Special Feature
By: Chukwudi George Ozalla
“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others.”
Those words by the late Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s freedom fighter and former President, have continued to find relevance in the lives of men and women who see service as a lifelong obligation rather than a convenient slogan. 18th July 2026, the world remembered Mandela on his birthday. Yesterday 19th July, 2026, another July celebrant, Associate Professor Odiraa Nwankwor, a quintessential paediatrician marked his own birthday, providing an opportunity to reflect on a life that many believe has been shaped by an enduring attachment to people and place.
Yesterday morning, Dr. Nwankwor called me on the phone. After exchanging birthday greetings, he asked where I was. I told him I was in Abuja. We continued our conversation and he shared his plans for the day, including hosting children at Fun City in Awka. Listening to him, I could not resist teasing him. I remarked that he visits Nigeria from the US as though he was simply going to a grocery store opposite his house. We both laughed heartily. It was a light-hearted moment between two people who understand the importance of returning home. I also make time to visit home regularly. Yet, beneath the humour was a simple reality. Despite living and working thousands of kilometres away, he has made coming home a regular part of his life.
As I reflected on our conversation after the call ended, it occurred to me that the outing with the children was not something he conceived because it was his birthday. Those who know him would readily agree that reaching out to people did not begin today. The children scheduled to spend part of the day with him at Fun City Awka are only sharing in a pattern of generosity and human connection that has become part of his public and private life.
Associate Professor Nwankwor first came to public attention in many circles through his accomplishments in medicine, academia, medical outreach and philanthropy. Over the years, he built a reputation as a physician and scholar whose professional life opened doors beyond Nigeria. Like many Nigerians who have excelled abroad, he could easily have limited his relationship with home to occasional visits during festive periods. He chose a different path. Success did not diminish his attachment to Orumba. Rather, it strengthened and expanded it beyond his immediate environment.
Only in May this year, he returned to Nigeria for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) primary election to choose the party’s candidate for Orumba North and South Federal Constituency. It was a great and historic moment in his political journey. Delegates endorsed him without opposition, handing him the party’s ticket in a clear demonstration of the confidence they had come to repose in him. Many observers expected that, having secured the nomination, he would return abroad and wait for the next phase of the political calendar.
I guess that expectation did not last long.
Barely weeks after leaving Nigeria, he was back again from the US. That’s a long haul!
For anyone who has watched him over the years, there was nothing surprising about that return. He has never treated home as a place to remember only when politics demands it. His visits have become so frequent that they now attract comments from friends and associates, including the joke I made during our telephone conversation yesterday. It was a joke, yes, but one embedded in fact. There are people who live in Abuja, Lagos and even Onitsha who hardly visit their hometowns for whatever reasons. Dr. Nwankwor, despite the distance between his professional base and Nigeria, appears determined not to lose touch with the people and communities that shaped his early years.
His regular homecoming has also given him the opportunity to stay connected with developments across Orumba North and South Federal Constituency and by extension Anambra State. Whether meeting traditional rulers, community leaders, women, youths or professionals, he has continued to listen more than he speaks. Those interactions have enabled him to keep his ears close to the ground, a quality many people consider essential for anyone seeking to represent a constituency in the National Assembly. For him, public representation begins with understanding the people, not merely speaking for them.
His emergence as the APGA candidate did not suddenly introduce him to the people of Orumba North and South. Rather, it brought into politics a man many already knew through years of professional excellence, community engagement and quiet acts of kindness. That background explains why discussions about his political aspiration often extend beyond elections to include his personality, accessibility and relationship with ordinary people.
That relationship did not begin with politics. Long before he offered himself for elective office, Dr. Nwankwor had become known to many people through his professional career, his accessibility and his willingness to identify with others in moments that mattered. Those who have encountered him over the years often speak of a man who finds time for people despite the demands of a busy medical career abroad.
That record received another public acknowledgement on Saturday, July 18, 2026, when Dr. Nwankwor was honoured with the Humanitarian of the Year Award at the 2026 Anambra Man of the Year (AMTY) Awards in Awka, in recognition of his humanitarian and healthcare interventions.
His training as a Consultant Paediatric Intensivist has also shaped the way many people see him. Medicine is a noble profession that requires patience, careful listening and sound judgement. Every patient expects attention. Every complaint deserves to be heard. Those who have worked with him say he carries the same attitude into his dealings with people. He listens, asks questions and weighs issues before arriving at a decision.
These qualities have naturally found their way into discussions about his aspiration to represent Orumba North and South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. Supporters and fans believe that effective representation goes beyond making speeches on the floor of parliament. It requires someone who understands the people because he has spent time among them, shared in their experiences and remained accessible even when there was no election in sight.
His frequent visits home have given him that advantage. Rather than depend on second-hand accounts, he has continued to meet people in their communities, hear their concerns and maintain relationships built over many years. It is one reason many residents say his interest in Orumba North and South did not begin with his declaration to contest the election.
The programme with children at Fun City in Awka also deserved to be seen from that perspective. It was not an isolated event arranged simply because yesterday was his birthday. Those who know him understand that reaching out to people has long been part of his life. Yesterday’s gathering was another opportunity to share in the joy of children, just as he has, over the years, identified with different groups across the constituency.
As I thought again about our telephone conversation yesterday, the joke we shared kept coming back to me. Recall that I had teased him that he visits Nigeria as though he was simply going to a grocery store opposite his house. We laughed over it, but the remark captured a reality that is hard to ignore. He comes home often. Only in May, he was here for the APGA primary election. Within weeks, he returned again. For many people in Orumba North and South, that consistency says more than campaign speeches ever could.
Yesterday, family members, friends, political associates and well-wishers were celebrating his birthday. Many will speak about his achievements in medicine and academia. Others will remember his kindness, his simplicity and the relationships he has built over the years. Still others will point to his decision to spend part of his birthday with children as another example of a life that has always found room for others.
As Dr. Nwankwor has marked another birthday yesterday, my prayer is that God will continue to grant him good health, wisdom and many more fruitful years. May He continue to order his steps, strengthen his resolve to serve humanity and bless every sincere effort he makes towards the progress of Orumba North and South Federal Constituency, Anambra State and Nigeria.
