Introduction
The recent publication of “Against All Odds: A Biography of Innocent Chukwuma” by Obinna Ezugwu in collaboration with Josephine Effah-Chukwuma presents what Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie would call “a single story” – a dangerous narrative that reduces complex human experiences to simplistic portrayals that serve the narrator’s perspective alone. This biography, sponsored by Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, has painted an incomplete and demeaning picture of the Chukwuma family while elevating the Effah family, creating an imbalance that demands correction.
The Peril of a Single Narrative
When only one voice controls the narrative of a shared history, truth inevitably suffers. The biography of our brother Innocent Chukwuemeka Chukwuma has been constructed primarily through one lens – that of his widow – without the essential perspectives of those who knew him for the first three decades of his life. This approach has resulted in a portrayal that diminishes the foundation upon which Innocent built his life and career.
As the book depicts Innocent’s wife’s family as accomplished professionals who never needed assistance, it simultaneously characterizes his birth family as perpetually dependent and ungrateful. This stark contrast does not reflect the nuanced reality of family relationships and mutual support that defined Innocent’s life.
On Biographical Ethics and Journalistic Integrity
Professional biographical work demands rigorous research methodology, including interviews with all significant figures in the subject’s life. Mr. Ezugwu, as a trained journalist of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, should understand this fundamental principle. Yet family members prominently featured in the book were never consulted for their perspectives or memories.
The biography contains intimate and deeply personal details about family members, including their financial circumstances, personal challenges, and private matters—all presented without consent, context, or consideration for their dignity. Even more troubling is the inclusion of information about the children of Innocent Chukwuma’s siblings, who are private individuals with no relevance to the public narrative. This represents a grave violation of privacy and highlights a serious lapse in ethical standards. The author’s approach reflects poor journalistic judgment, lacking the basic principles of respect, accuracy, and consent that should guide any responsible biographical work. As such, the publication fails to meet the most elementary standards of credibility and professionalism.
It is particularly telling that a previous biography (now embattled in court) written by Prof. Nduka Otiono (Director of the Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa), engaged under the sponsorship of the Ford Foundation, properly contacted the Chukwuma family and was provided with historical information about our family’s journey. Yet Mr. Ezugwu and his financier chose a different path, seemingly preferring to paint a diminished and disparaging portrait of the Chukwuma family rather than seeking authentic accounts from those who lived these experiences alongside Innocent.
The biography is rife with fundamental errors; it is filled with numerous typos and even gets the names of key characters wrong, which further underscores the careless approach to this important work. Such basic inaccuracies call into question the overall reliability of the account and demonstrate a profound disrespect for both the subject and those connected to him.
Our Family’s Truth
The Chukwuma family’s story begins long before Innocent’s marriage. Our father, Denis Ekechukwu Chukwuma, was not born into poverty as the biography might lead readers to believe. He was a man of means whose economic circumstances were dramatically altered by the Nigerian Civil War, a historical context crucial to understanding our family’s subsequent journey.
Despite these challenges, our family did not collapse but instead formed a resilient network of mutual support. When our father became bedridden, his older children – Isaac, Samuel, and Chinyere (also called Benice) – stepped forward as the family’s pillars. We shouldered responsibilities far beyond our years, supporting our mother who sustained the family through selling Agidi and plantain in the local markets. Each sibling charted a path of sacrifice for the collective good. Isaac journeyed to Côte d’Ivoire to learn trading, hoping to establish himself and send support home. Samuel relocated to Enugu, where he trained and eventually established himself as a civil “Engineer”. Chinyere moved to our cousin Boniface Anyanwu’s household, serving as a nanny to his children, and will later train amidst severe hardship to be a Typist.
Meanwhile, the younger ones – Josiah, Innocent, Joy, and Edith – remained at home, helping with the family business and caring for our ailing father. Even then, Innocent, whom we affectionately nicknamed “Agu aka ikpa” (the left-handed lion), distinguished himself not through manual dexterity but through intellectual promise. While less handy with physical labour than his siblings, Innocent’s academic brilliance shone brightly, and the family recognized it as his unique path to advancement.
Innocent’s six years at the prestigious Government college in Umuahia were not funded by external benefactors but by the modest proceeds from “Agidi and plantain” sales – our mother, Benise, Josiah, and Joy hawked across the streets of Umuahia in sun and rain.
