The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bianca

  • Bianca carpets Igbo leaders for abandoning Ojukwu’s legacies

    Bianca carpets Igbo leaders for abandoning Ojukwu’s legacies

    Bianca Ojukwu, wife of the late Biafra warlord, Ikemba Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu, on Sunday, November 26, carpeted some Igbo leaders who used her husband’s name to ascend to success only for them to castigate him after achieving their aims.

    Bianca, who was former Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, said the so-called leaders had disconnected themselves from the masses having used Dim Ojukwu’s name to transcend.

    Speaking at the 2023 Ojukwu Memorial Day held at Ojukwu Memorial Library, Ralph Uwazuruike Estate, Area G, New Owerri, Imo State, Mrs Ojukwu however, thanked the masses for standing by her to ensure that Memorial Day is constantly celebrated with fanfare.

    She said: “There is nothing that has been sustained as the celebration of Ojukwu Memorial Day. I am thankful for all because you are the constituency of Dim Ojukwu, he will be very proud today to see the masses for whom he had sacrificed all.”

    Read Also; Lagos gets acting Police Commissioner, DCP Ayilara Waheed

    She however regretted that the so-called Igbo leaders had abandoned the masses after using her husband’s legacy to achieve success.

    Bianca added: “The so-called Igbo leaders who have disconnected themselves from the masses after achieving success with the name of Ojukwu. They now castigate Ojukwu after transcending. They are on the run now because their sins have come to hunt them.

    “The statistics of the Igbo leaders who have run away from their responsibilities in Igboland after achieving their aims are now frightening.”

    She thanked former President Goodluck Ebere Jonathan for standing by her husband during his stay in the hospital both in Nigeria and London and after his death. 

    She stated: “The former president ensured that Dim Ojukwu was given all necessary attention when he was down with stroke in Nigeria and London hospitals, he also ensured that Ojukwu was given a state burial and until today the president and his wife have always been with us. This year’s edition is a special edition because Ojukwu will be 90 years old this November. It is dedicated to the former President Dr Goodluck Ebere Jonathan.”

    The chairman of the occasion and founder of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in London, Chief Owelle Onyeka Mbaso said he was with Ojukwu in the hospital and celebrated in London after his death.

    In their goodwill messages, Prof.  Protus Uzoma and former president of Ohaneze Ndigbo in Imo, Dr.  Ezichi Chukwu called on the Ndigbo to learn to live in peace, unity, and love and not to abandon the legacy of the late Ojukwu.

    He said: “The Legacy Ojukwu left transcends time, every Igbo person must learn the language of peace, unity, and love.”

  • Uba: Bianca, Uba will bow to me

    Winner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Anambra South Senatorial Primary, Chris Uba, has boasted that his brother, Senator Andy Uba and Bianca Ojukwu will bow to him.

    Uba, who won the primary with 931 votes, said he was tired of being a ‘godfather’ of Anambra politics without being at the top.

    He said neither Bianca nor his brother, Uba, could pose any threat to his ambition.

    The PDP candidate, who addressed reporters in Awka, said he would want his brother to throw in the towel before the election in 2019, adding that Ojukwu’s wife is a featherweight in politics.

    He said: “Why I want to run is because we have been sponsoring people into positions across Nigeria. I have been doing that and a lot of people have passed through my school. But they call us godfathers; we have made cases severally for the party to make some provisions in the party constitution to protect godfathers, but all to no avail.

    “Do you know if I sponsor someone to the House of Representatives, Senate and House of Assembly, with my own money and everything, I will sit in my house and when they call them for meetings at the Villa or anywhere else, they will address them as serving Senators, serving House of Reps members, serving this and that, they have never called any godfather, where are we?

    “The truth remains that we are the people closer to the grassroots, a lot of people depend on us, a lot of families depend on us and many families today are hungry. But after sponsoring those people, immediately they get to Abuja, you can’t get them on phone again, nobody will see them again, they buy all choice cars and the next thing they will blackmail you.

