It was an engaging conversation with Chief Patrick Olughu Eze aka Ume-Udo 1, a tap into an age long tradition and culture of identity as a clan, an insight into our strength and struggle as a people . Chief P. O Eze, a retired politician, an entrepreneur and now blessed with age in health as an elder statesman, he exposed our journey as a people through the wars and in peace. The gap between the old and now including what has gone wrong morally and the earnest need for a retrace.
Excerpts.
How are you doing Sir?
I’m good, by his grace!
Can we know you sir?
I am Patrick Olughu Eze, they call me Ome-Udo, and I am from Ama Ude, Ama-Oso Edda in Etiti Community Edda Local Government.
By your composition, we will like to know more about you through your journeys and travails.
It’s been rough from ones upbringing, I lost my father too early in life. Too early indeed when my father died I was still either class two or three you know it used to be class one, class two then primary one upto primary 6 I think 8 years then. I was small to the extent that where they buried my mother along the corridor of his house, I used to jump from bed to bed you know this wooden bed, why? I was afraid if I match on her grave she would hold my leg you know that kind of undeveloped mind. So, I had to jump over that to tell you how small I was because I knew I had very strong attachment to my father even though he was old. My mother happen to be the last wife about the third or the fourth, so I could say I was a child of my parents in old age yeah, there are people who could be born when their parent are young and there are people who could come at a later age and I think I was one of such children.
And education, I went to Ejike Ewu Primary school from there to Enugu through my brothers (Nde Nwadim) and I went to Methodist.
…cuts in… Who were older than you?
Very much older, they were working with Nigerian Railway Corporation then, indeed the second son of my father was involve in the second world war because he helped in training Biafrans in the village during Biafran and Nigerian war, very late now. He was a messenger with Nigerian Railway Corporation in Enugu, I knew even as small as I was he managed to put so many people in the Nigerian Airways as a messenger. If his boss has an interview he will go to him and say I have one, two brothers ooo and if his boss comes to say one of them didn’t make the interview he will say haa that’s why I sent him to you na, if he didn’t make the interview make him to the interview Oga just put him there. At a point in time one of the men was from Afikpo, the man nicknamed him onogha kputaa, he will follow you up until you do what he wants you do. The man was so free minded, was so generous, he was very close to Railway Station somewhere in Oguiyi. So, during that time when Edda people come into Enugu the point of call will be his place because it was close to the station and if you come to Enugu and he ask his people to make food for you and you say no, you better eat now you think I put herb or what? You better eat not when you go out you will begin to ask them “where hotel dey”? You know, he was that kind of character very funny man he didn’t go to school so he was not speaking good English then but he will deliver his message perfectly.
So, that’s how I continued and finally one had an opportunity to go to Kaduna Polytechnic to read Textile Technology that’s why I worked at West African Trade Company, a textile firm, those companies are no more in the country, most textile mills have disappeared for one reason or the order maybe as a result of leadership. And from there I worked for some time and tried to establish one or two companies which I used to do certain contracts, it didn’t last long though when the war broke out. I think, I did one other thing there in Lagos before I went to polytechnic, I did one kind of printing they call phlectographic printing. This bread wrapper, the production of the wrapper is called phlectographic printing.
Okay, the material they use in wrapping bread?
That they use in wrapping bread, flowers and things like that, I went through that somewhere at Ikeja Lagos, yes so many years back.
At what point did you leave Enugu for Lagos?
We were in Enugu when the war broke out, we all came to the village it was really after the war I went to Lagos. Then young men were moving here and there maybe with nylon bags but if you’re lucky on coming back you come with family because at this point in time you may have gotten married, gotten children so and so forth, so it was like that.
I spent most of my time in Lagos working with West African Trade Company, it was from Lagos I went to Kaduna Polytechnic and read Textile Technology as I said by his grace I got married and had Children, wonderful children for that matter two boys two girls and they are all doing well. So far, I am blessed with eleven grandchildren, one of my grandchildren is a coming up star in Basket Ball over there in Canada, about two three months ago Canadian newspaper celebrated him
Serious?