Correcting the Record: Innocent’s Journey to the University of Nigeria
Contrary to the portrayal in Obinna Ezugwu’s biography Innocent’s path to higher education was not secured through Chinyere’s bride price but through collective family sacrifice and determination. After failing the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination twice, it was Isaac who arranged with his friend Boniface Ohanaja to facilitate Innocent’s entry through the Preliminary Studies program at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, UNN. Boniface contacted Mr. Christian Njoku, then a teacher at Government College, Umudike, who helped secure the Preliminary form and admission. This cost Isaac 80 naira in 1985, opening a crucial door for Innocent’s academic future.
In 1986, having completed the preliminary program, Innocent gained admission to study Religion and Philosophy at the university. The financial support for his education came from Chinyere, who worked at Ezekwem Amaco at the time and took a six-month salary advance of 300 naira from her employer. Even this sacrifice proved insufficient, compelling her to borrow an additional 100 naira from her friend Helen Nze to ensure Innocent could secure his place at UNN.
Throughout his four years at university, Innocent received ongoing support from multiple family members. Josiah, who worked with GIC (the company that built Imo Airport), regularly allocated a portion of his monthly salary to Innocent, who would travel from Nsukka to Owerri to collect these funds. Innocent will also often come to Abuja to Chinyere’s home, where she would assist financially. Our mother frequently borrowed money from Nze Bede, a wealthy man in Umuahia, to help sustain Innocent’s education. Isaac was responsible for repaying these loans whenever he returned from Côte d’Ivoire.
The Chukwuma family’s indebtedness to the Bede family eventually led to a different kind of repayment: Isaac later took Bede’s eldest son to train in trade in Côte d’Ivoire, while Chinyere took his eldest daughter to Abuja, where she supported her through junior secondary education. This debt was finally fully settled in December 2024, when Bede’s son visited Isaac in Côte d’Ivoire.
A significant challenge arose in 1988 when Innocent was expelled from the university. Upon hearing this news, Josiah traveled to Nsukka for the first time in his life to investigate the situation, as Innocent had kept this development from the family. It was there that Josiah met Dr. Nwala, who assured him that the renowned lawyer Gani Fawehinmi was handling the case. This reassurance was then conveyed to our mother, Helen, easing her concerns.
By 1990, as Innocent approached the completion of his studies and needed to write his thesis, our father passed away, creating additional financial strain on the family. Isaac, who had returned after our father’s burial with plans to purchase an oil palm plantation (a venture Samuel had recommended as a good investment), made a pivotal decision. Against Samuel’s advice, Isaac gave Innocent the 15,000 naira intended for the plantation investment so that he could complete his thesis and final clearance. That same plantation would later significantly appreciate. However, to this day, Isaac views this decision not as a missed opportunity but a compromise, prioritizing Innocent’s education over potential financial benefits.
On Innocent’s Death and the Aftermath
Chinyere was contacted by Josephine in the last week of March 2021, that Innocent had fallen ill. Aside from our family history of hypertension and glaucoma, we had no prior knowledge of any serious illness afflicting Innocent, particularly leukemia, which we were later informed was his diagnosis. We prayed for his recovery, but were notified of his passing on April 3rd, 2021.
On April 6th, Josephine travelled to Imo State to formally inform us of Innocent’s passing. Before reaching the family compound, she was seen in the company of one of our close relatives, visiting various parcels of land in the surrounding bush areas, reportedly identifying lands belonging to Innocent. She arrived at the compound accompanied by over 7 armed police officers—an unprecedented approach in the history of her marriage to Innocent. At no point during their relationship had any family interaction required police presence, nor had we ever demonstrated any behaviour that would warrant such security measures. This approach created an immediate atmosphere of tension and mistrust during what should have been a time of shared grief.
Present at the village were Issaac, Chinyere, Josiah, Joy, and Edith, who had gathered for the traditional wedding of Edith. However, upon hearing the news, Edith decided to cancel her traditional wedding ceremony that had been scheduled to take place on the 4th April 2021.
During this meeting, Josephine informed the family about Innocent’s final days and expressed her conviction that medical malpractice may have contributed to his death. She indicated her intention to pursue an autopsy. The family expressed no desire to pursue an autopsy and expressed concern over the dignity of Innocent’s body over mutilation. However, Josephine remained insistent, revealing that civil society leaders were advocating for the examination and that she had already paid for the autopsy services. Isaac and Nzeadi (our cousin) subsequently traveled to Lagos to support her with arrangements for both the autopsy and interment.
