Dr Kingsley Nworie : A tribute

By Sheddy Ozoene

The 2-Day Pre-Convention meeting of the Nigerian Guild of Editors in the South-East was an event like never before. Not only were the members in the five SE States ecstatic about a first-ever gathering of that magnitude, it became even more so when several contestants for Guild positions from the North, the East and West called in to book attendance.

From nearby Ebonyi, Dr. Kingsley Nworie would always enquire about every aspect of our preparation. He was as excited as he was apprehensive about its success considering the sacrifice it would extract from editors who would have to journey from far and near. The closeness of the event to the almighty Owerri 2023 was another concern but I would always assure him it was worth the trouble, after all one Igbo proverb tells us that “whoever insists on something must be prepared to pay the price for it”. The attendance was overwhelming.

Assuredly, Nworie showed faith. He was among the earliest arrivals to the Enugu Sports Club, venue of the event. After he checked into the nearby MODOTEL, he proudly called to mock me that he made it to the venue before most of us who reside in the good old 042. He was so full of life on the first day and contributed meaningfully during the meeting. And when presidential candidate Bolaji Adebiyi was called in, he sucked in everything he said and actually took up the second  slot when it was time to respond to Adebiyi’s address.

Shortly after his submission, Ngwoke Ngwoke who was sitting nearby noticed he was slumping and motioning for help. He drew more attention when he started gasping for breath but many thought it was mere exhaustion. Suddenly, everyone became one expert or the other in medical emergency. “Pour water on his head” I removed his black ‘old boy’ cap and did just that; “let the fan face him directly,” “raise his head up.” I didn’t even know some people move around with aspirin until I saw one editor pushing some tablets under his tongue. Well, that produced the best result at the time as Nworie summoned the energy to cough repeatedly. We were happy because it was his most vigorous action in all of five minutes, though the vasoprin tablets all came spilling out.

When we decided to move him to a hospital, Ifeyinwa Okonkwo of NAN  launched the fundraising which provided what would serve as deposit in the hospital. Big Sister Professor Stella Okunna made her car available pronto, with her son behind the wheel while Dom Isute squeezed into the back seat with Nworie’s head on his laps. And Chinwe Ononye, who said she had lived in that neighbourhood as a teenager, took the front seat and led the team to a nearby hospital.

 After 2 hospitals advised that he be taken for specialist care instead, it made sense to drive him home to Abakaliki that night. The lot fell on Iduma Iduma and Emerole Ugwumba to accompany the ambulance to the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital in Abakaliki where his family members were waiting to take over.

I was very excited to break the news Saturday morning that Nworie, who spent the night on oxygen supply, was stabilising. Iduma and Ugwumba were  relieved enough that they made the return tripto Enugu to join the others for the final session. It was on that note that the Saturday meeting took off with presidential candidate Eze Anaba, General Secretary Iyobosa Uwugiaren, Steve Nwosu and Onuoha Ukeh in attendance. It lasted over four hours after which we all had lunch and departed on a high note.

Later that night I made random calls to ensure all those who journeyed out of Enugu arrived safe. For those in Ebonyi, we hoped a visit to Nworie the next day would bring cheering news. Alas, it turned out the opposite when Larry Oyims broke the sad news that he had died. The former Ebonyi State NUJ Secretary and Deputy Director of News and Current Affairs with the State Broadcasting Corporation, had passed on at the break of dawn.

Nothing could be more devastating. Like our former VP East Victor Agusiobo wrote in his reaction to the sad development, in Nworie’s death we practically witnessed “a hairline separation between life and death…a poignant reminder of the slippery nature of our own mortality.”

We are still in shock. For a man who was already looking forward to the thrill that Owerri promises, his death was a blow to his friends and colleagues. But he did not die in vain; He died in active service, leaving us memories of his passionate love for our cherished journalism profession and the ideals that the Nigerian Guild of Editors stands for.

We will surely remember him as a friend and a colleague who paid the ultimate prize serving journalism and the Guild. His sudden death, shocking as it is, should call out the best of our compassionate spirit and I have no doubt we will rise to the occasion, after Owerri is done. More importantly it would be a befitting reward to his commitment that the Guild finds it appropriate to immortalise his name.