‘He lived what he preached’ — tributes pour in for Innocent Chukwuma

The late Innocent Chukwuma, founder of Centre for Law Enforcement Education, better known as CLEEN Foundation, has been described by his colleagues as a humble man who lived his life based on what he preached.

Chukwuma, a civil society leader, renowned human rights activist and West Africa director of Ford Foundation, died on April 3 in Lagos at the age of 55.

On Thursday, tributes were paid to the civil society leader at a meeting organised by Enough is Enough Nigeria (EIENigeria).

Ayo Obe, legal practitioner and partner at Ogunsola Shonibare, Audu Oseni, senior communications officer at CLEEN foundation, and Kemi Okenyodo, founder, Rule of Law and Empowerment Initiative, paid their tributes to the him at the programme.

Speaking, Obe described Chukwuma as a humble man who treated people equally and without prejudice.

“Innocent could work with commoners and work with kings. I think this is what is called humility. I would say that quality also allowed Innocent to qualify as a bridge builder. Innocent was ready to put identity aside, he was ready to put labels and stereotypes aside. And he was ready to deal with the issue in front of him, and to deal with the person whom he was dealing with,” she said.

“He had a sense of humour. Even if he was dealing with extremely serious issues, he did not allow himself to be weighed down or to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.”

Oseni spoke about Chukwuma’s eagerness to see people succeed while also emphasising his humility.

“When I joined CLEEN Foundation; I didn’t have a master’s degree, but he made sure that everybody went back to school. I can’t forget I went to study for my master’s in strategic communication, and to my surprise, all my fees had been paid and I just had to attend lectures,” he said.

“So for me, Innocent Chukwuma’s greatest desire was to see that people succeed. And apart from his level of intelligence, I was also amazed at the kind of humility he exhibited.

“One of the things I can tell anyone about Innocent Chukwuma is his humility. He was so humble that if people tell you this is Innocent Chukwuma, you would not know. One thing I learnt was humility, and also his focus.”

Okenyodo, speaking from a more personal perspective, said Chukwuma’s dedication to his family inspired her.

She said though religious people quote scriptures, Chukwuma did not only do so, but also lived what he preached.

“For those of us that are religious, we are quick to quote scriptures, but he lived what we quoted and you’ll see from his passing that what most of us paid lip service to is what he lived by. I learned to read my audience, I learned to read my environment working closely with him,” she said.