Despite his famed reputation as a nononsense man, Dim Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was widely acknowledged as a ladies’ man. That he had a soft spot for women is like stating the obvious. As one of Nigeria’s most famous men, women got easily attracted to Ojukwu, as bees are attracted to honey. The late politician, in his lifetime, loved women, beautiful women. And they also loved him in return.
That many women wanted to have relationships with Ojukwu was understandable. He had many things going for him. First, he came from a wealthy background, with a father that was adjudged as one of Nigeria’s most richest man in the 50’s and 60’s; secondly, he was a highly polished man, whose impeccable manners was quite outstanding; thirdly, Ojukwu received the best education from the prestigious Oxford University, UK, and lastly, he was an officer of the Nigerian Army, an elite profession.
First married to Njideka, a native of Nawfia, a town near Awka in Anambra State in the late 50’s, the marriage collapsed shortly after the late Biafran leader relocated to the then Ivory Coast (now Cote de Ivoire) after the Biafran uprising was crushed by the Federal Government.
First married to a Ghanian, Dr. Brodi Mends, for whom she bore a child named Iriaku, Njideka attended St. Monika, Onitsha and later Archdeacon Crowder Memorial Girls School, Elelenwo, Port Harcourt in Rivers State, Njideka and Ojukwu met through their fathers who were friends and business partners.
After their first encounter, they met again three years later at a tube station in London. A relationship ensued soon after wards and culminated in a marriage, which produced three children, two of whom were named Emeka (Jnr) and Okigbo.
In an extensive interview with THE NATION three years ago, Njideka had described Ojukwu thus: “He is just a very kind man, very polite, not intrusive. He cared less about what happens in the kitchen; he just settles for whatever you offered him. He respected me and my opinion a lot. Later when the children get across to him, he would ask them what my opinion was on issues and I loved him immensely in return.’’
Another woman in Ojukwu’s life was Victoria, whom he met during his sojourn in Cote de Ivoire. They were married till the early 80’s when Ojukwu was granted a state pardon by the then Nigeria’s president, Alhaji Usman Aliyu Shehu Shagari.
Then came the turn of another beautiful woman, Stella Onyeador, the elder sister of society woman, Angela Onyeador, who reportedly lived with Ojukwu for about 10 years before the union collapsed irretrievably in the mid-80’s.
But the most celebrated of Ojukwu’s liaisons with women was with former beauty queen, former Bianca Onoh. The duo met in 1988 at Bianca’s father, Chief Christian Onoh’s house in Enugu. According to reports, Ojukwu had paid a visit to Onoh in his country home during which he was struck by the young woman’s impeccable beauty.
Sometimes in 1992 when a soft sell magazine had published a scoop on the romance between Ojukwu and Bianca, the two concerned parties denied the story. But after the magazine came out with incontrovertible evidence of the romance, all hell broke loose. Bianca’s father, a former governor of old Anambra State allegedly severed ties with Ojukwu and threatened to disown his daughter.
The consequences for Bianca came in torrents. First, she was stripped of her crown as the then reigning Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) in 1993.Worse still, she was ostracized by her immediate family. But Bianca stood her ground. Two years later, she got formally married to the man fondly called the Eze Gburugburu of Igboland by admirers in a society wedding that was the talk of town for several months. The marriage produced four children.
Original post:
The general as ladies’ man