Ojukwu's Will, and the attendant hoopla

Following the controversies emanating from the gangaroo reading of late Avater of Ndigbo by his Nigerian wife Bianca, i travelled to Lagos to hear from my friend Debe in his office at Nnewi building Apapa Lagos.Our discussion centred on the family chronology, his feud with some members of his family for being the estate manager of the Ojukwu transport company and Bianca's fear of him from day one on the account that he Debe is older than her, a condition she pointed out to his father as a factor during their courtship. I earlier expected Debe to be worried by his exclusion from the will, only for him to tell me that he knew that the gold digger ,Bianca was going to present the will to suit her.The best i can say here is that i was in the entourage of Debe to Ghana on the 15th of September and at the end of the official assignment , the entourage which included his wife Vicky, the daughter ,Grace and Tom Biggar Jr ,his cousin, visited a member of the immediate family of Ikemba , i think one of Ikemba's sisters resident in Accra Ghana and there i found out that the only person caring for Ikemba’s immediate family members even before the death of Ikemba is Debe. our host was full of tears because she was calling Debe the same name they fondly called Ikemba.Tom Biggar Jr is the first som of captain Tom Biggar , a Biafran war hero ,Ikemba’ half brother who died in Nsukka sector at the earlier stage of the civil war along with Major Nzeogwu and Christopher Okigbo.It will be recalled that Ikemba’s mother remarried a scotish railway engineer,Mr Biggar who gave birth to late captain Tom Biggar,Tom Biggar Jr who lives republic of Benin is the first son while Robert Biggar ,the second son lives in CanadaBefore lovers of the should stress themselves in the problem of the Ojukwu Dynasty, it is sound to take a close look at the chronology of the Ojukwu Dynasty, it was during this trip tht i was told that even the mother of Ikemba was thrown out by Sir Louise Ojukwu without knowing that she was pregnant of Ikemba, it was Zik who visited the woman in Zaria to see that she was carrying little Emeka and on return to Lagos told Sir Louise who at that time needed his own off springs desperately went to Zaria and picked up chuckwuemeka back to Lagos.Chief, Sir, Sylvester Debe Ogbonna Odumegwu-Ojukwu.Apkunwa Umudim Nnewi,Knight of st Lumumba is the first son of late Dim Chukwuemka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.He was born on 3ard of August 1956 at Abakiliki when Ikemba had his first national service as the assistant district officer (ADO) on his return from the United kingdom at Udi where he married his first wife Margaret who gave birth to his first son, Debe Sylvester Ogbonna Odumegwu-Ojukwu , the Phnenix of Biafra and the crown prince. He graduated in law in 1985 called to bar in 1986 . Retired from Police in 1995 after enlisting as a constable in 1976 . Chairman /MD SILVER CONVENTION NIG LTD , Chairman /MD HEDEN PROPERTIES LTD , Chaiman /MD Victoria Foods Limited ..He ,like his father, the first graduate of the Nigerian police academy ,first Nigerian police officer to recieve a presidential commision and was a member of network on police reform.He is currently the managing partner of Ogbonna Ojukwu and associates .Family Chronology: SIR ODUMEGWU-OJUKWU ( my paternal grandfather ) married MADAM GRACE OYIBONANU ODUMEGWU-OJUKWU ( née OGBONNA) and produced the AVATAR - DIM CHUKWUEMEKA ODUMEGWU-OJUKWU who married MAGARET (née UDEH ) and produced a son CHIEF DEBE SYLVESTER ODUMEGWU-OJUKWU who married CHIEF(MRS) VICTORIA NDIDI ODUMEGWU-OJUKWU (née OGBONNA ) and produced a daughter MRS GRACE OYIBONANU OKEKE (née ODUMEGWU-OJUKWU ) . Both myself and my wife were called to the NIGERIAN BAR in 1986 and enrolled in NIGERIAN BAR roll of HONOURS ( see LAW REMEMBRANCER which contains the list of all qualified lawyers in NIGERIA as SYLVESTER DEBE ODUMEGWU-OJUKWU and VICTORIA NDIDI OGBONNA respectively . hence OGBONNA - OJUKWU AND ASSOCIATES ( legal practitioners and notary Public ) with offices at 203 Igbosere Road Lagos.INTERVIEW Like the Phoenix Ojukwu’ll rise again –Debe, eldest sonBy M.M.Mbanaja Debe Sylvester Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the late Ikemba’s eldest son is precisely a chip of the old block. He cuts in a special way, the split image of his father-the eye popping, gesticulations, mannerisms, voice modulation, physiognomy, charisma, shining brilliance, a clone, in self admittance. Debe, lawyer by profession sits atop the legendary family business empire in Lagos. In this interview with Daily Sun, he speaks with deep fond memories of his late father, his love for his people, his interests lifestyle and the things that propelled him.His death, in his view is not the end of an era, since “It is something that runs in the family. His own grandfather, Ojukwu Ezeigbo was a great warrior. The history did not start with him. It will not end with him.”He reveals nostalgically that his late father deliberately chose the business name of Phoenix, a mythical bird of the desert which lives long and on its death burns and from the ashes, another emerges. He speaks more on the vintage Dim, philosophy, and how he’ll be remembered. Excerpts.First of all, condolences on the death of your father. What are the things you will remember him for?At times like this, you need the co-operation and sympathy of all, to be able to move yourself through these difficult times. What is instructive about my late father is his humility. His simplicity. His compassionate love. It was from him that first and foremost, I learnt the basic lesson that if you want to be loved, the only way to get it is to exude compassionate love.Tell Nigerians about yourself.There is really nothing much to say. I am Chief Debe Sylvester Odumegwu-Ojukwu. I am a lawyer by profession. The first child and son of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.Growing up, how was it under your father’s tutelage?I was born when he was an assistant district officer. His life spanned from the native authority, the civil service to the Army and back to politics. So then, in his growing years, when he was developing himself, he was not much around. By influence I was so much with my mother.What is the name of your mother?My mother’s name is Margaret. She died Mrs. Margaret Ugbogu, having remarried after they parted. From Iwororie.She is dead now? She is dead.She died in what year?She died three years ago, in 2008.Only three years ago. At what age?At the age of 70. What have you been able to learn from the life of your father who many see as a hero?It still goes down to my opening answer. The love. Initially I was befuddled as to why the out pouring of love to him by the Igbo. If you check the history of civil wars, there is hardly any leader of a civil war who came back alive. Robert lee of USA was killed after the American civil war. But he fought the war. Left Nigeria. Stayed out of Nigeria for almost thirteen years. Came back and his people still received him.Ojukwu, Ikemba, the icon left a lot of foot prints in the sands of time. If you were to ask for a realignment of his life. Would you still believe he should fight another war.My father did not fight a war. My father was dragged into a war. He was dragged into a war, because of the pogrom of his people in certain parts of Nigeria. He had the opportunity to move over like others did to Britain, where he had spent about ten years. Where he knew like the back of his palm. He had the opportunity of going to Oxford as a lecturer, or even translocating to any of the Ivy league Universities in the world. With his academic background, he would have well fitted out as an academic. But he chose, in the face of daunting problems, not to abandon his people. That is something that is very worthy of emulation. So, I will not agree that he fought a war. He was dragged into a war. And I believe that if he were to reincarnate and the same conditions present themselves, knowing him the way I do, he will react the same way. The only way to prevent him from being involved in a war is not to drag him into the war. It is not to be mean or oppressive to the poor people of the world. Once there is injustice, he rises to the occasion. It is not only him. It is something that runs in the family. His own grand-father, Ojukwu-Ezeigbo was a great warrior. The history did not start with him. It will not end with him. To understand him properly, you need to do retrospection and read the history of the Ojukwu family. What he did; in the nuclear family, we are never surprised by that. Because that is the way we are.When was the last time you spoke with him, and can you recollect what he told you. Were there any special things he told you before he became sick and eventually died.There are many things.Can you recollect one or two of the remarkable things?There are many of them, starting from many years ago till now. He had always wanted to make me his footstool. He had always wanted to see me always by his side. But I am always telling him, “I am your clone. So, I don’t need to learn from you”. We think alike. We behave alike. In fact, before he starts doing a thing, the only way I understand it is that I transport myself into the situation he finds himself. And in most cases, I will come to the conclusion, that I will almost do the same. I sat down with him one day, we were discussing, I said “what will you do if you were sitting with your friend and you suddenly bend over, then on raising your head, you found out that your friend has aimed a blow at the particular spot