Celebration of the Life and Legacy of the Honorable Dr. Kalu Ndukwe Nchege

Obituary Honorable Dr. Kalu Ndukwe Nchege For 87 years the Honorable Dr. Kalu Ndukwe Nchege lived his life with a deep sense of purpose, and a commitment to family and community. He was joyously devoted to the love of his life, his wife Obi, and his four children. He was determined, yet patient; distinguished, yet humble; resolute, yet warm and welcoming. He enjoyed gardening and golfing.

He was our Gentle Giant.

A proud Nigerian, Kalu was born in Ndi Okara compound, in Amangwu Ohaifia, Nigeria on Friday, August 2, 1935, to the late Ugo Ibisi and Chief Joel Ndukwe Kalu Nchege who was known as “Chicha”.

Kalu attended Government College Umuahi in Abia State, Nigeria for his secondary education. After graduating in 1957, he became a school teacher until 1961 when he traveled to America to attend the College of Veterinary Medicine at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University). He was highly active in the international student union.

It was at Tuskegee where he met Obi. They married in 1966 and both graduated in 1967 and went on to raise their family in the US until 1972 when Kalu decided to take his family to Nigeria to meet his father, “Chicha” and family.

Upon graduation, Kalu joined the USDA as an inspector inthe meat packing factories which enabled him to work in different parts of the country. He moved to Nigeria where he worked for the government of the old Eastern Nigeria, in the veterinary division of the Ministry of Agriculture.

In 1975, Kalu and his family procured Amanchege Farms from the elders of the village. The land was to grow livestock and crops. Kalu’s vision of using what he had learned abroad and at home came to fruition. To complete his vision, in 1981 he established Cheggs Food Company. The company produced and sold sausage, cuts of meats, and eggs from the livestock raised on the Farm.