    “They will start fighting you, they will say they’ve known the President, they’ve known the party chairman and as a godfather, you are in trouble. So now we need an office to protect our position and the positions of our people, which is why I am running for Senate.”

    “My people are solidly behind me in this race and I bet you, it will be an easy sail as my people are ready with their voters’ cards to vote me in because they want me to protect their interest.

    “Ojukwu’s wife will not pose any threat to me, Bianca has been my family friend and she is my brother’s wife. She knows my position and when she sees me on the street, she will take a bow. My brother Andy on the other hand knows my position too; he has been there for eight years and must take a bow now.

    “I pray for my brother to go higher, governorship or Vice President, but not on this Senate, it is now my turn. I want him to throw in the towel because the battle is going to be very serious.”

  • Uba brothers, Bianca, others in race for Anambra South Senatorial seat

    WIDOW of the Ikemba of Nnewi Odumegwu Ojokwu Bianca, Dr. Andy Uba and his younger brother, Chris Uba, are in the race for the Anambra South Senatorial District seat in next years’ election.

    Andy Uba of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Mrs. Ojukwu of the All Progress Grand Alliance (APGA) joined the race to slug it out for the ticket with Dr. Uba of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Uba is contending the seat with his elder brother, a serving senator.

    Also in the race for APGA’s ticket are businessmen Ifeanyi Ubah and Nicholas Ukachukwu.

    Anambra PDP Chairman Ndubuisi Nwobu told reporters at the weekend that the party has bright chances in the 2019 poll in the state considering the quality of people picking its nomination forms.

    He said that others who had picked the party’s nomination  forms for the senatorial race in the state were a one-time security adviser to the Anambra State Government, Chief Chuma Nzeribe,  former governorship aspirants , Alex Obiogbolu and Obinna Uzor.

    Nwobu said the party would field candidates for the 11 House of Representatives seats in the state and the 30 House of Assembly seats in the general elections in 2019.

    The PDP chairman said that the likes of Chris Uba had a track record of positive political dispositions in the state and was optimistic that his decision to run under the party would restore lasting peace and victory to the party.

    According to him, Uba was the godfather of Anambra politics since 1999 and had been sponsoring candidates for political positions both in the PDP and other political parties.

    He said that Ubah, in the past, had political battles with two former governors of the state, Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju and Chris Ngige over appointments and other political patronages which he came out strong.

    In a report, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said Imo State former governor Ikedi Ohakim penultimate week claimed that 15 Igbo billionaires had been mobilised to sponsor Ojukwu’s widow in the poll.

    Ohakim made the disclosure in Ekwulobia in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra during Ojukwu‘s formal declaration of interest for the senatorial seat.

    He said: “the Igbo will not stand and watch anybody intimidate Ojukwu’s widow in any circumstance. We shall march her opponents’ strength for strength and cash for cash.”

    At the just concluded retreat in Awka, the Anambra State capital, APGA’s Board of Trustee Chairman and Anambra Governor Willie Obiano said that the party primaries would be free and fair.

    He urged all interested political contestants in all the elective posts to get prepared to face their constituents during the party primary.

