Why did you say you won’t allow him to present himself again for an elective post?

I think he has done his bit. There comes a time in every man’s life when you just need to find the nearest beach, find a deck chair, sit by the ocean and reflect. I think he is at that stage in his life. He has done nothing but live and breathe the Igbo course. Sometimes he would hear of some injustice somewhere and he would stay awake all night, trying to find how it can be redressed. I remember the situation of the Apo six. He would wake up at night and say to me ‘whats happening, have these people been found, what are you gleaning from the media. Any time an Igboman suffers any form of injustice, it makes his blood boil, even in situations when he feels helpless. At such times I simply pray to God that he does not have a blood condition because he see him so agitated. At such times, I also tell him to stop knocking his head against the brick wall. I think he has sacrificed everything including his family. There are things he ought to have done but didn’t have the time to do because of his struggles. Now, I think that whatever time he has left should be used for his family, to nurture the family and let other people carry on from where he left off.

You are the closest person to him and I want to know whether people will ever get to read his memoirs

Like you and everybody else I also keep my fingers crossed. But I can tell you that he has been writing but slowly though. Some times he wakes up, remembers an incident and then writes. One thing I know is that he is not writing the account in sequence, he puts down incidents as he remembers. At the moment, there is a group currently showing very strong interest in getting him to complete and publish the memoirs. But I do not know how soon that will be. And it is something that we all really need to see, to know what really happened or more importantly how his mind was working at the time, his fears, anxieties and aspirations, what he wanted to achieve and why he took some of the decisions he took. A lot of people still do not have a real grasp of those things and we need to get into the innermost recesses of his mind to know them.

But is he really working on it?

Yes, I know for a fact that he is working on it but at a snail speed.

You still look trim and fit, how do you manage to keep this fit.

Do you know what it takes to run this house, run my NGO, run my law chambers? There are so many things I am doing that some times I don’t even have time for lunch. I think I am overworked. I don’t think it has to do with any beauty routine. The work is enough to keep me trim. We have a swimming pool that I only use when my kids come on holiday and I join them there occasionally. I have a gym which I rarely use. But when I get the opportunity I walk around the compound for health purposes but strictly speaking, I don’t have a beauty routine.

You said your parents were opposed to the marriage but what we know is that it was your late father who was opposed to it?

I think it will be unfair to say that it was just my father that was opposed. My mother had her reservations also, just that she had a different style of showing it. Mothers being what they are, they would hardly cast their daughter adrift completely no matter the circumstance. They don’t want to come out openly and deny or lambaste you. Mothers always try to nurture. But my father was left with the tag of being the chief opponent of the marriage. My mother had her reservations and to tell you the truth, as a mother I would do the same thing.

Right now I am the proud mother of a 12 year old daughter. Even if she was 25 or 30 and comes to tell me that she wants to marry a man twice her age, I would still refuse. Yes I know your next question, yes I did it but that does not make it the usual pattern. Its not conventional and it can only be handled by somebody who is mature and wise beyond their years. And I tell that I support my father’s action. He did the best thing any parent would do for his child. It would have been disappointing if he gave his support without any form of resistance. Basically he did the right thing. My mother had her reservations too, just that my father's own was more prominent because he was more domineering. But the truth is that it was his resistance that has largely helped to make this marriage successful.

Really?

Yes. Because my husband then had to be very careful. He knew that if he didn’t treat me right and things didn’t go too well, he would have my father to contend with. And my father also gave me a crucial advise which I have always cherished. You know we were living in Lagos and my father told me that if I ever had plans of raising kids with my husband I must ensure that we come back to settle in the east. My father had this very strong sense of identity of where he comes from which was why he insisted that my kids be born and raised here in the east. It was his advice and one that I would ever treasure and it was the best decision I ever took.
When did you eventually come back to live in Enugu
After our wedding we moved to Abuja, After a few years we now came to live in Enugu.

Do you agree with people who say that the Igbos have neglected Ojukwu?

