Dad was my very good friend. Chinyere, Ben Okoro’s first daughter.

Chinyere Okoro, the first daughter of the late Chief Ben Okoro is someone you would like to meet. She has a sound view and understanding of many things. The way she explains things like a real daughter of the soil will surely excite you.

Having left Nigeria far back in the  early 80s, the moment she finished her secondary school at Ihioma Girls, one would assume that the American culture has robbed her of his “anya iru alaness” but that is far from the truth. The fire still burns!

Chinyere a nurse practitioner who is currently doing her PhD in nursing, spoke to Umuaka Times correspondent in America in a brief interview concerning the life and times of her dad, Chief Ben Okoro.

Editor’s note:

This interview was conducted shortly after the death of Ben Okoro in 2019.

Excerpts:

 

 

How are you doing madam: I am doing well. Thank you very much

 

First of all, Umuaka Times sympathizes with you,your immediate family members and all the members of the large Okoro family and their relations over the death of Chief Ben Okoro.

 

Thank you very much for your kind gesture.

 

How is the family coping since his demise?

 

My family has been so saddened by the death of our father. Our father was our rock and we were not expecting his sudden death, and his death has thrown the family into disarray. His death has been an unfathomable shock to all of us. I still cannot believe that my father is dead.

How did you receive the news of his death?

 

I woke up at 3 am American time (10am Nigerian time) to pray as I usually do. I had some work that I was trying to complete on my computer when I got interrupted by a call from Nigeria. I was talking to a friend from Nigeria when at 5am on November 15, 2019, I saw that I have missed several calls from whatsapp and noticed that those missed calls were from my brother, Nasser Okoro, followed by a text from him that said “Adanne! Please call me when you get this message. Your line had been engaged. This is Nasa.”

 

So what next did you do after reading the text?

 

I got off the phone with my friend and called him. I said what’s wrong, why are you calling so much, I hope all is well? Nasser responded by saying “all is not well ooo. I asked him I hope my father is alright? He then said, dad is not alright. “Dad is dead”.

Oh what a breaking news.

 

There was complete silence, not one word was said on my part. He kept saying hello, hello, adanne, hello. At this time I think I just hung up on my brother at that time. I was getting sick and I did not believe my brother. I called my dad’s phone, hoping that this news was not true, that he would answer his call and there was no answer.

 

Were you not supposed to go to work on that day?

 

I was supposed to go to work that morning, I had to call my office to inform them that I couldn’t be there because of my dad’s death.

 

Was Nasser the only fellow who called you?

 

I immediately was getting another phone call from my dad’s secretary Evelyn, but I did not pick up the phone for fear of her telling me the same sad news. I panicked at that time and was totally confused and from then on, I became an emotional wreck. I felt like my whole life was closing in on me. I then summoned the courage to call my dad’s secretary as it was beginning to dawn on me that this could be true (dad did not answer his call), I called Evelyn and started asking her questions about my dad. Mr.Eddy Emegharibe was there and she handed him the phone so he could talk to me because I was screaming and crying my head off.

What were you asking Mr Emegharaibe?

 

I was asking him what happened to my dad? Where was he found? Was he sick, why didn’t they tell me if he was sick? Eddy and Evelyn started crying as well because I was hysterical, I was going crazy. They were trying to calm me down to no avail. I was angry that my father had died, and I started asking God why my Dad died…Silence. I kept asking Eddy Emegharaibe what happened to my father.

 

From your narrative, you really were an emotional wreck. Did it not affect your health?

 

I had cried so much that I started having severe chest pain, difficulty in breathing and dizziness, with fear and the feeling of an impending doom. So I ended up in the hospital because I was going into a full blown panic attack.

 

How long were you in the hospital?

 

I was discharged from the hospital 6 hours later. I continued to have this panic attack for a whole month where I ended up in the hospital 3 times. I still don’t sleep well at night. I get about 3hrs of sleep a night since my dad died.

 

Were you in constant communication with him in the last couple of years?

