Ogwu, the one who refused to die

War is closely related to violent anger, aggression, noise, loud frightening sound, chaos, debilitating fear and many more. And so when a man tells you that his name is ‘Ogwu’, the Igala (a Nigerian tribe/language) word for war you expect some measure of aggression and domineering in his personality. However, when this ‘Ogwu’ turns out to be the exact opposite of his name, one begins to wonder how peace and war could ever be embodied in the same personality. Nigeria was in turmoil, as the civil war raged, and the Biafran army was trying out its bombs. In the midst of all these, on 19th February, 1968, a young woman in far away Idah, then under Kabba Province of Northern Nigeria, and present day Kogi state, was in labour. It was going to be her third child.

Thankfully, just when the pangs were becoming unbearable, he came forth. A shrill cry rent the air and the midwife proudly announced that another son has been born to the Onojas. But that joy was almost immediately marred, for not long after the happy proclamation, the unthinkable happened.

 Idah was bombed – the very town where the baby had just been born! In the midst of the melee that ensued, the baby’s father ran away leaving his wife and hapless baby.

“My mother told me that when it happened, my father ran away. That had been an issue of contention. My father said he ran to mobilize the vigilante group to resist the attacks but my mum used to make a jest of him that, ‘you say you love your son but you ran away,’ ” revealed Chief Ogwu James Onoja.

Against the backdrop that he was born during the civil war in Nigeria (1967-1970), and given the peculiar incident that occurred on the day of his birth, he was named Ogwu (war).

“Anybody that bears that name in my place was born during the war. That is why you hardly see people name their children after me, because they say it is not a good name,” he explained.

As the events of his life unfurled, he was urged by many to change the name but he declined Chief Onoja’s major challenge started when at the age of seven, his parents divorced.

 “It was a very serious issue when you have to have a broken home. According to my mother, they used to have a child-spacing arrangement of four years, though not deliberate. I didn’t understand until I met somebody recently who said her mother had that problem. When women with that condition get pregnant and give birth, they may not have another one till four years.

“So, my father’s family felt that my mother’s type of womb would make the family lineage go extinct. Since my mother did not have their desired kind of womb, they opted to bring in another woman to give birth to as many children as possible.  So, my father took a second wife and there was problem.  I witnessed disunity. I stayed with my mother initially and people would come around and say, ‘don’t agree to come back.’ They encouraged my mom to pack out of the house and not return. The crises started in 1972 and by 1975, the divorce had happened,” he revealed. .

Ironically, after convincing his mother to leave her husband, those same relatives later turned against her.

Having found his young self in this grim situation, he devised a way to survive.

 According to him, “I decided that through education and football, I would get my liberty. I was a football captain in both primary and secondary schools. I was the football captain everywhere I went including the School of Basic Studies (SBS) Makurdi in Benue state, and at the Faculty of Law, University of Jos, (UniJos) Plateau state. I could not join the national team because I was called to the Nigerian Bar at the age of 22.”

He continued, “Amongst the other crisis I had was getting a job after being called to the bar. I started with Humphrey Abah & Co. Legal Practitioners, Lagos (1992-1994). Then between 1996 and 1997, I struggled to be on my own and lost my father within that period.  Six months later, I lost my mother.  Then between 2002 and 2003, I lost my brother and sister. So, it was like I was alone though the other woman had five children who are my step-brothers. I thought of changing my name from Ogwu. But thank God I was already married at that time so that gave me some consolation.. It was very huge challenge.

“I served in old Imo State. I was posted to Nkwere Local Government, and thereafter, moved to Orlu, where I joined E. J.O Nwogwu. I practiced with him briefly, and then later moved to Owerri, where I joined Prof. Nwazurike. He was a professor at University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), he said.

Going forward, Chief Onoja said:  “After my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, I went to Lagos. There is something I inherited from my parents, especially my father – integrity and honesty. That was the biggest fuel that brought me to this level.

“When I joined Humphrey in 1993, my salary was N600. Within six months it was increased to N800 because of diligence to duty and commitment to service and honesty. When I came, Humphrey started giving me big assignments and I worked under a very cerebral lawyer called Ime Asanga. I still refer to him as my Prof. Lawyer and lecturer, because he taught me all that I needed to know as a lawyer at that stage.

“A very jovial man; he called me one day and asked – ‘You went to Kano, how much did Oga (our principal) give to you?’  So, I gave a breakdown of how the money was spent. I said air ticket is x amount, when I got to Kano, I slept in my brother’s house. Then he asked, ‘you didn’t stay in a hotel?’ I said no, because it was an opportunity to link up with my people. He asked, ‘where is the accommodation money?’ I told him I gave everything to Oga (the principal partner).