It was said that the Igbos neglected Zik, Okpara and Akanu Ibiam. But before you can substantite that statement you have to look at Ndigbo as a people. We are republican in nature. So its hard to determine the level of love, adulation and respect the Igbos give to their leaders. But in all fairness I think that Ojukwu has been luckier than most Igbo leaders. I have been with him to so many parts of Igbo land and I am moved to tears by the kind of reception he is accorded. I have seen a whole market dismantled just to get his car to pass in the tick of massive traffic. I saw youths dismantle a market just for his car to pass. When you go with him to a place like Aba, the reception is better seen than described. So I think the Igbos love him tremendously and they have shown it to him.

Take the Anambra election for example, the other candidates had so much money and support from the centre. But Peter Obi had virtually nothing, he was like the under dog. Yes he was governor but don’t forget that he no member of his party in the state House of Assembly. But he had one man and this man had only five words to say; This is my last wish. How many other people could do that and get the kind of response Ojukwu got. People came back from all parts of the world in response to that call, though some of them were disentranchised and so could not vote. They have shown him love. They love him and see him as their treasure. Of course if there is any one that can come up boldly to berate him in the newspaper, it would be an Igbo man but they still love so much. As for neglect, well do not forget that his father was the first millionaire to come from Igboland and the first African to enter United Kingdom without a visa, yet his son is such a simple man.

Ojukwu can live in a card room box. Even if it an old, haggard looking 504 car Ojukwu would enter and be driven to his destination. That simplicity is the greatest bond between him and Peter Obi. Peter would come here to visit us like any other Person, yet people who are not even governors would come with a convoy of seven cars. He is very modest and frugal man. You would see him queue up at the airport. If you permit him he would travel on the economy class. Both of them are alike because they consider themselves first and foremost as servants of the people. They do not brazenly display the paraphernalia of power. Peter Obi certainly does not do that. His popularity with the populace is phenomenal. He may not have that with the elite who thinks that he should defer to them but he defers more to the masses. In that light Peter Obi and Ojukwu are very much the same.

If you go to Peter Obi’s house he would refuse to serve you champagne. I think the highest he would probably give you is red wine or stout. If you ask him he would tell you that he knows the cost of champagne because he trades in such commodities and knows their astronomical cost and thus considers it rather criminal to drink such stuff randomly. He says people can do that in their houses if they wished but he would do no such thing in his own house. His style is not usual and he is a very principled man. Many people do not like the fact that he is very frugal administrator. He is a hands on person who could step in and do things himself. If you visit him he will be serving you by himself in spite of the retinue of staff. He is unassuming and his people like it. You cannot believe his level of simplicity.

That’s the bond between him and Ojukwu. Do you know that Ojukwu never handles money. As I talk to you he probably does not know the colour of one thousand naira note. People administer those things for him. Ojukwu is so contented with whatever he has. As long as there is water to drink he is fine. You know before we moved to this place, we were living in a very small house and he was happy there. To a very large extent he built this new house because of me. I was the one who told him to get a bigger place and he would say no matter how big the hose is you only get to stay in one room and just one bed eventually.

I tell you for two years this house was completed and furnished yet Ojukwu did not move into it. He considered it too big. I actually tricked him into moving here on the night of a Good Friday. I just told him to get into the car for an outing and that was how I brought him here having moved some things to this place earlier. We left the old furniture in the former house. He was raised in affluence but he has little or no regard for anything that connotes wealth. I think such people are very rare to find, people who are willing to divest themselves of the paraphernalia of wealth and power. Somebody once said that it a great man to be little. I never really understood the significance of that statement until I came to live with Ojukwu. If Iwere asked to chose three words that would define him by way of an epitaph I cant do batter than saying that he was a simple man

Read whole interview here

This is why I will love this man till death. The man is ONE AND ONLY true leader I have seen in the whole of Nigeria in my lifetime so far. Peter Obi seems to have some of his humility and virtues, but truly there can only be one Ikemba Nnewi, Dike di ora mma 1 of Igboland.

We the young and emerging leaders must copy this man! 

Wonderful interview. Ojukwu does not need to do anything in this life to prove anything. He has done enough and those who he has done those things for admire him while those who are unhappy that he is even alive continue to spread lies and manufacture nollywood-like stories about him.

I guess fate left him no chance in the scheme of things other than to play out the role given to him right from the beginning. Well done Ikemba Nnewi.

