Abdulaziz Chibuzor Ude is dead, buried according to Islamic rites

“Unknown to most people because of his self-effacing nature, Chief Ude contributed significantly to the creation of Anambra, Enugu, Delta, and Ebonyi states. Apart from being one of the signatories to the petition for the creation of these states to the Ibrahim Babangida military regime, he donated not just cash but also his private jet to transport the Igbo patriots like Dr Alex Ekwueme, Chike Edozie, Dr Akanu Ibiam, Chief CC Onoh, and Dr Okadigbo to different cities who signed the petition,” Anambra State government said.

The Anambra State Government has announced the passing of a media investor and culture enthusiast, Alhaji Abdulaziz Chibuzor Ude.

The state’s Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. Don Adinuba in a statement issued on Saturday, said Alhaji Ude died on Thursday 16 September in Lagos State.

Adinuba stated that Ude, 81, had been buried in his hometown in according with Islamic rites.

In a tribute to the deceased, Anambra State Government described the Igbo Muslim leader as an egalitarian, who never discriminated against the less privileged or those who did not share his religious views.

The statement read, “The people and Government of Anambra State have received with sadness the news of the death two days ago of Chief Abdulaziz Chibuzor Ude, the internationally renowned publisher, intellectual, art lover, pan Africanist, entrepreneur and philanthropist from Abor, Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State who played a significant part in modern Igbo history.

“Christened Bertrand at an early age and became the first senior prefect of the College of Immaculate Conception (CIC), Enugu, Ude attended Oxford University where he read philosophy, economics, and politics before proceeding to Columbia University in New York where he took a master’s degree in international relations.

“Ude caught public attention while working as an editor at Random House in New York, the world’s biggest book publishing firm, he published Chinua Achebe’s classic, Things Fall Apart, in the United States during the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-70.

“Unknown to most people because of his self-effacing nature, Chief Ude contributed significantly to the creation of Anambra, Enugu, Delta, and Ebonyi states.

“Apart from being one of the signatories to the petition for the creation of these states to the Ibrahim Babangida military regime, he donated not just cash but also his private jet to transport the Igbo patriots like Dr Alex Ekwueme, Chike Edozie, Dr Akanu Ibiam, Chief CC Onoh, and Dr Okadigbo to different cities who signed the petition.

“He also donated part of his building at 59 Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, to coordinate the campaign for the creation of Igbo states and paid the staff.

“Ude’s Nok book publishing firm in Enugu, New York, London, and Lagos, published such outstanding works as Chinweizu’s The West and the Rest of Us and Romanus Egudu’s Study of Four West Africans. He was, indeed, a pan Africanist of the finest hue.

“Ever humble, he practised egalitarianism in truth and spirit. He never discriminated against the less privileged or those who did not share his religious views. Even after converting to Islam, a result of his deep friendship with founding Guinean President Sekou Toure, a pan Africanist in his own right, Ude remained a big contributor to the welfare of priests and the church in his community.”

The statement noted that the state government and the people of the State truly mourn the transition of Ude who was described as a “great Igboman, pan Africanist, publisher and intellectual.”

The statement read further, “We mourn with the Ude family of Abor and the people and government of Enugu State. May Abdulaziz Ude’s noble soul find rest in paradise.”