Isaac would later discover in Lagos that Innocent’s body had already undergone embalming before Josephine departed for Imo State, at the Marcelle Ruth Cancer Centre & Specialist Hospital. At the hospital, Josephine and Chidinma (Innocent’s eldest daughter) met privately with the Doctor for over an hour, excluding Isaac and Josiah despite their presence at the facility. Following this closed-door consultation, the Doctor informed the family that the prior embalming significantly compromised any potential autopsy, explaining that the procedure would yield inconclusive results due to the body’s altered state. Isaac, realizing that Innocent’s body might be subjected to an invasive process without producing any answers, hesitated. With limited medical knowledge and feeling they had no real alternative, the family was ultimately persuaded to sign a waiver indicating that they no longer required an autopsy. Isaac and Chidinma signed the document—a decision that later left many family members confused, particularly as they questioned why Chidinma? rather than Josephine, should have been to co-sign with Isaac!
Eight months after Innocent’s burial, Josephine phone called Chinyere and Josiah to a Will hearing (December 2nd, 2021) and shared a letter which detailed that Innocent’s original will had been lost during the 2020 EndSARS protests, when the Igosere High Court was burned and many official documents, including his will, were destroyed in the fire. However, Josephine assured the family that there was another version of the will that would be read in due time.
When it was brought to our attention that Isaac had not been informed of this important family matter, we requested that Josephine reach out to him. However, Josephine failed to do so. As a result, we exerted ourselves from the Will hearing altogether. Our action explicitly stated that we had no interest in claiming any portion of Innocent’s assets or properties, and that everything should remain with Josephine for the benefit of raising their three daughters. This stance was taken out of respect for Innocent, for his memory, and for the family he left behind. This decision was made during an already difficult time, as we were preparing for the burial of Joy, who died mysteriously just five months after Innocent’s passing. And yet, we are left to wonder: if we had no interest in Innocent’s assets after his passing, why have there been derogatory and accusatory statements made about the Chukwuma family regarding the support and assistance Innocent willingly provided to his family during his lifetime?
As stated in the biography, Innocent did indeed give Chinyere a building. However, what the biography fails to acknowledge is that on 2 December 2022, after Innocent’s passing, Chinyere received a letter demanding she vacate the premises. She complied willingly and without resistance, understanding that she had no legal rights to the property, as Innocent had never formally transferred ownership to her during his lifetime. This significant perspective—her peaceful acceptance of the situation based on legal reality—is entirely omitted from the biographical account.
Rebalancing the Narrative
Contrary to what was stated in the biography, Mama Nkeukwu never resided in Umuahia but was a wealthy woman who lived and worked from our hometown in Umuegwu, while our father, Denis, was employed in Umuahia. Following an accident in her youth that affected her reproductive health, Mama Nkeukwu was unable to conceive after 20 years of marriage to our father, eventually finding him a wife, Helen! whom she accompanied to Umuahia. Mama Nkeukwu would often reminisce about how our father initially refused to consummate the marriage with Helen, and how she had to lock them both in a room; once satisfied that Helen had conceived, Mama Nkeukwu returned to the village with the agreement that the child would be delivered to her after weaning, that child being Isaac, who during his formative years did not recognize Helen as his biological mother.
It was only after Isaac’s birth in 1956 that Denis traveled to Helen’s village to pay her bride price, teasingly reminding her that her village had never seen an automobile before, and that trees had to be cut down to create a path for his Morris Minor car.
- The death of our father – In Igbo culture, the financial burden of burying a parent has never fallen solely on one child—it is traditionally a communal responsibility shared among kinsmen, making the documentation of financial contributions for our parents’ burials culturally unusual. Our father passed away in 1990 when Innocent was completing his final year at the University of Nsukka, during which time Innocent made no financial contribution to the funeral arrangements; it was Chinyere and her husband who covered some expenses, while the remainder came from our cousin Boniface Anyanwu, with the total borrowed sum being approximately 2,000 naira, which Isaac later repaid in full upon his return from Côte d’Ivoire.
