At the time of his death in 2003 Chidi, Kip Bates (Philip K. Bates III) and I had been working for four years introducing more than 500 West African NGOs to the Internet which was still in its infancy - particularly in West Africa. Chidi was so proud to be a part of a pioneering effort to bring this amazing new technology to his native Nigeria. Kip and I were proud to be his teammates and his friend.
We teasingly referred to him as "Shoes Galore" a nickname spawned by the fact that Chidi never made a trip to Nigeria without a huge suitcase filled with shoes that he had gathered to give as gifts to his many friends and those in need in Nigeria. That suitcase of shoes was emblematic of Chidi the man whose big heart never stopped beating for his beloved Nigeria and he made us love her just as fiercely.
Chidi, you are forever in our hearts.
Dr. Chidi (Peter Clever) Obinali Nwachukwu (B December 23 1957, D. January 20, 2003 ) Dr. Chidi (Peter Clever) Obinali Nwachukwu was a citizen of Nigeria and the United States, having emigrated to Milwaukee Wisconsin in 1980. He would go on to receive a graduate degree from a prestigious American University (Purdue) and become a successful businessman and early Internet Entrepreneur, starting one of the first companies to use VOIP technology to provide affordable telephony between the US and Nigeria. Nwachukwu was politically active throughout his life and was among a small group of Social Entrepreneurs to create The Electronic Community Project under the aegis of the Ford Foundation and the East West Education Foundation, providing training and Internet connectivity to over 250 NGO (Non Governmental Organizations) throughout West Africa. Nwachukwu and fellow social entrepreneurs Wayne D. King and Philip "Kip" Bates III authored "Creating Electronic Communities - Accessing and Using the Internet" in 1997. The book was an early digital book, produced in hard copy only for the NGOs but widely disseminated on the Web in the early days of the World Wide Web. The Electronic Community Team continues to work in West Africa today, currently working on a project that creates Enterprise communities using the cleanup of oil spills in the Niger Delta as the driving force.
Born on December 23 1957 to Simeon and Patience Nwachukwu of Umuezegwu in Ihitte-Uboma local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria. To his family he was fondly known as Jonathan or Joe, as he was first baptized in the Anglican Church but later converted to Catholicism. To many others he was known as Peter Clever, his catholic baptismal name. He would later opt to go by his middle name, Chidi. Chidi Nwachukwu would grow up in the midst of the war known as the Nigerian-Biafran War.
Education: Chidi received his primary school education at Market Road (Holy Ghost) Primary School, Enugu from where he took and passed the high school common entrance examination in elementary five (5th Grade). He then proceeded to St. Vincent’s Secondary School, Agbogugu, now in Enugu state. After two years at St. Vincent’s, Chidi transferred to Dennis Memorial Grammar School (DMGS) Onitsha from where he received his high school diploma.
After high school, Chidi went to work for the then Nigerian Ministry of Communications, Posts and Telecommunications (now Nitel). He left Post and Telecommunications a year later to work for Union Bank of Nigeria where he worked until 1980 when he left Nigeria for United States in pursuit of his college education.
In the United States, Chidi attended and graduated from Tougaloo College, a small liberal arts college in the outskirts of Jackson, Mississippi. He completed his undergraduate work at Tougaloo in three years, graduating summa cum laude with a degree in political science. He then applied to and was accepted into the Woodrow Wilson department of political science at Princeton University in New Jersey to pursue a doctorate degree in political science. Chidi left Princeton after a year as it became difficult to secure additional funding to pay his school fees.
He returned to Jackson Mississippi and enrolled in a master’s program in Public Administration at Jackson State University. With the help of teaching assistantship, he completed the program and earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration.
At the conclusion of his master’s degree program at Jackson State University and still wanting to earn a PhD, he applied to and was accepted into the political science department at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. This time, he was awarded a package of fellowships and teaching assistantships to help him pay for the program. He successfully completed the program, earning a PhD in comparative politics in 1991.
Marriage: Chidi was united in holy matrimony to Ngozi Margaret Onuoha in 1986. To this union, four children: Onyekachi, Chima, Uzoma and Ukachi, were born.
Profession/Vocation: Through the years, Chidi held several teaching positions at various colleges and Universities in the Midwestern part of the United States. His last teaching appointment was at Marquette University in Milwaukee Wisconsin. After two years at Marquette University, Chidi opted to forgo teaching to pursue his entrepreneurial interests. For three years, Chidi successfully ran international trade workshops, with a concentration on trade between American businesses and African countries. These workshops brought together representatives from various African countries, including ambassadors, foreign ministers, other embassy staff, business owners from African countries, American businesses and representatives of the United States federal, state and local government agencies with the purpose of stimulating and improving trade between American businesses and African countries.
At the same time, Nwachukwu Nwachukwu founded and ran Same Day Express, a same day delivery service that picked up and delivered packages to and from banks around Milwaukee and Chicago.
During the four years prior to his death, Chidi worked with his colleagues at the Electronic Community, serving as a consultant to Ford Foundation and often travelling to various African countries to work on the Foundation’s projects.
At the time of his death, Chidi was the President and founder of UCON Telecommunications, Inc., a company whose products and services included the Uconnect Africa calling card.
Nwachukwu died Monday, January 20, 2003 after a long battle with leukemia. He was preceded in death by his father, Simeon Nwachukwu, leaving his mother, Patience Nwachukwu; his wife, Ngozi; his children, Onyekachi, Chima, Uzoma and Ukachi; his brothers, Anthony, Innocent and Lasbrey; as well as a number of nieces, nephews, in-laws and cousins.
