Jacob Olupona pays tribute to Chukwuma, former director, West African office of Ford Foundation Many who mourn Innocent Chukwuma today, will take comfort from the memories of the good times shared with him. His departure, at a very difficult time in Nigerian life, has left a vacuum, particularly among civil society compatriots and we hope that God in his mercy will fill this emptiness. Our paths crossed, barely about two years ago, when I paid a visit to his office to discuss the programs and activities of the Institute of Advanced Studies at Ile Ife, which began in 2017. It was at the urging of Olusegun Adeniyi, a former Fellow of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and Editorial Board Chairman of THISDAY Newspaper. As we sat down to talk, Innocent reminded me very quickly that, like himself, I had schooled at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. And like him, I also read Religion and was very actively involved in Student Union activities in the early 1970s. This coincidence led me almost to forget the purpose of my visit. While I was thinking about the sheer force of this introduction, he quickly added that my BA long essay, written in 1975, still lies in the department of religious studies library at Nsukka. We then sat down to talk about the program I had wanted to discuss with him, and I was quite amazed that he knew about the annual Ife Summer Institute, had read about it, and had indeed been following the progress of this scholarly endeavor and training offered to the younger scholars in the academy.