Yes, he’s an upcoming star from my second daughter.
Hmmm! That’s beautiful.
So, that is it and of course somewhere along the line through my friend, master and mentor Udo Orji Okoro I ventured into politics. When PDP was formed Udo Oji Okoro was at the centre of it, since I was following him I also became interested. If not for the death of General Sani Abacha, Udo Oji would’ve been the first governor of Ebonyi State. Because during that time, I remember in one, two or three occasions we went to Aso Rock, I will stop at the first gate people will be calling him His Excellency! His Excellency!! As they were going especially the security men.
You know sometimes when things are about to happen at the top followers are usually the first to know but along the line Abacha died and it became a different ball game. When he made an effort to become the governor, civilian governor I was also there but it didn’t work out. At that time, I vied for the chairmanship of Afikpo South Local government and it didn’t work out and I wrote congratulatory letter to the winner because of my kind of person and even offered myself to assist him serve Edda people because I had my own idea of how to build up the local government, he had his own idea too. I offered myself, although he never came for me any day, that was it and since then I have been in politics. I can say the only thing I have benefitted was when Sam Egwu made me a member Secondary Education Board upon which I was not paid and after sometime it ended.
That’s all I can say I have benefitted from politics, even though they call me stakeholder, senior stakeholder for that matter, what it was I don’t know. But the good thing is that I am happy with myself and I love Edda people and I keep praying for unity in Edda any day. The good thing about Nde Edda is that we are from the same stock if not from the father’s side it’s on the mother’s side.
So, for people like us we feel we should relate, nobody should have any bad or ill feelings against the other to the point of creating chaos where people will have to kill themselves, No. If it’s not your turn today it will be your turn tomorrow and there’s no way we all can be equal at the same thing and cannot also be favoured at the same time. If somebody, your friend, your brother anybody is favoured today thank God for him, it could be your turn tomorrow that’s the way it is.
With this established background, what is “Onye Edda” known for?
Onye Edda is known to be a very strong character, very courageous, very hardworking, and loving too and very very hospitable. Those days I could remember as we were growing up if you come into our house the mother of the house will halla at the children to give him water to drink and that could be followed with food. Whoever comes around will be treated as a member of the family and of course we are members of one family particular if you’re from Edda. Not just from Edda even people around us because of this Ikwu system, so it helped us to live as brothers and sisters.
An Edda man or woman is somebody you cannot intimidate particularly the men fold maybe because of our training, this IPU OGO tradition, in fact some of us we want to do away with any area that’s fetish and will promote the other one as our identity, people have it, the white people have their own way of celebrating their culture and identity. There’s no reason we should not celebrate or bring to the fore whatever we are known with. During the war, talking about the bravery of an Edda man, the day Enugu fell I left with my friend we walked althrough from Enugu to Afikpo road where train usually stops for people coming to our area. And we got to a place called Ogbu Oka, so we got to a point we were walking along the rail track because Enugu had fallen, so we got to a check point in Ogbu Oka one of the rail way stations they searched us my friend and age mate he’s late now Ndukwe Eba, was carrying something. I told him you don’t know how far we are going yet and you’re carrying your brother’s breakable plates, any place you get bored you will know how to handle it, I am not going to help you because I know our journey is far and we are going on foot. When we got to a point they stopped us, searched us and allowed us to go. We didn’t move far they started calling us back, asked us to come back we got back and there was a man people followed and we realized he was the king, the Eze of the area and he asked them are you sure you have searched this people?
They said yes, then the man asked us “children where are you from”? We said we were from Edda and he shook his head and he asked are we sure we are from Edda? We said yes nnayi ukwu we are from Edda, he said mention your villages. He told his people if Edda people are coming out from Enugu it means Enugu has fallen really. He said these people are warriors, he pointed somewhere one village in their place, he said the man who developed that place is from Edda that when people have problems they go and hire them as mercenaries to go and fight for them. That if an Edda man has moved out of Enugu it means the enemies have taken over Enugu really. Since then, I never forgot that statement really it really means my people were really great. He asked us if we had eaten we said no, he asked them to take us to one bukka that we should be fed there so that we will have strength to continue our journey. That’s how it happened, we got back home on foot.
