By the standard of today, his father, Sir. Louis Odumegwu, was a billionaire. With his wealth, he reared the little but charming Emeka with all the affection that parents lavish upon their children in ever y age. He was determined to give him the best education. Consistent with Sir Louis’ vow, the child, Emeka, was almost crushed with education. The first school he attended was St. Patrick’s Primary School, Idumagbo, Lagos. There, during break hours, he relished sham battles in which, time and again, he and his friends were nearly killed. Because of this, only few pupils could dare play with him. Later, he attended Church Missionary Grammar School (CMS) and King’s College, both in Lagos.
While in King’s College, his father had already discovered that his child, Emeka, was intellectually precocious and keen, well endowed with good judgment and restless with ambition. How best could a man develop his potentialities? In those days, as it is today, it helped to attend good schools. King’s College was in fact, one of the best secondary schools in Nigeria. Since education was still developing in the country, Sir. Odumegwu wanted for his son a country where education has reached advanced stages, for effective intellectual insemination. It is a fact of history that when one grows among advanced people, he is more likely to imbibe their civilization with great ease. After discussing the idea of a British education with some of his enlightened Nigerian friends, they settled for Epsom on the understanding that at thirteen, he would transfer to Eton, Britain ’s most exclusive public school.
As planned, Emeka, 12, was admitted into Epsom College, in the county of Surrey.
His English education began in earnest. Epsom thenceforth became a formative ordeal for him in a strange environment. The college inspired the talented Emeka with a great love for history. He came to know and admire English civilization. Like any child with his disposition, he equally learnt a great deal of the virtues and vices that go with growing up…
Emeka later gained admission to Lincoln College, University of Oxford in 1952. Oxford, as expected, was full of the frolic of students, the odour of learning and the excitement of independent thought. There, his father was anxious that Emeka should study Law saying, “I think there is the material of a good lawyer and legal director of my business in him.” This was in line with the prevalent disposition among Nigerians, where, till today, fond parents always want their children to read Law which they regard as an open sesame to wealth and high social status.
The insistence of the father that Emeka studied Law was the first serious conflict between father and son. In filial compromise, Emeka took up the studying of Law; but as a student of Law, the prospect of studying modern History and observing the lives of heroes held a secret fascination for him. At a stage, having studied Law for a year, he burnt his law books, forgot Jurisprudence and followed History as if under a spell.
In 1955, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree. Back to Nigeria, he soon returned to Oxford to receive his Masters of Arts degree. With all these, and while in the flower of his maturity, he inwardly felt satisfied that he was now well armed with the weapon of education. His desire to contribute to the development of his country could now begin. Silently, he resolved to begin in earnest.
On his return and excited and happy with his son, Sir. Odumegwu took Emeka to a lavishly furnished office complex, and handed him the keys. On getting home that day, Emeka had a vision or something close to that; he was offered a choice of life of ease, pleasure, plenty and vice, or one of hardship, danger, glory and virtue. He followed wise counsel and chose the more difficult but virtuous life. Thereafter, he rejected the cosy path cut for him by his father, gave him back the keys and decided to cut his own path.
This crave for individualism made him join the Eastern Nigerian Public Service as an Administrative Officer. Sir. Louis was not pleased at all that his son took what he considered the ridiculous job of an administrator. Exhausting all persuasion, the father upbraided the son for trying to make his family a public jest. Rather than budge, the son showed ever less interest in the father’s business, ever more in administration.
The dust generated by Emeka’s administrative work had hardly settled down when, in search of an organization that would escape his father’s influence, he generated another controversy that threatened to separate him from his father for good. He joined the Army! This was in 1957, when the Nigerian Army was merely a part of an all-embracing British West African Army called the Royal West African Frontier Forces (RWAFF). These forces included the armies of Nigeria, Gold Coast (now Ghana ), Sierra-Leone and Gambia .
Thinking the task of bringing his son to his “senses” had gone beyond him, Sir. Odumegwu enlisted the help of his friends; Zik and others were contacted. Zik called Emeka and advised that if he were Emeka, he would accept his father’s offer and avoid the hazard of joining a brutal force. Emeka remarked that he would do so if he were Zik. Being Emeka, he maintained that his father’s offer would make him perpetually delineated as Ojukwu.
After the drama of being forced to enter the force as a recruit, the new Cadet went to Teshie in Ghana, thenceforth to Officer Cadet School at Eaton Hall in England. He later attended Infantry School at Warminster and Small Arms School at Hythe and Joint Services Staff College (JSSC) at Latimer.