where your head was before you bent over, then you turned and looked at your friend and he said sorry?” My father told me that he would give him a safe berth. Give him a very wide berth. “Why would you do that?” He said perhaps the only reason why he told him sorry was because his head was not off (general laughter). Then again in Yamossokouro in Cote D’ivore, he told me one day. He had a company, and his company name was Phenix Africa. I was curious. He said Phenix in French meant a paragon. You know Phoenix is a mythical bird of the desert. It lives for a long time, but when it is about to die, it burns. When it burns, the ashes descend. Like in a supernova, another Phoenix emerges. I have always related with him in parables. I never allowed him to tell me all his mind. But from the snippets of proverbs and things he says, he tells me deep things, I infer what he thinks about things. That is why when I discuss with him, I tell him we relate more spiritually than physically. He told me that death is nothing, that death is for the living and not for the dead. That the dead hardly knew what you are doing for them. That if he were the one lying down and his family, friends, waste time, fret in committing him to mother earth, he might start bursting from the stomach. And every basic rudimentary student of biology knows that that is where the worms come from. He once told me that. That was when I realised that this is a man that doesn’t attach too much importance to anything material.Let’s come over to the family side; the Ojukwu family is like a dynasty. There are about three or four trees back in the ages. Your father was not the first son, I want to believe. But he is the well recognised son of the Ojukwu dynasty. Did he leave behind any will? Well the issue of will is not for people to speculate on. As a lawyer, I know the procedure on wills. The lawyer who writes a will hardly divulges anything on the will. It is when they have done total burial, and everything that anybody who is in custody of anything will arrange to have it read. I am not speculating about it. I am not interested.Actually, there was a day he was writing one, with his lawyer. He asked me to come and sit, I said no, not on your life. He said why? I said I don’t know if I am a beneficiary and I don’t want to know. And the rule in the writing of will is that the beneficiary should not be there and should not know what was written. But I knew what he was doing. In his magnanimity, I don’t know why he said I should come and sit. Even though I know the lawyer who wrote it, I am hardly on talking terms with him.There is another son of his who is well known, in fact many Nigerians have come to believe that he is the first son. Why is it so? Why is the family not properly organised to bring up somebody that should act as the first son?Well, in the history book we were reading before, there was this story of the six wise men, six of them went to see the elephant. One touched the trunk and said “oh my God, it is like a wall. “Another one touched the trumpet and said the elephant is like a trumpet. My father is very big. Ideally, you should not be talking about two sons, but many sons in many facets of society. What determines the first son is age. Nothing more. Nothing less. Here and now, I tell you, he is my junior brother and he is Ojukwu’s son. Because when you put two of us side by side, I am senior. If he goes about claiming first son, all well and good. We might even go towards the burial and another son comes, who is older than me, what do I do? Will I still say I am the first son? That is the way, it is. In man’s affairs, until it ends, you cannot really put a finger about what is going on. You are talking about the will, the will might come out and all of us-even myself may not be there. He might be groping in the political world. Some people might say I am groping in the business world. We might go to read the will and somebody else emerges. If that person is older than me, I will be very foolish to say I am the first son. Because first son by Igbo culture is determined by age. It is not determined by clamour. It is not a political appointment.You are older than him by how many years.I think by eight years. I was born on third of August, 1956. He (Ikemba) was ADO (Assistant District Officer) in Udi in 1955.Before we go into any business, your family have just removed the mourning dress after one year of the demise of the Avatar If you were to live your life again, what would you adopt from him?He is very special to me. There is one thing he does to me which nobody has ever done. People meet me; they believe that I know it all. People sit with me they don’t correct me. He is the only person that sits down and corrects me. He would correct me. That is why in most of my write ups, I call