Every death diminishes us, but the one that occurred on Friday, October 16, 2026, must rank as one of the most devastating. For most people, there was no hint of an illness, no “Get well quick” messages. All we heard was that our brother and friend Professor Damian Ugwuntikili Opata had joined his ancestors and would be buried “tomorrow morning” in accordance with his wish!
After the shock and grief, we must call Ajija by its name and pray God to let him rest in paradise. Ajija the title of one of his several books, clearly had a hand in this tragedy.
Prof Opata will be remembered for throwing light, through scholarship, on the Igbo world view, customs and traditions. He quit Christian worship in 2010 and returned to the religion of his ancestors, without condemning Christianity or its beliefs, however. The essence of religion is to preach and live good morals, he affirmed. He did not drop his Christian name simply because it was too late to alter his identity at that age and stage.
The message Prof Opata leaves behind at death is even more profound than what he left in his books and lectures. He requested that his body be buried within 24 hours after death, a wish his family granted. He had buried both of his parents the same way, even though he could afford to keep them in the morgue for years. Shouldn’t we share in this philosophy? Is it not time we abandoned the folly of disrespecting the dead by keeping bodies in mortuaries, and wasting scarce resources on archaic and unnecessary rituals?
He and I scored Muslims high for promptly burying their dead. That was also the practice here until the barely educated and “civilized” imported the culture to show off small “wealth”, even when they couldn’t buy food for their loved ones when they were alive.
Throughout his lifetime, the retired professor of English and literary studies never abandoned his roots. He deeply loved his country, and, like many Nsukka people of his generation, he preferred to earn an honest pay as a teacher. After his NYSC, he turned down a job offer at the Nigeria Customs Service. Instead, he accepted a lecturer job offered by his alma mater in 1975 and rose through the ranks to become head of department, professor, dean etc. until his retirement in 2021. As a young man he refused to “jappa” even when he had several chances to do so. And he discouraged younger people including his own children from escaping to better-run countries. In his words, “God has a reason for planting you here.”
In an ironic sense, Prof Opata has been betrayed by the same country he loved so much and worked for. He has joined a long line of patriotic intellectuals whose lives have been cut short by bad governance in Nigeria. Every resident of the country is fair game! If one is not killed by fake drugs, they’re felled by misdiagnosed diseases, ill-equipped hospitals or negligent health workers. Others get murdered by terrorists or bandits or kidnappers or armed robbers. The death-traps called roads claim their own victims, as do severe hard times and malnutrition.
Indeed, God’s methods are not our methods. Were it not so, death should have taken the enablers of evil rather than good people such as our brother Prof Opata.
Now that he’s gone, those he worked for and who are now in government should honour his memory by looking in the direction of his birthplace Lejja. In his lifetime, he worked day and night to support incumbent governments, unlike some of us who stood against despots and deceivers. While he lived, they promised Lejja and Nsukka zone lots of development projects; they would do well to redeem their pledges now.
Goodbye, Prof Opata. May God grant you eternal rest. We shall miss you.
— ANIEBO NWAMU
