ODOGWU EMEKA ODOGWU: A VETERAN JOURNALIST PAR EXCELLENCE TURNS FORTY (40) by Chiedu Uche Okoye

Who doesn’t know Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, a journalist par excellence and quintessential newshound? The name, Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, reverberates across the length and breadth of Nigeria for his writing prowess and incisive and analytical reportages. A good mixer, who is well-liked by many people, he interacts with both the lowly people and highly-placed individuals in the society in order to gather news. So not only is his name imprinted on the minds of people, but he is also popular with other journalists.
His popularity with other journalists owes to his inimitable personality traits and long stay in the journalism profession. Odogwu Emeka Odogwu is a veteran journalist, who has worked for nearly two decades in many different media companies in Nigeria. After cutting his journalism teeth at the Anambra Broadcasting Service, Awka, he went ahead to work for National Link Newspaper Nnewi before joining reputable and leading national newspapers in Nigeria like The Champion, The Nation, Nigerian Pilot, and others.
He started his journalism career as a reporter; but, now, he has risen to become an Editor in The Authority newspaper, South East zone. It’s an incontrovertible fact that he is a brilliant journalist, whose news reports are factual, concise, informative, and gripping. In fact, as a journalist, he knows his onions. And, he owes his steady rise in the newspaper industry to his brilliance, nose for news, unflagging industry, steadfastness, trustworthiness, and gregariousness.
Before he attained his current status in life, Odogwu Emeka Odogwu was a drudge, who did undignified jobs to eke out a precarious living. He went into unprofessional laundry to augment poor resources in the family before later becoming a bus conductor; and he did the job of shoe repairing at Eke Awka market. Later, he embraced subsistence farming to raise money for the payment of his school fees during his Tertiary Education day(s) with his parents. In order not to dropout, his parents borrowed money from village SUSU group to finance his Tertiary education. The money was N200 naira for every N1,000 every month. . His people were able to complete payment in 2005. Thankfully, all these are history today.
Perhaps, the tribulation and deprivations he suffered in his teenage years imbued him with common sense and financial prudence. So, he become an entrepreneur and saved almost every naira that came his way. He would deposit money in his bank account; but, he seldom made cash withdrawals from his accounts in banks. His phobia for poverty is the reason why he dislikes going to banks not to talk of withdrawing money from his accounts in the banks. This partly accounts for why he became a millionaire at a very young age.
Today, his consultancy empire has increased as he is involved in diverse consultancy businesses. When he lost his job at The Nation Newspaper through no fault of his, he started his blogsite (www.odogwublog.com) among other online sites. Expectedly, he has made a success of blogging and rakes in profit from it.
Today, nobody can gainsay the fact that Odogwu Emeka Odogwu has done well for himself. Is he not a well-heeled entrepreneur?  When people thought that he would amount to nobody and become a waif, he amassed stupendous wealth and built a house in the Awka Capital Territory and in Amanuke, his home town. Today, he is building houses for his uncle and in-laws. In addition to this, people who are not related to him by consanguinity are recipients of his philanthropy and benefaction. He pays the school fees of some orphaned children and those whose parents are so indigent that they cannot keep them in school. More so, he had contributed in no small ways in sponsoring the education of his siblings in tertiary institutions. Not being born with a silver spoon, and having suffered financial hardship, he vicariously experiences the hardships of the downtrodden. But, the fact is, Odogwu Emeka Odogwu is with empathy and common touch. He has modeled himself after Mother Theresa; and he is activated by altruistic impulses. 
As he has continued to assist the poor people, so has God continued to bless and uplift him in his endeavours. For real a glance at his curriculum vitae online shows that Odogwu Christian Chukwuemeka Nwannedimma Odogwu was shortened for Odogwu Emeka Odogwu. He has been rising steadily in the pen-pushing profession. He is a journalist with uncommon craftsmanship. So not surprisingly, now, he is the Editor of the Authority Newspaper, South-east zone. Being a knowledgeable journalist and great communicator, he is saddled with the task of mentoring young and inexperienced journalists. The steep decline in the quality of education obtainable in Nigerian has led to our universities churning out graduates who do not know their onions as to their fields of specialization. So, the responsibility of training and imparting the rudiments of journalism to the rookie journalists falls on his shoulders. So many journalists, who have excelled in the journalism profession, passed through his mentorship and tutelage.
But is Odogwu Emeka Odogwu not mentally, intellectually, and academically equipped for that daunting task? Yes he is duly equipped for that. He is a P.hD student at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. And he is studying mass communication. Soon he would round off his doctoral programme, there. Before that, he had acquired M.sc, PGD (Edu. and Mass Comm) HND, and other certificates in mass communication from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and Federal polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State. More so, he has a certificate course in journalism by BBC world trust.
Odogwu Emeka Odogwu was born on March 28, 1977. He was christened Christian Chukwuemeka Nwannedimma at birth. He, however, writes under the nom de plume Odogwu Emeka Odogwu. He hails from Amanuke, Awka. This journalism great attended Community Primary School Amanuke in Anambra state and New Layout Primary School Abakaliki, Ebonyi state for his primary education. A former student of comprehensive secondary Nawfia, he attended Urban Secondary School Abakailiki, too.
Odogwu Emeka Odogwu should thank God for turning forty in a country where life expectancy is low. More so, he should show thankfulness to his lovely and sweet-tempered wife, who is his support and stabilizing influence in his home. His wife was the tenth lady he sought her hand in marriage after the other nine ladies had turned down his offers of marriage to them in the mistaken belief that he couldn’t provide their material needs. His marital union with his amiable wife has produced two prodigious children, a boy and a girl. But will he, have more?
I pray that Odogwu Emeka Odogwu should see more happy birthdays. May God continue to keep and bless this philanthropist and journalism great?
Yours faithfully,

Chiedu Uche Okoye
Uruowulu Obosi
Anambra State
08062220654