him my teacher. He doesn’t spare me. You see when you don’t spare somebody, it is out of love. Because he knows that one day, he will leave me to the larger society. He would be engrossed, busy with an assignment, even publicly. And if there is anything I do wrong, he will leave that thing he is doing and make sure he corrects me. That is one thing I enjoy about him. He does this everywhere, any time.Finally, how do you say final good bye to your fatherI can’t say goodbye to him because he will always be a part of me.Even in death?Yes. He will always be a part of me.How?Spiritually, he relates with me. He had made up his mind that he will not leave me alone. So, it is not even possible that I will say goodbye to him. The only thing I will say is that he has been a wonderful father. A very compassionate loving father. The only thing that I can do for him is to make him a pledge and the pledge is that what he was doing, his ideas, I will defend with the last pint of my blood. That is the only way I can feel happy. That was why I told you I cannot say good bye to him. I told you at the beginning of the interview that I am his clone. I am reiterating it in another form by telling you that his ideas I will defend with the last pint of my blood. That was why when he told me about Phoenix, I didn’t know whether he was referring to me. But I determined I will not be visible while he was on the stage. And I thank God that I did that. Most of the people that knew me in the university will perhaps believe that I will have burst into the political firmament. But, surprisingly because the big masquerade was on stage, I deferred to him that is his promise and I believe it would come to pass. That is his promise. I wrote him once and I said as an avatar. When he was launching his book, my father, wonderful man, he invited me as a special guest. I said what? I should be there serving your friends? Sitting by him was Alhaji Ado Bayero, the Emir of Kano. He invited Obasanjo, who was represented by his son. On that particular day, coincidentally, I was being conferred with an honorary doctorate degree and I went to receive it, and I penned him my apology. The apology was read by the now chairman of APGA, Victor Umeh. And everybody knew what happened when the apology was read.What happened?I wasn’t there. You will go back and ask those who were there, the reaction he had with Ado Bayero.But you heard what happened.I heard but it is not for me to tell. In law hearsay evidence is never admissible. In law, preference is given to direct evidence. If I am telling you now it will be hearsay evidence. Which I wouldn’t want to be involved in. Now Debe what happened.?Before I go into the issue of the current will of my late father as arranged by Bianca and her lawyers, I have been the estate manager of OTL since 1995 and Lotanna is one of the defendants in the pending court case at a Lagos High Court. Others are Ojukwu Transport Limited, Professor Joseph Ojukwu, Emmanuel Ojukwu, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu and Massey Udegbe. Listed as claimants in the case are Ogbonna Ojukwu and Associates, Debe Odumegwu-Ojukwu and Silver Convention. One of the lines of the suit with No: LD/794/2011 dated 6 October 2011 read: “… despite the fact that there was an agreement between the Claimants and the 1st Defendant to manage the properties listed in the schedule of the Management Agreement dated 1/6/1995, most of the rents were either collected by the 1st –5th Defendants personally despite the 2nd Claimant’s protest that some of the properties in question were never released to the Claimants as they were personally occupied by some of the Defendants herein.” Part of the claimants claim is that “most of the properties in contention were derelict and dilapidated and taken over by known and unknown persons before the Claimants were engaged whilst various sums of money were expended to recover and put them in tenantable situation without being reimbursed by the 1st Defendant for that purpose.”That Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s name appears on the list of defendants might be only due to the fact that he’s a director in Ojukwu Transport Company as some of the expressions tend not to only exonerate him, but give the impression that it is his interest that is being championed: “Rather than for the Defendants, excepting the 3rd, (Emeka Ojukwu) to see reasons why terminating the management agreement would be unjust and inequitable in the circumstance, they went ahead to appoint/nominate the 6th defendant to take over the management functions from the 1st claimant thereby jeopardising the financial/vested interest and equitable right of the claimants in the said properties.” Furthermore, “the actions of the defendants, excepting the 3rd, in deliberately