  • Bianca kicks as Ojukwu’s second child applies to join property battle

    Bianca kicks as Ojukwu’s second child applies to join property battle

    The widow of the late Ikemba of Nnewi, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Bianca, has opposed an application by her husband’s son, seeking to be joined as a defendant in a suit she filed against the family over property.
    Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Jr., Ojukwu’s second child, filed the application dated May 24, before Justice Abdulfattah Lawal of the Lagos State High Court, Igbosere, seeking to be joined alongside Ojukwu Transport Limited (OTL) and seven others.
    Bianca had on behalf of her two under-aged children, Afamefuna and Nwachukwu (claimants), sued Ojukwu Transport Limited (OTL) and seven others over an alleged threat by the family to eject them from the company’s properties in Lagos.
    OTL was established by the late Biafran leader’s father, Sir Louis Ojukwu.
    In his application, Ojukwu Jr. prayed the court to join him on the grounds that he is a director in OTL and by virtue of his position has responsibility to look after the interest of the other children of his late father.
    He averred that the claimants in the suit are the last two of the eight children of his late father and they are represented by their mother who was the last of the six wives of his late father.
    The son of the late Biafran warlord prayed the court to join him as defendant in the “best interest of justice.”
    He added that any decision in respect of the claims of Bianca’s two children in the suit so far as it relates to his father’s interest in OTL “will affect me as the current head of the late Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu’s family.”
    However, in a 12-paragraph counter affidavit, Bianca’s children opposed their elder brother’s application.
    They averred that they have no claim or relief whatsoever against him in the suit and that that the suit can be duly and properly determined without their elder brother as a defendant.
    The claimant said the application was only a ploy to delay and scuttle the hearing and determination of the suit.
    Other defendants in the suit are Prof. Joseph Ojukwu, Emmanuel Ojukwu, Lotanna Putalora Ojukwu, Dr. Patrick Ojukwu, Edward Ojukwu, Lota Akajiora Ojukwu and Mrs. Massey Udegbe (doing business under Massey Udegbe & Company).
    In their statement of claim, Bianca, and her two children are praying the court to declare that the alleged threat of forcible ejection from 29, Oyinkan Abayomi Street, Ikoyi, by the defendants as illegal.
    They are asking the court for a declaration that her children are entitled to possess the following property: No. 13 Hawksworth Road, Ikoyi (now known as No. 13 Ojora Road; No. 32A Commercial Avenue, Yaba, Lagos; No. 30 Gerard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos and No. 30 McPherson Avenue, Ikoyi.
    According to them, the properties were under the possession of the late Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu, the father of the claimants, from the time the properties were released from government acquisition till date.
    The claimants stated that throughout the period their father was fought to retrieve the properties from the government, the second to seventh defendants “never played any role in the struggle nor contributed financially or otherwise to the realisation of the struggle.”
    Justice Lawal will hear the argument for the application on September 14.

  • Ojukwu’s estate: Bianca for cross examination April 26

    Ojukwu’s estate: Bianca for cross examination April 26

    Widow of the late Ikemba of Nnewi, Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu, Bianca, will be cross- examined on April 26, in the legal battle between her children and the deceased’s brothers, a High Court sitting in Igbosere, Lagos State, held yesterday.

    Mrs. Ojukwu and her late husband’s siblings are in dispute over portions of the family estate.

    Bianca underwent her examination-in-chief before Justice Abdulfattah Lawal of the Lagos State High Court, Igbosere, on Monday.

    The former beauty queen was due for cross-examination by the defense counsel yesterday, but her lawyer, Mr. Nick Omeje, asked for an adjournment to enable him file an amended writ of summons, because according to him, he had the amended writ  and an additional statement of claims.

    Justice Lawal granted his request and adjourned the matter till February 29, for the hearing of the motion and April 26 and 27, for the continuation of trial.

    Mrs. Ojukwu, on behalf of her two under-aged children, Afamefuna and Nwachukwu (claimants), dragged Ojukwu Transport Limited (OTL) and seven others before the court over an alleged move by the family to eject her sons from the family’s property in Lagos, through OTL.

    She is asking the court to declare that her children are entitled to the possession and occupation of one of the property (29 Oyinkan Abayomi Street, Ikoyi, Lagos), until the harmonisation of the management and administration of the assets of the first defendant (OTL).

    The defendants are Prof. Joseph Ojukwu, Emmanuel Ojukwu, Lotanna Putalora Ojukwu, Dr Patrick Ojukwu, Edward Ojukwu, Lota Akajiora Ojukwu and Mrs. Massey Udegbe.

  • Ojukwu estate : Bianca’s absence stalls trial

    Ojukwu estate : Bianca’s absence stalls trial

    The suit against Ojukwu Transport Limited (OTL) and seven others before the Lagos High Court in Igbosere was stalled as the claimant, Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu, was absent.

    In the suit filed on behalf of her underaged children, Afamefuna and Nwachukwu, Bianca prayed the court to declare as illegal, the threat of forcible eviction from 29, Oyinkan Abayomi Street, Ikoyi, issued by the defendants.

