa” project between 1967 and 1970.
He retired into private business in 1970 as Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of magazines and books on Africa, published in both English and French.