By Chukwudi EnekweChi (JP)
I recall with nostalgia my visit to Professor Barth Nnaji at the University of Pittsburg, United States of America sometimes in November of 2000. As I was transiting from Columbia Missouri to New York, I put a call across to him and without much protocol he invited me over to the university. On my arrival at the Greyhound bus station, I was elated to behold this white damsels, who I later learnt was his secretary was on hand to receive and drive me to his expansive and magnificent office at the prestigious university.
As I entered I found him on his desk attending to his responsibilities as a distinguished professor of Robotics Engineering in the university. Another spectacular item that caught my attention was the traditional Igbo revered ‘’Akupe” hand fan hanging above behind his office table. On it was inscribed the traditional title ‘’ONWA NKANU” (THE MOON THAT SHINES FOR NKANU) that was bestowed on him by the entire Nkanu traditional rulers symbolizing a special honour and recognition for their illustrious son. Indeed, Prof. Nnaji is befitting of the title because of global accoplishments.
Suffice it to state that the spectacle of the prestigious position which Professor Barth Nnaji occupied in far-away United States amazed me to no end, for it is a rarity to see foreigners who are so recognized by the people, government and the academia in the United States. My reading of that is that Nnaji is a rare breed of a human being doing Nigeria and the black race proud.
