In conversation with Ojo

Mekaria, on Friday, July 1st we had a praise and worship session for Aunty UC, your Wife and her twin Aunty Nnenna to celebrate their 70th birthday. It was so surreal to be in house 22 without you. The mood was somber; the energy in your house was Low. We tried singing but our voices […]

Mekaria, on Friday, July 1st we had a praise and worship session for Aunty UC, your Wife and her twin Aunty Nnenna to celebrate their 70th birthday. It was so surreal to be in house 22 without you. The mood was somber; the energy in your house was Low. We tried singing but our voices were hollow; we tried doing the things you would have done, but the emptiness pervaded the environment. As I entered my study, I could hear you say, “Osita nwannem…your collection is growing; you must read this new book or that new book…”. You were always ahead of me in finding and consuming new books. I always secretly competed with you trying to read new books before you, but whenever I bought a new book for you, alas you had already owned it. I never could beat you.
My relationship with you was not always easy. As your aide, you were exacting. You suspended me for one month for disobedience; you demanded excellence that meant I had to always be on my toes. You will say, “Osita, I want to go to Onitsha to represent the President, from there to Benin for a wedding and then Lagos for a meeting before departing for London that night.” I ensured it happened seamlessly even without GSM phones then!
When at FRSC, we moved into the foreign Affairs building in 2012, and I sat on my chair for the first time, my Special Assistant remarked:“your former boss, Ojo Maduekwe used to sit on that very spot as Foreign Minister.”That realization that I was in the same room where you held sway as Ministerreally hit me. And when you visited a few months later, you said the same thing and prophetically added: “Osita, seeing you on that chair means you will be a Minister faster than I thought.”
In fulfillment of that prophesy, I came to your house in July 2014 to seek your advice on the Presidential call to serve as a Minister. You gave me your blessing that night and I accepted the call the following day. In about one year, your prophecy came to pass.
I remember our first trip to Washington DC; a city you made me love, a few months after you assumed office as Minister of Transport. It was a global multi-modal conference on Transportation organized by then Transport Secretary Rodney Slater, whose friendship with you continued after both of you had left office. You were to speak on the topic of Livability Principle in Transportation. I was worried because we did not come with any speech from Nigeria and you were not a transport professional.
To my amazement, hours before the event, you wrote a paper, which I typed and till date, I consider it your finest writing. I can see you smiling and wondering why I always refer to that particular speech. Yes, I consider it your best speech both in content and style, because in that paper, you outlined your vision as transport Minister and spoke about reintroducing a bicycle culture to improve livability. That part of the paper caught the attention of the participants.
Throughout my period with you as an aide, you wrote all your speeches: You were almost obsessive with writing, and every sentence was a labour of craftsmanship. You were in awe of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was your guardian philosopher. You loved the robust language of Winston Churchill.
During one of my visits to Ottawa, we went shopping.I can still hear you vividly saying, “Osita nwannem, I know you are a Corps Marshal, but you are my junior brother.” You bought jeans and those check shirts you liked to wear for me. You were a great dresser, bold and highly fashionable in your rebellious way. I still wear the green tie, pocket square and green socks you bought for me so I would look ministerial in good suits. You combined colors and clothes in an avant-garde manner while retaining a classic look.
Mekaria, many remember you with the famous statement “Igbo Presidency is Idiotic”. Many have asked me what happened? Why did he abuse his kinsmen? This is what happened. You had organized a fund raising event for your beloved Asaga community as part of your community development effort. The fight between you and then Governor of Abia, Orji Uzor Kalu was at its height and even led to speculation that he had advised the then Vice President Atiku Abubakar and members of his government not to attend the event. We never got conclusive evidence he did that. Anyway the event happened and you raised about seventy million Naira for the Asaga community. Part of which was used to complete the Town Hall at Asaga.
On our way from Asaga to Abuja we flew via Lagos and impulsively, as usual, you decided to visit ThisDay Newspaper which had  suffered a fire accident that destroyed its head office. On the way we saw a screaming headline on Tell Magazine “ Blood will Flow if…” By Governor Orji Uzor Kalu. In the interview he threatened war if Igbo Presidency failed in 2003 or something to that effect. You were livid because you knew that when push comes to shove he will vote for Obasanjo, as he eventually did. You felt he was leading Igbos down a path, he had no intention of treading. That was the mood when we entered ThisDay Newspapers.
At Thisday, you were warmly received and the Publisher Nduka Obaigbena, called in his Editors and a mini interview ensued. You were asked “ what is your view about the agitation for Igbo Presidency”? You responded in one word “Idiotic”. The room froze. You then deadpanned and  said “ because there is no Igbo Republic, we can only have a Nigerian  President of Igbo extraction”. Everybody laughed with relief, then Nduka said is this off record?  You said “no, publish it”.
The following day all hell broke loose. The Abia State media machine went on overdrive and drew maximum political capital from a convenient use of the first part of the statement while ignoring the second part. The rest they say is history. You were reacting to the demagoguery of your political opponent and of course not abusing Igbos as they tried to depict the interview.
Mekaria, I have to pause this conversation as we prepare to travel to Ohafia to lay your earthly cloak to Mother Earth. On Saturday Asaga’s soil, what you use to call the “ultimate real estate” will yet again swallow the remains of a great man, an original thinker, a great mentor, a friend, a humanist, a public servant per excellence, a husband to Ucha, a father to Ulari, Ugwuji, Uma, Ukiwe, a grandfather to Chigozie and Oluchi, a true Ohafia Son, a Presbyterian Elder, a proud Igbo Man, a believer in the Nigerian project, a global citizen, a Man of culture and the ultimate renaissance Man. Mekaria, off I go to Ohafia the conversation will continue in another dimension beyond space and time where you said we shall drink the new wine.
Chidoka, a former Minister of Aviation, wrote from Jabi, Abuja.