Immortalizing CC Onoh

• Anglican Diocese names college of education after former governor of old Anambra State and legal icon

Classrooms

By Henry Umahi

If you visit Enugu without going to Milliken Hill, your journey is not complete. It is home to wonders of nature, and a place where nature and technology cohabit.

Hugging the hillside, the road poses a challenge for drivers, with its succession of a bunch of turns and twists as the road meanders upward. From Enugu municipal, the road leads to Ngwo village.

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Indeed, driving to the hill top is not for the faint hearted. If you look into the valley below, your heart will skip a bit.

Named after the chief engineer, Miliken, who created it,

the 4.8km long and narrow highway at the cliff edge of the hill, was constructed in 1909 to provide access to the coal mines located in the area.

Someone wrote: “Just like we see clifftop highways in Hollywood movies, Milliken hill road winds up the hill and is bounded on one side by a solid rock and at the other by a deep valley where people can plunge to their deaths. The road has many sharp bends along its course and this had caused several accidents in the past. However, driving through the road can be a beautiful experience because of the plush greenery and the trees that form a canopy or natural tunnel over the road.”

From the hilltop, you will

behold the majestic grandeur of the state capital.  And at the hilltop is Christian Chukwuma Onoh College of Education (CCOCOE). The institution was established by the Anglican Mission in memory of a former governor of old Anambra State and legal luminary.

But why would a faith-based organization name its institution after a politician and businessman?

The acting provost (pro bono) of CCOCOE, Ven. Prof. Madubuko Cyril Ubesie, provided the answer. He said: “Onoh was not only a figure in Ngwo or Enugu; he was a national figure. He was a good politician, he was education personified in the sense that he went all out for education.

“He was a prominent member and pioneer member of Anglican Diocese of Enugu that gave birth to 11 other dioceses of which Enugu North is one of them. He was the pioneer chancellor of Anglican Diocese of Enugu.

“As a lawyer and educationist, he was at the head of laity by virtue of the office he was holding as chancellor. He was head of laity, he was head of legal issues of the church. We also know the role he played at various stages of governance in Nigeria, and particularly in Anambra and Enugu states.

“But unfortunately it seems neither the federal or state government has remembered him. I have not seen any street in Enugu named after him or any institution named after him as a way of immortalization. And the church said no. Even if every other group is unkind to him, the church is part of testimony. So, as part of immortalizing him for his contributions to humanity, the church decided to name the College of Education, Ngwo after him. Interestingly, the institution is located in his his fatherland, not up to one kilometer to his house.”

The proprietor/visitor to the institution and Archbishop, Province of Enugu and Bishop, Diocese of Enugu North, Most Rev’d Sosthenes Ikechukwu Eze, further explained: “The College of Education was named after Chief Onoh because of his educational, political  and leadership emancipation that he provided for Nigerians in general and particularly the South East and Enugu.

“He was a man God used to create a lot of awareness in the rights of people, their personal development and corporate existence. Of course, he gave what you may call ‘eye’ to the Enugu extraction of the Igbo race, popularly called Wawa.”

Most Rev. Eze, however, disclosed that the institution is grappling funding challenge.  He said: “The major challenge facing the school is fund. You know, the church is not a place where you have what you may call allocations from any agency. It’s self-driven and because it is self-driven, we need a lot of awareness, mobilization and explanations of the essence of that.

“In any case, I commend the diocese for the effort they have put in because for us to put up some structures and rehabilitating old structures in the present temporary site is not an easy road. But we have been able to achieve that.

“We were able to acquire the approval of the Nigerian Colleges of Education Commission for the running of the school. Funds drive everything: recruitment of teachers and provision of infrastructure and equipment that are required. We are deliberately making attempt to raise funds to face it. I believe God that before the end of this year we would have gone far in infrastructure and development of the place. That will give room for students inflow and recruitment of more staff.

“We have a commendable number of staff. Some of our clergy and members who are professional teachers have been engaged on part-time to build up the staff strength required. We were given approval based on the capacity we have.”

The man of God also enumerated the cutting edge of the institution. He said: “The incentive starts from the objective, the vision. Others are going into colleges of nursing and other sectors that can give them money. But that is not our drive.

We discovered that the collapse of the Nigerian society is as a result of the failure of building morals, character and skills among Nigerians.

“We felt that the failure was because we didn’t have what we call Christian educators. What made Nigeria of old tick was that the missionaries who brought the gospel brought education and they laid emphasis on morals, character and skills. Why they abandoned it is what I don’t know.

“So, when moral and character – building failed and skills collapsed, that led to the moral decay we have in society today. So, we felt it was time to go back to the foundation. We established the college basically because we want to rebuild morals, character and skills so as to get a new society for Nigeria. That is an incentive for those who want to be taught by Christian educators.

“Another incentive we want to provide is to give scholarship to indigent students. Some people have been offering scholarships to students. The chairman of the governing council of the college, Prof. Agu Gab Agu, has offered scholarship to 10 students. Again, the fees are not high; we made it moderate so that people can afford it even for rural area. Other things are to provide accommodation and wll equipped library. That will soon be there.”

Another member of the governing council council and former President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Nnia Nwodo, said: “We are hoping that governments around Enugu that he looked after, including Anambra State, will be sympathetic to making some reasonable investment in the place because of the fact that he was a pathfinder. The institution is devoted to training in education so that we can train people there who can return us to the society that we came from. We have missionaries teaching them in the fear of God. We have Prof. Agu Gab Agu as chairman of the governing council. They have models to follow.  There are many professors and professionals in our council.”

The registrar of CCOCOE, Rev. Canon Chimaobi Ositadinma, disclosed that there are four schools there namely; school of arts and social sciences, school of early child and primary education, school of languages and school of sciences.

At the inauguration of the governing council of CCOCOE in May 2024, Agu extolled the legacies of Onoh, a man in whom many were well pleased. He said: “C.C Onoh is a great brand. He represents liberation, emancipation, empowerment, freedom, independence and hope. Unfortunately successive governments of Enugu, Anambra and Ebonyi states, which he governed, have not found it necessary to honour and celebrate him even with a street named after him

“This College of Education will become one of the best in the country in the coming years.

“We thank and accept the Diocesan for finding this assemblage of distinguished Nigerians worthy of membership of the Council.”

Onoh is the father of Amb. Bianca Ojukwu, Nigeria’s minister of state for foreign affairs.