    Bianca urged the court to declare that her children were entitled to possess the property, pending the harmonisation of the management and administration of assets of the first defendant (OTL).

    Other defendants in the suit are Prof. Joseph Ojukwu; Emmanuel Ojukwu; Lotanna Putalora Ojukwu; Dr Patrick Ojukwu; Edward Ojukwu; Lota Akajiora Ojukwu and Mrs Massey Udegbe (doing business under Massey Udegbe & Company).

    Besides the property at 29, Oyinkan Abayomi Street, Ikoyi, Bianca urged the court to declare that the claimants were entitled to possess the following: 13, Hawksworth Road, Ikoyi; 13, Ojora road, Ikoyi; 32A, Commercial Avenue, Yaba; 30, Gerard Road, Ikoyi, and 30, McPherson Avenue, Ikoyi.

    At the resumed hearing before Justice Abdulfattah Lawal yesterday, the matter could not go on because Bianca, who is Nigeria’s ambassador to Spain, was said to be in a meeting.

    Counsel to the defendants, George Uwechue (SAN) told the court of a letter signed by Bianca’s lawyer, Chioma Okoro, stating that Bianca could not be in court as a result of a meeting with the Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, Dr. Taleb Rafai. Although the court said it did not receive the letter, the judge gave Bianca the benefit of the doubt and adjourned till December 11, for trial.

     

  • Bianca alters Ojukwu memorial date

    Bianca alters Ojukwu memorial date

    The memorial activities in honour of the late Ikemba Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu earlier scheduled for November 26 have been shifted to December 10, the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has said.

    Addressing newsmen in Aba, Abia State, MASSOB acting Director of Information, Sunny Okereafor said the change became inevitable so that Mrs Bianca Ojukwu, the late Biafra warlord’s widow will be able to attend the event.

    Okereafor said the earlier date was inconvenient for Mrs Ojukwu who is in Spain as Nigeria’s Ambassador.

    “We are shifting the memorial event from the original date of November 26 to December 10,” said the MASSOB spokesman. “This is so because the wife of our revered late leader would not be in the country by November 26.

    “As you all know, it will out of place to hold such an event for the memory of the man who gave his all for the struggle to emancipate his people without his widow who stood by him still that last day, being around,” Okereafor said.

    Okereafor informed that MASSOB has lined up many events for the celebration of the third anniversary of the death of the Eze Igbo Gburugburu which he stated would be held at the Ojukwu Library at New Owerri.

    He said MASSOB was doing these things to show the world that Ndigbo would never forget Ojukwu who he said used his father’s wealth to fight in defence of the Igbo man.

    “We are doing these things to immortalize Ojukwu’s name because we see him as the Moses of Biafra who led the people out of the wilderness before handing over power to Chief Ralph Uwazuruike who is the Joshua of our time.

    Okereafor assured that from next year, MASSOB would revert to the November 26 date which he said would be declared a public holiday in future.

  • APGA: Obi and Bianca

    Bianca Ojukwu, widow of late Biafran leader, Dim Chukwuemeka  Odumegwu-Ojukwu, is grieving. She had cause last week to bare her current state of mind. Though the issue has little to do with the demise of her husband but it is not entirely unrelated.

    She is grieving because the most trusted confidant of her late husband and former governor of Anambra State; a man trusted to uphold the ideals of the late Ikemba, Peter Obi dumped the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Obi rode on the shoulders of APGA to become the governor of Anambra State twice and was seen as the political son of the late Ojukwu. The minimum expectation from such a person is to keep the flag of APGA, a party dear to the heart of Ojukwu flying. But all that hope has now been dashed.

    Not just that. Obi decamped without the courtesy of confiding in Bianca. She granted an interview last week expressing deep shock and disappointment at the development.

    According to her, up to the last moment, Obi continued to reassure her that “this will never happen; that it would be over his dead body; that the day he leaves APGA would be the day he quits politics; and most importantly, that he would keep the promise he made to Ojukwu”.

