CHUKS OKEKE

 CHUKS OKEKE: A LIFE WELL LIVED.

 

Carosa and James Okeke-Ugbagu received a special bundle of joy on the 22nd of April 1960. Their cute boy was named Chukwuemeka and later baptised Claudius, although he came to be known as Chuks. Chuks was born in Lagos, but the family moved to Zaria where they lived until the Nigerian Civil War broke out. Later, life shaped up, and the Caro-James family, now with six children, moved ahead amidst the vagaries of a post-war country. Chuks, with two elder brothers and three younger sisters, grew up within a family that accommodated many extended relatives whose parents and spouses wanted to be trained and mentored by Caro and James.

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Till they passed on, Chuks remained an exemplary son to his parents. Many relatives wished Chuks was their direct brother or son. He was everything one wished for in a family member or a friend:  ever true, honest, protective, successful, very likeable and full of grace. Wise and forthright, he was swift in taking decisions, and his counsel was rarely faulted. He was a special gift from God.

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Young Chuks acquired his secondary education from the prestigious Father Joseph's Memorial High School, Aguleri and proceeded to St Gregory's College, Obalende Lagos, where he obtained a Higher School Certificate (HSC). He studied law at the University of Nigeria, Enugu campus and was called to the Nigerian Bar in October 1986, just three months after the death of his father. He became the very first lawyer in Umuoba Anam.