Anambra Monarch Mourns NAN First GM

The Anambra Central Traditional Rulers Council has extolled the literary and editorial virtues of late Chief Onuora Nzekwu, the first General Manager of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Nzekwu, the author of the popular novel, Eze Goes to School, died at 4.30p.m., on Friday in his home in Onitsha, Anambra.

The council’s Chairman, Igwe Chukwuemeka Ilouno, who spoke on behalf of the council, told NAN in Enugu on Saturday that Nzekwu’s death was a great loss to the nation.

Ilouno said that it was a great loss to the literary and editorial world, especially to the younger people that should have benefited from his wealth of knowledge and experience.

“Oh, what a sad information this morning. Nzekwu the great literary and editorial icon is gone.

“We will miss him and on behalf of the traditional rulers, I commiserate with his family, friends and the entire NAN family.

“Oh, it is a great loss indeed to many people who his life had touched in so many ways.

“Nzekwu was a great man, who knew his job as an editor and general manager of NAN, where he helped to build bridges of understanding among Nigerians.

“He also stood out in the literary circle of the early post independent era,’’ the monarch said.

Ilouno, who is also the Secretary-General of Iri Dynasty Traditional Rulers of Anambra State, prayed to God for the repose of his soul.

Nzekwu joined the Federal Civil Service as an Editorial Assistant at the Nigeria Magazine Division of the Federal Ministry of Information.

He became the editor-in-chief of the magazine from 1956 to 1958.

In 1966, when the Nigerian civil war broke out, he transferred his service to the Eastern Nigeria Public Service and returned to the federal service at the end of the battle in 1970.

He served as General Manager of NAN from 1979 to 1985.

Nzekwu also wrote `Troubled Dust’, a novel that recounts the experiences of the civil war.