Brilliant and ambitious Kepu was born and raised in Okpoko, a rural community where family ties are so important that babies ‘ umbilical cords are buried at the foot of cash crop trees to ensure that they always remember their roots. Kepu’s ambition leads him to America, a land of promise, where he becomes a different person. Will Kepu remember Okpoko? Or will he become part of the lost generation?

Celestine Ukwunna lyeh hails from Umuohiagu in Ngor / Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State. He attended Owerri Grammar School, Imerienwe from 1958-1962 and later travelled to Lagos where he worked as a treasury clerk in the Federal Ministry of Finance from 1963-1966.

He was admitted to University of Ibadan in 1966 to study English, an opportunity he missed because of the civil war. He reapplied in 1971 and graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Sociology from the same university in 1974. He also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Community Development (1977-1978) from Du Sautoy College Buea Cameroons, and a Certificate in Public Management (1983) from Indiana University Bloomington, USA. lyeh served in the Imo State Government until 1998 when he retired from the Ministry of Information, Youth and Sports.