    Bianca feels greatly pained and deeply betrayed because Obi swore in his honour before her late husband that he would never leave APGA; that he would do everything within his powers to sustain and advance APGA, that he would ‘sink and swim’ with the party.

    All these promises appear to have come to naught with his recent defection to the PDP. Bianca fears that his action could rob off negatively on the fortunes and ideals for which APGA has continued to attract large following in the south-east geo-political zone.

    Given the weight of issues raised by Bianca, Obi could not but join issues with her. He said ‘loyalty to a cause does not change with a change of platform’ and there has not been any change of principles on his own part. Admitting that Bianca gave accurate account of his exchanges with the late Ikemba, Obi said he is “still loyal to our great leader (Ojukwu) in terms of what serves the interests of our people and the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

    He was quick to add however, that APGA today is no longer what it used to be and his assurance to Ojukwu did not imply he will remain loyal to a platform some people have turned into an empty shell without an inner core of shared values.

    In his words “time would reveal whether the APGA of today is still propagating the late leader’s core principles”. He said he had seen enough violation of what APGA stood for and therefore cannot continue to stay in a place which has departed from the original course and where clearly he was not wanted.

    The issues raised by both personages are as touchy as they are weighty. This is very evident from the manifest caution on the part of both parties in handling the subject matter. Bianca had very pleasant words for Obi both in terms of his sterling performances in office, his principles, loyalty and commitment to the APGA cause. Her expectation is that Obi ought to remain the lynchpin on which the APGA spirit revolves.

    Unfortunately, that hope has been betrayed such that a big vacuum that may adversely affect the party’s fortunes has now been created. Matters are not remedied by what amounts to her loss of confidence in Chief Victor Umeh, APGA national chairman.

    For Umeh, Bianca had this to say: “the bitter truth and sad reality is that every vice, offence and transgression his predecessor, Chekwas Okorie was accused of, which prompted his removal as national chairman of APGA has been committed a hundred times over with impunity by Umeh”.

    With these, one can then appreciate why Bianca is scared about the fortunes of the party. We can understand why Obi’s defection jolted her in such a devastating manner. This is more so when the dwindling fortunes of the party in neighbouring Imo State is brought into focus. The governor there, Rochas Okorocha also rode on the platform of APGA but has had to dump it for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    If Bianca takes a total picture of the party in the two states that are considered its stronghold, she will indeed have great cause to worry. Her feelings should be understood.

    For now, Obi’s contention that loyalty to a cause does not change with a change of platform is puerile. The reverse should really be the case if party politics is conceived in its pure form. Each platform (political party) comes with its shared values, expectations and loyalty patterns. That is why parties are registered as distinct entities. They ought to offer alternative choices to the electorate through their different ideologies and programmes. You cannot serve two masters loyally at the same time. It is an exercise in wishful thinking for Obi to nurse the feeling that he can still serve the overall interest of APGA from his current platform. He cannot.

    But more importantly, Obi raised further contradictions in his reasons for leaving the party. He had sought to justify his position on the grounds that APGA has deviated from the spirits of its founding fathers. If APGA is no longer propagating the leader’s core principles, Obi should share in the blame.

    In his positions as the former governor elected on its platform and lately the chairman of its Board of Trustees (BOT), Obi had critical and pivotal roles to play to redirect the party to its original ideals rather than present himself as someone helpless in the circumstance. The impression we get is that there is a behemoth in the party that determines everything. And who could that have been except Umeh who has survived many battles to shove him aside. May be Umeh has become the greatest obstacle to the survival of the party. Or could it have been governor Obiano who is just learning the ropes?

    So when Obi made the allusion that he is no longer wanted in the party, one begins to wonder who those frustrating him are.

    Bianca corroborated the point that Obi should have done more to reinvigorate the party when she said many of the members victimized by Umeh for demanding internal democracy were disappointed that he could not help them.