All the way from Enugu?
Yeah!
From your experience, and all that you witnessed in your prime, what can you say of Nde Edda of today and Nde Edda of then?
I think, we have lost so much going by what Edda man represents. Edda man is known for respect for elders, Edda man is for community service and development particularly through our age grade system. We found ourselves doing most of the things government do for people. We found ourselves building town halls, building schools, sometimes building bridges because since we were people of strong character and strength we were able to do most of these things for ourselves.
Our people were predominantly farmers, so if you don’t till the ground you don’t eat, so we were known for hard work, but today? It’s unfortunate! It’s unfortunate!! I wouldn’t want to call this generation a ruined generation because there’s still hope, if only our young men can pause. Majority of them are very talented and hardworking too while others are going by the saying that if you “can’t beat them you join them”. You don’t just join something foolishly or stupidly. When we were growing up people believe in hard work, in those days before you see somebody drive a car haaa! He must have gotten to what we call senior civil service or senior civil servant, today you could see a messenger in the office who built two storey building and when he comes to the village parents will celebrate him, nobody will ask how much is your salary? How did you get this? Imagine a situation a school leaver, young graduate who has just worked for barely six months comes to the village with a jeep and the parents will rub powder and begin to celebrate and nobody will ask my son, my daughter how did you manage? Where do you work? How much is your salary? How come this car?
Most of us started with beetle, that time beetle was three thousand something, four thousand something, me I learnt how to drive with beetle but today a school leaver will want to start with jeep and the question is, if you start your first car with jeep your second car will now be train or trailer, I don’t know? …general laughter.. The bigger the better. Is something that is worrisome, very very worrisome. Recently, I went for a burial in Ekoli, I came in with my friends, it was serve yourself kind of arrangement. They said we should go for food we went for food took our food. A lot of young men were seated in the parlour and I carried my food to outside, somebody gave me a plastic chair to sit outside while I was eating this same people who were inside will come ahhh Nnayi Ukwu why are you seated outside and I said you people saw me inside with my food nobody got up for me, which we did during our time and you are coming here to ask me why I am outside? That’s where we have found ourselves, no more respect. No more respect and it has gone down to whatever we do in life the whole family setting to where ever you find yourself and then to the larger society. The whole place is in a mess, everybody wants it quick what they call Ego mbute.
I don’t know how they enjoy Ego Mbute because if you make money without working for it your conscience will always prick you and we have graduated to getting the money by rituals. Maybe you buy braed to your mother after eating the bread she will become a money making machine for you, that’s you will kill your mother make money? If you kill your parents to make money I don’t know who you will enjoy the money with, so it is unfortunate, our prayer is that our young men should have a rethink. Whatever pushes them to these nasty things, I am praying they should desist from it so that they will have a better future. And then have something to give back to their children, because everybody has a share of the blame the family, the school, the society, the church everybody. And if we don’t remedy it now I don’t know how the future will look for them ooo because for some us in the next few years they will start telling you that your time has passed, you that your time is now do it better now so that you will leave a better environment for the people coming behind, that’s our prayer. So, young men please! Please!! Please!!! Try and know God, have an intimate relation with God. If you know God he will direct your affairs. If you know God even if you don’t have money you will never lack bread, people will always come to your aid. Like I have always told some young men this life is a choice ooo, good deeds has a reward and bad ones also has a reward whether you believe it or not.
In the course of this interview you have been revealing a lot of things in relation to Nde Edda and life generally. I have two questions in one; one is about today’s politics, when people of your set came into politics and politics of today is there any difference?
Very sharp difference, very sharp different. When I ran election because of my kind of person and how I was loved all over I had no doubt that I was going to lose that election but when it ended I found myself the looser and I said ahhh!.
Is possible there’s something the know I didn’t know and something they do during election I didn’t do because the result I was getting was that very soon I will be announced the winner and finally I became the looser the following day I wrote a letter to congratulate the man they said won. It was few days letter I started hearing stories that the people who came to conduct elections were expecting me to drop some money which I didn’t have and of course somebody who promise to bring some money because they told me the three important things in politics; the first money, the second money and the third money.
