Dr. Austin Agbahiwe: A Shinning Light Blown Off. By Prof. Chidi Oguamanam.

I am deeply saddened to read about the shocking death of Dr. Austin Agbahiwe. Growing up, I knew Austin as an upbeat jolly good fellow; humble and down-to-earth. He was friends with my elder brothers and, as many will testify, Austin’s friendship was contagious. If he was friends to one in the family, he was friends to all – siblings, parents, certainly the entire family. Austin was at home with my Late Father, Chief John Emegharibe (Ozuomee) as he was with my late Onyiriegbe-born mother, Ezinne Appolo David. I dare say, the guy was affable and charismatic; hard to ignore.

He has strong Umuele connections and roots. I guess he attended formative school in Umuele. He fetched the same stream in Umuele with his peers. His social network with Umuele was rock solid. Along with Late Tim Obiwuru, both were true emblems of the fraternity between Umuele and Ibele which some uninformed tend to spin negatively. The duo represented the kith and kin or sibling rivalry nature of our two heritages in Amazano. Those with a sound and balanced sense of history will understand. Austin occupies a very profound and sincere pacific and grounded leadership as well as impeccable diplomatic credentials like not many of his contemporaries. He was at home anywhere across Akah Ebeiri.

I recall his super humble beginnings that dwarfed his towering ambitions. Whatever he did, he was always role-modeling, a decent person in candour and carriage. A lover of education and a forever student, he attended the College of Agriculture in Umuagwo (as it then was). He ended up with multiple degrees up to a Ph.D. I had a shared experience of his leadership when we collectively forged what came to be known as Akah Vanguard before it morphed with our dispersals across Nigeria and the globe. Austin went ahead to build a career in banking, business and entrepreneurship from the Merchant Bank of Africa in the 1990s to several other career trajectories in banking and finance. He was always ambitious and knew not how else to prosecute his ambition save through diligence, hard work, dedication and sound personal skills. His political sagacity and natural leadership endowment can take me a dissertation to account for.

I spoke with Austin a few months back. His excitement knew no bound when I called. We reflected on his painful transition to widowerhood. I felt his pain after close to an hour of our conversation. I promised to not take long to check on him. And now, Austin is no more. For Ibele, Amazano, Akah Ebeiri and the whole of humankind, Austin’s demise is a monumental loss that has rendered many hurting and prostrate to an indescribable degree. In his death, we are collectively diminished beyond words can adequately capture. I offer my deepest condolences to Austin’s tender orphans, immediate family members, and everyone who is grieved and bereaved at this moment on account of Austin’s demise. The shock of his death is still raw and will take a long time to process and reconcile. May Austin’s kind and warm soul find peace in eternity.