BIOGRAPHY OF PROF. IKE ODIMEGWU (ASUU/UNIZIK CHAIRMAN)

Born in Obiaruku in the former Mid-western state of Nigeria, now Delta
State, to Gabriel Nnebemchukwu Odimegwu (Ume Chinyelugo) and Elizabeth
Mgbeke Odimegwu (Nee Okoli) of Mbarakpaka village Ihiala in the early
years of Nigeria's Independence, Ikechukwu Ferdinand Harris Odimegwu
arrived the earth a twin of crisis. Indeed his birth just a couple of...



days before the first military coup d'état in the country has had
tremendous influence in the formation of his attitudes, relations and
worldview.
The circumstances surrounding his birth disposed his family to naming
him Odimegwu—"Iwonder"—after his illustrious great grandfather who was
Oluoha IX of Ihiala. The nascent and growing influence of
Christianity, however, made his parents think otherwise. Consequently,
they called him Ikechukwu—a name to acknowledge God's power of
protection and overmastering providence in the difficult
circumstances. The development of his consciousness of cultural
identity has crystallized in his preference of this name to his other
given names.
This provident power of God has accompanied him through the various
developmental stagesof his life making him evolve a deep personal and
personalized relationship with God wherewith he conceptually
distinguishes between spirituality and religion; and existentially
recognizes religion more in the love of neighbor than in the
overabundance of rituals. In his early childhood he was dotted on by
the family because of his delicate health. The impact of this family
compassion and love can be felt in the personal touch he brings to
bear on his relationship with people. He is wont to say: "I do not see
classes. I see persons. I do not deal with crowds. I relate with
individuals"
Ike's dialogic interest in philosophy is an interest in life and
communal existence. In a large nuclear family of nine siblings, he
finds himself in the middle of every person, everywhere and
everything. Counting from the first or from the last child, he is the
fifth, in the middle of the pack. This biological position has also
grown into a psychological and socio-relational disposition. He is the
point of mediation who insists on the logic of the family that
operates onthe principle of empathetic cooperation rather than the
formalistic competition of the logic of the school and the workplace.
He did his primary education at Odoata Central School, Ihiala; a
leading school in the town then but ...
which, like most public schools in
the country, has fallen into a state of disrepair from years of
negligence, gross mismanagement and corruption that have eaten into
every fabric of the Nigerian nation. In 1979, as Nigeria began the
experiment of her second republic, the young Ike, feeling the urge of
divine vocation, entered St. Paul's Seminary, Ukpor and All Hallows'
Seminary, Onitsha, before proceeding to Seat of Wisdom Seminary,
Owerri, where he studied philosophy under the renowned philosopher and
founder of the hermeneutic school in African Philosophy, Fr.
Theophilus Okere. In 1990, he entered Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu
for a 4-year degree programme in Catholic Theology. His criticisms of
some of the policies of the then.