By Sam Asoluka
Life is a process. We come, we live, we go. Though, we can somehow, decide when and how to go but where we go thereafter is not known. Life, therefore, is ephemeral.
Today, we are mourning the passing of Dr Innocent Amadi. Our own Dr Inno, a consummate Owerri man, an accomplished and astute Igbo man who showed many people in the UK and Nigeria enormous and beneficial paths they walked and still walk today.
Dr Inno Amadi was not an ordinary person; he was an iroko, a colossus. He was compassionate, culturized, educated and a never-say-die kind of human-being. He was a community builder, organizer, a trailblazer and his name will always resonate within the communities with honour. And one thing that distinguished him from many people was his willingness to support the needy and share his knowledge with others.
Dr Inno was smart, naturally gifted and roundly blessed by God with premium knowhow and a family that loved and supported him even in sickness. And, in today’s world where people buy degrees, Dr Inno Amadi read, sat, defended and passed his PhD in Economics. For sure, only a few of us got to that height educationally. And he retired as Senior Policy Development Officer at the Haringey Council, London.
I got to know Dr Inno more when I launched THE AMBASSADOR MAGAZINE in 2010 in London. And he was the Keynote speaker. Some of the people here today were at the event. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was there too. Bro Inno as I fondly call him did not disappoint. He brought to bear his intellectual prowess. He held the audience spellbound with his knowledge of the media and its function in a contemporary society.
After the launch of the Magazine, we asked him to become the Editorial Board Chairman. He gladly accepted and since then, he had remained the Chairman, Editorial Board of THE AMBASSADOR MAGAZINE.
Interestingly, when we wanted to rest the Magazine, I called and told him. He asked me why and I gave him the reasons. He said to me, Sam, I can feel your pulse economically. Yes, sometimes you have to walk away to find your way. You can walk away today, but do not rest THE AMBASSADOR MAGAZINE. You will one day find your way back to the Magazine.
To the family we say a very big THANK YOU for the support and care you gave him throughout the period he was sick. We are here to support you and celebrate his strength, love and the meaningful life he lived. We are not here to celebrate his passing as he was an extra-ordinary man, overly engaging and humanely too good to die now. May his Soul Rest peacefully in the Lord.
Now that Dr Inno Amadi has gone home to rest with the Lord. Let us not forget that he was not the first to go. Although, we have not been told the first person that passed on. And, we can’t say for sure how many people have so far died in the world. However, let us pray that none of us will be the last person to pass on in the world otherwise there would be nobody here to mourn us as we have gathered today to mourn and share the memories we had with our brother, Dr Inno Amadi.
To the family, we say don’t panic. The Almighty God who made it possible for you all to walk this far, will also handle your case and comfort you in Jesus, name, Amen.