As at then?
As at then. So all the little mago mago behind the scene things I didn’t know. In the morning I went and cast my vote with my family and came home rejoicing that very soon they will announce me. …continued laughter… that worked like magic.
At a point I started regretting going into politics because I felt I am a little bit too decent for politics because some of the things they do I cannot do. But then it just ended there, there was no killings and we continued and we got to a point where somebody has to die, indeed during my elections something happened my late younger sister came from Aba. Then I wasn’t too much in Christ but that my younger sister could be described as a fire brand then, she came with people we could call prayer warriors. They came to my room a night before the elections and said they wanted to pray for me I knelt down, they prayed at a point one of them said he’s seeing blood! He’s seeing blood!! Then I interjected and I said let me also pray and I said God if the blood of an Edda man will drop on the ground for me to be the chairman of the council let me not be.
Today that’s my prayer, no Edda person should die because I want to be Chairman, and how will I enjoy that office? I made that pray they left. Finally when it was announced, even though I was hearing people because where we lived then was on the road, people were running from Nguzu to Afikpo during collection of results. I could hear somebody saying this Patrick from Lagos let’s see how he will be the chairman.
You heard it?
Yeah!
Wow!
Indeed one of my brothers, Bassey Dike he lives in Aba then he asked me can you hear what this people are saying? They don’t know we are here. We were sleeping outside that time life was still wonderful that time you can put your mat and lie on the road. So, I told him whatever it is we will hear the result finally we heard the result and that was it, I am still here God is keeping me.
Apart from the money aspect what else do you think was instrumental to your loss?
It is just that money, just that money because I think people who came to handle the election expected to go back with something which I couldn’t provide because I didn’t have it and I didn’t want to make them, ofcource they didn’t come to me to say
..Cuts in…. To make promise.
No! No!! General laughter… so somebody readily, in fact there are certain stories you wouldn’t want to put on air.
Ok, let’s narrow it down to Edda, the kata kata, the casualties we hear of in the name politics, what can you make of it comparing it to your time in politics?
It’s a different thing altogether and it’s also very very unfortunate, you see, if you go into an election or into politics with the mind that in this game there must be a winner, that winner could be you or somebody else. If you have it at the back of your mind no life will be lost.
Not the mentality of “it’s a do or die” affair.
But if you think you must win, it must be me, it must be me you will get it wrong, it means you could go all out to do anything, to even kill and that’s the beginning of the whole thing. Otherwise when I ran election I didn’t have these things they call, I don’t know what they call them now.
Cuts in…You didn’t have boys?
I didn’t have, I had friends and these boy can do anything in order to project their master, including carrying of ballot boxes, killing people that’s standing their way or doing anything. Just anything to make their principal. And then ask me how much they pay them I don’t know, they ask you to make sure that person is not there I think that’s also the introduction of kidnapping and things like. The present politics has introduced so many dirty aspect of it, it has made people who are little decent or who have Christ in them to feel otherwise about politics and that’s why most people don’t even want to get into it but some do tell them to come in so that we’ll help to refine the system. It’s not a do or die something. I think when people aspire for office and you finally get it you should make friends with it not enemies.
Looking at your make up you still appear very young, we are aware in the next few days you will clock 78 years, congratulations in advance.
Thank you!
Is it that you have not had life threatening challenges or ill-health, what exactly is the secret behind your sound health and energetic appearance?
The secret is short and simple, leaning on God, believing in his word and trusting him too. I’m a believer of a better tomorrow, if I believe tomorrow will be better why do I need to destroy myself or somebody today when I know that tomorrow will be better.