Ikemba, the warlord.

Ikemba of Nnewi a true Igbo man,i like him.

Im still waiting to see comments from some of SS/SE critics like kosovo, nduchuks etc people who never anything good in person due to their sentiments.

PLC is still bouncing well even more than before, only tight schedule.

When someone does something good, applaud! You will make two people happy.  [b]PLC [/b]applaud.  Ojukwu is cool.

safeact:

Im still waiting to see comments from some of SS/SE critics like kosovo, nduchuks etc people who never anything good in person due to their sentiments.

what is the objective of this post if you are waiting for people to start tribal war because of ojukwu

KnowAll:

One can easily deduce from the comment of the wife, that this matrimony is not necessary a  bliss, just keeping up appearance.

One wonders why the wife would frown at the prospect of her own daughters marrying an older man, if her experience is anything to write home about. After all the Yaradua’s are marrying older men and ending up been the 3rd and 4th wives and seems pretty cool with it

Your deduction makes no sense at all but of course the comment wasn't unexpected coming from you. Who is trying to keep up appearance? Ojukwu (Oxford trained, leader of the then Biafran nation) the son of the first millionaire in Igboland or the former Miss Nigeria (who runs an NGO and maintains a law chambers) whose father was one of the richest men in Igboland?

Afam

I guess fate left him no chance in the scheme of things other than to play out the role given to him right from the beginning. Well done Ikemba Nnewi.

The beautiful one are not yet born, but the ugly refuse to die

KnowAll:


What has what u have posted got to do with matrimony, Do you know whether d old soilder cannot sh*g his wife properly anymore, every woman knows where they are feeling the pain, thank God this woman was a bit forthright in her wordings her constituents would understand her drift.

It would take a matured married mind to understand the coded message. It is definitely not for juveniles.

roflmao

bilymuse:

Onlylier
If that bald headed Coward and betrayer is your idea of a true leader, then You are a bigger fool. That coward has done nothing, except that that benefit him. The crazy bald head is campaigning for Iwu's retention, tufiakwa monkey.

ojukwu is and will always be a coward.dude is senile and gone gaga

Igbo people are generally blessed with street wise businessmen and entrepreneurs , but they lack true political leaders. The same street wise businessmen are the same people who dominate politic in igbo land, they see politic in terms of naira and kobo. There is a serious dearth of true political leaders with inner capacity to sacrife for the benefit of all. What is available are charlatans masquerading as political leaders whose motive is profit. People like Ojukwu who would run away at the heat of the battle thereby condemning thousands of innocent souls to their untimely death to save his pathetic neck. agaracha tufiakwa

ojukwu is a coward.

lol, guy mkust be broke- trying to make some dough. Industrious igbo people never run out of ways to make money.

@KnowAll


It is fun to watch people shine in their ignorance. As Bianca alluded in the interview, it takes a mature and independent thinker to go against the societal norms as in the case of marrying a person outside the supposedly age range.

Like humans, no marriage is perfect and I concluded you are definitely aloof from reality when you insinuated that Bianca’s marriage to Ojukwu is not a thing to write home about. It is even a wild goose chase while in the memory of idiocy to inject the element of sh-agg-ing into the discourse. Granted that the game you had in mind is better played when young than old but some old folks could eat your cake in such endeavor.     

I guess Bianca endeavored very hard to represent the motherhood as decreed by society she found herself hence the allusion of not allowing her daughter to marry an older man.

bilymuse:

Igbo people are generally blessed with street wise businessmen and entrepreneurs , but they lack true political leaders. The same street wise businessmen  are the same people who dominate politic in igbo land, they see politic in terms of naira and kobo. There is a serious dearth of true political leaders with  inner capacity to sacrife for the benefit of all. What is available are charlatans masquerading as political leaders whose motive is profit. People like Ojukwu who would run away at the heat of the battle thereby condemning thousands of innocent souls to their untimely death to save his pathetic neck. agaracha tufiakwa

1. Ojukwu was never a politician but a soldier even when Biafra collapsed. The Igbos will still prefer someone like him over any politician considering the circumstances he found himself.