- The death of our mother – Following Innocent’s wedding in 1997, our mother Helen joined Isaac in Côte d’Ivoire where she stayed for a year until she suffered a stroke requiring frequent hospital visits, during which time Isaac, being financially secure, needed no monetary assistance from Innocent, though Helen herself requested that Vicky (Isaac’s wife) inform Josephine that Isaac deserved support after doing so much. In 1998, after her health improved, Helen returned to Nigeria, but contrary to the biography, Helen was never taken in by Innocent and Josephine; instead, Josiah and his wife Joy provided her with care. while our mother celebrated the Yuletide of 1998 in our hometown and was supposed to be brought back to Josiah’s home in Lagos by Innocent and Josephine—an arrangement that never materialized as Innocent merely stated he would come for her at Easter despite knowing her fragile condition and the absence of relatives to care for her in the village. Tragically, she did not survive until Easter, passing away in February 1999. Josephine would later reveal her reluctance to care for a stroke patient, mentioning that both her parents had died from the same illness and she was unwilling to undertake such care again.
The burial of our mother was a family affair. Innocent at no point single-handedly financed the burial of a woman with 7 children, with him being the fifth in 1999.
- The death of our Step-Mother – Mama Nkwukwu died in the year 2000, Isaac sent money down to Nigeria that was used to bury her. Every child who could contributed, as did Innocent, whose contribution was the rental of Canopies and some cartons of beer.
- On Giving to Siblings – The biography presents a problematic double standard, portraying Innocent’s financial assistance to his siblings as burdensome while characterizing similar support extended to his in-laws as commendable. This portrayal disregards important cultural contexts where family members customarily assist one another with education, employment, and housing, reflecting not dependency but rather culturally normative reciprocal support systems. A revealing incident occurred when Innocent traveled to Cleveland. During this visit, he met with Isaac’s trading partner (Romy Cars) and expressed interest in joining his brother’s automobile importation business. Romy informed Innocent that with an investment of $10,000, he could import an entire container of vehicles. Enthusiastic about this opportunity, Innocent approached Isaac, and plans were formalized for Isaac, who already operated a registered company and maintained an established business relationship with Romy Cars, to travel to the United States to get the cars. Isaac subsequently came to Nigeria and completed all necessary documentation for the venture. However, when the time came to fulfill his financial commitment, Innocent provided only half of the agreed amount—500,000 naira instead of the full 1 million naira, equivalent to $10,000 at the then-current exchange rate, effectively undermining the business arrangement. Issac decided to focus on his business in Côte d’Ivoire.
Innocent’s True Legacy
Innocent Chukwuma stood for truth, justice, and fairness throughout his distinguished career. His work with civil society organizations demonstrated his commitment to giving voice to the marginalized. The irony that his own family’s voice has been marginalized in his biographical account would not be lost on him.
Innocent loved his birth family and his married family. He understood the complexities of human relationships and the importance of honouring multiple perspectives. A biography that fails to represent these values does a disservice to his memory and legacy.
Conclusion
As Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warns: “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” We offer this response not to replace one single story with another, but to add crucial perspectives that have been overlooked.
We do not seek to diminish Innocent’s remarkable achievements, nor do we overlook the role his wife and her family played in his life. We simply ask for acknowledgement of the complete truth—that Innocent’s journey began with a family who loved and supported him, even through their challenges and limitations. Josephine and family became part of the Chukwuma family in 1997, at a time when the family had already found its footing. It would therefore be biased—and perhaps even misleading—for her to craft a narrative about a period of Innocent’s life that she did not witness and has no direct knowledge of.
There is much that could be said about Josephine’s persistent remarks directed at the family and her consistent disregard for long-standing family values and respect for elders—behaviours that were evident both during Innocent’s lifetime and have continued after his passing. His death, unfortunately, laid bare the extent of animosity she harbored toward the Chukwuma family. Nevertheless, as we have consistently affirmed, our intention is not to undermine Innocent’s remarkable achievements or diminish the role Josephine played in his life. Rather, we aim to ensure that his legacy is presented in a more complete and balanced manner—one that respects the full spectrum of relationships, sacrifices, and histories that shaped the man he became.
In honouring Innocent’s memory, let us embrace the full complexity of his life and relationships (family, friends, and colleagues), acknowledging that the true story of a remarkable human being cannot be told from a single perspective.
Issac Chukwuma on behalf of the Chukwuma Family