denying the claimants of their dues and returns on investments is also actuated by malice, ill feeling and family vendetta against the 2nd claimant (Debe) and his father the 3rd defendant.”I told you from day one that Bianca and some members of the family are ready to go to any length to discredit me because of OTL, they tried to short me out f my fathers burial and Umudom elders advised that I should let the sleeping dog lie, I knew that the will was coming the way it came because they pressured me to stop the court case or they will deny me as a family mmber, Since they are not God and nature stand tall in oha ji anya.At this juncture. Debe referred to an earlier granted interview to Newswatch magazine to allow us go to Victoria foods ,his wife’s fast food company in Victoria island for a delicious dinnerAlthough Ike Ojukwu himself admitted that court cases involving the Odumegwu- Ojukwu dynasty predated this current one involving Debe, the case offers an insight into the extent of the disagreement within the family over family property. It appears deep rooted. Although Ike doubts Debe’s claims to being Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s first son, he didn’t categorically deny that he’s the man’s son. Debe is a split image of Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and if looks were the criteria to determine paternity, he would have no difficulty convincing anyone that he’s Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s son. And the fact that he was contracted by the Ojukwu Transport Company to manage the family’s property is another point that is hard to ignore. Also, during one of the family meetings held January 13, 2009, in the family compound in Nnewi, Debe was invited by the family to participate. The question then is, if Debe were not the son of Odumegwu-Ojukwu, why was he invited to the meeting? Again, Newswatch can confirm that even the law firm of Andrew N. Anyamene and Company (SAN), acknowledged Debe as a member of the Odumegwu-Ojukwu family. In a letter written to him to render the management account of the Ojukwu properties, the law firm referred to him as the grandson of late Louis Philip Odumegwu-Ojukwu. Most significant, in 2009, the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, in a letter, thanked Debe, his son for the role he played during the burial of Chukwuma Onoh, former governor of old Anambra State, who was Ojukwu’s in-law. Newswatch also learnt that Debe was conferred with the Nnewi traditional title, Akpunwa, meaning strong son. He is also the president-general of Umudim Nnewi, both home and abroad and is seen by some as a popular figure due to his humanitarian activities in Nnewi. But based on Ike’s claims, Newswatch sent one of its reporters to Nnewi to find out from some of the extended family members what they think of the matter. Greg Ojukwu, a retired civil servant in his 80s and a senior member of the family, told Newswatch that there was never a time the late Ikemba introduced Debe as his first son throughout his life time. “There was no time the late Ikemba introduced Debe to the family as his first son. Not to my knowledge. We know Emeka Ojukwu Jnr. as Ikemba’s first son going by the tradition of the land. In Igboland, we count mother and child together (Nwa na Nne yi) as we say in our local parlance. So, who is Debe’s mother?” he queried.Anthony Ude Ojukwu, a lawyer and another senior member of the family, also told Newswatch that the late Ikemba never identified Debe as a son, let alone the first. “Have you seen any event, political or social, where Ikemba introduced him as his son? His was only given a contract to manage based on professionalism and at the expiration of the contract, he went to court to make some claims. Nothing stops him from going to court on that basis. Nobody can stop him from making claims in the court of law. Sylvester (Debe’s English name) was never told to withdraw any case before he could participate in Ikemba’s burial.” Ude Ojukwu argued that it is a father that identifies his son and not the child that claims to be the son of the man. “In Igbo culture, it is only when a man acknowledges his son that he will be able to say the position of that particular son. Somebody has to be identified as a child of a man before his position can be ascertained. But all his life, Ikemba never identified Sylvester (Debe) as his son, not to talk of being the first son,” he told Newswatch.If that is the case, why then does Debe bear Ojukwu and why was there no disclaimer to that effect? Ude Ojukwu said nobody raised an eyebrow because they have no monopoly of the name Ojukwu. “It is a common name. Anybody can answer any name without interference. But the bottom line is that Ikemba did not marry his mother. The customary law says that for a man to claim ownership