Anambra NSE honours member who made bombs, others for Biafrans during civil war

Nigerian Institution of Metallurgical Minning and Materials Engineers (NIMMME), a division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Awka Chapter, Anambra State, has awarded former Minister of Science and Technology, late Professor Gordian Obumneme Ezekwe, with the highest mentorship of the Society.

The award was received by his younger brother, Engr. Romanus Ezekwe, on behalf of his family and the people of Abagana community, in Njikoka Local Government Area of the State.

The Society said the Minister, had during his service years mentored many prominent Engineers across Nigeria, irrespective of tribe and religious backgrounds through the technological skills that lead him in manufacturing war bombs (Ogbunigwe), war jet equipment and fuel for Biafrans Soldiers, during the three years Nigeria-Biafra civil war.

He was appointed Minister, during General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida’s regime in 1989.

The Mentorship award was bestowed on him and other deserving Engineers, Engr. Professor Daniel Oraegbuna Nnamdi Obikwelu and a Greece Nigeria Nationalist, late Mr Romeo Barberopoulos, who work as an Electrical Engineer with A.G Leventis and Co, in 1958-1966, during the 2022 1st Ezekwe- Barberopoulos-Obikwelu (E.B.O), Honourary Lecture Series, organise by NIMMME, Awka Chapter, which took place, at LaLuna Hotel, Awka, on Wenesday.

Speaking at the event, the National Chairman of the NIMMME, Professor Aje Tokan, described the honorary award given to the three Prominent Engineers, “as the highest ever in the history of the Nigerian Society of Engineers for the past 62 years of its existence”

Tokan, who was represented by Engr. Akpan-Abia, while congratulating one of the honoured, Prof. Obikwelu, who is still alive, urged him to leave up to the expectations of the society.

“Prof. Obikwelu, has since dedicated most of his life towards mentorship of Engineering professionals in Nigerian.

He disclosed that late Prof. Ezekwe, was appointed Science and Technology Minister, by General Babangida, for his fast experience during the Nigeria-Biafra civil war.

He urged the Federal and Anambra state government to immortalized his kind contribution to the nation’s peace and development.

The National Chairman, use the event to solicit greater support and collaboration with the federal government, to enable the institution to realise its mandate and to contribute to the present administration’s desire to diversify the country’s economy.

In his address, when reading the citation of the honourees, the Awka Chapter Chairman of NIMMME, Engr. Michael Orekyeh, said the lecture series was also designed to simplify the materials engineering industrial processes and profession for the general public. We need to break the MMME disciplines down to simple terms and encourage Nigerians to understand them better, invest in them and developed our country.

‘We hope the E.B.Os characters, stories, profiles and legacies will inspire new generation engineers and entrepreneurs and perhaps what we learnt from them and the chosen theme for lectures will produce developments that will push Materials Engineering to new and positive heights in Nigeria, Orekyeh stated.

In a brief biography of Prof. Ezekwe and Mr Barberopoulos, Engr. Orekyeh, revealed that Prof. Ezekwe, was a key planner and contributor to many inventions, warfare material and products on the Biafran side of the Nigerian Civil war that he became a household name for his genius and management abilities. While Mr Barberopoulos, in 1958 when the first Television Station in Africa (WNTV Ibadan), commenced operations, he assisted in setting up service workshops in Ibadan, Kaduna and Benin and trained large numbers of Nigerians in the field.

He commended the state governor, Willie Obiano, for giving many professionals the opportunity to serve the state and understand how governance works.

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