Follow Us on Google
The Obi of Onitsha, His Majesty, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe (Agbogidi), marked his 85th birthday on May 14, 2026. Born in Onitsha on May 14, 1941, Igwe Achebe is the 21st Obi of Onitsha. He ascended the throne of his ancestors on May 14, 2002, following a tradition that has not been broken for over 500 years. Achebe is the first child of Akunne Anthony Chinwuba, and Chukwuebuka Winifred Ogbenyeanu Achebe, and a direct descendant of Ezechima, the founding monarch of Onitsha Ado N’Idu.
He attended primary and secondary schools in Nigeria before proceeding to Stanford University in California, United States, in 1963 to study Chemistry. He obtained his master’s in Business Administration from the prestigious Columbia University in New York. He also attended the maiden Senior Executive Course of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, near Jos in 1979.
Anambra State University awarded him Doctor of Law Honoris Causa in 2008 while the Kogi State University awarded him Doctor of Science Honoris Causa in 2010. Achebe’s abiding faith in education made him establish a manpower development trust fund for Onitsha early in his reign. In 1972, he returned to Nigeria to begin a career in Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria and the Royal Dutch Shell Group. This was after a brief working experience in the US. In 1981, he was appointed the General Manager for the Eastern Division of the company.
He retired from Shell Nigeria in 1996 but acted as “ambassador at large” for the Shell Group on Nigeria matters at Shell International in London. This made him to travel and lecture in different parts of the world, including addresses to parliamentary committees in the European Union, USA, United Kingdom, Irish Republic, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
He was not only a director of Shell, he was also director of several other Shell companies in the UK, the Netherlands, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, the Gambia, Liberia, and Angola. Among other positions, Achebe was on the governing councils of the Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun, and the Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Association. He was Chairman of Diamond Bank Plc, the Universal Insurance Plc and Unilever Nigeria Plc. Also, he is Chairman of Omak Maritime Limited and Intafact Beverages Limited.
Achebe has served the nation in different capacities. He was a delegate to the 2005 National Political Reform Conference. He coordinated the traditional rulers’ forum at the conference and was also the Chairman of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources Management Reforms at the conference.
A fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management and the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Igwe Achebe is a member of the Nigeria-Britain Association (NBA), a life member of Britain-Nigeria Association (BNA), life member of the Nigerian Economic Society, and member of the Nigerian Institute of Personnel Management and Nigerian Environmental Society. He is also a member of the Metropolitan Club, Lagos as well as Vice-Patron of Island Club and Lagos Country Club Lagos respectively.
In 2004, the Federal Government decorated him with the National Honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR). He became chairman of the Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council in 2008 and was also made an Honorary Fellow of the Nwafor Orizu College of Education the same year.
Many prominent Nigerians and groups paid tribute to him on the occasion of his 85th birthday. Former Anambra State Governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, described him as a shining symbol of dignity, intellect, humility and westernized service. According to him, Achebe’s life remains a strong reminder that leadership is about character, discipline, compassion, and service to humanity. His reign, Obi added, demonstrated that traditional institutions remained vital pillars for peace, moral leadership, cultural preservation, and national development.
An Igbo socio-political group, Anya-Ndi-Igbo, commended Igwe Achebe’s 24-year-reign which they said positively redefined royalty and placed the annual Ofala festival on the global cultural calendar. In the 2025 Ofala festival, the Oreze Art Exhibition Series, which Igwe Achebe established in 2013 to promote African art and foster community development, featured an array of works by local and international artists.
The festival, which dates back to the 16th century, saw Achebe spending weeks in seclusion and spiritual retreat to prepare for it. On the Iru Ofala day (October 17, 2025), when he made his first public appearance after weeks in seclusion, highly placed individuals, including the Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa; Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu; chiefs and titled men, came to pay him homage.
In recognition of the revered place of Onitsha monarch in Igbo land, the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, hosted him at the Michael Okpara Auditorium in Umuahia on May 15. We commend Otti for his show of respect for our traditional institution and urge other governors to emulate him. We congratulate the Agbogidi on attaining this ripe age in good health and sound mind. May his reign continue to be impactful on Onitsha people in particular and the Igbo in general!