    Beyond these, it did not come as a surprise that Obi defected to the PDP. All along his body and soul have been there. Bianca should also be consoled by her current ambassadorial appointment courtesy of the PDP government. APGA has not really behaved as an opposition party and this is bound to affect its fortunes. The current fate of the party is partly self-inflicted and partly a response to the dynamics of party politics in this country. With the formation of the APC, the political landscape has substantially altered. Parties without national spread are bound to suffer reverses. It is trite that APGA has become a franchise exploited by desperate politicians to climb to power in Imo and Anambra states only to dump it as soon as their interests have been served. Is anybody listening?

  • ‘Bianca should prove legal marriage to Ojukwu’

    ‘Bianca should prove legal marriage to Ojukwu’

    As the tussle for the ownership of Ojukwu Transport Limited (OTL) and Ojukwu Estate rages, some members of the Ojukwu family have asked Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu to show proof of legal marriage to the late Biafran warlord, Emeka Odimegwu-Ojukwu.

    The Ojukwu brothers and OTL, in a 19-paragraph statement of defence filed before Justice Funmilayo Atilade of a Lagos High Court, also demanded proof of the pater nity of Bianca’s two sons, Afamefuna and Nwachukwu.

    Bianca had, on behalf of her sons, sued Prof. Joseph Ojukwu, Emmanuel Ojukwu, Lotanna Putalora Ojukwu, Dr Patrick Ojukwu, Edward Ojukwu, Lota Akajiora Ojukwu and Mrs Massey Udegbe, seeking a declaration that her children were entitled to 29, Oyinkan Abayomi Street, Ikoyi, until the harmonisation of the management and administration of the assets of OTL.

    Bianca’s lawyer Chris Ezugwu prayed the court to declare as illegal the threat of forceful ejection of her sons from the property.

    But, the defendants, through their lawyer, George Uwechue (SAN) said the subscribers of the Memorandum of Association of OTL (1st defendant) at incorporation in 1952 were L.P Ojukwu and Betram Chukwuemeka Obi, adding that the late Odimegwu-Ojukwu and Prof Joseph Ojukwu (2nd defendant) were later appointed as directors in 1953.

    They said the late Odimegwu-Ojukwu ceased to be a director of the company prior to the civil war and was reappointed a director on December 16, 2005.

    The defendants said: “The property belong to the first defendant (OTL). The fact is that the claimants’ mother, being greedy, felt she could hold onto the first defendant’s property. For over 12 years prior to his death, the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu moved to Enugu and since then had not lived at the first defendant’s property as alleged by the claimants.”

  • Before Bianca, Fani-Kayode turn their feud into roforofo

    Before Bianca, Fani-Kayode turn their feud into roforofo

    As a primary school pupil, some of my best moments were the periods set aside for Bible Studies. I looked forward to them because of the interesting stories we were regaled with and because the handlers of the subject were not the regular teachers, but clergymen deployed from some of the surrounding churches. We were sure that even if we provoked them, the Bible Studies teachers would not deploy the cane like the other teachers did. The worst they would do was to tell us that we should not act like Satan’s offspring so that we would not go into hell fire. It was a tension-free atmosphere we cherished and wished that the other teachers would emulate.

    My love for Bible Studies continued into my early years in secondary school, but I had a problem with the teacher after the first few classes in my first year. I had enjoyed the stories about creation and the activities of Adam and Eve in Eden up until the time they sinned and lost favour with God. But I became apprehensive the day the teacher told us that Adam knew Eve and Eve conceived and gave birth to Cain. In pristine innocence, I asked the teacher why it took Adam so long to know Eve when the two had lived together for years as husband and wife. And by what magic did a man and a woman simply knowing each other translate into conception and the birth of a baby?

    The teacher ignored the clarifications I sought, but I continued to chew on the issue until I realised that the word “know” in the context it was used meant more than the dictionary could explain. That probably informs the furore that was generated in the camp of former beauty queen and Nigerian Ambassador to Spain, Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu, when former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, declared on his facebook account that he intimately knew Bianca, the widow of Dim Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, former Biafran leader and Ikemba Nnewi, in her prime. For a woman that is quite familiar with the biblical story of Adam and Eve, it is discomforting enough that a man would claim to have known her, not to talk of doing so intimately.

