About Chinedu...

Chinedu was born in Onitsha, Anambra State Nigeria on May 18, 1985 to the family Late Mr R.I Ekwunife from Umuanum village Nibo and Mrs T.C Ekwunife (Nee Igboko) from Amuvi village Arochukwu, both in Nigeria. Raised in Enugu State, he had his elementary school education 1991-1997 at Independence Layout Primary School, Enugu. He attended Federal Government College Enugu 1997-2003 where he graduated with excellent grades in both Junior (12As) and Senior WAEC (6A1, 1B2 & 2B3) exams. In 2009, he obtained a B.Eng degree in Electronics Engineering from the prestigious University of Nigeria, graduating with a summa cum laude (first class honors). Having obtained the NITDA scholarship, he later went on to acquire an MSc degree in Software Engineering from Southampton University UK in 2013.

 

Chinedu was highly self-motivated, inspirational and hardworking. During his first-degree program, he tutored a number of students who are now mostly successful. Shortly after his first degree, he gained varied working experiences handling various roles including Mobile Access Designer at Alcatel-Lucent Nigeria and Systems Analyst at Business Connexion Nigeria. Soon after his master’s degree program in the UK, he gained more professional experience majorly as a Software Engineer and Senior Software Engineer  in the UK offices of companies such as Accenture, KCOM and Lucidworks. In his last known appraisal, his company (Lucidworks) highlighted a few of his core qualities: ability to quickly come up with feasible and sound technical solution to problems; dedication and hard work; easy to reach out to; and consistency to deliver at or above expectations.

 

In 2016, Chinedu married his heartthrob, Pharm. Lotachi Aghara of Umuchu village in Aguata, Anambra State. Lotachi, a master’s degree holder from Department of Pharmaceutics, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, soon joined her husband in the UK. The marriage is blessed with a beautiful daughter, Chimamanda Ekwunife and an unborn child.

 

Chinedu was a devout Catholic, who always ensured people around him were comfortable.  The family meant a lot to him and he will be remembered for his boisterous laughter, generosity, subtle advice, and his ability to speak up and demand for what was right whenever necessary.  He had a penchant for excellence and fairness. Among his family and friends, he was revered as a brilliant, considerate, generous, cheerful and a good man. He enjoyed gardening, taking long walks, running, playing table tennis, board games and watching boxing games.

 

Chinedu, aged 35, passed on peacefully at the Ipswich general hospital UK, with his wife by his side, on Sunday, June 14, 2020, after battling COVID-19 in the intensive care unit for about 2.5 months. He is survived by his wife, daughter,  unborn child, mother, brothers, sisters and many relatives.