15 things you may not know about late Rear Admiral Kanu who died at the age of 77

The death of Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu retired, a former military governor of Imo State in 1975 and governor of Lagos in 1976 has been confirmed.

His demise was made known to newsmen on Wednesday by a close friend from Abia State who said that Kanu died this morning in hospital after a brief illness.

According to him, the former Naval chief was reported to have been ill for a long time but he did not reveal what ailment killed him.

He said that Kanu was in his seventies and celebrated his last birthday in the month of November 2020.

As a parting shot, we highlight fifteen things you may not know about Ndubuisi Kanu, who in 1975, was the only Igbo that was appointed into the Supreme Military Council, SMC, before General Olusegun Obasanjo dissolved it when he assumed office in 1976 as Head of State.

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1.) Ndubuisi Kanu was born in Abia State in 1943 of Igbo origin.

2.) After joining the navy, he went to India for cadet training.

3.) He obtained honorary Doctorate Degrees from the Imo State University and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri.

4.) In July 1975 as a lieutenant commander he was appointed a member of Murtala Mohammed’s ruling Cabinet, the Supreme Military Council.

5.) Rear Admiral (retired) Ndubuisi Godwin Kanu was appointed military governor of Imo State, Nigeria in March 1976 during the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo.

6.) He was the first governor after the decree that established the state from part of the old East Central State.

7.) He was transferred to become governor of Lagos State in 1977, leaving office in July 1978.

8.) He later became Rear Admiral and Naval chief.

9.) After he retired, he joined the pro-democracy movement and played a leading role in the agitation for the actualization of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election.

10.) He founded and was Chairman of RANGK LTD, a maritime consultancy firm.

11.) He was at one time Chairman of the Ohaneze Transition Caretaker Committee (OTC).

12.) He was Director of Fidelity Bank PLC and became a top National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) chieftain and later the Chairman of the coalition in 2013.

13.) In May 2008, Kanu called for a return to true federalism in Nigeria.

14.) Kanu was married three times and has ten children – Simone, Audrey, Kelly, Karen, Paula, Jeffery, Vanessa, Samantha, Laura and Stephen.

15.) He was married to Gladys Ndubuisi-Kanu until his death in 2021.

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