And for me it keeps getting better every day, I have gone through some health challenges. I have had two accident that our vehicle was turned upside down, I have had stroke that I had to lose half of my body and it happened on a Christmas day, you know sometimes when you hear of accident if you’ve never experienced it you wouldn’t know what it means. So, if you move from point A to point B safely you should raise your hands and praise God. Some people leave from point A to point B they don’t get to point B and they don’t get to come back to point A, they are gone. So when you make travels and you think it’s your powers, No, even though you’re careful what about the other road user they may not be as careful. When I drove motorcycle immediately after the war, I had a master from Ohafia he would call me olughu if you must drive this thing and survive, drive your own and drive for the other person. Watch the person you’re following and watch the person following you. Sometime ago I was driving along Oshodi Apapa expressway, I noticed someone wanted to cross and I was on high speed I slowed down, what happened immediately I stopped he came and hit my car it means if I was moving on the same speed I would have crushed him; the man said oga I am sorry oo I am sorry oo, you know that’s carefulness.
Young men particularly this time, someone who is going to somewhere less than one kilometre the way he takes up speed, anything could happen. So whether they think this life has a duplicate I don’t know. So, God aspect is important in life, if you are not in Christ you’re in crisis. When you’re in God he will order your steps but if you keep your hands clean no harm will come to you.
We have continued to hear Nde-Elu and Nde-Agbo Edda, what’s the difference?
It’s just the geographical location.
So, Edda is Edda?
Edda is Edda, Edda is one! My best friends are from up there. What happened is that Nde-Elu is upper Edda, on the hill while these other people are on the valley that’s all. We inter marry we have relations all over the place. So, anybody who attaches something else to it I don’t know, there are so many people who are in down Edda who came from upper Edda the same goes with others at lower Edda. My wife’s younger brother, the younger brother of my wife is from Libolo he lives in the US but, he built a bungalow in Owutu because the mother is from Owutu but married to an Ekoli man just like that. So there’s no different, we relate.
Indeed Edda is a very peculiar clan, Super! one tongue, relationship from here and there, one local government.
The same way even in our cultural activities only that the date may differ and some us are looking to when we will grow to a point we will have a common day we will call Edda day. People will come from all over the world, it happens in Yoruba land and some other places I know. It’s something people from Ife used to do every year, people will come from America, from UK all over the place, why can’t we have such a thing in Edda. Those days as I was told, if you discover our neighbouring brothers from other local governments have been having pockets of problems with Edda people, it wasn’t happening Edda was feared in those days. If it’s happening in Oso somebody from Nguzu or Ekoli on hearing it with put his knife and kits and rush down to the place, who are you threaten Edda in those days? But today our neighbours mess around with us encroaching on our lands and doing this and doing that because we are no longer united. We are lucky to have the chairman we have now and other people in leadership positions who trying to brings us together again otherwise, if it had been allowed to continue the whole place would’ve been on fire by now.
During your time, I mean your younger days what were the mechanism of uniting Nde Edda be it in diaspora or at home?
Eeeehhh! I will say its love and respect, people knew where they belong. If we are seated in a place, hall or in a room and a senior person comes in we will all stand up until he chooses where to sit but today, you come in Haa! Dee Dee, they tell you Dee that’s the highest respect they give you nobody will stand up for you, there’ve been a breakdown of law and order in our clan.
That time we had Eze Ogos who were trust worthy and truthful, today even a small boy can insult Eze Ogo, so our cultural values have dropped, so if we must come back together to bring back the glory of Edda clan all hands must be on deck. It will require total reengineering from up to down.
What do you think we can do to bring about the total reengineering?
We need to sensitise our people, that’s why something like Edda day is very important with that forum we can talk to ourselves, during such periods we can get people to talk to the youths, the women, the men and people in school. Like what you people are doing we can use that avenue too to make sure that people come to their senses. Let them not feel that the way it is today, is the way it has always been No! No! No! If we have a culture that has to do with movement of people, we can restrict it to some areas because in this time of development and commerce you cannot say vehicle that is coming from a neighbouring town will not pass your town because you’re celebrating one deity or the other No! No! No! If you do that it means you’re not ready for development, so we should come together, set committees to try and look into all these things and come up with something that will project us in a positive manner.
Thank you so much sir for your time, we know and believe that your prayer and dreams for Edda will come to pass in Jesus name.