In Nigeria, Ojukwu served with the First Battalion, Kano , before his appointment as an instructor, Royal West African Frontier Forces Training School, Teshie, Ghana, 1958-60. Ojukwu returned to his fatherland in 1961 and served as staff officer in the ‘A’ Branch of the new Nigerian Army Headquarters in the Defence Ministry building in Lagos. He had no problems carrying out his assigned duties. Six months as a Captain, Ojukwu was promoted to a Major. Because of the respect Emeka’s father had for the rank of a Major, he broke the silence with his son and celebrated his promotion with him. Father and son drank a bottle of champagne between them as a gesture of re-union. Very soon, he was transferred to Kaduna as a Staff Officer with the First Brigade. While there, like his contemporaries, he served with the United Nations Peace Keeping Force in Congo in 1962. Between 1964 – 66, Ojukwu was the commander of Fifth Battalion, Kano. The period of his command can be described without tongue-in-cheek, as the most gruesome time in the history of Nigeria. While he was in the Fifth Battalion, the first attempted coup took place. He did not, like most commanders, abdicate his command. He opposed the coup and was later appointed the governor of the Eastern Region.
His tenure as governor portrayed him as a master in the art of governance, and an eloquent public speaker. None who heard him speak could forget the cadence of his speeches, his mellifluous tones, the eloquence of his words, the geniality of his spirit, the charm of his courtesy, the vivacity of his wit, the poetic sensitivity of his mind. Both in his prepared and impromptu speeches, he made use of all the faculties he had, natural or acquired, such that he far surpassed in force and strength all the orations of his contemporaries. He had the rare capacity for dramatic poses. Clenched fist, jutting jaw and theatrical action, were part of his fiery speeches.
The regime of General Ironsi, which Ojukwu was part of, tried to save Nigeria within the limits of their vision and creed. With the death of Ironsi, an organized pogrom was carried out. An eyewitness told how orders were given to some Northern soldiers to kill all Easterners. The terrified soldiers at first refused to obey the command. They were however induced to kill a few. The heat of the murder inflamed them and it passed into massacre. This spread to the barracks and Igbo quarters with fluid readiness. Ojukwu and other concerned Igbos raised horrified protests, even as soldiers of Northern region congratulated one another.
Igbos then came to the belief that the security of the Easterners was in their own hands. The courage of their leader, Ojukwu, gave dignity and splendour to their survival cause. Thousands of onlookers must have been disturbed as millions of Igbos left the North in a prolonged and melancholy exodus.
This was the genesis of the civil war crisis. As the crisis deepened, Ojukwu’s resistance grew, but Lt. Colonel Yakubu Gowon wanted to retain him in the army. In an attempt to placate him, the prospect of being the Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters was dangled before him with enticing conditions. However, Ojukwu, who would not support indiscipline, spurned the dangled carrot.
As one of the means of seeking peace, the actors in that conflict needed a meeting.
Ojukwu knew that his security and that of the Easterners was not guaranteed. Likewise, neither Gowon nor Lt. Colonel Hassan Katsina was prepared to go to the East. A compromise would have been Benin City, the capital of the Mid-Western region, but for the presence of Northern soldiers, it was unacceptable to Ojukwu. In sum then, a meeting could only be held in a neutral territory that would be willing to host such. Finally, the meeting was held at Aburi, Ghana, under the auspices of General Ankrah. The two warriors and their lieutenants, as expected, flew off to Ghana well armed with the problems of the country as if to a decisive battle.
The Aburi meeting was held on the 4th and 5th of January 1967, at Peduase Lodge, a luxurious hilltop retreat built by late President Kwameh Nkrumah. The serenity of the place could bring wandering souls back to their senses. It was an ideal place for sober reflection.
At Aburi, for the first time in Nigerian history, the problems of the country were faced honestly and honest solutions sought. From that bitter moment, Ojukwu the Administrator receded into history, and Ojukwu the General, aged 33, turned his soul to war. He went to war not because he liked war, but because he had no option. The problems he faced seemed to have defied a peaceful solution. After the war, he went to exile where he stayed for 12 years.
With the end of the war, Ojukwu was granted political asylum by the Late President of Ivory Coast, Houphuet Boigny. Thus, from 11 January, 1970, Ojukwu's exile started. He needed a secluded place that would be conducive for sober reflections and contemplation. He needed to be away from the prying and prancing eyes of many that sought to see that powerful man of Biafra. He needed a place that would be inaccessible to assassins. The search for a good place finally ended at Yamoussoukoro, which also houses the Ivorian Summer Palace. Its imposing Catholic basilica now enhances the pride of the city. Later, when tension reduced, he moved to the capital, Abidjan.
