✍ Ugochimereze Chinedu Asuzu

“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.” ~ Proverbs 22:1

He arrives at this moment not as a sudden burst of newsprint but as the steady light of a long-burning lamp. Sir Bon Okechukwu Unachukwu – Sir Bon (ESV) to those who honour his professional standing – is a Registered Estate Surveyor & Valuer with the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON), and an Associate Member of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors & Valuers. His life has been a beacon of precision, discipline, and unyielding integrity. For decades, he has been the quiet custodian of worth: measuring land, honouring titles, and safeguarding value – not merely in acres and plots, but in trust and reputation.

On this 26th of September, 2025, as he marks yet another birthday, reflection upon his journey becomes more than a biographical exercise; it is a tribute to a man whose life embodies the dignity of service and the constancy of stewardship. Each passing year has not merely added to his age but has deepened the gravitas of his presence, reminding us that birthdays are not only milestones of life but checkpoints of legacy.

Born on September 26, 1959, to the family of Late Lambert and Ezinne Catherine Unachukwu of Atta, Ikeduru, Imo State, he was shaped by the discipline of a school headmaster father and the resilience of a trading mother. His early education began at Central School, Atta, where he graduated with distinction in July 1973. That September, he entered Holy Ghost College, Owerri, completing his School Certificate examinations in 1978. His academic path then took him through the College of Technology, Owerri (now Federal Polytechnic, Owerri), onward to Auchi Polytechnic in the old Bendel State (now Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State), and later to the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, where he earned an MBA in Project Management. Relentless in his pursuit of knowledge, he went on to secure a Master’s Degree in Politics and Administration from the University of Port Harcourt, followed by yet another Master of Science Degree in Estate Management – an enduring proof of his insatiable quest for learning and professional mastery.

The hand that tends to land speaks a language older than speech itself – a silent communion with the unseen spirits that dwell beneath the soil, whispered through the roots of ancient trees. This hand, steady and discerning, honours the sacred covenant between earth and eternity, between the past’s memory and the future’s promise. It knows that land is not merely soil or property, but a living expression of heritage and hope. And so, the very hand that has measured and molded the contours of the land now reaches out with equal grace and solemnity to tend the hearts and aspirations of a people. For true leadership is an extension of stewardship – where the language of the earth transforms into the language of souls, and where the keeper of land becomes the guardian of destiny. In Sir Bon (ESV) Unachukwu, the hand that once surveyed the physical terrain now shapes the spiritual and political landscape, wielding promise with humility and power, rooted deeply yet rising unyielding toward the heavens.
His professional career spans over three decades, beginning with the Hardel and Enic Group – a sprawling conglomerate owned by his uncle, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, with interests in engineering, real estate, construction, agriculture, publishing, banking, and finance. Rising through the ranks with characteristic diligence, he became the Group Managing Director, steering multiple subsidiaries with precision and vision until his voluntary retirement in 2020, when he returned fully to his core calling as a surveyor and estate valuer of note.

It was in the course of this distinguished career that he was called to serve as Commissioner for Lands, Survey, and Physical Planning in Imo State – a portfolio that tested his mettle in governance and sharpened his ability to marry policy with precision. In that role, he navigated complex land administration issues, balanced competing interests, and implemented measures that reflected both professional mastery and public accountability.

The call to partisan politics came naturally. Since the dawn of the Fourth Republic in 1999, Sir Bon had been an active participant in political activities, though he only offered himself for elective office in 2015, winning the PDP primaries for Ikeduru State Constituency. Political currents, however, saw him lose at the general election. Yet, he continued to serve – as a member of the Imo State PDP caretaker committee, later elected State Vice Chairman (Owerri Zone), under whose watch the party clinched 9 State Assembly seats, 4 Federal House of Representatives seats, 1 Senate seat for Owerri Zone, and ultimately the governorship in the 2019 general election.

In October 2023, discerning that the PDP had lost touch with its core values and could no longer serve as a veritable platform for his political aspirations, he resigned. He aligned with like minds in consolidating the Rebuild Imo structures, where he played a prominent role as Owerri Zonal Coordinator – a position from which he continued to exercise his bridge-building gift and his instinct for credible organisation.

His elevation to the exalted office of National Vice Chairman (South-East) of the African Democratic Congress is more than an appointment. It is a crowning of competence, the recognition of a man whose life’s work has been a continuous act of stewardship. Unanimously appointed and sworn in by the National Working Committee under the able leadership of Sen. David Mark, Sir Bon steps into this role as one handpicked by both circumstance and conviction, to steady a zone longing for clarity of vision and credible organisation. This is the hour when the surveyor’s exactness must meet the strategist’s foresight, and when maps of the physical terrain give way to maps of political destiny.

Bon Unachukwu belongs to the Iwuanyanwu school of politics, holding firmly to the principle that “loyalty is on a tiny string – once it snaps, it cannot be mended.” He often recalls the counsel of Chief Iwuanyanwu: that if men of integrity shun politics, the dregs of society will rule over them, for nature abhors a vacuum. Though initially not drawn to politics, he embraced it fully after retirement, determined to serve with the same rigour that defined his professional life.

Bon is married to his delectable wife, Lady Ndidi Unachukwu, and they are blessed with children and grandchildren. A devoted Anglican, a Knight of St. Christopher, and a man of deep humility, he attributes much of his discipline to the moral foundation laid in his youth.

What sets him apart is the consistency of his record. Whether in the boardroom, in the ministry, or at the rally ground, his work bears the same hallmark – thoroughness. He is not given to theatrics, yet his presence commands attention; not one for empty noise, yet his words carry the weight of one who measures before he declares. The same discipline that governs the valuer’s pen governs the leader’s conscience.

This appointment is therefore both a tribute to his past and a herald of the future he is capable of shaping. It signals that the African Democratic Congress values leaders who have walked the long road, proven their capacity, and earned their stripes in the crucible of service. It is a statement that competence, character, and credibility still matter in public life.

To the Southeast, his emergence is a reassurance that steadiness still has a place in leadership. To the party, it is the addition of a strategic mind that knows both the maps of land and the maps of destiny. And to those who know him, it is the quiet confirmation that true leadership, like good land, appreciates in value over time.

Today, as Sir Bon (ESV) Unachukwu celebrates his birthday, the Southeast and the entire nation celebrate him not only as a steward of land and keeper of promise, but as a man whose years, like his record, shine brighter with the passage of time. May this new chapter in his life be crowned with strength, wisdom, and peace; and may the lamp he has faithfully kept burning continue to light the path for generations yet to come.

✍ Ugochimereze Chinedu Asuzu
Public Affairs Analyst | September 26, 2025