Amen! Thank you! But I want to add that this age of technology, the media has a lot to do, that’s where people like you come in, if there’re others like you who can kind of collaborate to make sure that the large or larger dream we have for Edda comes through by collaborating. There’s a slogan that says “if you see something say something”, the moment we begin to project good over evil the better for us. I don’t see a situation where somebody goes to school and becomes a professor and is celebrating and somebody who’s a kidnapper is also celebrating, no! no! It doesn’t follow. Condemn what should be condemned and celebrate what should be celebrated that’s the way to go forward, while we agree that most young men has gone astray they are still many who are reasonable and if we work with this kind of people we will get to our destination.
The people of God also has a lot to do, let them deemphasize money and preach the word of God and it will help shape our young men, so they also have a lot to do, they traditional rulers have their own, the political elites have their own to do, the academia have their own to do so all hands should be on deck.
Picking it from your last point, houses protrude like mushrooms here in Edda, I mean mighty houses and edifices. But it’s like the business aspect of Edda is being neglected?
What is your advice to our illustrious sons and daughters in the area of coming home to establish or set up businesses?
That’s very important. Very very important. What sunk Nigeria to where it is today economically is because Nigeria is a consuming nation, every little thing we are importing, even industries that were here and they have all gone that’s why leadership is good, good leadership is very good. We learnt that there was a time in this country that oil was flowing, they called it oil boom but we never made any good use of it, we couldn’t fix ordinary power.
After so many decades every administration is still dealing with power, you can’t have an industry without power. Then for our young men building houses everywhere, we seldom see it in the past. Kudos to our young men what the Igbo man calls “Aku Ruo Ulo” but while we are building all these beautiful mansions but if we begin to look into small small industries it will also help us. During the season of Mangoes, you will see mongo dropping and nobody is thinking of putting them inside a container all these things can be done. Some building petrol stations and hotels here and there, like here in Ebonyi state, I used to tell them Ebonyi state is a state of one industry and that industry is government house.
So, why can’t we in our localities try to, some years ago there used to palm kernel no palm oil industry at Ufu Eseni now, it’s gone no one is thinking about it. Are the palm trees no longer there? They are still there
Even much more!
Let’s try as Edda people, if we develop something people will come for it and that will help us. Even if you look at the larger society Nigeria there’s hardly any region that God did not bless with one thing that they can boast of, develop it so that this place can be industrialised we can’t keep importing even tooth pick, pencil it doesn’t work that way.
There’s this notion about where Edda is today and where Edda should be, and some persons are of the opinion that we are here because we don’t have role models. For instance in a place like Abiriba, for every mansion you see the owner has at least five other boys he’s training along in his chosen line of business, same thing people believe helped places like Anambra and others, Sir what would say to our men who are in the business world?
Coughs… I just have to say that should help us have a rethink, an adage says that one tree does not make a forest. If you’re doing well and you don’t have people who will take over from you then you have failed. I also ask the young men to also have a rethink, if you’re a young boy or a girl and elders don’t send you an errand you’re not a good person. They young people should be able to serve because if you don’t serve people who have made it how will you make it? And it means nobody will also serve you.
In those days, we used to have people we call apprentices, today no young man wants to be an apprentice. After school young people want to be millionaires it doesn’t work that way, that’s why they go to do so many dirty things in order to make money. If want to have the kind of money or wealth you will enjoy you must sweat. You have to learn through people who have made it and then for our people who have made it, remember you were once like this people before, my reverend will say “there’s nobody who’s not helped a person” if you remember that somebody had helped you at one point help someone else to come up that’s the only way we can enjoy this society. If your house is the only place we come and eat and drink that society has failed, I think if we eat in your place today tomorrow we should be able to eat in another person’s house, so help others to come up. That’s my advice for our people in politics, business and otherwise, help other people to come up. If they don’t want to serve encourage them to serve they will learn and be like you, if only we can do that the society will be a better place. I wouldn’t have to kidnap you in order to make ransom.
Sir, your words reflect your lifestyle, as a very free person who has a home in Nde-Elu who has a home in almost all the 72 villages in Edda, can it be said that you have assisted people or some persons either at home or when you were working?