    Fani-Kayode’s seemingly innocuous claim, now labelled an outburst by Bianca and her supporters, had been made in the most innocent and fortuitous manner. Defending himself against some critics who had labelled him a tribalist and hater of the Igbo race, Fani-Kayode felt the need to highlight some past deeds he thought would hold him up as a shining example of a detribalised Nigerian. The deeds, according to the former Aviation Minister, include the long list of Igbo women he had dated and could have taken as wives if circumstances had permitted.

    In the piece titled ‘A Word for Those Who Call Me a Tribalist,’ Fani-Kayode wrote: “I was not a tribalist when I had a long-standing and intimate relationship with Miss Bianca Onoh, an Igbo lady who later married Colonel Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the leader of Biafra and who is now our Ambassador in Spain. I was not a tribalist when I had a long-standing and intimate relationship with Miss Chioma Anasoh, another Igbo lady who I almost married. I was not a tribalist when I had a long-standing and intimate relationship with Miss Adaobi Uchegbu, another Igbo lady who was exceptionally close to me and who is now a leading figure at the National Headquarters of the ruling PDP.”

    For understandable reasons, this portion of the piece has generated the most interest, particularly from Fani-Kayode’s traducers who are not impressed with his definition of nationalism. They cannot understand why the virile ex-minister would glory in his exploits with women, while his contemporaries elsewhere are building castles in Mars. The more fastidious ones are even demanding the age at which he began to cast his nuptial net as to have caught such a long list of Igbo chicks. They are also eager to know how many Yoruba, Hausa, Ijaw, Efik, Idoma, Tiv, Ibibio, Kanuri, Fulani or Jukun women have profited from his patriotic and nationalistic zeal.

    Bianca, certainly, is not enjoying any of these. And in spite of the testimonies of Kemi, the controversial daughter of former civilian governor of Oyo State, Dr. Omololu Olunloyo, that she was an eye witness to Bianca and Fani-Kayode’s intimate relationship as students in the UK, Bianca insists that Fani-Kayode is as strange as unicorn. She insists that she has never met him much less maintain a relationship, no matter how casual. And to strengthen her stance, she has threatened a legal action against Fani-Kayode unless he publishes a retraction in some national newspapers and tender unreserved apology for maligning her and defaming her character.

    But there is an impasse as Fani-Kayode stands by his words and threatens to also drag Bianca to court for presenting him as a liar in the public eye. “We will also be instigating (not just instituting) our own legal proceedings against her in due course for her barefaced and malicious lies and her consistent claims that she has not met Chief Fani-Kayode, all in an attempt to libel, defame, diminish and discredit him before the entire world,” Fani-Kayode’s media assistant said in a statement. The statement maintained that Fani-Kayode did not only have an intimate relationship with Bianca, he “knew her far better than she cares to publicly admit.” In a veiled threat, the statement added: “The precise nature of that relationship will be explored and exposed in open court!”

    Considering that Bianca is still smarting from the death of her husband and the battles she is faced with on the home front over her late husband’s will, a legal battle with Fani-Kayode over a relationship he claims is in the past is the least distraction the Nigerian Ambassador to Spain needs at this time. This is besides the blow that such a battle could deal on her image as an ambassador, a former beauty queen and widow of a highly respected Igbo leader. A Yoruba adage says that when a blind man threatens to throw a stone, it is either he has one in his hand or there is one under his foot. What if Fani-Kayode’s threats are thought to be empty, but he comes up with disarming exhibits that would alarm even the presiding judge?

    It is also in the nation’s interest that the dispute does not progress beyond the current level of grandstanding, considering the status of the two parties involved. Otherwise, the nation could be in for one of its most embarrassing moments as two national figures wash their dirty linens in the public. Our statesmen and other well-meaning Nigerians should prevail on the warring parties to sue for peace, particularly Bianca who definitely has more to lose if the feud degenerates into roforofo.