A Life of Grace, Grit, Wanderings, Reinvention and Destiny
On Tuesday, 16 December 2025, I stand on the sixth floor of life.
Sixty years, preserved not by chance, not by strength alone, but by the unmistakable, omnipotent grace of the Almighty Architect of the Universe.
This is not merely a birthday.
It is a testimony.
I was born at dawn on Thursday, 16 December 1965, at Whittington / St Marys Hospital, Islington, London, the first of 4 siblings to two exceptional parents: a disciplined, visionary telecommunications engineer and a compassionate, highly trained thoracic nurse. From birth, excellence surrounded me, but life would insist that I earn my own stripes.
My earliest years were spent in London, shaped by British schooling, structure, and confidence. I attended The Hall Pre-Prep School, Hampstead NW3, and St Gildas Roman Catholic School, Oakington Way, N8. Then history intervened. The Nigerian Civil War ended, the nation needed rebuilding, and my father was called home from STC UK to work with ITT Africa and the middle east, later ITT Nigeria. In 1970, we returned to Nigeria. That single move split my identity in two and forged my destiny.
I became a child of two worlds:
London English on my tongue,
Igbo blood in my veins,
Nigeria in my future.
School transitions followed: Maryland Convent Private School, Maryland, Lagos; Santa Maria Primary School, now Ziks Avenue Primary School, Enugu. With them came culture shock. Later, at Nike Grammar School, I tasted humiliation early. Because I struggled with Igbo, I was bullied, mocked, labelled London goat, punished, and isolated. That year at Nike scarred me, but it did not break me. My mother, My guardian angel intervened, rescued me, and swiftly placed me in the College of the Immaculate Conception, Enugu, where my confidence was restored, my identity reanchored, and my resilience sharpened. I graduated in 1982 a tougher, wiser, confident Igbo-speaking young man.
Then came youthful exuberance and a defining rebellion. An already paid Oxford A-level admission at St Aldates College, my Dads Volvo car, his ₦400, and an elopement with my babe of the time cost me a clear path. The punishment was severe. I was forced to repeat Class 5. Discipline followed. Yet looking back, that setback was divine redirection. I eventually completed my A-levels at St Augustines Grammar School, Nkwerre, graduating in 1985, humbled but forged.
In 1987, I returned to London, this time not as a boy, but as a hungry young man reclaiming his space. I studied, built, struggled, and survived. I married in 1999 and was blessed with two beautiful children, a son and a daughter, my greatest earthly legacy.
Entrepreneurship followed naturally. In the UK and Nigeria, I built and ran businesses across auto services, logistics, construction, oil and gas representation, technology, and development. My life became a constant shuttle between continents, UK to Nigeria, Nigeria to UK, always balancing ambition with fatherhood, opportunity with sacrifice.
Politics called repeatedly. I answered again and again. From 2003 through 2019, I tested the Nigerian political terrain, including a bold run for the Federal House of Representatives in 2019. I did not win elections, but I gained wisdom, clarity, and an unbreakable spine. I remained standing.
In 2011, I founded Oblong Media Unlimited, a voice born out of conviction. What started small became a formidable digital platform: tens of thousands of powerful articles, a massive social footprint, and a public archive of truth telling, advocacy, and geopolitical awareness. Today, http://www.oblongmedia.net stands as a living resource, my contribution to public discourse and the historical record.
Now, at 60, I see my life clearly.
I am a child of two continents.
A survivor of bullying.
A product of discipline.
A businessman.
A political actor.
A media voice.
A father.
A son.
A fighter.
A believer.
I have lived, lost, loved, failed, rebuilt, travelled, fallen, and risen again and again. I have been shaped by friends, sharpened by adversaries, strengthened by betrayal, and sustained by grace. Through every valley and every peak, one truth remains unshaken:
God carried me.
Sixty is not an ending.
It is a rebirth.
The years ahead will be more purposeful, more impactful, more philanthropic, more visionary, anchored in lineage, legacy, and service.
I step forward grateful, unbroken, and on fire.
Happy 60th Birthday to me.
A life touched and forged by Gods grace.
A destiny still unfolding.
Spes mea in Deo.
Hon. Chima Oblong Nnadi-Oforgu
Duruebube Uzii na Abosi
Duruebube Ihiagwa ofo asato
Ndukaku III of Ihiagwa
OBLONG MEDIA UNLIMITED 
Leave a comment