Let me just say I’m lucky but I thank God to be the person I am, I am free minded. Sometimes when I kill a fly I’ll be sorry for that fly why did I kill the fly even though it was disturbing me that will tell you it will be very difficult for me to hurt somebody. The bible will say “whatever you do not want people to do to you don’t do it someone else”, I am ready to say I am sorry even to my wife 100 times even if she’s the cause of the problem because I am somebody, I have told you how long I have managed High Blood Pressure because I don’t want anything that will raise it, I’ll rather do things that will stabilize it or keep it at a level. So I have a policy that I call nothing spoils my day, nothing, my wife knows it. As soon as I wake up I say God thank you for another opportunity, it’s a wonderful privilege to be alive, at times when I look back and see people who have gone, my age mates, and so many of my young ones the. The other day I was joking with someone and I said thank God I am where and what I am ooo that if I was that rich they would have said that I am using my younger to make money. …general laughter… Because I have buried quite a number of them even that last two weeks we buried my boss Udo Oji, on the Friday I buried a younger sister who died of breast cancer. The girl was a great grand-daughter of my mother, she was in her forties. So you have to be free minded, when my mother was alive I used to tell her that if you hear that I am dead, don’t think somebody poisoned me because I don’t have evil against anybody. If you win today I thank God for you, I celebrate you. When they made me chief in one of the communities in Edda they called me Ome Udo, one of my boys heard it and said Haaaa! how did they know you used to make Udo? …general laughter…
And if you’re living, you may be rich but without inner peace you can’t be happy so do whatever you think is good, whatever you think is praise worthy do it. Something that when people hear, they will say that man has done good, you know, not go and kill, go and poison that person. So I am a very free minded person, very very free and the world has been wonderful to me, people has been wonderful to me apart from my children.
I have a friend Idu, we started this politics together look where he is look where I am from time to he calls me my chairman or nwarem ochie please send account number let me push you something, so that’s the benefits of the kind of lifestyle I live. Sometimes when I go out there you will see when it’s time to pay they will tell you somebody has taken your bill then you begin to wonder. So, if you have an opportunity to do good do it 100 times in a day.
Finally, if we omit this part this conversation would be incomplete, we saw you some weeks back showing off and standing strong for a friend and a boss Chief Engr. Udo Oji Okoro who just passed on, can you tell us who that man was to Edda?
Huuu! For me I will describe him as a great Edda man, it’s just like after my election in 1998 to be the council Chairman late Eme Udu Orji at Ohafia we went to enjoy with his mates, he called them and told them this is the chairman Edda people never had. So, I will describe Udo Oji as the governor Ebonyi people never had or the man who may have had his opportunities like every other person who has had his mistakes but he was a good man to the core. Several times in Lagos if sees an Edda man carrying machine(dua dua) he will tell his driver, Biodun stop stop, that must be an Edda man, don’t tell me you’re from Nkporo or Abiriba I know you’re from Edda. He will put his hand in his pocket and give to the person money. He will say continue! Continue!! You will make it.
He was that kind of a person that loved an Edda man or Edda people. He was ready to do anything for Nde Edda. There was a year they had this NIPOGAL game in Lagos, so people from Unwanna Polytechnic came and I told him, he said go and make space what’s the name of this hotel, one of this five star hotels, the hotel had a Lagoon Bar. I went and came back, told him there’s no space, he said what of the Lagoon Bar? I said the place is filled. He said ok match this people to that place every other person there will leave. I did exactly what he said people started carrying their drinks, they came with their luxury bus from Unwanna the game was happening at Yaba School of Technology Lagos, and we entertained them. So, when people saw the crowd coming they gave way because some of them wanted their privacy. He was that kind of a man that can do anything to project Edda, but unfortunately like Jesus Christ who was not recognised in his own place. He played his own role. Like I said he made his mistakes, he had his opportunities and made his mistakes at least we remember him and hold on to those good aspect of him.
You can imagine if an Edda man had become the governor of the state by now.
Once again we say Happy Birthday in advance, you will continue to live in strength, and we will join others to celebrate your 80th birthday which is in few years.
Oh! That will happen, Thank You so much
God bless you sir.
And bless you too!
