29/08/2026
SILENT FOOTSTEPS
“A tiger does not proclaim its tigritude.”
— Professor Wole Soyinka
The passing of Professor Edwin Mbadiwe Igbokwe, followed barely a week later by that of Professor Charles Ndubuisi Mbamalu, is a grievous double blow to Mgbowo and to all who had the privilege of knowing these two remarkable men. For a community to lose, within such a short space of time, two distinguished scholars, accomplished professors of Agriculture, patriots and selfless philanthropists is a tragedy of immense proportions.
Their deaths are not merely the loss of two academics. They represent the departure of two great men of letters and achievement whose lives were defined by scholarship, service, humility and an uncommon commitment to the welfare of others. Their contributions reached far beyond the lecture halls and academic institutions in which they distinguished themselves. They touched lives, opened doors, lifted burdens and gave hope to many who might otherwise have been forgotten.
Professors Igbokwe and Mbamalu belonged to that rare breed of accomplished men who did not need to proclaim their greatness. Their lives spoke eloquently for them. They understood that true achievement is measured not only by the heights one attains, but also by the number of people one helps to rise.
They lived by the noble philosophy of asking what they could do for their nation and their community, rather than what their nation or community could do for them. Their generosity was quiet, deliberate and often anonymous. Indeed, for those who knew them closely, anonymity seemed to be the natural language of their philanthropy.
Behind the distinguished academic titles and impressive achievements were men with large hearts and a deep sense of responsibility towards the less privileged. They paid school fees and examination fees for struggling families. They settled hospital bills. They helped to reroof leaking houses. They supported indigent families and assisted young couples who could not afford the expenses associated with marriage. They facilitated admission into tertiary institutions and helped deserving people secure employment. In countless other ways, they intervened in the lives of ordinary people, often without the beneficiaries knowing where the help had come from.
They gave freely and expected nothing in return. They did not advertise their benevolence, nor did they seek public applause for the good they did. Their satisfaction came from seeing another person succeed, another child educated, another family relieved of hardship, or another young person given an opportunity to build a future.
In this respect, they were like the proverbial candle that consumes itself in order to give light to others. They expended their time, resources and influence so that others might find their way. Their lives were a practical expression of “Eku ruo ulo”—the conviction that one must carry one's responsibility to its proper destination. They could not feast in comfort while others around them were hungry or burdened by adversity.
For many people of Mgbowo, their influence was particularly profound. Through their interventions, encouragement and personal connections, they helped numerous young men and women gain access to education, employment and opportunities for self-improvement. They used their positions and achievements not as instruments of self-aggrandisement, but as ladders upon which others could climb.
That is the measure of their greatness.
Professor Edwin Igbokwe and Professor Charles Mbamalu have now departed this earthly stage, but the lives they touched remain as living monuments to their memory. Their books, scholarship, professional accomplishments and intellectual contributions will endure; but perhaps an even greater testimony to their lives will be found in the homes they helped to rebuild, the children whose education they supported, the patients whose bills they paid, the graduates whose doors they helped to open and the families whose burdens they quietly carried.
They walked gently through life, but their footsteps were deep. They made little noise, yet their impact was profound. They sought no trumpets, monuments or accolades. Their greatest monument is the multitude of lives made better because they passed this way.
As Mgbowo mourns these two illustrious sons, we should also celebrate the extraordinary lives they lived. Their passing reminds us that greatness is not always loud, and that some of the noblest deeds are performed far from the public eye. They have left us a legacy of scholarship without arrogance, achievement without ostentation, generosity without publicity, and service without self-interest.
Professor Edwin Mbadiwe Igbokwe and Professor Charles Ndubuisi Mbamalu—two distinguished scholars, two great men of achievement, two generous hearts, and two quiet pillars of their community—have taken their final bows.
The silence they have left behind is deep, but the echoes of their good deeds will continue to resonate for generations.
May the Almighty God receive their noble souls into His eternal abode. May He comfort their families, friends, colleagues, mentees and the entire Mgbowo community. And may the good seeds they planted in the lives of others continue to flourish.
May their tribes increase.
May their memories remain evergreen.
And may they rest eternally in the peace of the Lord.
Dem Laz Chukwukelu
Writes from Enugu