of a child, he must have the consent of the mother. The mother should be able to identify the father of her child; after delivery, the man is expected to pay the hospital bill; if the child is staying with the woman, the man should pay some allowances for the upkeep of their child; pay his school fees and at the age of 15, give him accommodation.” But some others have a contrary view. Innocent Okafor, who describes himself as a “member of the Ojukwu family” said that he was not aware that Ojukwu ever said Debe was not his first son. “Where and who did he call to tell them that. Can you deny your son? Who was there when he said it? It’s all hear say.” He added that he was not unaware of the bad blood among some members of the Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s family and that, that was the reason why he advised Debe to distance himself from the burial activity of his father in Nnewi to give peace a chance.Ofili Nwosu, the prime minister of Nnewi, said that “ in the tradition of Igbo land, it’s who a man wants that he makes the first son” but added that “there’s no doubt about the fact that Debe’s the son” of Odumegwu-Ojukwu.Comfort Ukwu, (nee Ojukwu) who is the first cousin to Ikemba, said that the question of who is the eldest child of Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu has never been in doubt. “The person born in 1956 and the one born in 1965, who is the senior?” Debe was born in 1956. Ukwu, who says that “a man knows who his children are” said that Debe always played the role of a son to his father. “When my brother was in hospital in London, Debe went to see him a number of times. During the burial of Onoh, Debe played an active role.” She described the whole hoopla over property as embarrassing, considering also that her cousin was not known to be materialistic. Emmanuel Nwobosi, who, as a Biafran soldier, was chief of operations during the Nigerian civil war, said he was not aware that Ojukwu denied Debe as his first son. “Ikemba was my very close friend, he was my boss. He never said such a thing to my hearing. From time to time, when I visited Lagos with Ikemba, Debe would always visit Ikemba, and a number of times, with his wife, would bring food and Ikemba never indicated to me that he didn’t like what he was doing. It was all appreciation on his part. So this story, if you ask me, I will say that Ikemba never hinted it to my hearing. I am friendly with both Debe and Emeka Jnr,” he said. Debe, in an affidavit, deposed that he was “practically raised by my loving but poor mother and later by fending for myself until I joined the Nigeria Police as a constable in 1976…” At this time, Odumegwu-Ojukwu was still in exile. Perhaps the hardship he experienced as a young boy is the reason why he describes himself as a “self-made man.” In his book, Emeka, Frederick Forsyth, the former BBC reporter in Nigeria and a friend of Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu wrote: “I have watched him walking by the crocodile pool in exile, abandoned and alone on learning that yet another Biafran he trusted had betrayed him for money; smiling with pride when his son did well at school…” There is no proof to show which of Ojukwu’s sons, whether Debe or Emeka jnr, is being referred to at that time. The book was published in 1982.However, according to a source who wishes anonymity, the issue of what a man does or says at times is dictated by circumstance or state of mind and relationship at every given point in time. “Anyone can make a pronouncement or declaration and later change his mind; it all depends on the individual and the person involved.”Newswatch learnt that Ojukwu met Debe’s mother while he was an Assistant District Officer at Udi but that their union was not formalised. Apart from that relationship, Ikemba married four wives: Elizabeth, a nurse, between 1956 and 1959 who had no child; Njideka, his second wife, who’s the mother of Emeka Jnr.; Stella, and Bianca who’s the fourth and only surviving widow.But beyond that, there are those who desire to see the feud resolved amicably, given the reputation of the Odumegwu-Ojukwu family. Sir Louis was a man of means who epitomised the Igbo entrepreneurial spirit as seen in his numerous achievements, which included being the first president of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Emeka, his son, on his part, is famous for the role he played in the 60s which culminated in the declaration of secession, a move that his admirers say, proved his love for his people. “My advice to the family is that they should take things easy,” said Nwobosi. Okafor on his part, is optimistic that the matter will be resolved peacefully. “We shall settle the matter,” he said. Not a few friends and admirers of the family will love to see that happened.

 Matthew Mbanaja.