By Willy Eya
Chief Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Iwuanyanwu could be likened to an elephant, which was described differently by seven blind men. He is all in one and means different things to different people.
However, no matter how you see him, nobody will deny the fact that Iwuanyanwu is an accomplished civil engineer, consummate industrialist, business mogul, politician, sports enthusiast, media entrepreneur and philanthropist par excellence. Indeed, he has excelled in several fields of human endeavours.
Born on September 4, 1942, in Atta, Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State, Iwuanyanwu got admission to study Civil Engineering at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1963. The Nigerian Civil War, between 1967 and 1970, disrupted his studies but he eventually graduated in 1970 after the war ended.
Upon his graduation from the university, he was employed at the Hardel and Enic Construction Company, where he worked for some years before he acquired it from the foreign operators. From that moment, his business acumen began to manifest as he went on to establish a conglomerate of over 20 companies.
In his first love, which is engineering, he has etched his name in gold as he designed an Ocean Barge with composite section of empty oil drums which was able to carry a pile driver used for the construction of pile foundation in deep sea. As a young civil engineer, he built the Enugu Airport. He equally took part in the design and production of the first rocket missiles produced in Nigeria, which carried warheads up to eight miles using local materials. He has equally carried out a lot of studies and production of various explosive armaments.
In politics, Iwuanyanwu has equally made his marks. He has run for the office of the president of Nigeria and has also held several political offices in government. Until 2021 when he retired from active politics, he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a party whose campaign for the South-East zone he coordinated during the 2003 presidential election.
As a sports enthusiast, he founded the Iwuanyanwu Nationale Football Club of Owerri, now Heartland Football Club, which won several national and international laurels.
A philanthropist and community development proponent, he has touched lives and brought many developmental projects to his community, the South East zone and Nigeria at large, particularly through his foundation. This has earned him recognition and awards, one of which is the ‘Aha Eji Eje Mba Ndigbo;’ an award conferred on him by chairmen of traditional rulers representing Ndigbo in the seven states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Delta, Imo and Rivers.
A Knight of the Order of St Christopher, Iwuanyanwu eminently qualifies for The Sun Lifetime Achievement award.