Living Legends Series: Chika Ogonwa – The Scholar, Unionist, and Academic Trailblazer
Living Legends Series: Chika Ogonwa – The Scholar, Unionist, and Academic Trailblazer
By Prince Agbedeyi Odimientimi Desmond for Egbema Egberi Media International
Welcome, dear readers, to another rib-cracking edition of Egbema Egberi Media International’s prestigious Living Legends Series, where we immortalize the rare few who, through sheer academic audacity, intellectual swagger, and a little bit of stubbornness, have refused to go quietly into the background of Nigerian history. Today, we present to you a man whose name echoes across the polytechnic corridors like a proverb spoken twice—Dr. Chika Ogonwa—the legend who speaks French, fights fraud, and can explain postcolonial literature with the same calmness he uses to sip garri on a rainy day.
✒️ From Nsukka with a Pen, Not a Sword
Born with a pen in one hand and a bilingual dictionary in the other (allegedly), Chika Ogonwa defied the odds by choosing French—not for fashion, but for revolution. While his mates were mastering the art of “Oga, anything for the boys?”, young Ogonwa was busy conjugating être and reciting Voltaire in Owerri. He went on to earn degrees in French from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and later crowned his academic rebellion with a PhD in French Studies from Nnamdi Azikiwe University.
They say “a prophet has no honor in his hometown,” but Chika flipped the script: he became a prophet, a professor, and a personnel auditor all at once. From his desk at Delta State Polytechnic Ogwashi-Uku, Dr. Ogonwa taught French literature with such depth that even Shakespeare would have started learning French just to keep up.
🗣️ The ASUP Comrade Who Makes Sense—In French and English
Let’s not forget his alter ego: ASUP Zone D Commander-in-Chief. As Coordinator of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (South-East & South-South), he led with wisdom and wit, often reminding the authorities that “You cannot build an educational system on unpaid salaries and unpaid attention.”
Whenever government officials started making promises about paying polytechnic staff “soon,” Chika would lean forward like an uncle about to tell a folktale and say, “Is ‘soon’ a French word for never?” In fact, we suspect the real reason many institutions paid their arrears was just to avoid hearing Chika’s next metaphor.
🧠 Wisdom Like Yam, Humor Like Palm Wine
Colleagues say he can quote Fanon, Foucault, and Fela in the same breath. Students say his lectures are so rich, you don’t just pass the exam—you pass into enlightenment. Critics say his tongue is sharper than a pension scammer’s calculator, and union members say he once used sarcasm to shut down a federal committee meeting.
He’s also the only man who can walk into a room of 200 angry staff, armed with only a biro and a quote from Aimé Césaire, and walk out with a peaceful resolution and an extra meat pie.
🏅 Legend in Real Life
In a country where mediocrity wears agbada and fraud drives a Prado, Dr. Chika Ogonwa remains a beacon of integrity, intellect, and ironically, dry humor. If there were a PhD in Not Taking Nonsense, he would have been the supervising professor.
We hereby induct Dr. Chika Ogonwa into the Living Legends Hall of Fame, not just for being the finest French-speaking scholar on this side of the Niger, but for reminding us that greatness often comes wrapped in books, policies, and a little sprinkle of satire.
So, to Dr. Ogonwa, we say:
Merci, Professeur. Continuez à parler la vérité—even when it’s in French.
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