Former Ohanaeze Ndigbo President, Irukwu Dies At 89

      Late Joe Irukwu 

The former President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Prof Joe Irukwu is dead.

He died at the age of 89.

The President-General of Amaokwe Item Welfare Union, Prince Harrison Okorie, announced the death on Saturday in Enugu.

He said: “The Amaokwe Item Welfare Union on behalf of the entire Amaba Ukwu kindred and the immediate family hereby announce the glorious but painful demise of our great patron, father, grandfather, son and brother, Prof. Joseph Ogbonnaya Irukwu.

“The Union on behalf of the Amaokwe Community, commiserates with the family and prays God to grant his soul peaceful rest."

Okorie enjoined all Amaokwe sons and daughters to mourn the exit of the giant, while also praying for his family in this moment of grief.

Briefly

Irukwu, a lawyer, lecturer, author and insurance guru, was the founding Managing Director of Nigerian Reinsurance Corporation.

He thereafter established the African Development Insurance Company which was later sold to Diamond Bank.

Irukwu obtained a degree in Law and Insurance from a British university in 1962. Upon returning to Nigeria, he secured employment with the West African Provincial Insurance Company, a British firm operating out of Lagos.

He was promoted to the managerial cadre in 1965 and served in the firm’s insurance department. 

But in 1970, he was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Unity Life and Fire Insurance Company.

Two years later, the government appointed him head of the student loans board, a committee saddled with the responsibility of disbursing loans to thousands of students.

In 1977, Irukwu became the pioneer Chief Executive of Nigerian Reinsurance Corporation, a government- owned business established to increase the local share of reinsurance premium income.

Prior to the establishment of the firm, insurance firms in Nigeria conducted reinsurance transactions with foreign companies.

Irukwu published his first book, Insurance Law and Practice in Nigeria in 1967 and his second book, Accident and Motor Insurance in West Africa was published in 1974.

His third book, Insurance Management in Africa was also published in 1976.