Enunekwu, Okoligwe Geoffrey

Okoligwe Geoffrey Enunekwu was a contemporary of Peter Okwuegbue.

O. G. Enunekwu was born in 1928. His father was high priest of one of the Emu arch-divinities and he never objected to his son’s Christian faith. In fact, he reportedly even sent his son, Okoligwe, to school.

Okoligwe married Ogonum in 1954 and she bore him ten children, two of whom died. In 1976, he married another woman, Mrs. Janet, who bore him eight children. Chief Okoligwe Emunekwu was converted to the Anglican faith as a primary school pupil. He started conducting church services at standard four.

This ability paved the way for him to be employed as a teacher. The catechist at Abbi at the time met him and asked him who had led the church service the previous Sunday. When he found out Mr. Emunekwu had led the service, he sent him an appointment letter as a teacher at CMS school in Emu Uno in 1951.

In 1953 Okoligwe was transferred to Ishonum. And in 1954 he was sent to work in Esuede, and then to work for a year in Umutu. He was transferred back to Emu Uno in 1960 where he became the headmaster.

In his capacity as headmaster he also functioned as a catechist, conducting prayer meetings and Bible studies, and teaching Sunday school. This was his duty until 1995 when the first trained catechist was sent to the church. During those years, he often rode back on motorcycle to Emu Uno on weekends to man the church. He continued to perform this duty even after his retirement on January 2, 1986.

Jones Ugochukwu Odili

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This story, received in 2003, was reprinted with permission from “The Role of Indigenous Agents in the Advent and Growth of the Anglican Church in Emu Clan of Delta State 1911 - 2002,” a Masters thesis (Department of Religious and Cultural Studies, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Rivers State, Nigeria) by Mr. Jones Ugochukwu Odili.