Hon.Bernard Neche Tutu

In a time when politics has become a marketplace and conscience is priced like a commodity, Uche Nnaji stands as a reminder of what leadership truly means.

He is not a borrowed structure. He is not a rented voice. He is the structure himself—built by the people, strengthened by sacrifice, and guided by principle.

While others trade loyalty for access and sell tomorrow for today, Uche Nnaji chose the harder path. He understood an eternal truth our elders taught us:
“A na-azụ ewu ewu, a naghị azụta aha ọma.”
(You can buy a goat in the market, but you cannot buy a good name.)

There were offers. There were pressures. There were moments when selling out would have been rewarded. Yet he stood firm, knowing that:
“Onye rere obodo ya, rere onwe ya.”
(He who sells his people has sold himself.)

Uche Nnaji refused to mortgage the destiny of his people for personal comfort. He did not bend because he knew that leadership without honor is a curse. As another proverb reminds us:
“Aha onye ka ego.”
(A person’s name is worth more than money.)

True leaders are not measured by how close they are to power, but by how well they protect their people from injustice. When silence became profitable and betrayal fashionable, Uche Nnaji chose courage. He understood that:
“E jiri mara dike n’ogụgụ ọgụ.”
(A hero is known in the heat of battle.)

That is why his name endures—not because it was imposed, but because it was earned. Not because it was funded, but because it was trusted. He remained standing when others knelt, because he knew:
“Mgbe eziokwu kwụ ọtọ, ụgha adịghị ike.”
(When truth stands upright, falsehood grows weak.)

Uche Nnaji did not sell his people. He defended them.
He did not rent his conscience. He protected it.
He did not chase power. He became a pillar.

NWAKAIBEYA or NOTHING.

Because in the end, as our ancestors say:
“Ụzọ a na-aga ka a na-ele anya n’azụ.”
(The path ahead is judged by the footprints left behind.)