Obasanjo opens on Igbo bid for president in 1999

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has narrated how Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, a former Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), dumped a fellow Igbo man, Dr Alex Ekwueme, to support his presidential bid in 1999

Speaking on Saturday in Abuja at the thanksgiving service held at the Methodist Church Nigeria, Cathedral of Unity, Wuse, Zone 3 for the 80th birthday of Ugochukwu, the former President, who disclosed that he did not belong to any political party, hailed the celebrant for being a loyal and supportive person during his campaign prior to the 1999 election despite the fact that Ekwueme also contested for the same position in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Obasanjo, who urged Ugochukwu to remain solidly with the Lord and be committed to humanity throughout the rest of his life, said: “But remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13. Your faith must not diminish. You must never lose hope. Even when things are as gloomy as they are in Nigeria today, we must remain optimistic and hopeful. And finally, you must live and continue to live a life of love. Love for your family.

“Love for friends and foes. Love for your community. Love for your state. Love for your country. Love for humanity. And love for God.

“When we came together, it was during the campaign. I’ve known a little bit about you by your reputation. We were two candidates competing in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), myself and Alex Ekweme. And right from the word go, you decided who you would be with. Some Yoruba elements in our campaign saw you as a spy. The Igbo elements on the other side saw you as a bastard. Why should you be with a Yoruba man when an Igbo man is contesting? And you stood your ground. You were unshaken and unshakable.

“You remained totally loyal. And I appreciate it. And you remain with me. Not 99.9% loyal, but 100% loyal. Throughout my tenure. I will be eternally grateful to you. When you went in, as the bishop said, to contest the election, and they overturned the election, you didn’t take revenge on anybody. You were not bitter. You didn’t even move out of the party. You remained. Some people will have moved out of their party. And you know some who are in our party, close to us, who did that.

“Over the years, whether I am in or out, whether people are abusing me or oppressing me, I know your stand. I know I can count on you. Not only as my supporter, but for the party that we all built”.

On his part, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, at the reception, also commended Ugochukwu for his patriotism, saying that the celebrant did not take sides when he (Atiku) had problems with Obasanjo, adding that rather he tried to be a peacemaker.

Atiku said: “I will not claim that I know Ugochukwu long enough because we only met during our administration around 1998-99 and till now, we have been in contact with each other.

“But I want to say that during our administration even when the president and I were having problems, Ogochukwu never took sides, rather he tried to be a conciliator and I want to say that all along I found him to be an extremely dedicated, passionate Nigerian. Let me also testify that in all those years that we worked together I never heard or you never heard of any unwarranted action by Onyema Ogochukwu. He was still a credible and perfect gentleman. Mrs. Ogochukwu, I think you are very lucky to have him.”

“Honestly I want to say that this is one of the very rare events I have put on a public face to identify myself, but I feel extremely delighted to have been part of this event. I also look forward to getting to your age. So, once again congratulations Onyema Ogochukwu and family and the entire people of Abia State and Nigeria in general”.

In his remarks, Ugochukwu was emotional while explaining that out of his seven siblings five are dead, remaining him and his sister.

According to him, he was the first out of his siblings to attain the age of 70, just as he acknowledged God’s faithfulness in his life, and promised to continue to serve God and humanity more than ever before.

He said, “My dear friends, I thank you for taking out time traveling from all places to come to this birthday celebration. Ten years ago, when I turned 70, I was the first of my siblings to reach the age of 70. It should have been a very big celebration, but it wasn’t.

“Because 2014, I lost my two younger brothers in that year itself. My father, and then my uncle, and there was no urge to celebrate. There were seven. My eldest brother, let him be known, was the best of us all. But he died at 64. My older sister died in her 50s. My immediate junior brother died in the war. My sister, Chinyere, an evangelist, is here with us, and is alive. Ude Chukwu, died February 2014. And in April, another”