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By Prof Chidi Nzeadibe
The Chairman and Father of the day, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, Former President of Nigeria; His Excellency, President John Dramani Mahama, President of Ghana; Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
I feel greatly honoured to serve as a co-reviewer of the authorized biography of a distinguished Nigerian, Chief Barr. Dr. Obioma Success Akagburuonye at his Diamond birthday celebration. I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to Chief Dr. Akagburuonye for the opportunity to play this key role.
Title: Me and my God: The Authorized Biography of Dr. Obioma Success Akagburuonye
Authors: Jeff Unaegbu and Kenneth C. Ahaiwe
Publisher: Fellows of Inspiration, Research and Memory (FIRM) World Publishers, Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada
Genre: The book fits into the genre of Nigerian Non-fiction (English); Biographical
Foreword : Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, Former President of Nigeria
Date of Publication: February 2026.
Organisation and Structure: This biography is made up of 5 parts and fourteen chapters and has 399 pages with the preface/acknowledgement, foreword and prolegomenon. It also has a bibliography, appendices and photo gallery to give detailed context to the biography and an index.
Strengths of the book:
This is comprehensive expose of the life, achievements, travails, and contributions of a remarkable personality and humanist, Chief Obioma Success Akagburuonye JP, to societal development as has never been documented in any text. Publication of this volume involved a series of in-depth interviews at multiple locations and extensive document review. It is timely, original, and a brilliantly written book, in which the authors chronicled the life story of a kingdom investor, renowned philanthropist and benefactor to many communities, groups and individuals across Nigeria in a most compelling and engaging manner.
The book about the life of Chief Akagburuonye embodies the Biblical admonition in Matthew 6:33 to Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Readers of the book will agree that it is academically rigourous with an in-depth and extensive analysis of significant events in the life of the celebrant.
Chief Akagburuonyes political philosophy:
Chief Obioma Success Akagburuonye is arguably a philosopher who consciously imbibed the political philosophy of the Rt. Hon. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and he made no pretense about that in his own political journey. The book adequately captured this philosophy and Chief Akagburuonyes long-standing desire to connect to the personality of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. Despite the death of the sage in the late 1990s, Chief Akagburuonye found expression of this desire when an opportunity was presented by the Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka for him to present the maiden Nnamdi Azikiwe Memorial Lecture (NAML) on 14th November, 2025, about 3o years after his death.
Entitled: Nnamdi Azikiwes Political Philosophy: Lessons for Good Governance and Development, Chief Dr Akagburuonye argued that going back to Ziks political philosophy offers scope for solutions to current development and governance challenges of Nigeria. In Chief Akagburuonyes own words, “I believe in One Nigeria just like the Great Zik did and I am sure that if everyone is patriotic, we may have a great nation” (p.13). He further argued that Zik was ahead of his time and that some of his ideas have acquired full expression in the current sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the UN.
Me and my God gave details of Dr. Akagburuonyes travails in the custody of EFCC and his landmark victory as the first Nigerian to win in a Court of Appeal against stringent bail conditions, leading to prison decongestion. He found solace in the words of Psalm 34: 19 that: Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him from them all. As a kingdom investor and chosen one of God, he was delivered from all his afflictions and restored a thousand-fold. This is a classic case of Munachimso, that is, Me and My God. The book is available as paperback and e-book on Amazon for widest possible dissemination.
The Weaknesses
Like all works of man, the book is not without flaws. Most of it, however, is of an editorial nature that can be easily dealt with in the subsequent editions of publication.
Conclusion
As aptly captured by His Excellency Chief Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR in the foreword:
“Dr. Success Akagburuonye’s journey exemplifies the virtues of patience, humility and proximity to God. His contributions go beyond personal wealth; they encompass a profound legacy of community development, youth empowerment and national service. His life story is a clarion call to our young people that, with faith, hard work and integrity, they too can carve out a future of hope, prosperity and satisfactory service to their country and to God”.
Mr Chairman, your excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, the uniqueness of Dr. Akagburuonyes story is a great source of inspiration to readers and leaders and will challenge many to stick to the virtues of hard work, good leadership, entrepreneurship and philanthropy with a mindset of investment in Gods kingdom. The book is a remarkable story of hope and resilience – the latter word occurring twenty-one times in the entire text – and presents valuable lessons for members of the Nigerian society. I am confident that it will enjoy wide readership within and outside the shores of Nigeria.
Thank you for your kind attention.
Professor Chidi Nzeadibe,
Dean, Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
