Mark, Family Mourn Chike Obi’s Death

Taiwo Adisa, Abuja and Okodili Ndidi, Onitsha - 15.03.2008

The President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, has described the death of mathematician, Prof. Chike Obi as the loss of an academic icon, which has created a yawning gap. Mark, in a statement on Friday, expressed shock and grief at the demise of the renowned mathematician and politician, Prof. Chike Obi.

The Senate President said that he received the news of the demise of the mathematician with sadness, as according to him the death had created a big vacuum in the academic world.

In a message he also sent to the government and people of Anambra State, Senator Mark said that the death of the elder statesman was regrettable, as he was one of the finest brains in the academia.

“The Late Professor Obi will always be remembered for his inventions and breakthroughs in mathematical theorems,” Mark said, while calling on academics in Nigeria to brace up to the challenges and fill the vacuum left behind by the late academic giant.

Mark said that besides the bold strides achieved by the late Professor in academics, he also contributed immensely to the political development of Nigeria. He stated that the late Professor exhibited and brought excellence in all he did in life.

He urged the younger generation to emulate the examples of the late mathematician.

The Senate President also urged the government of Anambra State and the academic community to do something worthwhile to immortalise the late mathematician.

Meanwhile, his family has described his demise as a shock to not only the family and Anambra State, but also to the whole country; stressing that his footprints would forever remain indelible in the academic history of Nigeria.

Speaking to Saturday Tribune at the family House in Onitsha, a reluctant family spokesman and younger brother to the late mathematician, Capt. Akunwafor Obi, stated that the family members were yet to issue official release to the press.

He, however, assured that the children were expected back in the country soon, and that after an enlarged family meeting, they would address the press.

Family members and sympathisers at the deceased’s country home, described the late mathematician as a fulfilled man who was accessible to both the low and the mighty.

An anonymous family source disclosed that the late mathematics guru had been sick for a long time and had not been attending public functions, but had been restricted to his home.