2. He did not run away in the heat of the battle but left the scene to allow for a surrender and to avoid humiliation of the Igbos by having Ojukwu killed or captured. This is one point that has underlined all senseless lies and hatred directed at the man.

To all those who feel serious pain that he is still alive today to see regions, ethnic groups states complain about the very things he complained about I say "Who God has blessed no man can curse" and no matter what your opinion is it will never change how the Igbos see him. FACT that will remain FACT till ETERNITY.

KnowAll:


What has what u have posted got to do with matrimony, Do you know whether d old soilder cannot sh*g his wife properly anymore, every woman knows where they are feeling the pain, thank God this woman was a bit forthright in her wordings her constituents would understand her drift.

It would take a matured married mind to understand the coded message. It is definitely not for juveniles.

A weak attempt at hiding your usual hatred for anything Igbo. Poor style, try again.

It is fun to watch people shine in their ignorance. As Bianca alluded in the interview, it takes a mature and independent thinker to go against the societal norms as in the case of marrying a person outside the supposedly age range.

Like humans, no marriage is perfect and I concluded you are definitely aloof from reality when you insinuated that Bianca’s marriage to Ojukwu is not a thing to write home about. It is even a wild goose chase while in the memory of idiocy to inject the element of sh-agg-ing into the discourse. Granted that the game you had in mind is better played when young than old but some old folks could eat your cake in such endeavor.     

I guess Bianca endeavored very hard to represent the motherhood as decreed by society she found herself hence the allusion of not allowing her daughter to marry an older man. 

The one’s that are married amongst us acknowledge the woman for been sincere and forthright first and foremost, her coded message is well received, u would need to join those of us who have being privilege to know the ins and out of a blissful matrimony to be able to comment on what remains an uncharted territory to many folks on this forum and u need to be mature about it.

The sha*ing bit is just to home in the point to those shallow minded ones amongst us who don’t understand what the woman was saying.

Anybody that declared Ojukwu as coward because he never allowed himself to be killed by Nigerian vandals is an irreparable novice. War retribution is always astronomically high when the leader of the defeated side is killed in the battle. The fact that Ojukwu was not captured or killed at the end of the war left Nigeria and its leaders in a precarious situation when dealing with the defeated Biafrans.

i believe we should give respect to whom respect is due. . .

i like this interview, it has left me with a large measure of respect for ojukwu. . .i dont, agree the whole biafra thingy but from this interview, i have come to see him in a different light.

Kudos to his wife as well, she does him credit in this interview, how many so called 'big-men' can boast of having wives that will be able to acquit themselves as gracefully as she does in this interview. . .

the tribalists should take a chill pill jo. . .truth be told there's nothing in the interview that is worth fighting over. . .anyone coming to make noise on this thread is showing his level of reasoning!

KnowAll:

It is fun to watch people shine in their ignorance. As Bianca alluded in the interview, it takes a mature and independent thinker to go against the societal norms as in the case of marrying a person outside the supposedly age range.



The one’s that are married amongst us acknowledge the woman for been sincere and forthright first and foremost, her coded message is well received, u would need to join those of us who have being privilege to know the ins and out of a blissful matrimony to be able to comment on what remains an uncharted territory to many folks on this forum and u need to be mature about it.
The sha*ing bit is just to home in the point to those shallow minded ones amongst us who don’t understand what the woman was saying.[/color]

You are known for shooting yourself on the foot. Thank goodness that blissful matrimony does not have a cutoff point. I have the hunch that you would have failed to make the bracket. Unlike you who have remained in and out (married and divorce) of blissful matrimony, there are some us who had remained steady in the blissful wedlock

Dede1:



You are known for shooting yourself on the foot. Thank goodness that blissful matrimony does not have a cutoff point. I have the hunch that you would have failed to make the bracket. Unlike you who have remained in and out (married and divorce) of blissful matrimony, there are some us who had remained steady in the blissful wedlock

@Dede1,

Don't mind the guy, maybe he is trying to tell us that his wife has been jumping from one man to another because he cannot satisfy her. Real sad case.

You can make of Ojukwu what you like but for us he defended our people from ethnic cleansing.