“He asked about other trips and I listed how I spent the money and retired the balance to our principal. He exclaimed and said ‘no wonder since you came they don’t send us on trips again. You mean you returned the balance to Oga?’ I didn’t know that God was preparing me for a bigger role, because most of my life to this stage has been a life of service and trust. People trust me with what they have.

“Then it came to getting married so, all my team mates with whom I played football came to me and said, ‘Now that you are a lawyer, you have to get married.’ They said they would look for a wife for me, which was after several failed attempts at UniJos by J.S. Okutepa (SAN) and others to get me a girl-friend.

“In December 1991, I was not called to bar then. It used to be NYSC before call-to-bar. My cousins and friends told me that they had seen a woman for me. This was at a district headquarters where my uncle was the district head. Unknown to me, they had all gone to woo her but she ignored them.

“She came from the city. So, we went there and that is the woman I have now as my wife. We went there but she refused to come out. Eventually someone prevailed on her and she came out to greet us. Then I introduced myself as a lawyer and practicing in Imo State. I expressed my love for her; that everybody spoke well of her.  .

“When I got married, we had challenges because I hadn’t a good job. Then, I got admission for my Master’s degree, and I was already an orphan. But because there was love, she was ready to stick with me. I had no car when I got married, and even the driver that took us from the village after our wedding to Lagos, dropped off by the road at Yaba after he had agreed to take us to my rented apartment. I had to carry my wife’s luggage on my head.

“It was tough. No money to eat. We had to sell our wedding gifts. I also had heaps of old newspapers. I started selling those too to Suya sellers (roast beef). In all, we had no problem of understanding each other. We knew there were people waiting for us to fail, so we had every reason to ensure that the marriage worked to the disgrace of our detractors.”

According to him, “My major breakthrough started when a kinsman Enemona Agada, gave me a brief from Failed Bank Tribunal. I lost the case, but the other party later came to negotiate, as I was still holding one of their properties.

“I made N400, 000 from the transaction. That was January 1998, and my wife was heavily pregnant. On March 12, 1998 she climbed 18 floors to go and collect the cheque because there was no elevator. The baby came the following day. I bought a Mercedes 200 car with which I brought them home. That was my first car.

“When I was in a partnership, they wanted me to do something that was against my conscience. A client was going to be cheated, but I advised her not to agree to the terms and she listened. She later thanked me and even gave me a property to manage.

“Thereafter, I was introduced to a lady who told me somebody whose name she wouldn’t disclose wanted to buy a property. The property she was looking for fit the same property the first woman handed over to me for sale. It was an estate property. “After the transaction was concluded, both the woman and the person who bought the property disappeared leaving all the original documents of the property with me.

“People said it was a settlement from God but I disagreed, and sought for ways to find them. I remember they told me the person the property was bought for was managing director of one company, so, I wore my suit and went to the place, but I couldn’t enter. I wrote a note but there was no reply. Then I put the property up for rent. The first rent yielded N1000. I then wrote a cheque, put the name and address, and sent to the person.

“But he sent it back to me saying he didn’t know what I was talking about. From the reply he wrote to me, I saw the land line was Multilinks, and we had a Multilinks line in my office. I called and his personal assistant (PA) picked. I introduced myself and briefly narrated the transaction which was now four years.

“I was in my office one day when the man called our Multilinks line and requested to see me. His opening statement was: ‘People like you are no longer available, sit down.’ I stretched my hand forward to give him the property documents, but he asked me to sit down. I told him that I couldn’t find the link woman. That I have been collecting the rent and the cheque I sent him earlier was with me.

“But he sent it back to me saying he didn’t know what I was talking about. From the reply he wrote to me, I saw the land line was Multilinks, and we had a Multilinks line in my office. I called and his personal assistant (PA) picked. I introduced myself and briefly narrated the transaction which was now four years.”

“He asked me to hold the documents; that after all the papers had been with me for four years. He now instructed the PA to give me two new properties to manage for him. That was a big break for me. That was how the relationship started with the man and he decided that we should work together. So, by 1999 I was already a millionaire.

“It’s about integrity. He picked me and that is why up till now, he is my godfather. Where I’m staying in Asokoro, Abuja, I have been staying there for 18 years without paying rent. I’m a man that God has greatly favoured.

“There is nothing like luck, but there is God. I don’t believe in luck, but I believe in God because your hard work alone will not take you there. You need integrity and skills. It is the combination of that, that can distinguish you. And then, there is what I call the spirit of contentment. L&S