Today, we live in a world where influence often drowns integrity, and wealth rarely walks hand-in-hand with compassion. This is why it is increasingly difficult to find individuals who embody charity not merely as an idea, but as a daily practice. I have interacted with people across diverse spheres: clergy, academics, politicians, and technocrats.
The Christian definition of charity, often understood as “love in action,” is a concept frequently discussed yet rarely embodied. It’s a commodity both common in conversation and tragically scarce in practice. Only a select few fit seamlessly into the garb of selfless love. One of them is Hon. Solomon Izuchukwu Onah, fondly known across Udenu and beyond as Jack Solo.
Our paths first crossed during the build-up to the 2003 general elections, at a time when we were both part of The Firing Pin, a political pressure group championed by the late Chief Bernard Eze (Oko Ugbabe) to support the then Governor Chimaroke Nnamani’s re-election bid. Life took us on different journeys afterward, until some years ago, when our mutual friend Onyekachi C. Ugwu reconnected us. Since then, I have had a front-row seat to observe the remarkable humanity of this man beyond the corridors of power.
There’s an old saying: “Give a man power or money, and his true character will emerge.” It’s an adage that has survived generations because of its enduring truth. Many succumb to the intoxication of power or become enslaved by the vanity that wealth can bring. But Hon. Onah has defied that trajectory. He possesses both influence and affluence, yet clings to neither. Instead, he lives by the deeper conviction that these things are transient and should serve, not dominate, humanity.
In theology, this self-emptying love is known as kenosis, the act by which Christ, though equal with God, did not count equality a thing to exploit (Philippians 2:6). Jack Solo, in his public life, as Commissioner, as Chairman of Udenu LGA, and now as a State Legislator, has remained accessible, humble, and committed to the people who matter most: the ordinary men and women at the grassroots.
He embodies what Christ taught in the parable of the Good Samaritan: love is not a feeling, but a deed, unconditional, intentional, and restorative.
Christ’s radical teaching, that heaven isn’t reserved for the religious but for those who live in love, finds resonance in the life of this quiet benefactor. “When you give,” Jesus warned in Matthew 6, “do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” Hon. Onah does not give for optics; he gives because it is who he is. His acts of generosity are often done away from the spotlight, but their impact is always seismic.
A recent incident threw his character into bolder relief. On June 5th, 2025, a video clip surfaced, quietly capturing Jack Solo handing over the keys to a newly built five-bedroom bungalow to a widow whose dilapidated home had become uninhabitable. One of her sons, serving in the NYSC, had been sleeping under a crumbling roof. With no appeal for help, no media coverage, and no anticipation of reward, Hon. Onah took up their cause upon hearing of it. He built and furnished the house, (each room duly ensuited), and handed it over without a press conference. No social media show. No press release. Just quiet charity.
It was a moment of deep emotion. The widow and her children, overwhelmed with gratitude, embraced him as one would a saviour.
Shelter, second only to food in the hierarchy of human need, had been restored to a family on the brink. And true to form, his media team had no inkling of the gesture until it went viral. That’s the mark of a man whose goodness is not performative, but instinctive.
This wasn’t a solitary act. In 2024, during a prolonged power outage in Obollo Etiti and Obollo Eke, I reached out to Hon. Onah. He didn’t just acknowledge the call; he visited the then Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), lodged formal complaints, and issued a press statement to reassure his Constituents. Power was restored within two weeks, not by coincidence, but by intervention, after a prolonged troubleshooting by the Electricity Authority.
Earlier this year, while attending to his injured wife, he received news that a close associate, Onyeka Nwodo (widely known as Smeok’), had fallen ill. Despite his pressing family emergency, Jack Solo rushed down, moved him from a local clinic to a specialist hospital in Enugu, and paid for his treatment. Though Smeok’ later relapsed and passed on, after some weeks, following his discharge from the hospital, his gratitude to Hon. Onah in life was public and sincere. He had often called him a father figure, someone who gave his family a chance at dignity.
Indeed, in one of the most touching revelations before his passing, Smeok credited Jack Solo for his ability to build a home (a one-storey building), something he never believed possible. And when he died, Hon. Onah shouldered a significant portion of his funeral expenses and mourned him like family.
Another story, one of many, took place on 28th December 2023. A young woman, Miss Ngozi Eze from Nkpunator Obollo Eke, studying in Canada, sent her mother, a widow, to thank Jack Solo. He had funded every aspect of her dream to study Nursing Science abroad, from admission fees to logistics. They came bearing tokens: foodstuffs and palm oil. It wasn’t much, but in their eyes, no gift could equal what he had done.
This is not fiction. These are not embellishments. These are real acts, many of which remain untold. Hon. Solomon Izuchukwu Onah has offered scholarships to countless indigent students in Udenu. He has quietly paid hospital bills, facilitated business start-ups, mediated in crises, and remained a consistent friend to the forgotten.
As the legendary reggae icon Lucky Dube once sang, “Blessed is the hand that giveth, than the one that taketh.” But even among givers, there are categories. Some give for clout. Some give with resentment. Others give in anticipation of return. But those who give with genuine love belong in a league of their own. Jack Solo belongs there.
John Wooden once said, “You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.” Hon. Onah has lived many such days. And he continues to live them, one generous act at a time.
Since our political environment is often characterised by showmanship and transactional benevolence, I can say that Jack Solo’s example is a quiet defiance. Indeed, true leadership is not about power, but service. Not about position, but purpose. Not about applause, but impact.
May his tribe increase, and may daylight spare us!
Jude Eze.
