By Ahmad Muhammad Danyaro
Giants strides made by man are usually relieved with pomp and pageantry .while some roll out the milestone amidst glass clinging. Some play the breakthrough low but all in praises and in anticipation of better future ahead. In this momentous instance, the success story always overshadows the nauseating hurdles and barricades accompanying such feats. Naturally some people excel in various ways of life, they standout in anything they venture into, they are shining light, they shape their environment and their world.
However, despite the society convulsion threatening the survival of the contemporary society one can still boast of great men as few as they are who stand tall in the society. Men who write their names in gold while others write in charcoal in the heart of thousands of people, they can never be forgotten the name and good deeds of such men will always shine stars.
He is a distinguished personality that embodies exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, originality and brilliance. By whatever you look at it, he is an example of an outstanding genius, marked by distinction, superiority, excellence and intelligence Prof Chidi Ansalem Odinkalu who on Friday 12th June 2020 turned 52 years had paid his dues , so the height attained has not been a surprise to those who know him.
Prof Odinkalu is a lawyer and former Chairman of the Governing Council of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission, in addition to serving as senior team’s manager for the Africa Program of the Open Society justice society initiative.Odinkalu is widely published on diverse subjects of international law ,international economic and human rights law, public policy ,and political economy affecting African countries.
He is frequently called upon to advise multilateral and bilateral institutions on Africa-related policy, including the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the African Union ,the Economic Community of West African States, and the World Economic Forum .
In his quest for a greater Nigeria, he exhibited his mettle and panache in spear heading policies that have elicited national and international accolades. All he ever wanted to do in his life was to make a difference in others people’s lives. As a child, he has thought the only way to accomplish this was to engage in a vocation where his impact would be most felt.
He has extensive networks across Africa built up over several years of working for human rights and social justice on the continent. He is associated with several non-governmental organizations and academic institutions within and outside of Africa.Among other affiliations ,Odinkalu is a member of the Human Rights Advisory Council on Ethics and International Affairs, of the Boards ofd the Fund for Global Human Rights and of the International Refugee initiative .He is also the founder of the section on Public interest and Development Law (SPIDEL) at the Nigerian Bar and member of the Executive Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association.
Chidi combines a rare academic capability with administrative and organizational ability. This is evident in the many strategic administrative positions and challenges he had been given over the years in his public life and life of activism he has discharged with fortitude and uncommon success.
Odinkalu was born in Ihiala, Anambra State to the family two teachers: Augustine Chukwuma Odinkalu and Anthonia Ihunna Odinkalu. He hails from Orlu, Imo State,Nigeria. Odinkalu obtained his (LLB) Law degree at Imo State University in 1987 and was called to bar in 1988. He emerged as the best graduating student of the School of Legal Studies, Imo State University in 1987 and won the Chief FRA Williams prize for best student in Legal Drafting and Conveyancing in 1988. He obtained a Masters degree in law at the University of Lagos in 1990 and holds a Ph.D. in Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Odinkalu is a visiting professor at Harvard Law School.
He was recipient of the 2013 Anti-Corruption Defender Award and was honoured for his integrity ,hardwork , unconcealed crusade for the enthronement of human rights-even at the risk of his career ; and his dogged stance against corruption.
As an academic, author,human rights activist ,Prof Chidi is unarguably a colosscus in the field and practice of human rights. He has lent his voice on many occasions to situations of right abuse ,restoring justice and respect for human right in all situations.
He was prior to joining Open Society Justice Initiative, Senior legal officer for Africa and the Middle East at the international Centre for the Legal and Protection of Human Rights in London, Human Rights Advisor to the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone, and Brandeis International Fellow at the Centre for Ethics, Justice and Public Life of the Brandeis University, Massachusetts,
In his success story, few people erroneously tend to view it as if he employed underhand tactics to achieve them and in the process underestimate his Midas touch. The fact remains that he attained his present height through dint of hard work and unparalleled exhibition of moral discipline.
By any benchmark one deploys to assess him, and in whatever clime in our firmament of the planet earth, Professor Chidi Ansalem Odinkalu , is a stunning success, a unique gift to human rights world and he deserve to be celebrated by all and sundry as he turned 52years .
Danyaro wrote in from Abuja and can be reached at ahmaddanyaro2017@gmail.com
