It is not a good story to tell. In short, it is one of the most agonishing developments for which one will live with until possibly the end of one’s sojourn on earth. I am referring to the demise of Mr  Fidel Unekw Egwuche, one notable personality   that I could consider to be  a dear friend, brother, confidant, colleague, administrator, politician,etc.

Mr Egwuche, who died on Thursday, July 15 last year will begin his last journey home to Omabo,his  hometown In Ibaji Local government area of Kogi state this week. The first main rite will be a wake for him at his residence, DG Quarters in Lokoja on Wednesday, January 12. .The following day, January 13, his body will be escorted to   his town, Omabo in Ibaji LGA for its final rest. That will sadly  bring the chapter of one of my closest  friends, and one that I could refer to as a brother in the real sense of the word,   to an end.What a sorrowful moment for one, and most especially his family, friends and associates.  Although Mr Egwuche and I were from the same Senatorial District, our paths never crossed until we gained admission to read Mass Communication at the University of Lagos, 1982 set. . A number of us that came from the former Benue state, before the creation of Kogi included Tor Orpin, Tor Melabu, Joshua Edogbo, Oga Ekwu  and Isaac Ogbelu, Jonah Ajigah, ,  and Fidel Egwuche, and I among others. At the time when gaining  admission to read Mass Communication was a tough task because of the stringent demands by  the department, what is now known as Ibaji LGA produced two candidates in Egwuche and Ogbelu[now deceased].Egwuche ‘s popularly referred to as Fidel Castro, the name he bore after his hero, former Cuban president and an avowed communist. Our Fidel imbibed the Cuban leader’s radical ideology as a young man,and his moustache lent credence to his Marxist-Leninism bent.         But do not let his looks deceive you that he was a rigid,  too serious-minded a person. Inside him was a man full of love, consideration and compassion for his fellow beings, who hated injustice with passion. . He was  a great lover of Jazz music, with Louis Armstrong, the American legend  as his favourite.  Having travelled all the way from Igalaland to Lagos to advance our education at Unilag, in the late 1990s to early 80s, with time, circumstances brought Egwuche and I together, very close, especially in the drive to make ends meet, and to survive the Unilag environment which appeared dominated by the children of the wealthy class who could afford the luxury of cruising in their personal cars for lectures.It was difficult to differentiate between them and our lecturers, some of whom did not have cars .  Egwuche’s  robust arguments on national and international issues,  and sincerity of purpose brought us closer, and we become friends, brothers,   in a relationship that endured more than 40 years,  till his death in July last year.On finishing from the Unilag, and after completing our National Youth Service[NYSC] , fate brought us together in  Makurdi, the capital of Benue state. Mr Egwuche  was among the lucky few graduates of our time to be employed relatively early. He was engaged as a reporter by the News Agency of Nigeria[NAN] and it was while he was there that he graciously provided me and my nephew, Alhaji Abdullahi Shaibu Omata accommodation as job seekers. He was a very considerate person. His nephew, Kizito Egwuche and niece, Lucy, were already staying with him; despite this he did not turn us back from his place .Mr Egwuche  was mindful in ensuring that Kizito and Lucy grew up to be great citizen, even though they were quite obedient and responsible relations.He later introduced us to some of his kinsmen like James Akodi, Jacob Apeh, Joseph Idah, Vincent, Egwudah and a couple of others I cannot get their complete names. They were very good to us.  With the passage of time, I got a job as a press officer in Government House Makurdi, while my nephew, Alhaji Omata left Benue for Kaduna, where he was engaged as an accountant with Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria. Change  came our way with the appointment of Dan Edogbo Okolo,may God bless him, as the General Manager of Benue Printing and Publishing Corporation, Publishers of The Voice newspapers. Mr Okolo felt he needed some young graduates to bring vibrancy to the Group, and in the course of re-organisaton, Mr Egwuche, Tor Orpin[now deceased] Julius Achin[deceased] and I , with  a  couple of others  were recruited into the organisation. Our employment was strongly resisted by the old staff, but the Information Commissioner, by then, Rev. Tor Ujah stood his ground and we were eventually enganged.While we were at The Voice newspapers. Tor Orpin, Egwuche, and I  operated like brothers from the same parents, working ,socialising and doing many things together.We adopted “Okpani” Idoma word for _a venerated elder as our nickname. Orpin and Egwuche were posted to the Sunday paper, while I was elevated from the headship of sports desk to edit the first sports paper established by the Group. Egwuche told me later that Orpin kept their relationship strong, and was always visiting him in Lokoja until his demise two years ago. At the height of COVID-19 pandemic,in May 2019 or thereabout, Egwuche felt a very strong desire to see me In Kubwa, Abuja. The last time we met like that was when we convened  to discuss my new job with Daily Asset. The duo Orpin and Egwuche spoke very favourably of the Publisher, Dr Cletus Akwya, and threw their weight behind my decision to join his newspapers. But my last meeting with Mr Egwuche was different. As if he had an inkling that his time was near, he called his children and his wife Phiolemena to introduce the children  to me after a long time.I was so surprised that Iye his first daughter  had grown to the extent  that she had even married. We kept in touch regularly and about a week to his death, he replied to my whatsapp message,  that he was having challenges with his health.In all Mr Egwuche  had meteoric rise while he was  in the service of Kogi state Government. He was made Editor and later General Manager of the Graphics, Sole Administrator of Ibaji LGA, Special Adviser in the government of Governor Ibrahim Idris, and rose to become Permanent Secretary in the State Civil Service, etc..One painful thing that Mr Egwuche  told me, which he possibly died with, was how his appointment as a Commissioner was scuttled as a result of a petition by “a PDP chieftain” from his area. It was a sad story to tell while we all rejoiced at Mr Egwuche’s appointment, by Gov. Idris Wada at the twilight of his administration, only for his swearing in as a member of Gov. Wada’s cabinet to be withheld. It was a very painful incident that he lived with till the end. So many things on our dear brother, colleague, scholar, journalist, administrator, that this space cannot accommodate for now. It is most sorrowful to lose Mr Egwuche at this point in time. Nothing more to say for now, than to pray that God Almighty will grant his soul eternal rest in Jesus name.And his family the fortitude to bear the great loss.