Prince Emeka Obasi, like every other mortal, may not have lived a perfect life. But that his passing has dispossessed a marriage, a family, a profession, a nation and indeed humanity of a brilliant, resourceful, creative and inspiring mind cannot be contested.

Here was a man born without a silver spoon or a giant upon whose shoulder to stand but who, by his strong
conviction that success or failure is a choice, turned the circumstances of his birth into a recipe for success.
“The greatest thing God did for me is making me come from a poor family”, Obasi would always say to the
confusion of the newsroom. “That made me to embrace hard work early in life” he would then clarify.

While economic realities determined the schools for his primary and post primary education, diligence and
determination placed him at par with or even above his privileged contemporaries from more prestigious schools at graduation.

Replicating same at the English Department of the University of Calabar, with a phenomenal culture of
voracious reading, Obasi had laid for himself a strong foundation for whatever life was going to throw at him.
Despite standing out as a reporter at Newswatch Magazine and a Features Editor at Classique Magazine,
his bigger dream of operating at the level of an employer drove him into the capital intensive publishing business, even without any offer of sponsorship.

However, riding on doggedness, perseverance, enterprise, creativity, networking and good personal relationships, this former Abia Commissioner for Information and Strategy made his mark in the highly competitive industry by meticulously bringing together the veteran journalist and the PR guru in him.

Result-oriented and easily seduced by diligence, Obasi focused strictly on competence in his recruitment and
reward, paying no attention to tribe, religion and gender, and with total disdain for laziness. The frst day I met him, my university degree, state of origin and name (Emeka), meant nothing to him. But my opinion articles in Punch and Guardian meant everything. That was Prince Emeka Obasi.

There may be reservations about his commitment to his welfare obligations to his employees. But no one doubts that working with him was an opportunity for a self development course only a CEO who enjoyed revealing the secrets of his exploits can offer.

Life, however, became unbearable when he had to manage a strange ailment alongside his family and business. Even after the defiant health crisis had taken a heavy toll on his health and energy, leaving him with
assisted respiration for over five years, he did not give up both in faith and productivity.

From the sick bed, he still played his role as Editor-in-Chief of Business Hallmark, hosted his awards ceremonies, authored and launched a 372-page book, ‘Saved for His Praise’, a chronicle of how his heroic efforts to save his life enjoyed the grace of God when medical sciences had failed among others. Sadly, all that came to a halt that black Tuesday.

Publisher, you fought so hard to win the battle that you might stay for your family, for Hallmark and for humanity.

But the more you fought, the more turbulent the journey became. Today, you have gone to rest. May your dogged soul find eternal peace in the Lord. Goodnight.

Emeka Ejere