 

My dad and I and his secretary communicated all the time, almost every day. I called my father daily, and at one time I would call him 3 times a day. It got to the point that he was getting agitated that I was calling too much and wasting money to call him. He would tell me that he was fine and that calling him once a day was enough, but if I miss to call him in one day, he would ask me why I did not call or if I was not happy with him. If I don’t call him for more than 2 days, he would call me instead to check up on me.

 

Daily calls? what were you discussing daily?

 

Sometimes I would call him and we would pray together; sometimes I will tell him to read certain verses in the Bible.

 

Did you have any form of sign or nightmare about him before he died?

 

  I actually had a dream where he was in a fatal car accident. Nobody in his car made it out alive. I called him and he did not answer and when I called the secretary, Evelyn, she told me that chief was fine, and that he was downstairs. So, I told her the dream I had. I later called him to ask how he was and told him to be careful; this was in May of 2019. I never knew that it was a premonition of what was to come.

 

During his lifetime, Chief Ben Okoro had an unusual business acumen which made him to always be the first to discover a new business, how did he acquire that skill?

My dad was a servant to his aunty since he was 12 yrs old and from there he learned some of his skills on the job training, however, he once told me that when God gives you wisdom, you need to harness it and use it well or it will vanish. When God gives a talent and you don’t use it wisely, God will take it away from you and give to someone who can use it well. That is why he always comes up with new businesses.

 

Did he specifically tell you how the business ideas came to him?

 

He also told me that God sometimes puts ideas in him while he is sleeping.

 

When last did you see him?

 

I saw my father last in July of 2017 when I visited home. We talked and reminisced about my grandfather (Chief Paul Okoro OkwaraOjiaku); My dad would tell me that I am just like him and his father, (my grandfather); He told me that is the reason his father named me Nwametu….saying nwametu ka nnaya. Saying just like his father never wasted his life, my father (Chief Ben Okoro Ojiaku) never wasted his life, that I will not waste my life, thus the name Nwametu was given to me.

 

Was he expecting you at home during Xmas?

 

Our father was looking forward to seeing me and my siblings in December of 2019, but dad unfortunately passed away in November of 2019. Some of my siblings had already purchased their tickets to travel home to visit dad; they had no choice but to go see him, this time, to see his body.

 

As a very important personality, which countries is the family expecting guests from, during his burial?

We are expecting friends, family, well wishers from all over the world; we have people coming from the United states, Cameroon, Germany, London, and of course we have lots of family members her in Nigeria that would grace the occasion of my father’s burial.

 

Do you see his death posing any form of challenge for the family?

 

Of course, my father would be greatly missed. He is the brain behind his business and the head of our family. His absence is already being felt and I don’t believe anyone can afford to fit in the shoes of this great Icon, my father. He has created a vacuum that can never be filled by anybody in his family or our community. His death has a great impact on all of us. It will take an act of God to find anybody that would be able to fill that gap in the family. It is not possible.

 

What will you miss most about him?

 

His smile is infectious/contagious; He said that he feels fulfilled that his children are doing well; that they are not into anything shady or illegal. When he sees his children, he gets really bubbly and happy; his expressions/personality become very animated like he has been pumped with energy.

 

Was he taking you people out to see some relations and friends?

 

He would take us to go meet his friends, go to church with him and in the evenings, we would sit down in the living room with him and just talk and crack jokes.

 

How close were you to your father?

My dad and I were extremely close. We talked about everything you can think of and hid nothing from each other. He often tells me that I am the one that brings his soul back from his dreams.

 

Can you share with us some of the emotions/love that people have shared regarding your father’s personality and character?

 

Yes, people have been so kind and wonderful with a great outpouring of love from those in our community and all over the world. My father was a great man and was loved by many. Let me give you a glimpse, just a small taste of outpouring of love, outcry of the community and sincere and unapologetic expressions of people regarding my dad from well wishers; There is more of these commentary and this newspaper would not be able to contain all that was written about our father, Chief, Ben I. Okoro Ojiaku.

 

May his soul rest in peace and may God give the family the fortitude to bear the loss.

 

Amen and thanks for coming.