After his pardon by the then President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, Ojukwu came home on board a chartered Boeing 727 Nigeria Airways Flight WT 700. Soon after the plane touched down on Nigerian soil, the welcome song rent the air. Work at the airport was almost paralysed, as all airport officials who got wind of his arrival abandoned their posts for hours to catch a glimpse of Ojukwu, the returning hero. There was hardly anybody in the country that had not the curiosity to come and see the formidable and indefatigable freedom fighter. There was what seemed like mass movement of Easterners, Westerners and Northerners to the airport. The airport was partly destroyed. At a point, the mobile policemen had to carry him shoulder high above the crowd whose cheers and applause he acknowledged.
In Nigeria today, his love still shows glaringly in all aspects of nation building. His name provides justice with a synonym, though the cry for justice never rose to the level it reached in the tense periods of the 1960s. We are daily witnessing the burgeoning of those particular injustices that the Ikemba fought against. Some people, who could not support him or rather agree with him, have silently (and sometimes boldly) started to acknowledge the truth of Ojukwu's contention.
Since he came back, he had participated in politics fully. He was the father figure of All Progressives Grand Alliance(APGA). (Until his death on Saturday, November 26, 2011).
We have to agree, however, that were the philosophic Plutarach alive to write lives by parallel among Igbo leaders, it would trouble him to find a parallel for Ojukwu. Ojukwu stood out as a man different from the rest, absorbed conscientiously in the enterprise of the Igbos. He was the symbol of Igbos to Nigerians and a symbol of Nigeria to the Igbos and to people in other parts of the world. He had a deep love for the Igbos and great confidence in himself.
HIS CHIEFTAINCY TITLES
Before death did its worst, Ojukwu was decorated left, right and centre with chieftaincy titles. Although, the most popular was Ikemba, given to him by his people in Nnewi, Anambra State, there were also many others. Like Dikedioranma Ndigbo, Ezeigbo Gburugburu, Odenigbo Ngwo…
HIS WOMEN AND CHILDREN
We all know that Ojukwu was a ladies’ man. We also know that before Bianca, he had other women with whom he had a wondrously rollicking time.
His first wife was Njideka Onyekwelu, a stunning beauty and daughter of Onitsha, Anambra-based businessman, Chief C.T. Onyekwelu. The man owned the first recording studio in the commercial – bubbling city of Onitsha then.
When the centre could no longer hold between them, Ojukwu settled for Stella Onyeador, a lawyer and another pretty damsel. In fact, they were together in Cote d’ Ivoire while he was in exile. They were equally together at Vilaska Lodge, on Queen’s Drive, in Ikoyi, Lagos upon their return till they also parted ways.
Now deceased, Stella was from the popular Onyeador family in Arochukwu, Abia State as well as the elder sister of society lady, Angela Onyeador.
Other dalliances, of course, followed. But majorly with unknown women – until Patience, daughter of ex-Imo State governor, Chief Sam Mbakwe, began rocking his world. Their romance was well celebrated until Bianca emerged on the scene, took over and remained the Ikemba’s Ikembress till death separated them. A father and a grandfather, Ojukwu is alleged to have many children from his women. And among them are Emeka Ojukwu, Jnr., Okeigbo, Akpunwa, Louis Phillip, Lorrine and Jordan.
HIS UNFULFILLED DREAMS
Ojukwu did not die with all his dreams fulfiled. He had a couple of things he wanted to accomplish – but unfortunately, this never happened. The greatest, according to what we were told, was the total integration of the Igbos into the mainstream Nigerian project – especially after the civil war which he led. He equally desired to be treated with the complements of an Army General by Nigeria – not a Lieutenant Colonel, his rank before the war broke out, which he never got.
Also on his mind was this unquenchable desire to rule Nigeria – which prompted him to run for the presidency of Nigeria on two occasions on the ticket of APGA, but lost. His last three children and their mother, Bianca, again, occupied his thoughts. “He really, really wanted them to be happy after his exit”, volunteered one insider.
HIS WEALTH
We may not readily point to this and that as Ojukwu’s visible sources of income. But if we take into cognizance the fact that his father was a billionaire, with massive investments in stocks and real estate, and the fact that he was practically in-charge of all that upon his return from exile, then we can begin to come to terms with the enormous wealth he presided over.
By the way, his father built the massive Nnewi Buildings in Apapa, Lagos among numerous others.
HIS LOVE STORY WITH BIANCA
Fairy tale! That’s about the only adjective that could adequately capture the love story of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and Bianca Odinakachukwu Onoh.