My only hope is that some of our people who passionately support him will realise that the world has moved on and Ojukwu too has moved on. Ojukwu came back from exile to join NPP, he once contested Nigerian Presidency under APGA, for all the threats of violence we are not really under physical attack and threat of state genocide as was the case when Ojukwu fought.

Ojukwu says this himself and has moved on. I hope everybody else will move on and quit getting stuck in the past.

mikeansy:

You can make of Ojukwu what you like but for us he defended our people from ethnic cleansing.

My only hope is that some of our people who passionately support him will realise that the world has moved on and Ojukwu too has moved on. Ojukwu came back from exile to join NPP, he once contested Nigerian Presidency under APGA, for all the threats of violence we are not really under physical attack and threat of state genocide as was the case when Ojukwu fought.

Ojukwu says this himself and has moved on. I hope everybody else will move on and quit getting stuck in the past.

then i see no reason why ojukwu thread should crop up on this forum,besides what is special about him.he contested an election and he failed woefully.

That is my leader!

Ojukwu, who was able to channel the collective interest of the Ndi Igbo to perform such feats!!!

This man should be made a saint when he dies. He is our champion! And no other group can tear down this man. If the need arises, we the Igbo will enter battle as Ojukwu our leader.

I have nothing but nostalgia and respect for this man!  

~Bluetooth:

then i see no reason why ojukwu thread should crop up on this forum,besides what is special about him.he contested an election and he failed woefully.

I did not know it was up to you to decide what threads are started on a public forum especially when you are not the moderator nor owner of Nairaland.

I also did not know that their is nothing special about anyone who has not won an election especially in a country with dodgy elections history like ours where cheats usually have the upper hand.

Ojukwu's memoirs has been in the pipeline for decades. I doubt it's ever going to come out  

~Bluetooth:

roflmaoojukwu is and will always be a coward.dude is senile and gone gaga

Your are a certified retard!!

bilymuse:

Igbo people are generally blessed with street wise businessmen and entrepreneur[/i]s , but they lack true political leaders. The same street wise businessmen  are the same people who dominate politic in igbo land, they see politic in terms of naira and kobo. There is a serious dearth of true political leaders with  inner capacity to sacrife for the benefit of all. What is available are charlatans masquerading as political leaders whose motive is profit. People like Ojukwu who would run away at the heat of the battle thereby condemning thousands of innocent souls to their untimely death to save his pathetic neck. [i]agaracha tufiakwa

Thank you for acknowledging at least one good thing about the Igbos;unfortunately, the world is still waiting to see the usefulness of you lazy and parasitic yorubas to the cesspit called Nigeria.

You even wrote about political leaders, I guess Tinubu, segun Oni, Alao Akala,Awolowo, Obasanjo et cetera are the much touted political leaders of Yoruba extraction. A society where these criminals and wimps are the only leaders they can boast of, goes a long way to show how bereft of leaders you Yoruba men are. However, I must admit that your political leaders are really good in thuggery and assasinations .

metal-gong:

Your are a certified retard!!
Thank you for acknowledging at least one good thing about the Igbos;unfortunately, the world is still waiting to see the usefulness of you lazy and parasitic yorubas to the cesspit called Nigeria.

You even wrote about political leaders, I guess Tinubu, segun Oni, Alao Akala,Awolowo, Obasanjo et cetera are the much touted political leaders of Yoruba extraction. A society where these criminals and wimps are the only leaders they can boast of, goes a long way to show how bereft of leaders you Yoruba men are. However, I must admit that your political leaders are really good in thuggery and assasinations .

Ojukwu is also a wimp and a war criminal.

metal-gong:

Your are a certified retard!!
Thank you for acknowledging at least one good thing about the Igbos;unfortunately, the world is still waiting to see the usefulness of you lazy and parasitic yorubas to the cesspit called Nigeria.

You even wrote about political leaders, I guess [b]Tinubu, segun Oni, Alao Akala,Awolowo, Obasanjo [[/b]i]et cetera[/i] are the much touted political leaders of Yoruba extraction. A society where these criminals and wimps are the only leaders they can boast of, goes a long way to show how bereft of leaders you Yoruba men are. However, I must admit that your political leaders are really good in thuggery and assasinations .

u no sabi say those u mentioned went to havard and yale?