Eze V. B. C. Onyema III

Eze V. B. C. Onyema III (13 February 1927 – February/March 2024) was a Nigerian traditional ruler of Ogwu-Ikpele in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, South Eastern from 1976 until his death in 2024. He was the successor to his father, Eze Onyema II, and one of three Patrons of the Anambra State Council of Traditional Rulers.

Background Born in Ogwu-Ikpele, Eze Onyema III was an executive of G.B. Ollivant, a subsidiary of the United Africa Company (UAC) of Nigeria, rising from the rank of clerk in 1943 to become the first Nigerian General Manager of the company (Divisional CEO) in 1977. Prior to joining UAC, he was educated in Oguta and Onitsha, and even had a teaching stint in Onitsha. Young Eze Onyema III manned various managerial roles, moving between Port-Harcourt and countless other towns in Eastern Nigeria with his family prior to the civil war.

In 1948, he had met and married Rebecca Nwanyiesigo Nnubia Okwuosa Onumonu, following a relentless bout of wooing spearheaded by his father Eze Onyema II and other family members.

In early March 2024, it was reported that Onyema III had died. He was 97.