Their paths crossed romantically in 1989 and since then, neither of them had faltered nor slumbered. Once described by her beau as the ‘crown of my life, crown of my career, crown of everything I aspire to be; the little girl is the centre of life’, there’s no debating the fact that Ojukwu worshiped Bianca. Besides treating her like a real woman, just like most Oxford-trained men do, her giant portraits dot nearly all Ojukwu’s houses in Enugu, Lagos and Nnewi. And to crown it all, their Isiuzo Street, Independence Layout, Enugu residence is named ‘Casabianca’, after her.
In an old interview with this reporter, Bianca confessed that one of the things that got her hooked, with a firm resolve never to look back, was that being a silverspoon like Ikemba, and having been educated abroad also like him, both of them have a lot of things in common – and almost the same things to always talk about and catch up on.
Formalizing their union against all oppositions on November 17, 1994 (at the Catholic Church in Abuja), not even the fact that the bride’s parents shunned her special day could deter them. As a matter of fact, their relationship never ceased to confound skeptics, especially those who didn’t give them any chance. And to prove that they will swim or sink in their worlds, Bianca, then the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria as well as Miss Intercontinental, gladly relinquished her crowns to follow her man. No major social outgoing then was complete without both of them walking in, hand in hand.
ABOUT BIANCA AND EMEKA
Bianca Odinakachukwu Ojukwu is the daughter of Christian and Caroline Onoh. A native of Ngwo in Enugu State, the sweet and svelte mother of three was born into wealth. She first attended Ekulu Primary School and Queen’s High School, both in Enugu, before moving to Yorkshire for her O’ levels; St. Andrew’s College, Cambridge and Cambridge Tutorial College for her A-levels; University of Buckingham, where she read Politics, Economics and Law (combined honours); then University of Nigeria, Enugu campus.
She won the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria pageant in 1989 – which turned her life around. At home with swimming and soul music, the ardent fan of Celine Dion and Anita Baker enjoys eba with efo riro. Endowed with the gift of the garb, Chukwuemeka’s father, Sir. Louis Ojukwu, was at a time one of Nigeria’s richest men. The billionaire mogul, in fact, ‘borrowed’ the Nigerian government his limousine to chauffeur the Queen of England during her visit to Nigeria. Educated majorly abroad, the ex-warlord read History at the University of Oxford and against his father’s wish, upon his return, joined the Army. He rose to the rank of a Lieutenant Colonel when he moved to excise Biafra from Nigeria, a plot that failed.
He went into exile in Ivory Coast (now Cote d’ Ivoire), returned after 12 years to embrace politics. A ladies’ man and charmer, he is from Nnewi, Anambra State and was born on November 4, 1933 in Zungeru, Niger State.
BURIAL DETAILS
There are no concrete burial details yet. However, if everything goes according to plans, his remains would be arriving Nigeria in January. And, hopefully, by February, he would be commencing his final journey home. “But one thing is sure, his burial won’t exceed the first quarter of 2012. A lot of things have to be taken care of first. His country home in Umudim, Nnewi has to wear a new look. The titled chiefs (because he is one of them) also have to meet. Then, the government, both at the states and federal levels. Too many things have to be sorted out first before a convenient date would be announced. He was not a small person. He was a big masquerade and you know how big masquerades are buried in Igbo land”, explained a family member.
On why his burial won’t come in December, another kinsman told us that people are not buried during that month. “December is usually a period of celebration for us. So, we hardly allow mournings. Even our sons and daughters who come back in December usually do that to celebrate with their people, whom they sometimes see maybe once in a year. So, it’s after the celebration that anything mourning can be discussed”.
Meanwhile, we also gathered that Ojukwu may get a one-in-town burial. Already, the Federal Government of Nigeria has indicated interest in according him a befitting burial. Even the five Igbo states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo are not left out. Their governors have been meeting. Likewise members of MASSOB who worshipped him, his Nnewi kinsmen and a greater number of Igbo sons and daughters who still see him as their hero and overall leader.
HOW HE DIED AND THE CAUSE
Before he breathed his last, Ojukwu fought a good fight. Knocked down by stroke since December 2010, he was first admitted at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu. But when his condition wouldn’t improve, into was lifted with air-ambulance to Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, United Kingdom.
Governor Peter Obi of Anambra took care of all the expenses. From here again, when his condition kept deteriorating he was taken to Kensington Nursing Home – where very minimal help came his way. Then, Hammersmith Hospital where his story finally ended. Believed to have been on life support for over 10 months, according to Bianca, “He finally gave up. He died in the early hours of today (Saturday, November 26) around 1 or 2 am”.
1 comment:
Rest in perfect peace. Indeed you are a hero
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