By Chinedum Odenyi
There is an old saying that self-belief and hard work will always earn one success. Today, Tuesday, October 11, 2022, Senator Chukwuka Godfrey Utazi, will be conferred with the prestigious national honours of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON). He will be among the 67 men of high distinction that will be conferred with CON. This honour is a collision of hard work and divine favour.
Senator Utazi was born on October 16, 1961, to the family of Joseph Ezeugwu Utazi and Mrs. Roseline Utazi of Nkpologu in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Fate met preparation in Chukwuka. After his First School Leaving Certificate at Opanda-Nimbo, he went to St. Vincent’s Secondary School, Agbogugu, n Awgu LGA of Enugu State, where he obtained his General Certificate of Education (GCE). He was admitted into Anambra State College of Education, Awka (ASCEA), then in affiliation with the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. In the course of their study, the affiliation was determined, and Utazi and his other colleagues moved to the UNN for the completion of their degree programme. Preparing himself for the job that was to come, he registered and completed an LL.B degree at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, went to Law School and was subsequently called to Bar.
Despite good education, he desired to be a self-employed entrepreneur. He registered Mckinghill Enterprises and later incorporated it. As his entrepreneurial profile was rising, he decided to diversify his business and ventured into the downstream petroleum business. He built Taz-Oil Ltd and in no distant time offshoots of the company sprouted, creating a business chain in the eastern part of the country. He was, for a long time, the president of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Eastern Zone. While managing his businesses, he kept his eye firmly on legal practice.
Utazi’s political career is a testament to the saying that when God favours you, what is meant to break you will push you towards a breakthrough. His leadership traits were unmistakable from primary school; however, it was in ASCEA that he cut his first tooth in the murky waters of politicking. He was elected vice-president of the Students Union Government at ASCEA and later member, Students House of Representatives at UNN. When President Ibrahim Babangida’s transition programme began to unveil and new breeds were invited to come into governance, Utazi took the bold step. Fresh out of school, he contested for a House of Assembly seat to represent Uzo Uwani South Constituency in the old Enugu State House of Assembly on the platform of Social Democratic Party (SDP), in 1991. He won with a landslide.
At inauguration, the two political parties at the time, the SDP and the National Republican Convention (NRC), were evenly divided in the House, each party having 19 members. The contest for the Speaker of the House was intense; more so as Hon. Utazi had thrown his hat into the ring. The NRC executive in the state of H.E. Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo was sufficiently alarmed at Utazi’s popularity. Scrappy politicking and bare brinkmanship held sway. At the end of the keenly contested election, Utazi was sworn in as the Deputy Speaker of the House.
One year, three months or so later, General Sani Abacha sent everybody packing, overthrowing the civilian regime in a military putsch.
When democratic governance returned in 1999, Utazi once again entered the arena. He served Enugu State Government under Governor Sullivan Chime, first, as Senior Special Assistant on Legislative and Labour Matters, and thereafter as Commissioner on Inter-ministerial Affairs and later as Commissioner for Transport. His achievements in the transportation landscape of Enugu State are yet unmatched. In 2015, he resigned to run for Enugu North Senatorial District election on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He won, to come to the 8th Senate. And won again in 2019 to continue to represent the District in the 9th Senate.
Senator Utazi’s experience as a former Deputy Speaker of the Old Enugu State House of Assembly came handy in his stewardship in the Senate. The testament of his stewardship abounds. He was made chairman of Senate Committee on Financial Crimes, a position he dazzled in, facilitating the passage of a raft of Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes bills: Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill, 2017, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit Bill, 2017, Whistle Blowers Protection Bill, 2017, Proceeds of Crime Bill, 2017, Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2017.
Achieving the operational autonomy and independence of the NFIU as demanded by the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units and Financial Action Task Force was the high point of his service as chairman, Senate Committee on Financial Crimes, in the 8th Senate. Seeing the passion and the hard work he had put in, President Buhari appointed him chairman of the Presidential Ad Hoc Committee on the Repositioning of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, which was then a unit in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, an awkward situation that did not sit well with international standards on the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-terrorism Financing Framework. This committee was a consequence of the suspension of Nigerian membership from the 172-member nation Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units in July 2017.
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it, so says Bernard Shaw. Within one month, working hard with other members, he submitted a report to Mr. President. With the insights gained in the course of the assignment, he sponsored a member’s bill on the operational autonomy and financial independence of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit. With the suspension from the Egmont Group hanging on the neck of Nigeria like an albatross, and with deadlines to meet to forestall the activation of negative international backlash on the Nigerian financial system, the bill was given an accelerated passage and arguably may be the fastest private member’s bill to be passed in the history of the National Assembly to date. It passed in seven days. Grace of God bends the rule to accomplish in a few days what could have taken a lifetime to achieve.
In the present 9th Senate, Senator Utazi is the hairman of the Senate Committee on Primary Healthcare and Communicable Diseases, and vice-chairman, Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, and has been honoured as the senator with the most number of motions in the 9th Senate. As a legislator, Utazi has demonstrated capacity.
Utazi is a man of deep faith in God. He is a recipient of numerous awards, and today’s conferment of the prestigious national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger is a fitting, colourful feather in his nest of accomplishments. Oscar Wilde once wrote that contentment is not having everything but being satisfied with everything you have. That sums up the testimony of the life of Senator Chukwuka Utazi.